U.S. cultures By cunninghamjames43 500 Middle Ages Begin Jan 1, 1000 Leif Ericson explores North America Jan 1, 1100 Crusades begin Jan 1, 1300 Crusades end Jan 1, 1350 Middle Ages End Jan 1, 1350 Renaissance Begins Jan 1, 1400 Portuguese Prince Henry encourages sea captains to sail south along the coast of Africa Jan 1, 1439 Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press Jan 1, 1488 Bartholomeu Dias reaches southern tip of Africa Aug 1, 1492 Christopher Columbus sets sail from Spain Oct 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus “discovers” America Jan 1, 1493 Christopher Columbus founds the first Spanish colony in the Americas Jan 1, 1498 Vasco da Gama sails around southern tip of Africa to India Jan 1, 1513 Vasco Nunez de Balboa is first European to see the Pacific Ocean, after crossing the isthmus of Panama Jan 1, 1600 Renaissance Ends Apr 30, 1789 George Washington takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1797 John Adams takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1801 Thomas Jefferson takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1817 James Monroe takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1825 John Quincy Adams takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1829 Andrew Jackson takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1837 Martin Van Buren takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1841 William Henry Harrison takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1841 John Tyler takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1845 James Knox Polk takes office as POTUS Mar 4, 1849 Zachary Taylor takes office as POTUS Jun 9, 1850 Millard Fillmore takes office as POTUS Sep 11, 2001 Al Qaeda attacks the United States Jan 20, 2009 Barack Obama takes office as POTUS Jan 1, 2012 Christopher Columbus sets sail from Spain Mar 4, 2012 James Madison takes office as POTUS
