A Timeline Of
World Events
c. 1321
Dante completes his epic poem the Divine Comedy
1337
The Hundred Years’ War between England and France begins
1347-1351
The Black Death sweeps through Europe
1387
Geoffrey Chaucer begins writing Canterbury Tales
1429
Joan of Arc leads the French army to victory against the English
1453
The Fall of
Constantinople causes Byzantine scholars to flee to western Europe
c. 1455
Joan of Arc leads the French army to victory against the EnglishGutenberg Bible is published
1469
Lorenzo de’Medici takes over power in Florence
1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the Bahamas
c. 1503
Da Vinci starts painting the Mona Lisa
1508
Michelangelo begins painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
1513
Juan Ponce de Leon lands in Florida, where he encounters the Calusa people
1517
Martin Luther posts his Ninety-five Theses as the Reformation movement begins
1520
The Ottoman Empire begins expanding into parts of Europe, Middle East, Asia, and North Africa
1527
The Sack of Rome marks the end of the Italian Renaissance
1533
King Henry VIII of England secretly marries Anne Boleyn
1543
Nicolaus Copernicus publishes his heliocentric theory
1545
The first session of the Council of Trent begins
c. 1562
Potatoes are brought to Europe for the first time
1582
Pope Gregory XIII introduces the Gregorian Calendar
1599
The Globe Theatre is built in London
1608
Hans Lippershey patents the telescope
1619
The Black Death sweeps through EuropeTwenty captive Africans arrive in Virginia as part of the transatlantic slave trade
1665-1666
The Great Plague of London kills about 100,000 people in the city
1687
Isaac Newton publishes Principia as the Age of Enlightenment begins