-
Peter The Great is Born
Peter the Great was born on May 30, 1672 in Moscow, Russia (Moscow 73). Peter was given the real name of Pyotr Alekseyevich. He was the fourteenth child of Czar Alexis by his second wife, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina (Biography.com Editors). Peter went on to be one of the most remarkable leaders of Russia. He was most known for the reforms he made and the westernization of Russia. -
First Protozoa Observed Continued
(The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). -
First Protozoa Observed
Dutch scientist, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, dedicated much of his time to creating and looking through microscopes. Leeuwenhoek's hobby of grinding lenses and then using them to study very small items resulted in him being considered a very important microscopist. In 1674 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was said to observe the first protozoa. Protozoans are small organisms that are usually single celled and often looked at under microscopes. This was a crucial discovery for the science of protozoology -
Peter Takes the Throne With his Brother
After Tsar Fyodor III, son of Tsar Alexis by his first wife, Mariya Ilinichna Miloslavskaya, died in 1682, Peter was named tsar. Since Peter was the son of Tsar Alexis and his second wife, that upset the Miloslavskaya family. Sophia, daughter of Tsar Alexis and his first wife, confronted the sovereign's bodyguard demanded that her brother, Ivan, become tsar. Three days after Sophia made her argument for the Miloslavskaya family to stay in power, Ivan and Peter were named co-rulers of Russia. -
Peter Takes the Throne With His Brother Continued
Ivan was named the senior tsar. On June 25, 1682 the boys were officially crowned, and Sophia also became regent (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). -
Newton's Three Laws of Motion Published
Isaac Newton, an English scientist can be considered one of the most important people and thinkers of all time. Newton made many discoveries in the fields of mathematics and physics. In 1687, Newton published his three laws of motion, in his work, "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica" (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy). Isaac Newton had come up with three laws that described how massive bodies acted under the influence of external forces. -
Newton's Three Laws of Motion Published Part Two
The first law of motion says, "A body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will remain in motion unless it is acted upon by an external force." This law can also be known as the law of inertia. Newton's second law of motion states, "The force acting on an object is equal to the mass of that object times its acceleration." The third and last law says, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." These laws were revolutionary and set the basis for physics (Lucas). -
Port Royal Earthquake
On June 7, 1692 thousands of people in Jamaica were killed due to a massive earthquake. The earthquake occurred in the town of Port Royal. Port royal was known all over the world for its piracy and smuggling and was considered very sinful. Earthquakes were not uncommon here but tended to be on the smaller side. Since Port Royal was off the coast of Jamaica, most of its buildings were constructed over water. On the day of June 7, most of the buildings collapsed or sunk into the ground. -
Port Royal Earthquake Continued
Everywhere in Jamaica had experienced tragedy on this date. On the main island, Spanish Town was demolished. On the north side 50 people were killed due to a landslide. In total on June 7, 1692 3,000 people were killed. Even after this day, thousands more died due to injury and sickness. The survivors were not inspired to rebuild Port Royal so instead they built a city and named it Kingston. Today, Kingston is the largest city in Jamaica (History.com Staff). -
College of William and Mary Chartered Continued
The College of William and Mary also became the first school to become a university and also had the first law school in America. This college has a very close connection with America, considering it educated very important people of the country (History & Traditions). -
College of William and Mary Chartered
The charter for the second oldest college in America was singed on February 8, 1693 by King William III and Queen Mary II of England. They signed the charter for this school to be founded in the Virginia Colony. The College of William and Mary is very important to the country of America. Founding fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson received their education from the College of William and Mary. Presidents, Tyler and James Monroe also received their education here. -
Peter Named Sovereign of Russia
From 1682 to 1696 Peter had jointly ruled with his half brother Ivan. When Ivan died in 1696 Peter was named the Sovereign of all Russia. When Peter was given this role, Russia was seen as a very undeveloped country. Russia had rejected westernization and was isolated from modernization. Russia was seen as significantly different than everywhere else in Europe. However, Peter would go on to make great changes to make Russia a strong country (Biography.com editors). -
Peter Seizes the Port City of Azov
Peter was very determined to capture Azov from the Crimean Tatar vassals of Turkey. Russia's first campaign to capture the city of Azov ended unsuccessfully but Peter was not at all discouraged or unconfident. Peter built a fleet at Voronezh to sail down the Don River. Then finally in 1696 Azov was captured. To go along with the capturing of Azov, the Russian city of Taganrog was founded and the building of a large Russian navy was started (Leonid Alekseyevich Nikiforov). -
Peter Embarks on the Grand Embassy
One year after becoming the sole ruler of Russia, Peter the Great embarked on the "Grand Embassy." This was a long visit to western Europe. Peter wanted to learn European customs and industrial techniques. He brought 200 servants and 55 boyars along with him. Peter tried to keep his identity secret but was later identified. Before coming home Peter also stopped in England and Austria. His trip to western Europe inspired Peter's goal of westernization for the country of Russia. -
Peter Embarks on the Grand Embassy Continued
Peter used these ideas from Europe to make changes to make Russia stronger. Peter made many reforms to the country. Peter modernized the army, limited the power of the church, introduced potatoes, started the first newspaper, improved the status of women, and increased education. Peter strengthened his country by westernizing and modernizing his country in many ways (Beck 532-533). -
Great Northern War Begins Continued
St. Petersburg and the port city of Kronstadt were founded by Peter during that time (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). -
Great Northern War Begins
The Great Northern War or otherwise known as the Second Northern war started in 1700. This was a military conflict between the neighboring states of Sweden, against Sweden. The states were Russia, Denmark-Norway, and Saxony-Poland. They were all challenging the supremacy of Sweden in the Baltic area. Peter the Great had led this coalition. After the war started, Russia led by Peter the Great, used the time to organize their army and to establish themselves on the eastern Baltic coast. -
First Piano Invented Continued
This invention played a huge role in the history of music. Cristofori created a great instrument that is still played very much, today. -
First Piano Invented
In 1702, an Italian harpsichord maker, named Bartolomeo Cristofori, invented the first piano. It was called gravicembalo col piano e forte, or “harpsichord that plays soft and loud.” That refers to the piano’s ability to change loudness according to the amount of pressure on the keys, a unique quality to the harpsichord. He replaced the plucking mechanism with a hammer action that made it possible to strike the strings with greater or lesser force (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). -
St. Petersburg Founded
Peter wanted a seaport that would make it easier to travel to the West. So, Peter fought Sweden to gain a piece of the Baltic coast. After 21 years of fighting Peter had finally gotten the land he desired. In 1703 Peter the Great began to build a new city on Swedish lands that were occupied by Russian troops. The site was very swampy but Peter loved it because ships could sail down the Neva River into the Baltic Sea and on to western Europe. -
St. Petersburg Founded Continued
Peter named the city St. Petersburg, after his patron saint. In the summer, many serfs were forced to come and work on St. Petersburg due to the hard job on hand. In result of terrible working conditions and widespread disease, around 25,000-100,000 people died. St. Petersburg was named the new capital of Russia. Peter forced many nobles to leave Moscow to come live in the new built capital (Beck 535). -
Period: to
Turkish War Continued
Azov was given to the Turks in Result. After this war with Turkey, Peter the Great and his military were highly focused on winning the war against Sweden (Leonid Alekseyevich Nikiforov). -
Period: to
Turkish War
During the Great Northern War, Turkey had declared war on Russia. During the summer of 1711 Peter marched against the Turks through Bessarabia into Moldavia, but he was surrounded, along with his forces, on the Prut River. Peter was very eager to seek peace and he became very lucky when the Turkish negotiators, negotiated with very light terms. Russia just had to sacrifice Azov back to turkey. Soon after the Turkish government renewed hostilities but the Peace of Adrianople was ended in 1713. -
Atmospheric Steam Engine Invented
The atmospheric steam engine was created by Thomas Newcomen. Newcomen was a British engineer and inventor. Thomas Newcomen was an ironmonger at Dartmouth who became aware of the high cost of using the power of horses to pump water out of the Cornish tin mines. Newcomen had the help of a plumber and experimented with a steam pump for 10 years. In his engine, atmospheric pressure pushed the piston down after the condensation of steam had created a vacuum in the cylinder. -
Atmospheric Steam Engine Invented Continued
The first recored engine of Newcomen was recorded in 1712. This steam engine played a big role in industry and tech technology(The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). -
End of Great Northern War
The Great Northern war had finally come to an end in 1721. After 21 years of fighting, this conflict had finally concluded. Swedish influence had finally declined in the Baltic area. Resulting from the war, Russia became a major power in the area. On September 10, 1721 the Treaty of Nystad had been issued by Sweden and Russia to stop fighting. Sweden gave up Ingria, Estonia, Livonia, and a strip of Finnish Karelia to Russia (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). -
Peter The Great Passes Away
The legacy of Peter the Great came to an end on January 28, 1725 when he passed away in St. Petersburg (Peter I). Peter had accomplished so much for the country of Russia. Peter helped westernize the country by making all of his reforms. He created the new capital city of St. Petersburg for the country. Peter led Russia to some victories in battle, also. All of these things that Peter did for Russia are just reasons to why he earned the name, "Peter the Great."
