-
Aug 22, 1485
Richard III is killed in battle
He lost his life in the Battle of Bosworth; he was defeated by Henry Tudor, who would later become King Henry VII.
Richard III has been portrayed as a brutal, cold-hearted villain. Since then, many famous actors have played him on stage and in films, including Laurence Olivier and Al Pacino. -
Period: Aug 22, 1485 to
Political and Social Events
These events concern things such the establishments of settlements, the crowning of nobles, and the times in which eras come to an end. Also, these events portray changes in politics that change countries and discusses the first person to reach America. -
Oct 21, 1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas
During his first voyage in 1492, instead of reaching Japan as he had intended, Columbus landed in the Bahamas, at a place he named San Salvador. Over the course of three more voyages, Columbus visited the Greater and Lesser Antilles, as well as the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Central America, claiming them for the Spanish Empire. -
Oct 21, 1503
Leonardo da Vinci paints the 'Mona Lisa'
The 'Mona Lisa' is a half-length portrait of a woman.Thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo,and is believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506. -
Jan 1, 1516
Thomas More's "Utopia" is published
Utopia contrasts the social life of European states with the perfectly ordered, some take the novel's main message to be the social need for order and discipline rather than liberty. -
Period: Jan 1, 1516 to
Literary Events
Literary events that happened. All of these events were related to literature in one aspect or another From book, newpaper, and sonnet publishings;to the birth of famous men in literature;to the "birth" of works and famous structures. -
Oct 21, 1543
With the Supremacy Act, Henry VIII proclaims himself head of the Church of England
Henry had broken away from the Roman Catholic Church, seized the church's assets in England and declared the Church of England as the established church. The Act of Supremacy of 1534 confirmed the King's status as having rule over the church and required the nobility to swear an oath recognising Henry's supremacy. -
Nov 17, 1558
Elizabeth I becomes queen of England
Elizabeth's reign is known as the Elizabethan era, famous for the English drama, and seafaring of English adventurers. Towards the end of her reign, a series of economic and military problems weakened her popularity. -
Apr 23, 1564
William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is born
Church records indicate that William Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564. It is believed he was born on or near April 23, 1564. William was the third child of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden Shakespeare. -
Globe Theatre is built in London
William Shakespeare and his business partners built their own theater on the south bank of the Thames River which was the place that many plays and small acts were put on for audiences of all sorts. From royalty to peasants. -
Shakespeare writes "King Lear" and "Macbeth"
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare.It has been widely adapted for the stage and motion pictures,and the role of Lear has been played by many of the world's most accomplished actors. Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare.It is considered one of his darkest and most powerful tragedies. Over the course of many centuries, the play has attracted some of the most renowned actors to the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. -
First permanent English settlement in North America is established at Jamestown, Virginia
Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" and considered permanent after brief abandonment in 1610, it followed several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Jamestown served as the capital of the colony for 83 years, from 1616 until 1699 -
Shakespeare's sonnets are published
Thomas Thorpe published a collection of 154 sonnets, dealing with themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality. -
King James Bible is published
Instructions were given by King James to the translators. These were intended to limit the Puritan influence on this new translation after he found two places in the Geneva version that he disagreed with. -
The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts
The first written reference Pilgrims landing on a rock is found 121 years after they landed. The Rock, or one traditionally identified as it, has long been memorialized on the shore of Plymouth Harbor in Plymouth, Massachusetts. -
Newspapers are first published in London
Corante: or, Newes from Italy, Germany, Hungarie, Spaine and France was the first English newspaper. -
John Milton begins "Paradise Lost"
It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674, changed into twelve books with minor revisions throughout and a note on the versification.It is considered by critics to be Milton's "major work", and the work helped to solidify his reputation as one of the greatest English poets of his time. -
Puritan Commonwealth ends; monarchy is restored with Charles II
Actual event by which the monarchy was restored, and the period of several years afterwards where a new political settlement was established. It is very often used to cover the whole reign of Charles II (1660-1685) and often the brief reign of his younger brother James II (1685-1688).
