| c. 1390 |
Geoffrey Chaucer wrote "The Canterbury
Tales" |
| 1415 |
King Henry V of England defeated the
French at the Battle of Agincourt, allowing the English to gain control of much
of France |
| 1429 |
Joan of Arc was "called" by saints'
voices to help the Dauphin become King of France |
| 1455 |
Gutenberg Bible published |
| 1481 |
Beginnings of the Spanish
Inquisition |
| 1492 |
Columbus discovers Watling Island, Cuba,
and Haiti |
| 1503-1506 |
Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa |
| 1507 |
Martin Luther ordained |
| 1510 |
Leonardo da Vinci designs horizontal
water wheel |
| 1512 |
Copernicus declares that the Earth
revolves around the Sun; Michelangelo finishes work on Sistine Chapel |
| 1513 |
Ponce de Leon discovers Florida |
| 1519 |
Hernando Cortes is received by the Aztec
ruler Montezuma; Ferdinand Magellan begins his circumnavigation of the
globe |
| 1520 |
Suleiman I becomes Sultan of Turkey |
| 1533 |
King Henry VIII marries Ann Boleyn and is
excommunicated by the Pope |
| 1535 |
Sir Thomas More is tried for treason and
executed for not declaring support for the King's actions |
| 1542 |
Mary, Queen of Scots, ascends the
throne |
| 1545 |
Council of Trent meets to discuss the
Reformation and the Counter-Reformation |
| 1547 |
Nostradamus makes the first of his
predictions |
| 1553 |
Mary I becomes Queen of England after the
Lady Jane Grey is deposed |
| 1558 |
Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England |
| 1561 |
The Edict of Orleans suspends persecution
of Huguenots |
| 1562 |
Plague in Paris |
| 1563 |
General outbreak of plague in Europe |
| 1565 |
Knights of St. John defend Malta from the
Turks |
| 1573 |
Peace of Constantinople ends the war
between Turks and Venice |
| 1580 |
Francis Drake returns to England from
voyage of circumnavigation |
| 1582 |
Jesuit mission founded in China |
| 1584 |
Sir Walter Raleigh discovers
Virginia |
| 1587 |
Mary, Queen of Scots, executed for
treason against Queen Elizabeth I |
| 1592 |
Plague in London |
| 1593 |
Henry IV becomes a Roman Catholic |
