Jon's Deck Of Everything
Important dates throughout Western civilisation
- First Published
- Tue Feb 01 2022
- Last Published
- Tue Nov 28 2023
- Number of cards
- 172
- Number of dates
- 251
- Number of links
- 63
- Link density
- 78
Science & Mathematics
100
Ptolemy
[Birth]
Ptolemy was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, & geographer who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance to later Byzantine, Islamic, and Western European science. One of his books canonized a geocentric model of the Universe that was accepted for more than 1,200 years until Copernicus.
170
Ptolemy
[Death]
Ptolemy was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, & geographer who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance to later Byzantine, Islamic, and Western European science. One of his books canonized a geocentric model of the Universe that was accepted for more than 1,200 years until Copernicus.
-270
Euclid
[Died (circa)]
His Elements served as the main textbook for teaching mathematics (especially geometry) from the time of its publication until the early 20th century.
1 link-322
Aristotle
[Death]
A Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, and taught Alexander the Great.
5 links-325
Euclid
[Born (circa)]
His Elements served as the main textbook for teaching mathematics (especially geometry) from the time of its publication until the early 20th century.
1 link-384
Aristotle
[Birth]
A Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, and taught Alexander the Great.
5 links-490
Pythagoras
[Death]
Pythagoras influenced Plato, whose dialogues, especially his Timaeus, exhibit Pythagorean teachings.
-550
Pythagoras
[Birth]
Pythagoras influenced Plato, whose dialogues, especially his Timaeus, exhibit Pythagorean teachings.
1088
Bologna university
[Created]
It is the oldest university in continuous operation in the world, and the first degree-awarding institution of higher learning.central role in the sciences during the Italian renaissance. It's alumni include Dante Alighieri, Nicholas Copernicus and Umberto Eco.
1312
Knights Templar
[Dissolved]
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order.
1 link1440
Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press
1543
On The Revolutions Of The Heavenly Spheres
[Published]
The seminal work on the heliocentric theory of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. The book offered an alternative model of the universe to Ptolemy's geocentric system, which had been widely accepted since ancient times.
1 link1596
Descartes
[Birth]
René Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician, scientist who invented analytic geometry, linking the previously separate fields of geometry and algebra. Descartes has often been called the father of modern philosophy, and is largely seen as responsible for the increased attention given to epistemology in the 17th century. He laid the foundation for 17th-century continental rationalism, later advocated by Spinoza and Leibniz, and was later opposed by the empiricist school of thought consisting of Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume.
1610
Galileo Galilei discovers moons of Jupiter
.
1620
Bacon's Inductive Reasoning
[Introduced]
Francis Bacon published a book, Novum Organum, and suggested that a (complex form of) inductive reasoning based on careful, empirical observations. This was influential in the develoment of the scientific method.
1 link1642
Death of Galileo Galilei
Born in Pisa. Saw his middle finger in Florence.
1 link1643
Isaac Newton
[Born]
Isaac Newton was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the greatest mathematicians and physicists and among the most influential scientists of all time. He was a key figure in the philosophical revolution known as the Enlightenment. His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), established classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics, and shares credit with German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz for developing infinitesimal calculus.
2 links1650
Descartes
[Death]
René Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician, scientist who invented analytic geometry, linking the previously separate fields of geometry and algebra. Descartes has often been called the father of modern philosophy, and is largely seen as responsible for the increased attention given to epistemology in the 17th century. He laid the foundation for 17th-century continental rationalism, later advocated by Spinoza and Leibniz, and was later opposed by the empiricist school of thought consisting of Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume.
1660
Royal Society
[Created]
The Royal Society is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles, including promoting science and its benefits. It was granted a royal charter by King Charles II as The Royal Society and is the oldest continuously existing scientific academy in the world.
1676
Bacteria were first observed by Van Leeuwenhoek
Just at the limit of what his simple lenses could make out, and no one else would see them again for over a century.
1687
Newton’s Principia
[Published]
1 link1707
Euler
[Birth]
Leonhard Euler was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician and engineer who founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made pioneering and influential discoveries in many other branches of mathematics such as analytic number theory, complex analysis, and infinitesimal calculus.
1 link1712
Newcomen atmospheric engine
[Start]
The start of the steam era. The engine was operated by condensing steam drawn into the cylinder, thereby creating a partial vacuum which allowed the atmospheric pressure to push the piston into the cylinder. Watt's engine improved the (inefficient) design considerably.
1727
Isaac Newton
[Died]
Isaac Newton was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the greatest mathematicians and physicists and among the most influential scientists of all time. He was a key figure in the philosophical revolution known as the Enlightenment. His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), established classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics, and shares credit with German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz for developing infinitesimal calculus.
2 links1739
A Treatise of Human Nature
[Published]
A Treatise of Human Nature: Being an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning into Moral Subjects is a book by Scottish philosopher David Hume, considered by many to be Hume's most important work and one of the most influential works in the history of philosophy. Impressed by Isaac Newton's achievements in the physical sciences, Hume sought to introduce the same experimental method of reasoning into the study of human psychology, with the aim of discovering the "extent and force of human understanding".
1 link1780
Galvani discovers animal electricity
Italian physician, physicist, biologist and philosopher, who on this date discovered, with his wife, animal electricity - that the muscles of a dead frog’s legs twitch’s when struck by an electrical spark.
1783
Euler
[Death]
Leonhard Euler was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician and engineer who founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made pioneering and influential discoveries in many other branches of mathematics such as analytic number theory, complex analysis, and infinitesimal calculus.
1 link1783
Montgolfier Hot-air Balloon
[First Untethered Flight]
The Montgolfier brothers were aviation pioneers, balloonists and paper manufacturers from the commune Annonay in Ardèche, France - and the first to build a balloon for human flight. One of their demonstrations in this year was made at the royal palace in Versailles, before King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette and a crowd.
1 link1796
Smallpox Vaccine
[Developed]
The smallpox vaccine is the first vaccine to be developed against a contagious disease. On this date, British physician Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with the relatively mild cowpox virus conferred immunity against the deadly smallpox virus. Cowpox served as a natural vaccine until the modern smallpox vaccine emerged in the 20th century. From 1958 to 1977, the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a global vaccination campaign that eradicated smallpox, making it the only human disease to be eradicated.
1 link1822
Louis Pasteur
[Birth]
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the last of which was named after him. His research in chemistry led to remarkable breakthroughs in the understanding of the causes and preventions of diseases, which laid down the foundations of hygiene, public health and much of modern medicine.
2 links1831
James Clerk Maxwell
[Birth]
Responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon.
1 link1859
On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
[Published]
2 links1865
Gregor Mendel's laws of inheritance
[Formulated]
Was an Austrian biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinian friar and abbot. He established many of the rules of heredity, founding the modern science of genetics.
1 link1867
Antiseptic surgery by Joseph Lister
The widespread introduction of antiseptic surgical methods was initiated by the publishing of the paper Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery by Joseph Lister, which was inspired by Louis Pasteur's germ theory of putrefaction. In this paper, Lister advocated the use of carbolic acid (phenol) as a method of ensuring that any germs present were killed.
1876
Four-stroke engine
[Created]
In this year, Otto commercialised the first internal combustion engine - a four-stroke engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft.
2 links1876
The first telephone call
[Made]
On this date, Alexander Graham Bell made the first local telephone call to his assistant, saying "Mr. Watson, come here! I want to see you". He had won the patent, 3 days prior.
2 links1879
Edison Light Bulb
[Invented]
Edison's carbon-filament incandescent light bulbs, the first electric light bulbs, were demonstrated and became commercially available on this date. Tungsten filaments were invented elsewhere 25 years later.
2 links1119
Knights Templar
[Created]
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order.
1 link1879
James Clerk Maxwell
[Death]
Responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon.
1 link1086
Domesday Book
[Created]
The Domesday Book is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales, ordered of King William I. The survey's main purpose was to record the annual value of every piece of landed property to its lord, and the resources in land, manpower, and livestock from which the value derived. It lists 13,418 places and 5,624 mills.
1 link1895
Louis Pasteur
[Death]
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the last of which was named after him. His research in chemistry led to remarkable breakthroughs in the understanding of the causes and preventions of diseases, which laid down the foundations of hygiene, public health and much of modern medicine.
2 links1908
Ford Model T
[Production Starts]
It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relatively low price was partly the result of Ford's efficient fabrication, including assembly line production instead of individual handcrafting.
2 links1928
Penicillin
[Discovered]
Alexander Fleming, a Scottish physician and microbiologist, discovered the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance in this year. He received the Nobel Prize about 2 decades later, together with Howard Florey & Ernst Chain who purified it (with others at Oxford).
1 linkArt & Artists
1265
Dante Alighieri
[Birth]
His Divine Comedy, originally called Comedìa (modern Italian: Commedia) and later christened Divina by Giovanni Boccaccio, is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language. Dante is known for establishing the use of the vernacular in literature at a time when most poetry was written in Latin.
1 link1267
Giotto
[Birth]
from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period.
1321
Dante Alighieri
[Death]
His Divine Comedy, originally called Comedìa (modern Italian: Commedia) and later christened Divina by Giovanni Boccaccio, is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language. Dante is known for establishing the use of the vernacular in literature at a time when most poetry was written in Latin.
1 link1337
Giotto
[Death]
from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period.
1350
Italian Renaissance
[From]
Approximate dates. Sometimes called the Long Rennaisance. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity.
1374
Petrarch
[Died]
Was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited with initiating the 14th-century Italian Renaissance and the founding of Renaissance humanism. Petrarch is credited with creating the concept of a historical "Dark Ages".
1400
Canterbury tales
[Published]
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's magnum opus. Unfinished at time of death.
1440
Donatello's David
[Created]
Date approximate. The first unsupported standing work of bronze cast during the Renaissance, and the first freestanding nude male sculpture made since antiquity. It depicts David with an enigmatic smile, posed with his foot on Goliath's severed head just after defeating the giant. The youth is completely naked, apart from a laurel-topped hat and boots, and bears the sword of Goliath.
1 link1452
Leonardo Da Vinci
[Born]
Was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. His magnum opus, the Mona Lisa, is his best known work and often regarded as the world's most famous painting. The Last Supper is the most reproduced religious painting of all time and his Vitruvian Man drawing is also regarded as a cultural icon.
2 links1483
Raphael
[Birth]
Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. Together with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period.
1 link1500
The Garden of Earthly Delights
By the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch. Date approximate.
1 link1519
Leonardo Da Vinci
[Died]
Was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. His magnum opus, the Mona Lisa, is his best known work and often regarded as the world's most famous painting. The Last Supper is the most reproduced religious painting of all time and his Vitruvian Man drawing is also regarded as a cultural icon.
2 links1520
Raphael
[Death]
Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. Together with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period.
1 link1550
Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
[Published]
By Giorgio Vasari. It was first published in two editions with substantial differences between them; the first on this date and the second in 18 years later (which is the one usually translated and referred to). It has some of the Italian Renaissance's most influential writing on art.
1564
Shakespeare
[Born]
Was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.
1 link1571
Caravaggio
[Born]
A dramatic use of chiaroscuro that came to be known as tenebrism.
1 link1590
Baroque Period
[Start]
.
1591
Frans Hals
[Birth]
Was a Dutch Golden Age painter, chiefly of individual and group portraits and of genre works, who lived and worked in Haarlem.
1599
Velasquez
[Birth]
A Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period.
1605
Don Quixote
[Published]
Is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. The book had a major influence on the literary community, as evidenced by direct references in Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers, Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, as well as the word quixotic.
1606
Rembrandt van Rijn
[Born]
A Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman.
1 link1610
Caravaggio
[Died]
A dramatic use of chiaroscuro that came to be known as tenebrism.
1 link1616
Shakespeare
[Died]
Was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.
1 link1620
Italian Renaissance
[To]
Approximate dates. Sometimes called the Long Rennaisance. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity.
1660
Velasquez
[Death]
A Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period.
1666
Frans Hals
[Death]
Was a Dutch Golden Age painter, chiefly of individual and group portraits and of genre works, who lived and worked in Haarlem.
1667
Paradise Lost
[Published]
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by English poet John Milton. The poem concerns the biblical story of the fall of man; the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The first version, published in [1667], consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse.
1 link1669
Rembrandt van Rijn
[Died]
A Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman.
1 link1685
Johann Sebastian Bach
[Birth]
German composer and musician of the late Baroque period.
2 links1726
Gulliver's Travels
[Published]
Gulliver's Travels, or Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships is a prose satire by the Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift, satirising both human nature and the "travellers' tales" literary subgenre.
1750
Baroque Period
[End]
.
1750
Johann Sebastian Bach
[Death]
German composer and musician of the late Baroque period.
2 links1756
Amadeus Mozart
[Birth]
A prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works of virtually every genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire.
1759
Candide
[Date of Publication]
A satire by Voltaire, featuring Professor Pangloss.
1759
Robert Burns
[Birth]
Known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a "light Scots dialect" of English. He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and after his death he became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism, and a cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish diaspora around the world.
1791
Amadeus Mozart
[Death]
A prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works of virtually every genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire.
1796
Robert Burns
[Death]
Known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a "light Scots dialect" of English. He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and after his death he became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism, and a cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish diaspora around the world.
1813
Pride and Prejudice
[Published]
Written by Jane Austen
1813
Richard Wagner
[Birth]
German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas.
1 link1818
Frankenstein
[Published]
Mary Shelley, Percy. B Shelley and Lord Byron each tried to write the best horror story. Hers inspired by Galvanism.
2 links1853
Vincent Van Gogh
[Born]
A Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a period of 10 years, he created about 2100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life. His work is characterised by bold colours and dramatic, impulsive and expressive brushwork.
1877
Anna Karenina
[Published]
A novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Some of these topics include an evaluation of the feudal system that existed in Russia at the time, politics, families, religion, morality, gender, and social class.
1883
Richard Wagner
[Death]
German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas.
1 link1886
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde
[Date of Publication]
Written by Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer.
1889
Nintendo
[Created]
Nintendo was founded as Nintendo Karuta by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade hanafuda playing cards.
1486
Birth of Venus
[Painted]
By the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli in the Uffizi. Date is approximate.
1859
A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens
[Published]
Charles Dickens wrote this.
1883
Treasure Island
[Published]
An adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, telling a story of "buccaneers and buried gold". The novel was originally serialised two years earlier.
1890
Vincent Van Gogh
[Died]
A Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a period of 10 years, he created about 2100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life. His work is characterised by bold colours and dramatic, impulsive and expressive brushwork.
1949
Nineteen Eighty-Four
[Published]
A dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale by English writer George Orwell. Orwell, a democratic socialist, modelled the authoritarian state in the novel on Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany.
-70
Virgil
[Birth]
An ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the Eclogues (or Bucolics), the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid. One of Rome's greatest poets.
1 link-19
Virgil
[Death]
An ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the Eclogues (or Bucolics), the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid. One of Rome's greatest poets.
1 link1525
William Tyndale Bible
[New Testament Printed]
An English biblical scholar and linguist, William Tyndale became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his execution. He is well known as a translator of the Bible into English. His was the first English Bible to draw directly from Hebrew and Greek texts, the first English translation to take advantage of the printing press, the first of the new English Bibles of the Reformation, and the first English translation to use Jehovah as God's name as preferred by English Protestant Reformers.
-19
Aeneid
[Published]
A Latin epic poem, written by Virgil, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans.
1 linkWars & Revolutions
711
Al-Andalus
[Start]
Al-Andalus was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula, the former Islamic states in modern Spain and Portugal. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most of the peninsula. It became a major educational center for Europe and the lands around the Mediterranean Sea as well as a conduit for cultural and scientific exchange between the Islamic and Christian worlds.
1 link849
Alfred the Great
[Birth]
Was King of the West Saxons, and then King of the Anglo-Saxons, until his death. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf. Under Alfred's rule, considerable administrative and military reforms were introduced, prompting lasting change in England. After ascending the throne, Alfred spent several years fighting Viking invasions. He encouraged education, proposing that primary education be conducted in English, rather than Latin.
899
Alfred the Great
[Death]
Was King of the West Saxons, and then King of the Anglo-Saxons, until his death. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf. Under Alfred's rule, considerable administrative and military reforms were introduced, prompting lasting change in England. After ascending the throne, Alfred spent several years fighting Viking invasions. He encouraged education, proposing that primary education be conducted in English, rather than Latin.
1096
First Crusade
[Start]
The first of a series of religious wars, it was initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic rule. While Jerusalem had been under Muslim rule for hundreds of years, by this time the Seljuk takeover of the region threatened local Christian populations, pilgrimages from the West, and the Byzantine Empire itself.
1099
First Crusade
[End]
The first of a series of religious wars, it was initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic rule. While Jerusalem had been under Muslim rule for hundreds of years, by this time the Seljuk takeover of the region threatened local Christian populations, pilgrimages from the West, and the Byzantine Empire itself.
1314
Battle of Bannockburn
[Happened]
Was a victory of the army of King of Scots, Robert the Bruce, over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence.
1 link1434
Cosimo de' Medici Ruling Florence
[Start Rule]
An Italian banker and politician who established the Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth as a banker, and inter-marriage with other powerful and rich families. He was a patron of arts, learning and architecture. He spent over 600,000 gold florins(approx. $500 million inflation adjusted) on art and culture, including Donatello's David, the first freestanding nude male sculpture since antiquity.
1 link1453
Fall of Constantinople
[Happened]
The capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire marked the end of the Middle Ages, and the end of the last remains of the Roman Empire. The fortifications were overcome with the use of gunpowder.
1 link1464
Cosimo de' Medici Ruling Florence
[End Rule]
An Italian banker and politician who established the Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth as a banker, and inter-marriage with other powerful and rich families. He was a patron of arts, learning and architecture. He spent over 600,000 gold florins(approx. $500 million inflation adjusted) on art and culture, including Donatello's David, the first freestanding nude male sculpture since antiquity.
1 link1478
Spanish Inquisition
[Created]
Bet you weren't expecting this. Established by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. It began toward the end of the Reconquista and was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms and to replace the Medieval Inquisition, which was under Papal control. About 4000 people executed.
1 link1492
Al-Andalus
[End]
Al-Andalus was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula, the former Islamic states in modern Spain and Portugal. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most of the peninsula. It became a major educational center for Europe and the lands around the Mediterranean Sea as well as a conduit for cultural and scientific exchange between the Islamic and Christian worlds.
1 link1492
Granada War
[End]
Fought during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, against the Nasrid dynasty's Emirate of Granada, it lasted 10 years, and ended with the defeat of Granada and its annexation by Castile, ending the last remnant of Islamic rule on the Iberian peninsula.
2 links1509
Henry VIII
[Reign Start]
Introduction of protestantism (needed divorce). Downfall of monestaries (for his coffers). Had 6 wives.
1 link1520
Suleiman the Magnificent
[Start]
The longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Under his administration, the Ottoman Empire ruled over at least 25 million people. A prominent monarch of 16th-century Europe, presiding over the apex of the Ottoman Empire's economic, military and political power. He annexed much of the Middle East and large areas of North Africa, and his fleet dominated the seas from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and through the Persian Gulf.
1526
Beretta
[Founded]
A privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and military purposes. Founded in the [1526], Beretta is the oldest active manufacturer of firearm components in the world. Its inaugural product was arquebus barrels. They have supplied weapons for every major European war since [1650].
1547
Henry VIII
[Death & End of Reign]
Introduction of protestantism (needed divorce). Downfall of monestaries (for his coffers). Had 6 wives.
1 link1558
Elizabeth I
[Reign Starts]
Was Queen of England and Ireland. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his second wife, who was executed when Elizabeth was two years old.
3 links1566
Suleiman the Magnificent
[End]
The longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Under his administration, the Ottoman Empire ruled over at least 25 million people. A prominent monarch of 16th-century Europe, presiding over the apex of the Ottoman Empire's economic, military and political power. He annexed much of the Middle East and large areas of North Africa, and his fleet dominated the seas from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and through the Persian Gulf.
1603
Elizabeth I
[Death & Reign End]
Was Queen of England and Ireland. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his second wife, who was executed when Elizabeth was two years old.
3 links1603
James VI and I
[Reign Start]
Was King of Scotland as James VI prior to becoming King of England & Ireland as James I. This period called the Jacobian Era. The kingdoms of Scotland and England were individual sovereign states, though both were ruled by James.
4 links1618
Thirty Year's War
[Start]
One of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, and disease, while some areas of what is now modern Germany experienced population declines of over 50%. Some interpret the end of this war as the end of the Reformation.
2 links1625
James VI and I
[Reign End]
Was King of Scotland as James VI prior to becoming King of England & Ireland as James I. This period called the Jacobian Era. The kingdoms of Scotland and England were individual sovereign states, though both were ruled by James.
4 links1625
Charles I of England
[Reign Start]
Was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland until his death by execution. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after his father inherited the English throne, he moved to England, where he spent much of the rest of his life. After his succession, Charles quarrelled with the English Parliament, which sought to curb his royal prerogative. He believed in the divine right of kings, and was determined to govern according to his own conscience. His religious policies, coupled with his marriage to a Roman Catholic, generated antipathy and mistrust from Reformed religious groups such as the English Puritans and Scottish Covenanters, who thought his views too Catholic.
1 link1642
English Civil War
[Start]
These conflicts were also concerned with how the three Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland should be governed. The outcome was threefold: the trial and the execution of Charles I; the exile of his son, Charles II; and the replacement of English monarchy with the Commonwealth of England, which then (as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland) unified the British Isles under the personal rule of Oliver Cromwell and briefly his son Richard.
1648
Peace of Westphalia
[Happened]
The collective name for two peace treaties signed on this date in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire, closing a calamitous period of European history that killed approximately eight million people.
1 link1649
Charles I of England
[Reign End]
Was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland until his death by execution. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after his father inherited the English throne, he moved to England, where he spent much of the rest of his life. After his succession, Charles quarrelled with the English Parliament, which sought to curb his royal prerogative. He believed in the divine right of kings, and was determined to govern according to his own conscience. His religious policies, coupled with his marriage to a Roman Catholic, generated antipathy and mistrust from Reformed religious groups such as the English Puritans and Scottish Covenanters, who thought his views too Catholic.
1 link1651
English Civil War
[End]
These conflicts were also concerned with how the three Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland should be governed. The outcome was threefold: the trial and the execution of Charles I; the exile of his son, Charles II; and the replacement of English monarchy with the Commonwealth of England, which then (as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland) unified the British Isles under the personal rule of Oliver Cromwell and briefly his son Richard.
1760
Industrial Revolution
[Start]
Approximate dates.
1774
Louis XVI
[Reign Start]
The last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The first part of his reign was marked by attempts to reform the French government in accordance with Enlightenment ideas. These included efforts to abolish serfdom, remove the taille (land tax) and the corvée (labour tax), and increase tolerance toward non-Catholics as well as abolish the death penalty for deserters.
2 links1776
United States Declaration of Independence
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.. Part of American Revolutionary War
1 link1792
Louis XVI
[Reign End]
The last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The first part of his reign was marked by attempts to reform the French government in accordance with Enlightenment ideas. These included efforts to abolish serfdom, remove the taille (land tax) and the corvée (labour tax), and increase tolerance toward non-Catholics as well as abolish the death penalty for deserters.
2 links1815
Battle of Waterloo
[Happened]
The Battle of Waterloo was fought near Waterloo, in what is now Belgium. Napoleon’s army was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh Coalition - the British (Duke of Wellington) and the Prussian (von Blücher). The battle marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
1834
Spanish Inquisition
[Dissolved]
Bet you weren't expecting this. Established by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. It began toward the end of the Reconquista and was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms and to replace the Medieval Inquisition, which was under Papal control. About 4000 people executed.
1 link1840
Industrial Revolution
[End]
Approximate dates.
1914
World War 1
[Starts]
It was fought between two coalitions, the Allies and the Central Powers. Fighting occurred throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died as a result of genocide, while the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war.
2 links1918
World War 1
[Ends]
It was fought between two coalitions, the Allies and the Central Powers. Fighting occurred throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died as a result of genocide, while the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war.
2 links1924
Stalin
[Started Rule]
2nd leader of Russia, following death of Lenin. Stalin's health had started to deteriorate towards the end of World War II. He had a party with Malenkov, Molotov, Beria, and Khrushchev the night before, and the next day had a stroke.
1936
Spanish Civil War
[Start]
Republicans loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the unstable Second Spanish Republic, in alliance with anarchists of the communist and syndicalist variety, fought against an insurrection by the Nationalists, an alliance of Falangists, monarchists, conservatives and traditionalists, led by a military group among whom General Francisco Franco soon achieved a preponderant role.
1939
Spanish Civil War
[End]
Republicans loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the unstable Second Spanish Republic, in alliance with anarchists of the communist and syndicalist variety, fought against an insurrection by the Nationalists, an alliance of Falangists, monarchists, conservatives and traditionalists, led by a military group among whom General Francisco Franco soon achieved a preponderant role.
1953
Stalin
[End Rule & Death]
2nd leader of Russia, following death of Lenin. Stalin's health had started to deteriorate towards the end of World War II. He had a party with Malenkov, Molotov, Beria, and Khrushchev the night before, and the next day had a stroke.
1968
Martin Luther King
[Assassinated]
An African American church leader and the son of early civil rights activist and minister Martin Luther King Sr., King advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through nonviolence and civil disobedience. Inspired by his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi, he led targeted, nonviolent resistance against Jim Crow laws and other forms of discrimination.
79
Titus
[Started Rule]
Titus Caesar Vespasianus was a member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a military commander, serving under his father in Judea during the First Jewish–Roman War.
2 links81
Titus
[End Rule]
Titus Caesar Vespasianus was a member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a military commander, serving under his father in Judea during the First Jewish–Roman War.
2 links1990
Nelson Mandela
[Released]
Nelson Mandela was released on this date, after serving 27 years in prison. He became president of South Africa 4 years later, after the country's first multiracial general election.
-30
Cleopatra
[Death]
Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, and its last active ruler.
-30
Mark Antony
[Death]
Friend to Caesar. Didn’t get along too well with Augustus.
-27
Caesar Augustus
[Reign Start]
Caesar Augustus, also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor. He was designated heir to Julius Caesar, but had to compete with Mark Antony etc. before eventually ruling 17 years later. His status as the founder of the Roman Principate (the first phase of the Roman Empire) has consolidated a legacy as one of the greatest leaders in human history. The reign of Augustus initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana.
1 link14
Caesar Augustus
[Death and Reign End]
Caesar Augustus, also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor. He was designated heir to Julius Caesar, but had to compete with Mark Antony etc. before eventually ruling 17 years later. His status as the founder of the Roman Principate (the first phase of the Roman Empire) has consolidated a legacy as one of the greatest leaders in human history. The reign of Augustus initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana.
1 link1975
Francisco Franco Dictatorship
[Ends]
Ruled from the end of the Spanish Civil War. He restored the monarchy in his final years, being succeeded by Juan Carlos, King of Spain, who led the Spanish transition to democracy.
1347
Black Death in Europe
[Start]
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Afro-Eurasia. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causing the death of 75–200 million people in Eurasia and North Africa.
2 links1351
Black Death in Europe
[End]
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Afro-Eurasia. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causing the death of 75–200 million people in Eurasia and North Africa.
2 links-100
Julius Caesar
[Birth]
A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and subsequently became dictator until his assassination. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.
-283
Ptolemy I Soter
[Reign Ends]
A Macedonian Greek general, historian and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to found the Ptolemaic Kingdom centered on Egypt and led by the Ptolemaic dynasty from [305] BC – [30] BC.
2 links-305
Ptolemy I Soter
[Reign Starts]
A Macedonian Greek general, historian and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to found the Ptolemaic Kingdom centered on Egypt and led by the Ptolemaic dynasty from [305] BC – [30] BC.
2 links-323
Alexander the Great
[Death]
Was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He spent most of his ruling years conducting a lengthy military campaign throughout Western Asia and Egypt. By the age of 30, he had created one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to northwestern India. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. During his stay in Egypt, he founded Alexandria.
3 links-356
Alexander the Great
[Birth]
Was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He spent most of his ruling years conducting a lengthy military campaign throughout Western Asia and Egypt. By the age of 30, he had created one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to northwestern India. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. During his stay in Egypt, he founded Alexandria.
3 links1066
William the Conqueror
[Reign Starts]
William I, usually known as William the Conqueror, was the first Norman king of England.
2 links1066
Battle of Hastings
[Happened]
This battle was fought between the Norman-French army of William the Duke of Normandy (aka William the Conquerer), and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson. This began the Norman conquest of England.
2 links1087
William the Conqueror
[Reign Ends]
William I, usually known as William the Conqueror, was the first Norman king of England.
2 links1271
Kublai Khan (China rule)
[Start]
Grandson of Genghis Khan. In this year, Kublai established the Yuan dynasty and formally claimed orthodox succession from prior Chinese dynasties. The Yuan dynasty came to rule over most of present-day China, Mongolia, Korea, southern Siberia, and other adjacent areas. The Yuan eventually conquered the Song dynasty and Kublai became the first non-Han emperor to rule all of China proper.
1 link1294
Kublai Khan (China rule)
[End]
Grandson of Genghis Khan. In this year, Kublai established the Yuan dynasty and formally claimed orthodox succession from prior Chinese dynasties. The Yuan dynasty came to rule over most of present-day China, Mongolia, Korea, southern Siberia, and other adjacent areas. The Yuan eventually conquered the Song dynasty and Kublai became the first non-Han emperor to rule all of China proper.
1 link-1323
Tutankhamun
[Death]
Tutankhamun ruled during the end of the 18th Dynasty. He took the throne at 8 or 9 years of age under the viziership of his eventual successor, Ay. His nearly intact tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter, in excavations funded by Lord Carnarvon.
1485
Henry VII
[Reign Start]
The first monarch of the house of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort, was a descendant of the Lancastrian branch of the House of Plantagenet. Henry's father, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, a half-brother of Henry VI of England and a member of the Welsh Tudors of Penmynydd. During Henry's early years, his uncle Henry VI was fighting against Edward IV, a member of the Yorkist Plantagenet branch. He attained the throne when his forces, supported by France, Scotland, and Wales, defeated Edward IV's brother Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses.
2 links1485
Battle of Bosworth Field
[Happened]
The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England. The battle was won by an alliance of Lancastrians and disaffected Yorkists. Their leader Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, became the first English monarch of the Tudor dynasty by his victory and subsequent marriage to a Yorkist princess. His opponent Richard III, the last king of the House of York, was killed during the battle, the last English monarch to die in combat.
2 links1517
Luther' Ninety-five Theses
[Published]
Considered to signal the birth of Protestantism and the Reformation, this document advances Luther's positions against what he saw as the abuse of the practice of clergy selling plenary indulgences.
2 links1534
English Reformation
Based on Henry VIII's desire for an annulment of his marriage (first requested of Pope Clement VII in 1527), the English Reformation began as more of a political affair than a theological dispute. The break with Rome was effected by a series of Acts of Parliament, ending in the Act of Supremacy, making Henry "Supreme Head on earth of the Church of England"
1154
House of Plantagenet (England)
[Created]
Was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. They held the English throne during these dates. Under the Plantagenets, England was transformed. The Plantagenet kings were often forced to negotiate compromises such as Magna Carta, which had served to constrain their royal power in return for financial and military support. The king was no longer considered an absolute monarch in the nation—holding the prerogatives of judgement, feudal tribute, and warfare—but now also had defined duties to the kingdom, underpinned by a sophisticated justice system. A distinct national identity was shaped by their conflict with the French, Scots, Welsh and Irish, as well as by the establishment of the English language as the primary language.
1 link1485
House of Plantagenet (England)
[Dissolved]
Was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. They held the English throne during these dates. Under the Plantagenets, England was transformed. The Plantagenet kings were often forced to negotiate compromises such as Magna Carta, which had served to constrain their royal power in return for financial and military support. The king was no longer considered an absolute monarch in the nation—holding the prerogatives of judgement, feudal tribute, and warfare—but now also had defined duties to the kingdom, underpinned by a sophisticated justice system. A distinct national identity was shaped by their conflict with the French, Scots, Welsh and Irish, as well as by the establishment of the English language as the primary language.
1 link1485
House of Tudor
[Start]
Monarchs: Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, Elizabeth I. The reformation featured heavily as Henry VIII replacing the pope as the head of the Church of England but maintaining Catholic doctrines, Edward imposing a very strict Protestantism, Mary attempting to reinstate Catholicism, and Elizabeth arriving at a compromise position that defined the not-quite-Protestant Church of England.
2 links1509
Henry VII
[Reign End]
The first monarch of the house of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort, was a descendant of the Lancastrian branch of the House of Plantagenet. Henry's father, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, a half-brother of Henry VI of England and a member of the Welsh Tudors of Penmynydd. During Henry's early years, his uncle Henry VI was fighting against Edward IV, a member of the Yorkist Plantagenet branch. He attained the throne when his forces, supported by France, Scotland, and Wales, defeated Edward IV's brother Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses.
2 links1563
Witch persecutions in Scotland
[Legalized]
Scotland had the most persecutions in Great Britain, about 5000. Under the Scottish Witchcraft Act of this year, both the practice of witchcraft and consulting with witches were capital offences.
2 links1598
Edict of Nantes
[Created]
French royal decree establishing toleration for Huguenots (Protestants). It granted freedom of worship and legal equality for Huguenots within limits, and ended the Wars of Religion. The Edict was revoked by Louis XIV, causing many Huguenots to emigrate.
1 link1603
House of Tudor
[End]
Monarchs: Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, Elizabeth I. The reformation featured heavily as Henry VIII replacing the pope as the head of the Church of England but maintaining Catholic doctrines, Edward imposing a very strict Protestantism, Mary attempting to reinstate Catholicism, and Elizabeth arriving at a compromise position that defined the not-quite-Protestant Church of England.
2 links1648
Thirty Year's War
[End]
One of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, and disease, while some areas of what is now modern Germany experienced population declines of over 50%. Some interpret the end of this war as the end of the Reformation.
2 links1685
Edict of Nantes
[Revoked]
French royal decree establishing toleration for Huguenots (Protestants). It granted freedom of worship and legal equality for Huguenots within limits, and ended the Wars of Religion. The Edict was revoked by Louis XIV, causing many Huguenots to emigrate.
1 link1707
Acts of Union
England and Scotland continued as two separate states sharing a monarch (James 1/6), who directed their domestic and foreign policy, along with Ireland, until the Acts of Union during the reign of the last Stuart monarch, Anne, Queen of England.
1714
Georgian era
[Start]
The Georgian era is a period in British history named after the Hanoverian Kings George I, George II, George III and George IV. The definition of the Georgian era is often extended to include the relatively short reign of William IV, which ended with his death leading to Queen Victoria's reign.
1735
Witch persecutions in Scotland
[Abolished]
Scotland had the most persecutions in Great Britain, about 5000. Under the Scottish Witchcraft Act of this year, both the practice of witchcraft and consulting with witches were capital offences.
2 links1789
French Revolution
[Started]
Abolishing Ancien Régime, replacing it with constitutional monarch, later execution Louis XVI and ending with appointment of Napoleon as First Consul, signalling the end of the revolution.
1 link1799
French Revolution
[Ended]
Abolishing Ancien Régime, replacing it with constitutional monarch, later execution Louis XVI and ending with appointment of Napoleon as First Consul, signalling the end of the revolution.
1 link1803
Napoleonic Wars
[Start]
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against an array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of French domination over most of continental Europe.
1815
Napoleonic Wars
[End]
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against an array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of French domination over most of continental Europe.
1837
Georgian era
[End]
The Georgian era is a period in British history named after the Hanoverian Kings George I, George II, George III and George IV. The definition of the Georgian era is often extended to include the relatively short reign of William IV, which ended with his death leading to Queen Victoria's reign.
1837
Queen Victoria
[Start Reign]
She reigned until she died. Her reign of almost 64 years was longer than that of any previous British monarch and is known as the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire.
2 links1861
American Civil War
[Start]
It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states that had seceded. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which was widely believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction
1 link1865
Abraham Lincoln assassinated
16th president of the USA, was assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. He was the first U.S. president to be assassinated. Occurring near the end of the American Civil War, Lincoln's assassination was part of a larger conspiracy intended by Booth to revive the Confederate cause, and included trying to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson.
1 link1865
American Civil War
[End]
It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states that had seceded. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which was widely believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction
1 link1871
German Unification
[Happened]
Spurred on by the Franco-Prussian war, and following somewhat the example set of France of becoming a "nation", Germany's states unified to form the country of Germany. King Wilhelm I of Prussia became the German Emperor.
1901
Edward VII's Reign
[Start Reign]
The Edwardian Era
1901
Queen Victoria
[End Reign / Death]
She reigned until she died. Her reign of almost 64 years was longer than that of any previous British monarch and is known as the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire.
2 links1910
Edward VII's Reign
[End Reign]
The Edwardian Era
1928
Equal Franchise Act
It was not until the Equal Franchise Act that women over 21 were able to vote and women finally achieved the same voting rights as men. This act increased the number of women eligible to vote to 15 million. A decade before only women who had some property rights were allowed.
1929
Great Depression
[Start]
The Great Depression was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. Near its beginning was the Wall Street stock market crash of October 24 (Black Thursday). It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century.
1 link1939
Great Depression
[End]
The Great Depression was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. Near its beginning was the Wall Street stock market crash of October 24 (Black Thursday). It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century.
1 link1939
World War 2
[Starts]
.
1 link1945
World War 2
[Ends]
.
1 link1947
Partition of India
[Happened]
The partition of India divided British India into two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. The partition displaced between 10 and 20 million people along religious lines.
1961
Berlin Wall
[Created]
The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government of the GDR.
70
Siege of Jerusalem
[Happened]
The siege of Jerusalem was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War, in which the Roman army led by future emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel resistance in the Roman province of Judaea. Following a brutal five-month siege, the Romans destroyed the city and the Second Jewish Temple.
1 link1989
Berlin Wall
[Dissolved]
The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government of the GDR.
-44
Julius Caesar
[Death]
A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and subsequently became dictator until his assassination. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.
Global Exploration
330
Byzantine Empire
[Created]
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire for another 1000 years, until the fall of Constantinopole to the Ottoman Empire. Constantine moved the seat of the Roman empire to Constantinople, which he founded as a second Rome on the site of Byzantium.
2 links476
Roman Empire
[Dissolved]
It included large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia, and was ruled by emperors. In reality, Roman expansion was mostly accomplished under the Republic, though parts of northern Europe were conquered in the 1st century AD, when Roman control in Europe, Africa, and Asia was strengthened.
1295
Marco Polo returns to Venice
After a 24 year trip to Asia, exploring many places along the Silk Road until they reached Cathay (China). They were received by the royal court of Kublai Khan.
1 link1453
Byzantine Empire
[Dissolved]
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire for another 1000 years, until the fall of Constantinopole to the Ottoman Empire. Constantine moved the seat of the Roman empire to Constantinople, which he founded as a second Rome on the site of Byzantium.
2 links1488
Bartolomeu Dias sails around Cape of Good Hope
Bartolomeu Dias, sailing for the king of Portugal, becomes the first European navigator to round the Cape of Good Hope
1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the Bahamas
[Lands]
Completed 4 voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, opening the way for the widespread European colonization of the Americas. His expeditions, sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain (Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon), were the first European contact with the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.
1 link1498
Vasco da Gama reaches India
Vasco da Gama reaches the southern coast of India, at Calicut, after sailing across the Indian Ocean from east Africa
1 link1500
Pedro Cabral reaches Brazil
Portuguese explorer Pedro Cabral, with a fleet of thirteen ships, makes landfall in Brazil
1533
Francisco Pizarro executes Atahuallpa
Inspired by the success of Cortés in Mexico, Francisco Pizarro arrives in Peru, and capitalizing on the unrest in the Incan empire, quickly captures the Inca emperor, whom he executes in this year. The Spanish spread across Ecuador and Chile, adding much of South America to Spain’s empire.
1600
East India Company
[Created]
It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia), and later with Qing China. The company seized control of large parts of the Indian subcontinent, colonised parts of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong after the First Opium War, and maintained trading posts and colonies in the Persian Gulf Residencies
1 link1602
Dutch East India Company
[Created]
The United East India Company (Dutch: Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock company in the world, granting it a 21-year monopoly to carry out trade activities in Asia. Shares in the company could be bought by any resident of the United Provinces and then subsequently bought and sold in open-air secondary markets (one of which became the Amsterdam Stock Exchange). It is sometimes considered to have been the first multinational corporation. It was a powerful company, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, strike its own coins, and establish colonies.
1 link1799
Dutch East India Company
[Dissolved]
The United East India Company (Dutch: Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock company in the world, granting it a 21-year monopoly to carry out trade activities in Asia. Shares in the company could be bought by any resident of the United Provinces and then subsequently bought and sold in open-air secondary markets (one of which became the Amsterdam Stock Exchange). It is sometimes considered to have been the first multinational corporation. It was a powerful company, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, strike its own coins, and establish colonies.
1 link1838
First transatlantic steam-ship voyage
[Set off]
SS Great Western, was a wooden-hulled paddle-wheel steamship with sails the first steamship purpose-built for crossing the Atlantic, and the initial unit of the Great Western Steamship Company. She was the largest passenger ship in the world for 2 years. Designed by British civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Bristol to New York. A ship that had steam as secondary power, SS Savannah, crossed 19 years prior.
1855
David Livingstone reaches Victoria Falls
David Livingstone was born on the 19th March 1813 in a mill town called Blantyre, in Scotland.
1869
Suez Canal
[Opened]
An artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest of Egypt). The 193.30 km long canal is a key trade route between Europe and Asia.
1874
East India Company
[Dissolved]
It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia), and later with Qing China. The company seized control of large parts of the Indian subcontinent, colonised parts of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong after the First Opium War, and maintained trading posts and colonies in the Persian Gulf Residencies
1 link1903
Wright Flyer
The first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft. It used a 12 horsepower gasoline engine powering two pusher propellers.
1912
Titanic
[Sank]
RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, to New York City. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died.
1969
Apollo 11
[Landed]
Apollo 11 was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle, and Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon's surface.
-27
Roman Empire
[Start]
It included large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia, and was ruled by emperors. In reality, Roman expansion was mostly accomplished under the Republic, though parts of northern Europe were conquered in the 1st century AD, when Roman control in Europe, Africa, and Asia was strengthened.
1914
Panama Canal
[Official Opening]
An artificial 82 km (51 mi) waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for maritime trade. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the Panama Canal shortcut greatly reduces the time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, enabling them to avoid the lengthy, hazardous Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America.
1 link1720
South Sea Bubble
[Bubble Burst]
The South Sea Company was a British joint-stock company founded in January [1711], created as a public-private partnership to consolidate and reduce the cost of the national debt. Company stock rose greatly in value as it expanded its operations, and peaked in [1720] before suddenly collapsing to little above its flotation price. There was widespread fraud amongst the company directors and corruption in the Cabinet.
Places
-447
Parthenon
[Started Construction]
The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon was built in thanksgiving for the Hellenic victory over Persian invaders during the Greco-Persian Wars. Like most Greek temples, the Parthenon also served as the city treasury. It took about 10 years to build, and a further 5 to decorate!
1 link1631
Taj Mahal
[Construction started]
The mausoleum, commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, was built in Agra. It and the grounds took about 22 years to complete.
1 link1767
Creation of New Town, Edinburgh
[Started]
It retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture.
1815
Eruption of Mount Tambora
[Happened]
A volcano on the island of Sumbawa in present-day Indonesia, then part of the Dutch East Indies, and its eruption was the most powerful volcanic eruption ever recorded. The ash from the eruption column dispersed around the world and lowered global temperatures in an event sometimes known as the Year Without a Summer, the following year.
1 link1845
Irish Potato Famine
[Start]
A period of starvation and disease in Ireland that had a major impact on Irish society, with the most severely affected areas being in the west and south of Ireland, where the Irish language was dominant. Roughly 1 million people died and more than 1 million fled the country, causing the country's population to fall by 20–25%. The proximate cause of the famine was a potato blight that infected potato crops throughout Europe during this period, causing an additional 100,000 deaths outside Ireland and influencing much of the unrest in the widespread European Revolutions during this period.
1850
Creation of New Town, Edinburgh
[Ended]
It retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture.
1852
Irish Potato Famine
[End]
A period of starvation and disease in Ireland that had a major impact on Irish society, with the most severely affected areas being in the west and south of Ireland, where the Irish language was dominant. Roughly 1 million people died and more than 1 million fled the country, causing the country's population to fall by 20–25%. The proximate cause of the famine was a potato blight that infected potato crops throughout Europe during this period, causing an additional 100,000 deaths outside Ireland and influencing much of the unrest in the widespread European Revolutions during this period.
1859
Big Ben
[Opened]
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower.
1958
Great Leap Forward
[Start]
The Great Leap Forward (Second Five Year Plan) of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party. CCP Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to reconstruct the country from an agrarian economy into a communist society through the formation of people's communes. Millions of people died in China during the Great Leap, with estimates ranging from 15 to 55 million, making the Great Chinese Famine the largest or second-largest famine in human history.
1962
Great Leap Forward
[End]
The Great Leap Forward (Second Five Year Plan) of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party. CCP Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to reconstruct the country from an agrarian economy into a communist society through the formation of people's communes. Millions of people died in China during the Great Leap, with estimates ranging from 15 to 55 million, making the Great Chinese Famine the largest or second-largest famine in human history.
79
Eruption of Mount Vesuvius
[Happened]
The most famous and largest of the eruptions. The event destroyed several towns and minor settlements in the area, at the time part of the Roman Empire. Pompeii and Herculaneum were obliterated and buried underneath massive pyroclastic surges and ashfall deposits.
2 links80
Colosseum
[Opened]
It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world.
1 linkInfluential Thinkers
-347
Plato
[Death]
An ancient Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. In Athens, Plato founded the Academy, a philosophical school. His actual name was Aristocles. Plato was an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms in philosophy. He raised problems for what later became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy.
2 links-427
Plato
[Birth]
An ancient Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. In Athens, Plato founded the Academy, a philosophical school. His actual name was Aristocles. Plato was an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms in philosophy. He raised problems for what later became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy.
2 links672
Venerable Bede
[Birth]
An English monk and an author and scholar. He was one of the greatest teachers and writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most famous work, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, gained him the title "The Father of English History". Bede was moreover a skilled linguist and translator, and his work made the Latin and Greek writings of the early Church Fathers much more accessible to his fellow Anglo-Saxons, which contributed significantly to English Christianity.
1 link735
Venerable Bede
[Death]
An English monk and an author and scholar. He was one of the greatest teachers and writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most famous work, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, gained him the title "The Father of English History". Bede was moreover a skilled linguist and translator, and his work made the Latin and Greek writings of the early Church Fathers much more accessible to his fellow Anglo-Saxons, which contributed significantly to English Christianity.
1 link1225
Thomas Aquinas
[Birth]
An Italian Dominican friar and priest, who was an immensely influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism. He was a prominent proponent of natural theology. Known for his book, Summa Theologica and more.
1274
Thomas Aquinas
[Death]
An Italian Dominican friar and priest, who was an immensely influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism. He was a prominent proponent of natural theology. Known for his book, Summa Theologica and more.
1285
William of Ockham
[Birth]
Was an English Franciscan friar, scholastic philosopher, apologist, and Catholic theologian, who is believed to have been born in Ockham, a small village in Surrey. He is considered to be one of the major figures of medieval thought and was at the centre of the major intellectual and political controversies of the 14th century. He is commonly known for Occam's razor, and also produced significant works on logic, physics and theology.
1 link1349
William of Ockham
[Death]
Was an English Franciscan friar, scholastic philosopher, apologist, and Catholic theologian, who is believed to have been born in Ockham, a small village in Surrey. He is considered to be one of the major figures of medieval thought and was at the centre of the major intellectual and political controversies of the 14th century. He is commonly known for Occam's razor, and also produced significant works on logic, physics and theology.
1 link1532
The Prince
[Publication Date]
A political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. Not printed until 5 years after his death. The Prince is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, especially modern political philosophy, in which the "effectual" truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal.
1 link1651
Leviathan - Hobbes
[Published]
By Thomas Hobbes, concerns the structure of society and legitimate government, and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. Written during the English Civil War, it argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. Hobbes wrote that civil war and the brute situation of a state of nature ("the war of all against all") could be avoided only by strong, undivided government.
1712
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
[Birth]
A Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic, and educational thought.
1 link1776
The Wealth of Nations
[Published]
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, generally referred to by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations, is the magnum opus of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. The book offers one of the world's first collected descriptions of what builds nations' wealth, and is today a fundamental work in classical economics.
1778
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
[Death]
A Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic, and educational thought.
1 link1789
An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
[Published]
By Jeremy Bentham, an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism. He defined as the "fundamental axiom" of his philosophy the principle that "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong." He advocated individual and economic freedoms, the separation of church and state, freedom of expression, equal rights for women, the right to divorce, the decriminalising of homosexual acts & the abolition of slavery & punishment.
1 link1792
Vindication of the Rights of Woman
[Published]
By Mary Wollstonecraft. One of the earliest works of feminist philosophy. In it, Wollstonecraft responds to those educational and political theorists of the eighteenth century who did not believe women should receive a rational education. She argues that women ought to have an education commensurate with their position in society, claiming that women are essential to the nation because they educate its children and because they could be "companions" to their husbands, rather than mere wives.
2 links1798
An Essay on the Principle of Population
[Published]
By Thomas Robert Malthus, an English cleric, scholar and influential economist in the fields of political economy and demography, this book observed that an increase in a nation's food production improved the well-being of the population, but the improvement was temporary because it led to population growth, which in turn restored the original per capita production level. ie. humans had a propensity to utilize abundance for population growth rather than for maintaining a high standard of living, a view that has become known as the "Malthusian trap".
1 link1848
The Communist Manifesto
[Date of Publication]
Written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
23
Pliny the Elder
[Birth]
A Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic Naturalis Historia (Natural History), which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. Natural History is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman Empire and was intended to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge.
1 link79
Pliny the Elder
[Death]
A Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic Naturalis Historia (Natural History), which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. Natural History is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman Empire and was intended to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge.
1 link