The History of the English Language Timeline Project

By faiths
  • 410 BCE

    410

    The Goths, speakers of a now extinct East Germanic language, sack Rome. The first Germanic tribes arrive in Britain.
  • 500

    St. Augustine Arrives in Britain

  • 580

    Suspected date of Beowulf’s writing

  • 600

    Anglo-Saxon Language covers most of modern day English

  • 700

    Vikings Raids of Britain begin

  • 800

    Old English Epic poem Beowulf composed

  • 871

    The Anglo-Saxon Chronical began

  • 900

    Charles II of France grants Normandy to the Viking Chief Hrolf the Gange

  • 1000

    The oldest surviving manuscript of Beowulf dates from the period

  • 1066

    The Norman Invasion

  • 1086

    Domesday book created

  • 1100

    London becomes De Facto Capital of England

  • 1200

    King John loses the province of Normandy to France

  • 1215

    Magna Carta created

  • 1300

    Britain broadcasting Corporation

  • 1300

    English is used in English Parliament for the first time

  • 1400

    The great Vowel Shift begin

  • 1450

    Printing Press was born

  • 1492

    Discovery of America

  • 1500

    Start of English Renaissance

  • 1536

    Great Bible Published

  • Robert Cawdrey publishes the first permanent English Dictionary

  • Jamestown was established

  • Discovery of North America

  • Publication of Shakespeare's first folio

  • Publication of the first daily English Language newspaper

  • The American Revolution

  • Britain colony established in Australia

  • Second edition of the "Oxford English Dictionary" got published

  • First Black President

  • Osama Bin Laden Died

Want to make a timeline like this?

Use Timetoast to turn dates, events, milestones, and phases into a clear visual timeline you can build and share. Timetoast is a timeline maker for work, school, research, and stories.

Create your own timeline