AP European History : Timeline Project 2025-2026

  • Gutenberg invents the printing press
    1450

    Gutenberg invents the printing press

    A mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface
  • Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire (Sultan Mehmed II) The end of the Byzantine Empire
    1453

    Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire (Sultan Mehmed II) The end of the Byzantine Empire

    The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-day siege which had begun on 6 April.
  • Period: 1485 to

    Reign of the Tudor Dynasty

    A house of English and Welsh origin.
  • 1492

    Alhambra Decree

    Expelled all Jews and forced them to convert to catholicism.
  • 1492

    Columbus Voyage to the Americas

    Christopher Columbus went to the Americas.
  • Completion of the Reconquista in Spain (Fall of Granada)
    1492

    Completion of the Reconquista in Spain (Fall of Granada)

    King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I capture Granada.
  • Michelangelo completes the printing of Sistine Chapel
    1512

    Michelangelo completes the printing of Sistine Chapel

    Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet during the High Renaissance.
  • Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses
    1517

    Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses

    Martin Luther was a German priest, theologian, author, hymn writer, professor, and former Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation, and his theological beliefs form the basis of Lutheranism. The Ninety-five Theses or Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences is a list of propositions for an academic disputation written in 1517 by Martin Luther, then a professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg, Germany.
  • Luther's attendance at the Diet of Worms
    1521

    Luther's attendance at the Diet of Worms

    The Diet of Worms of 1521 was an imperial diet of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V and conducted in the Imperial Free City of Worms. Martin Luther was summoned to the diet in order to renounce or reaffirm his views in response to a Papal bull of Pope Leo X
  • Machiavelli's "The Prince" is published
    1532

    Machiavelli's "The Prince" is published

  • Act of Supremacy under Henry VIII
    1534

    Act of Supremacy under Henry VIII

    The Act of Supremacy, passed by the English Parliament in 1534, declared King Henry VIII the "Supreme Head on earth of the Church of England," severing the nation's ties to the Pope in Rome. This act was driven by Henry's desire to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, which the Pope refused. By making the King the head of the Church, the act allowed him to grant the annulment himself and gave him control over both the state and the church in England. Anglican church is the main church.
  • Copernicus publishes "On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres"
    1543

    Copernicus publishes "On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres"

    Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish astronomer and mathematician who is often called the father of modern astronomy.
  • Period: 1545 to 1537

    Council of Trent

    A pivotal ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church held from 1545 to 1563 that served as the formal response to the Protestant Reformation
  • Peace of Augsburg
    1555

    Peace of Augsburg

    A treaty signed in 1555 that ended the religious conflict between Catholics and Lutherans within the Holy Roman Empire Recognizes "Cuius regio, eius religio" which means "whose realm, his religion"
  • St. Bartholomew's Massacre
    1572

    St. Bartholomew's Massacre

    The Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence directed against the Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion.
  • Period: 1581 to

    War of the Three Henrys

    The War of the Three Henrys, also known as the Eighth War of Religion, took place during 1585–1589, and was the eighth conflict in the series of civil wars in France known as the French Wars of Religion.
  • Defeat of the Spanish Armada

    Defeat of the Spanish Armada

    The Spanish Armada was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval experience appointed by Philip II of Spain.
  • Edict of Nantes

    Edict of Nantes

    A 1598 decree by French King Henry IV that granted Calvinist Protestants (Huguenots) significant rights in a predominantly Catholic nation.
  • Period: to

    Thirty Years' War

    The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from the effects of battle, famine, or disease, with parts of Germany reporting population declines of over 50%.
    The Defenestrations of Prague were three incidents in which people were defenestrated.
    The Peace of Westphalia was a series of treaties signed in 1648 ending the war.
  • Period: to

    English Civil War

    The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Royalists and Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651.
    Royalists (Cavaliers) and Parliamentarians (Roundheads) were the two opposing sides in the English Civil Wars (1642-1651), fighting over power, religion, and the extent of the monarchy's authority.
    Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, was publicly executed on 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House.
  • Glorious Revolution

    Glorious Revolution

    The Glorious Revolution was the deposition of King James II in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II and her Dutch husband, James' nephew William III of Orange. The two ruled as joint monarchs of England, Scotland, and Ireland until Mary's death in 1694, when William became ruler in his own right.
    King James II was .replaced by William III and Mary II in 1688 during the Glorious Revolution
  • English Bill of Rights

    English Bill of Rights

    The English Bill of Rights (1689) was a landmark Act of Parliament that limited the monarchy's power.
    The English Bill of Rights establishes a constitutional monarchy.
  • Treaty of Utrecht ends the War of Spanish Succession

    Treaty of Utrecht ends the War of Spanish Succession

    The Treaty of Utrecht (1713) was a series of treaties that ended the War of the Spanish Succession.
  • Period: to

    Reign of Maria Theresa of Austria

    Maria Theresa's 40-year reign (1740-1780) as the only female Habsburg ruler transformed the Austrian monarchy.
    The War of the Austrian Succession, 1740 to 1748, was a conflict between the European great powers, fought primarily in Europe, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King George's War, the War of Jenkins' Ear, the First Carnatic War, and the First and Second Silesian Wars.
  • Period: to

    Seven Years' War

    The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a global war fought by numerous great powers, primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and the Indian subcontinent.
    Frederick the Great, Louis XV, Maria Theresa, and George III were all leaders during the 7 years war.
    The Treaty of Paris (1763) ended the French and Indian War (Seven Years War).
  • Congress of Vienna meets

    Congress of Vienna meets

    The Congress of Vienna was held in Vienna from 1814-1815 and brought together a myriad of European monarchs and rulers. This meant that Vienna was once the centre of international diplomatic relations. The later Austrian Chancellor Klemens Wenzel Lothar von Metternich played a vital role in this process.
  • Period: to

    Age of Metternich

    The Age of Metternich (1814–1848) refers to the period of conservative European politics dominated by Austrian diplomat Klemens von Metternich following the Napoleonic Wars. It was characterized by efforts to suppress liberal and nationalist movements, maintain monarchical stability, and uphold the balance of power established by the Congress of Vienna.
  • Carlsbad Decrees issued in Austria

    Carlsbad Decrees issued in Austria

    The Carlsbad Decrees were a set of strict reactionary, anti-liberal, and anti-nationalist restrictions passed on September 20, 1819, by the German Confederation, heavily influenced by Austrian Chancellor Klemens von Metternich.
  • Peterloo Massacre

    Peterloo Massacre

    The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, on Monday 16 August 1819. Eighteen people were killed and 400–700 were injured when the cavalry of the Yeomen charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people who had gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation
  • Napoleon dies

    Napoleon dies

    He was exiled by the British to the remote island of Saint Helena, where he died on May 5, 1821, at age 51, likely from advanced stomach cancer
  • Decembrist Revolt in Russia

    Decembrist Revolt in Russia

    The Decembrist Revolt was a failed, armed uprising on December 26, 1825 (Dec. 14 O.S.), in St. Petersburg, led by liberal Russian noble officers seeking to abolish serfdom and establish a constitution.
  • July Revolution in France

    July Revolution in France

    The July Revolution in France (July 27–29, 1830), also known as Les Trois Glorieuses ("The Three Glorious Days"), was a popular uprising that overthrew King Charles X of the Bourbon dynasty.
  • Great Reform Act of 1832

    Great Reform Act of 1832

    The Representation of the People Act 1832, or "Great Reform Act," received Royal Assent on June 7, 1832, to overhaul the British electoral system. It abolished 56 "rotten boroughs," redistributed seats to industrial cities, and expanded voting rights to middle-class male property holders, aiming to prevent revolution, increase representation, and modernize the political system.
  • Revolutions of 1848

    Revolutions of 1848

    The revolutions of 1848, also known as the springtime of the peoples were a series of revolutions throughout Europe that spanned almost two years, between January 1848 and October 1849. They remain the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history to date.
  • Period: to

    Crimean War

    The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont from October 1853 to February 1856.
  • Franco-Austrian War

    Franco-Austrian War

    The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859, was fought by the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia against the Austrian Empire in 1859 and played a crucial part in the process of Italian Unification.
  • Period: to

    Second Industrial Revolution

    The Second Industrial Revolution, also known as the Technological Revolution, was a phase of rapid scientific discovery, standardization, mass production and industrialization from the late 19th century into the early 20th century.
  • Unification of Italy

    Unification of Italy

    Individuals who played a major part in the struggle for unification and liberation from foreign domination included King Victor Emmanuel II; politician, economist and statesman Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour; general Giuseppe Garibaldi; and journalist and politician Giuseppe Mazzini. Alexander II is also known as Alexander the Liberator because of his historic Edict of Emancipation, which officially abolished Russian serfdom in 1861.
  • Austro-Prussian War

    Austro-Prussian War

    The Austro-Prussian War or German War of Brothers was fought in 1866 between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, with each also being aided by various allies within the German Confederation.
  • Period: to

    Franco-Prussian War

    The Austro-Prussian War or German War of Brothers was fought in 1866 between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, with each also being aided by various allies within the German Confederation.
  • Congress of Berlin

    Congress of Berlin

    At the Congress of Berlin, the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano, which had ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878.
  • Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed

    Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed

    The Triple Alliance was a mutual defense agreement formed on May 20, 1882, between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, binding them to support each other against potential attacks, primarily targeting France and Russia.
  • Period: to

    Berlin Conference

    The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 was a meeting of colonial powers that concluded with the signing of the General Act of Berlin, an agreement regulating European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period. Led by Bismarck.
  • Dreyfuss Affair

    Dreyfuss Affair

    The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided the Third French Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906.
  • Russian Revolution of 1905

    Russian Revolution of 1905

    The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, the country's first formal constitution.
  • Triple Entente Forms

    Triple Entente Forms

    The Triple Entente was a 20th-century alliance between France, Britain, and Russia, serving as a critical counterbalance to the Triple Alliance
  • Bosnian Crisis

    Bosnian Crisis

    The Bosnian Crisis, also known as the Annexation Crisis or the First Balkan Crisis, erupted on 5 October 1908 when Austria-Hungary announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, territories formerly within the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire but under Austro-Hungarian administration since 1878.
  • Period: to

    Balkan Wars

    The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkan states in 1912 and 1913.
  • Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

    Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

    On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie were assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, by 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Serbian nationalist group The Black Hand.