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1524
Verrazano found Hudson River
The strait that leads to the Hudson Bay is also named after Henry Hudson. It is called the Hudson Strait. Henry Hudson failed to find the passage to the Orient, but he discovered New York City, the Hudson River, the Hudson Strait, and the Hudson Bay. -
Period: 1562 to
The Wars of Religions
The French Wars of Religion refers to the period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease directly caused by the conflict, and it severely damaged the power of the French monarchy. -
1581
St. Edmund Campion martyred
St Edmund Campion SJ was martyred on 1st December 1581. 1st December is the day on which his Feast is celebrated in the British Province of the Society of Jesus. St Edmund Campion is regarded as patron of the British Jesuit Province and his feast day is marked in Jesuit communities, parishes and schools. -
Period: to
Walter Raleigh established Roanoke Colony (Virginia)
The Roanoke Colonies were an ambitious attempt by England's Sir Walter Raleigh to establish a permanent North American settlement to harass Spanish shipping, mining for gold and silver, discovering a passage to the Pacific Ocean, and Christianizing the Indians. -
St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church, obtained a priest
On the very day, his father gave his consent, Francis put on ecclesiastical dress and three weeks later took minor orders. Six months afterward, on December 18, 1593, at the age of twenty-six, he was ordained priest by the bishop of Geneva in the parish church of Thornes. Despite his wealthy background, Francis always thought it was more important to serve God than to have money or power. -
Death of Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I died on 24 March 1603 at the age of 69 after a reign of 45 years. Many now believe she died of blood poisoning, but a post-mortem at the time wasn't permitted. -
First Charter of Virginia
In 1606 King James I granted a charter to the Virginia Company to establish a commercial settlement in North America. -
Jamestown Colony settled (Virginia)
In 1607, 104 English men and boys arrived in North America to start a settlement. On May 13 they picked Jamestown, Virginia for their settlement, which was named after their King, James I. The settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America. -
Period: to
Henry Hudson, Dutch settled (Virginia)
Henry Hudson (with his son John) made his first known voyage in 1607 in the Hopewell, with a crew of 12. The voyage was associated with Sir Thomas Smythe, a leading figure in the East India Company. It was an attempt to find a passage through the Arctic, over the North Pole, to Asia. -
Roanoke Colony found deserted
John White, the governor of the Roanoke Island colony in present-day North Carolina, returns from a supply-trip to England to find the settlement deserted. White and his men found no trace of the 100 or so colonists he left behind, and there was no sign of violence. -
Period: to
Jonathan Kepler announced his laws of Planetary Motion
Kepler published his first two laws about planetary motion in 1609, having found them by analyzing the astronomical observations of Tycho Brahe. Kepler's third law was published in 1619. -
St. Jane Frances de Chantal founded Congregation of the Visitation
The Congregation of the Visitation was canonically established at Annecy on Trinity Sunday, 6 June 1610. Chantal had previously made over her wealth to her children, so the circumstances of the group were rather poor. The order accepted women who were rejected by other orders because of poor health or age. -
Galileo Galilei began looking at a the skies with telescope
Probably the most significant contribution that Galileo Galilei made to science was the discovery of the four satellites around Jupiter that are now named in his honor. Galileo first observed the moons of Jupiter on January 7, 1610, through a homemade telescope. -
Period: to
King Louis XIII
Louis XIII successfully led the important Siege of La Rochelle. In addition, Louis had the port of Le Havre modernized, and he built a powerful navy. Louis also worked to reverse the trend of promising French artists leaving for Italy to work and study. -
King James Bible completed
He appointed six committees, totaling 54 scholars, to prepare the new translation, using previous English Bible translation work, and using the best Hebrew, Greek, and Latin texts and manuscripts. The completed King James Version was first published in 1611. -
Period: to
Thirty Year's War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. The war was traditionally viewed as a continuation of the religious conflict initiated by the 16th-century Reformation within the Holy Roman Empire. -
First slaves brought to America
In late August 1619, 20-30 enslaved Africans landed aboard the English privateer ship White Lion at Point Comfort, today's Fort Monroe in Hampton. In Virginia, these Africans were traded in exchange for supplies. Several days later, a second ship (Treasurer) arrived in Virginia with additional enslaved Africans. -
Mayflower arrived, Plymouth Colony, Mayflower Compact
Mayflower Compact, a document signed on the English ship Mayflower on November 21, 1620, before its landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was the first framework of government written and enacted in the territory that is now the United States of America. -
First Thanksgiving celebrated with Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people
Following a successful harvest in the autumn of 1621, the colonists decided to celebrate with a three-day festive of prayer. The 53 surviving are said to have eaten with 90 indigenous people in what became known as the first Thanksgiving. -
Dutch West India Company founded "New Amsterdam" New York
The colony of New Netherlands was established by the Dutch West India Company in 1624 and grew to encompass all of present-day New York City and parts of Long Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey. A successful Dutch settlement in the colony grew up on the southern tip of Manhattan Island and was christened New Amsterdam. -
St. Vincent de Paul established the Congregation of the Mission
Vincent de Paul founded the Congregation of the Mission in 1625 in Paris, France. He brought to the mission a passion for serving the poor. That same passion endures today. -
Puritans arrived, established Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony, one of the original English settlements in present-day Massachusetts, was settled in 1630 by a group of about 1,000 Puritan refugees from England under Gov. John Winthrop and Deputy Gov. Thomas Dudley. -
King Charles I of England grants Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, charter of Maryland
King Charles I granted this charter to Cecil Calvert, Second Baron Baltimore, to establish a haven for Catholics in North America. The colony was named after Princess Henrietta Maria, Catholic wife of Charles. -
The "Ark" and "Dove" land at Maryland
The ship Ark and the Pinnace Dove set sail from Cowes, Isle of Wight, England on November 22, 1633. They first landed at St. Clément's (now Blakiston) Island on March 23, 1634. -
Maryland established as Catholic colony
The colony of Maryland was founded so that the English Catholics could have a place to live where they could escape the toleration of the English monarchy. -
René Descartes published Meditations on First Philosophy
Descartes develops his most famous arguments about the nature of the mind and the body, the challenge of proving the existence of the external world, and some novel proofs for the existence of God. The Meditations on First Philosophy is characterized by Descartes's use of methodic doubt, a systematic procedure of rejecting as though false all types of belief in which one has ever been, or could ever be, deceived. -
Virginia Act against Catholics & priests
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Period: to
King Louis XVI, the Sun King
Louis XIV ruled France from 1643 to 1715, a staggering 72 years, much longer than any monarch in Europe at the time. He gave himself the nickname of the “Sun King” because he believed he was like the sun to France. He believed he was chosen by God to rule and that everything revolved around him. -
Massachusetts passed Anti-Priest Law
On May 26, 1647, a law was enacted to ban Catholic priests from Massachusetts. The penalty was banishment, and for a repeat offense, it was death. This law from 369 years ago was not highly effective. Threats of being hanged did not exactly faze Catholics in the region—they still found their way into parts of Massachusetts and around New England. -
Blaise Pascal wrote Pensées
Pensées is a collection of reflections on human nature, religion, and philosophy by the French mathematician and religious thinker Blaise Pascal. Consisting of nearly 1000 notes and manuscript fragments intended for a treatise defending Christianity, the work remained unfinished at Pascal's premature death in 1662. -
Maryland Act of Religious Toleration
The Maryland Toleration Act of 1649 ensured religious freedoms to Christian settlers of different denominations who settled in Maryland. Lawmakers hoped that it made Maryland a more desirable location for immigration and was the first law to protect religious freedom in the Thirteen Colonies. -
King Charles I executed
The execution of Charles I, the king of England, Scotland, and Ireland, occurred on Tuesday, 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall, London. -
Puritans took over government on Maryland
Under the authority of the English Parliament, Puritans seized control of Maryland. These new overseers, staunch Reformed Protestants, were not friendly toward Catholicism. They immediately repealed the Toleration Act and banned Catholics from openly worshiping. -
Period: to
Louis XIV began construction of Versailles
He became so fond of the place that, in 1661 shortly after the death of his First Minister, he undertook major works on it. Louis shifted the seat of the French government away from the feuding, gossiping, trouble-making noble families in Paris. He had the whole palace and its massive gardens built along an East/West axis so the sun would rise and set in alignment with his home. -
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque received revaltion of the Twelve Promises of the Sacred Heart
Christ told Sister Margaret Mary to promote a feast that honored his Sacred Heart. He also gave Sister Margaret Mary 12 promises made to all who venerated and promoted the devotion of the Sacred Heart. These visions continued for 18 months, but when Margaret told her superior, she did not believe her. -
Period: to
King Philip's War
King Philip's War - Definition, Cause & Significance
King Philip's War also known as the First Indian War, the Great Narragansett War, or Metacom's Rebellion took place in southern New England from 1675 to 1676. It was the Native Americans' last-ditch effort to avoid recognizing English authority and stop English settlement on their native lands. -
St. Jean Baptism de La Salle founded Brothers of the Christian Schools
The Brothers of the Christian Schools was founded in 1680 by Jean Baptist de La Salle, the Patron Saint of Teachers. De La Salle hailed from a wealthy family in Reims, France, and earned a doctorate in theology. -
William Penn founded Pennsylvania
William Penn founded the Province of Pennsylvania, the British North American colony that became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The democratic principles that he set forth served as an inspiration for the United States Constitution. -
Period: to
Peter the Great - Tsar of Russia
Peter the Great modernized Russia which, at the start of his rule, had greatly lagged behind the Western countries and transformed it into a major power. Through his numerous reforms, Russia made incredible progress in the development of its economy and trade, education, science and culture, and foreign policy. -
Religious toleration granted for all Christians in New York
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Battle of Vienna
The siege of Vienna was an expedition by the Ottomans against the Habsburg Holy Roman emperor Leopold I that resulted in their defeat by a combined force led by John III Sobieski of Poland. The lifting of the siege marked the beginning of the end of Ottoman domination in Eastern Europe -
Isaac Newton announced his "Law of Gravitation"
Newton's law of gravitation, statement that any particle of matter in the universe attracts any other with a force varying directly as the product of the masses and inversely as the square of the distance between them. -
Massachusetts & New York evicted Catholic priest at threat of death or imprisonment
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Period: to
Queen Anne's War
The war broke out in 1701 and was primarily a conflict between French, Spanish, and English colonists for control of the North American continent while the War of the Spanish Succession was being fought in Europe. Each side was allied with various Indigenous communities. -
Benjamin Franklin founded first public library
In 1731, Ben Franklin and others founded the first such library, the Library Company of Philadelphia. The initial collection of the Library of Congress was in ashes after the British burned it during the War of 1812. The library bought Thomas Jefferson's vast collection in 1815 and used that as a foundation to rebuild. -
George Washington is born
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia, United States -
St. Alphonsus Liguori founded The Redemptorist
St. Alphonsus Liguori founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer to follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ announcing the Good News to the poor. He was 36 years old. His life became one of mission and service to the most abandoned. -
"Great Awakening" religious movement began
The First Great Awakening was a period when spirituality and religious devotion were revived. This feeling swept through the American colonies between the 1730s and 1770s. The revival of Protestant beliefs was part of a much broader movement that was taking place in England, Scotland, and Germany at that time. -
Thomas Jefferson is born
Thomas Jefferson was born April 13, 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia, United States -
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Seven Years War between Britain and France
The Seven Years' War was a conflict between France and Great Britain that began in 1754 as a dispute over North American land claims in the region around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This conflict eventually spread into other parts of the world, including Europe, Africa, and Asia. -
Period: to
French & Indian War
The American Indians were fighting to maintain control of their land and their cultural future. The French claimed the Upper Ohio River Valley. They wanted to trade with the American Indians and control the area. The British also claimed the Upper Ohio River Valley. -
St. Marie Marguerite D'Youville founded the Sisters of Charity
D'Youville was the founder of the Sisters of Charity of the Hôpital Général de Montréal, also known as the Grey Nuns. She was the first Canadian-born saint, canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1990. St Marguerite d'Youville, the foundress of the Sisters of Charity, was the first candidate for sainthood born in Canada. -
Period: to
Seven Years War
The Seven Years' War was a conflict between France and Great Britain that began in 1754 as a dispute over North American land claims in the region around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This conflict eventually spread into other parts of the world, including Europe, Africa, and Asia. -
Fall of Quebec to the British
Battle of Quebec Begins when British and American troops established a foothold on the Isle of Orleans downstream from Quebec in June 1759. Three months later, on September 13, 1759, the British under General James Wolfe achieved a dramatic victory when they scaled the cliffs over the city of Quebec. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France, as well as their respective allies. In the terms of the treaty, France gave up all its territories in mainland North America, effectively ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France, as well as their respective allies. In the terms of the treaty, France gave up all its territories in mainland North America, effectively ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there. -
St. John Vianney born
John Vianney, a humble parish priest, is regarded by the Church as one of its great figures simply because he was faithful. John Vianney was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925. He is the only diocesan priest ever to be canonized. He is the patron saint of clergy throughout -
France declared war on Britain
War of the Grand Alliance, also called War of the League of Augsburg, (1689–97), was the third major war of Louis XIV of France, in which his expansionist plans were blocked by an alliance led by England, the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and the Austrian Habsburgs.