-
1485
Richard III is killed in battle
Richard III died in the thick of battle after losing his helmet and coming under a hail of blows from vicious medieval weapons. There are detailed scans of the king's bones show that he sustained 11 wounds at or near the time of his death, nine of them to the skull. There was another potentially fatal injury to the pelvis that may have been inflicted after death. -
1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas
Columbus left Spain in August 1492 with three ships, and after a stopover in the Canary Islands made landfall in the Americas on 12 October (now celebrated as Columbus Day). His landing place was an island in the Bahamas, known by its native inhabitants as Guanahani; its exact location is uncertain. -
1503
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci that has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world" -
1516
Thomas More's Utopia is published
Utopia is a work of fiction and socio-political satire by Thomas More (1478–1535) published in Latin. The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs. Many aspects of More's description of Utopia are reminiscent of life in monasteries. -
1543
With the Supremacy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himself head of Church of England
When Henry VIII came to the throne, he was a devout Catholic and defended the Church against Protestants. ... *The Roman Catholic faith believed in marriage for life. It did not recognise, let alone support, divorce. King Henry VIII declared himself supreme head of a new Church of England. -
1558
Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
She was the daughter of King Henry VIII of England and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. ... Elizabeth's half-brother, Edward, became King Edward VI of England. He died age 15. Mary succeeded him in 1553, and after Queen Mary's death in 1558, Elizabeth became Queen. -
1564
William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, south Warwickshire, England. The precise date of his birth is unknown, but is presumed to be April 23, as it was customary for infants to be baptized three days after birth — his being on April 26. -
Globe Theater is built in London
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend and grandson Sir Matthew Brend, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613. -
Period: to
Shakespeare writers King Lear and Macbeth
King Lear is a tragedy depicting the gradual descent into madness of the title character, after he disposes of his kingdom by giving bequests to two of his three daughters egged on by their continual flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all.
Macbeth is a tragedy dramatizing the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. -
First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia
Historic Jamestown is the site of the first settlement in North America and represents the very foundations of whom and what we are as a people and a nation. Although there were other European settlements in America before Jamestown, our language, the majority of our customs and our laws come from our English ancestry. Jamestown is the beginning of America -
Shakespeare's sonnets are published
The sonnets are poems that Shakespeare wrote on a variety of themes. When discussing or referring to Shakespeare’s sonnets, it is almost always a reference to the 154 sonnets that were first published all together in a quarto in 1609; however there are six additional sonnets that Shakespeare wrote and included in the plays Romeo and Juliet, Henry V and Love's Labour's Lost. -
King James Bible is published
This bible is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England that begun in 1604 and was published in 1611. The books of the King James Version include the 39 books of the Old Testament, an intertestamental section containing 14 books of the Apocrypha, and the 27 books of the New Testament. -
The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
Plymouth holds a special role in American history. A significant proportion of the citizens of Plymouth were fleeing religious persecution and searching for a place to worship as they saw fit, rather than being entrepreneurs like many of the settlers of Jamestown in Virginia.Many of the people and events surrounding Plymouth Colony have become part of American folklore, including the American tradition of Thanksgiving and the monument of Plymouth Rock. -
Newspapers are first published in London
William Caxton had introduced the first English printing press in 1476 and, by the early 16th century, the first 'news papers' were seen in Britain. They were, however, slow to evolve, with the largely illiterate population relying on town criers for news. The first regular English daily newspaper, the Daily Courant, was launched with the reign of Queen Anne in 1702. -
John Milton begins Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse with more than one version. The first version consisted of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition arranged into twelve books.It is considered by critics to be Milton's major work, and it helped solidify his reputation as one of the greatest English poets of his time.The poem concerns the biblical story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel -
Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is restored with Charles II
The Commonwealth was the period when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland were ruled as a republic following the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execution of Charles I. The republic's existence was declared through "An Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth",adopted by the Rump Parliament. During the period, fighting continued between the parliamentary forces and those opposed to them and is now referred to as the Third English Civil War.
