Michelangelo paints the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel ceiling in the Vatican, including The Creation of Adam.
Leonardo da Vinci begins painting the Mona Lisa in Florence, which later becomes the world's most famous painting.
From the 16th to the 19th century, an estimated 12.5 million enslaved Africans were shipped across the Atlantic to the Americas, with profound consequences for both continents.
A Portuguese fleet under Pedro Álvares Cabral reaches the coast of Brazil, beginning Portugal's claim to and colonization of the land.
Martin Luther publishes his Ninety-five Theses against indulgences, sparking the Protestant Reformation.
Vasco da Gama's fleet left Lisbon, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, sailed up the East African coast and reached Calicut, opening a direct sea route between Europe and Asia.
Suleiman I rules the Ottoman Empire at the height of its territorial, legal and cultural power.