World History Timeline

Timeline

331 events

15th century

  1. May 30, 1431★★★★★

    Joan of Arc burned at Rouen

    Captured and tried by a pro-English church court, Joan of Arc is burned at the stake; she was rehabilitated in 1456 and canonized in 1920.

    DeathReligion· France
  2. 1434★★★★★

    Cosimo de' Medici takes control of Florence

    Returning from exile, the banker Cosimo de' Medici becomes the de facto ruler of Florence; the Medici become major patrons of Renaissance art.

    PoliticsArt· Italy
  3. 1436★★★★★

    Dome of Florence Cathedral completed

    Filippo Brunelleschi's dome for Florence Cathedral is completed, an emblematic engineering feat of the Renaissance.

    ArtTechnology· Italy
  5. May 29, 1453★★★★★

    Fall of Constantinople

    Ottoman forces under Sultan Mehmed II capture Constantinople, ending the Byzantine Empire.

    WarDynasty· Turkey
  6. October 19, 1469★★★★★

    Marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella

    The marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile later unites their crowns, laying the foundation of a unified Spain.

    DynastyPolitics· Spain
  7. 1480★★★★★

    Great Stand on the Ugra River

    Ivan III of Moscow faces down the Great Horde, which withdraws; traditionally seen as the end of Tatar overlordship in Russia.

    WarPolitics· Russia
  8. August 22, 1485★★★★★

    Battle of Bosworth Field

    Henry Tudor defeats and kills Richard III, taking the throne as Henry VII and founding the Tudor dynasty, effectively ending the Wars of the Roses.

    WarDynasty· United Kingdom
  9. 1488★★★★★

    Bartolomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope

    The Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa, proving the Indian Ocean could be reached by sea.

    Exploration· South Africa, Portugal
  10. January 2, 1492★★★★★

    Fall of Granada ends the Reconquista

    Emir Muhammad XII surrenders to Ferdinand and Isabella, ending the last Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula.

    WarReligion· Spain
  12. April 8, 1492★★★★★

    Death of Lorenzo de' Medici

    Lorenzo "the Magnificent", ruler of Florence and patron of artists such as Botticelli and Michelangelo, dies.

    DeathArt· Italy
  13. June 7, 1494★★★★★

    Treaty of Tordesillas

    Spain and Portugal agree to divide newly found lands outside Europe along a meridian in the Atlantic.

    TreatyExploration· Spain, Portugal
  14. July 8, 1497 – May 20, 1498★★★★★

    Vasco da Gama sails from Europe to India

    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.

    ExplorationEconomy· Portugal, South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, India
  15. c. 15th century – c. 1860s★★★★★

    The transatlantic slave trade

    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.

    Economy· Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Senegal, Angola, Brazil, United States, Portugal, United Kingdom
  16. April 22, 1500★★★★★

    Cabral reaches Brazil

    A Portuguese fleet under Pedro Álvares Cabral reaches the coast of Brazil, beginning Portugal's claim to and colonization of the land.

    Exploration· Brazil, Portugal

16th century

  1. c. 1503★★★★★

    Leonardo begins the Mona Lisa

    Leonardo da Vinci begins painting the Mona Lisa in Florence, which later becomes the world's most famous painting.

    Art· Italy
  3. October 31, 1517★★★★★

    Luther's Ninety-five Theses

    Martin Luther publishes his Ninety-five Theses against indulgences, sparking the Protestant Reformation.

    Religion· Germany
  4. 1520 – 1566★★★★★

    Reign of Suleiman the Magnificent

    Suleiman I rules the Ottoman Empire at the height of its territorial, legal and cultural power.

    DynastyPolitics· Turkey
  6. 1543★★★★★

    Copernicus publishes heliocentric theory

    Nicolaus Copernicus's On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres is printed, placing the Sun at the centre and launching the Scientific Revolution.

    Science· Poland, Germany
  8. December 13, 1545 – December 4, 1563★★★★★

    Council of Trent

    An ecumenical council of the Catholic Church meets at Trent, reaffirming Catholic doctrine and launching the Counter-Reformation in response to Protestantism.

    Religion· Italy
  9. 1547★★★★★

    Ivan IV crowned first Tsar of All Russia

    Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) is crowned in Moscow with the title of Tsar, marking the beginning of the Tsardom of Russia.

    DynastyPolitics· Russia
  10. 1564★★★★★

    Birth of William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare, the most celebrated playwright and poet in the English language, is born in Stratford-upon-Avon.

    BirthCultureArt· United Kingdom
  11. 1568 – 1648★★★★★

    Eighty Years' War (Dutch Revolt)

    The Dutch provinces revolt against Spanish rule; the war ends with Spain recognising the independence of the Dutch Republic.

    WarRevolution· Netherlands, Belgium, Spain
  13. October 7, 1571★★★★★

    Battle of Lepanto

    The fleet of the Holy League, formed by Spain, Venice and the Papacy, defeats the Ottoman navy in the Gulf of Patras.

    War· Greece, Spain, Italy, Turkey
  14. August 24, 1572★★★★★

    St. Bartholomew's Day massacre

    Thousands of Huguenot Protestants are killed in Paris and other French cities during the French Wars of Religion.

    ReligionWar· France
  15. October 15, 1582★★★★★

    Gregorian calendar introduced

    The Gregorian calendar takes effect in Catholic countries: Julian 4 October 1582 is followed by 15 October.

    ScienceReligion· Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland
  16. August 8, 1588★★★★★

    Defeat of the Spanish Armada

    The Armada sent by Philip II to invade England is defeated by the English navy at the Battle of Gravelines and scattered during its retreat.

    War· United Kingdom, Spain
  17. April 13, 1598★★★★★

    Edict of Nantes

    King Henry IV issues an edict granting substantial religious rights to the Huguenots, ending the French Wars of Religion.

    ReligionPolitics· France
  18. December 31, 1600★★★★★

    English East India Company chartered

    Queen Elizabeth I grants a royal charter to the East India Company, which later comes to rule much of the Indian subcontinent.

    EconomyPolitics· United Kingdom, India

17th century

  1. 1605★★★★★

    First part of Don Quixote published

    Miguel de Cervantes publishes the first part of Don Quixote, often regarded as one of the first modern novels.

    CultureArt· Spain
  2. 1609★★★★★

    Kepler publishes Astronomia nova

    Johannes Kepler publishes Astronomia nova, stating his first two laws of planetary motion, including elliptical orbits.

    Science· Czechia, Germany
  3. January 7, 1610★★★★★

    Galileo discovers the moons of Jupiter

    Observing with his own telescope, Galileo Galilei discovers the moons of Jupiter, publishing them in Sidereus Nuncius in 1610 in support of heliocentrism.

    Science· Italy
  5. April 23, 1616★★★★★

    Death of William Shakespeare

    Shakespeare dies in Stratford-upon-Avon, leaving some 39 plays and 154 sonnets.

    DeathCultureArt· United Kingdom
  6. 1618 – 1648★★★★★

    Thirty Years' War

    Beginning with a revolt in Bohemia, the conflict spreads across Central Europe, drawing in the major European powers and causing enormous loss of life.

    WarReligion· Germany, Czechia, Austria, Sweden, France, Spain, Denmark, Netherlands
  8. 1642 – 1651★★★★★

    English Civil War

    A series of conflicts between the Royalists of Charles I and the Parliamentarians, ending in victory for Parliament under Oliver Cromwell.

    WarRevolution· United Kingdom, Ireland
  9. January 8, 1642★★★★★

    Death of Galileo Galilei

    Galileo dies at Arcetri near Florence, where he had been under house arrest since his trial by the Inquisition in 1633.

    DeathScience· Italy
  10. December 25, 1642★★★★★

    Birth of Isaac Newton

    Isaac Newton, founder of classical mechanics and co-inventor of calculus, is born at Woolsthorpe, England.

    BirthScience· United Kingdom
  11. October 24, 1648★★★★★

    Peace of Westphalia

    The treaties of Westphalia end the Thirty Years' War and lay foundations for the modern concept of state sovereignty.

    Treaty· Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, France
  12. January 30, 1649★★★★★

    Execution of Charles I

    Convicted of high treason, King Charles I is beheaded at Whitehall, London, and England becomes a republic.

    PoliticsDeathRevolution· United Kingdom
  14. May 29, 1660★★★★★

    Stuart Restoration

    The monarchy is restored in England, Scotland and Ireland as Charles II returns to London to take the throne.

    PoliticsDynasty· United Kingdom
  15. September 2, 1666 – September 6, 1666★★★★★

    Great Fire of London

    A fire starting in a bakery on Pudding Lane destroys much of the medieval City of London, including Old St Paul's Cathedral.

    Disaster· United Kingdom
  16. 1676★★★★★

    Leeuwenhoek observes microorganisms

    Using microscopes of his own making, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek describes single-celled organisms in water and reports them to the Royal Society.

    Science· Netherlands
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