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Robert Cawdrey publishes the first English dictionary, “A Table Alphabeticall”
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The Authorized, or King James Version, of “The Bible” is published
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Death of William Shakespeare
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Publication of the first English-language newspaper, the “Courante” or “Weekly News”
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First Folio of Shakespeare’s works is published
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Lewis and Clark document exploration of routes to American West
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Samuel Johnson publishes his “Dictionary of the English Language”
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Last native speaker of the Celtic Cornish language dies
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George Washington defeats Cornwallis at Yorktown and Britain abandons its American colonies
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British penal colony established in Australia
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First publication of “The Times” newspaper in London
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First English settlement at the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
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Noah Webster publishes his “The American Dictionary of the English Language”
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Abolition of slavery in the British Empire
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British colony established in new Zealand
1840 -
United States ends slavery after Civil War
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Second edition of the “Oxford English Dictionary” is published
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British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) founded
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Sir Ernest Gowers’ “The Complete Plain Words” published