Historical Events

Year(s)	Topic	Event	Locations
c. 270 A.D.	Philosophy	Porphyry compiles Plotinus' Enneads (Neoplatonist)	Rome
376 - 476	Politics	The Fall of the Western Roman Empire	Multiple
c. 397 - 415	Philosophy	Augustine of Hippo: Confessions and City of God	Hippo (Algeria)
496 - 814	Politics	The Kingdom of the Franks/Carolingian Empire
c. 524	Philosophy	Boethius: The Consolation of Philosophy	Rome
711	Religion / War	Islamic Umayyad Caliphate begins conquest of Al-Andalus	Andalusia
c. 789 - 850	Culture / Education	The Carolingian Renaissance	France
800	Politics	Charlemagne crowned Emperor of the Romans	Multiple countries
860s	Philosophy	John Scotus Eriugena: On the Division of Nature	(Irish) France
961	Politics	Otto I crowned first Holy Roman Emperor	England
1010 - 1037	Phlosophy	Writings of Avicenna (Islamic)	Persia
1063 - 1109	Philosophy	Writings of Anselm of Canterbury	England
1054	Religion / Politics	The Great Schism: the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches separate
1066	War / Politics	Norman conquest under William the Conqueror	England
1088	Education	University of Bologna established	Italy
1095	War / Religion	Pope Urban II calls for First Crusade to the Holy Land	(Middle East)
1096	Education	First lectures at Oxford University	England
1098	Philosophy / Music	Birth of Hildegard of Bingen	Germany
1099	War / Religion	Crusaders besiege Jerusalem and found Kingdom.of Jerusalem	Jerusalem
1121 - 1140	Philosophy	Writings of Peter Abelard	France
c. 1150	Education	University of Paris is establishd	Paris
c. 1160 - 1198	Philosophy	Writings of Averroes  (Islamic)	Andalusia
c. 1170 - 1204	Philosophy	Writings of Moses Maimonides	Egypt
1189 - 1192	War	Third Crusade	Middle East
1204 - 1261	War / Politics	Latin Empire (created by sack of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade)	(Istanbul)
1209	Religion	Francis of Assisi starts the Order of the Friars Minor (Franciscans)	Italy
1212	Religion	Dominic of Caleruega founds the Order of  Preachers (Dominicans)	France
1215	Politics	The Magna Carta is signed by King John	England
1220 - 1235	Philosophy	Robert Grosseteste writes his treatises on science	England
c. 1240 - 1280	Philosophy	Writings of Albertus Magnus	Cologne
1265 - 1274	Philosophy	Thomas Aquinas:  Summa Theologico	Paris
c. 1290 - 1308	Philosophy	Wrtiings of (John) Duns Scotus	England
1299	Politics	The Ottoman Empire is established	Anatolia
c. 1300 - 37	Art	Fresco artist Giotto de Bondone brings realism to painting	Italy
1320	Literature	Dante completes the Divine Comedy	Italy
c. 1330 - 1360	Literature	Petrarch starts Renaissance humanism	Italy
c. 1330 - 1347	Philosophy	Writings of William of Ockham	England
1387 - 1400	Literature	Chaucer:  The Canterbury Tales	England
c. 1400	Politics	The House of Medici begins its ascent	Florence
1430 - 1464	Philosophy	Writings of Nicholas of Cusa	Trier
1436	Architecture	Filippo Brunelleschi's dome on Florence Cathedral completed	Florence
1431 - 1449	Religion	The Council of Florence	Florence
c. 1440	Technology	Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press	Germany
1453	War	Constantinople falls to the Ottomans; Byzantine Empire ended	Turkey
1455 - 1487	War	War of the Roses results in the Tudor dynasty (1487 - 1603)	England
1462 - 1505	Politics	Ivan III ("The Great") triples the size of Moskovy (Moscow)	Russia
1486 (pub. 1496)	Philosophy	Pico della Mirandola:  Oration on the Dignity of Man	Italy
1492	War	Ferdinand and Isabella complete the  Reconquista	Spain
1492	Exploration	Christopher Columbus discovers the Americas; colonization begins	Caribbean
1498	Religion / Politics	Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola burnt at the stake	Florence
1503 -1506	Art	Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa	Italy
c. 1504	Music	Josquin: Miserere mei, Deus (for Savonarolo)	Ferrera, Italy
1508 - 1512	Art	Michelangelo paints the Sistine Chapel ceiling.	Rome, Italy
1509 - 1511	Art	Raphael paints The School of Athens	Rome
1511	Philosophy	Desidereus Erasmus:  The Praise of Folly	England
1513	Philosophy	Niccoló Machiavelli:  The Prince	Florence, Italy
1515 - 1556	Politics	Charles V rules Spain, Netherlands, Holy Roman Empire	Multiple
1516	Philosophy	Thomas More:  Utopia	England
1517	Religion	Martin Luther posts the 95 Theses; the Reformation begins	Saxony (Germany)
1519 - 1522	Exploration	Ferdinand Magellan expedition circles the Earth	Global
1524 - 1525	War	100,00 peasants die in German Peasant's War	Germany
1527	War	The Sack of Rome ends the Italian Renaissance	Rome
1528	War	The Ottomans fail to capture to Vienna	Vienna
1531 - 1532	Religion	Henry VIII separates Church of England from Rome	England
1534	Religion	Ignatius of Loyola forms the Order of Jesus (Jesuits)	Basque (Spain)
1535	Politics / Religion	Thomas More beheaded by Henry VIII	London
1536	Religion	John Calvin:  Institutes for the Christian Religion	Basel
1543	Science	Nicolaus Copernicus:  On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres  on heliocentrism starts the Copernican Revolution	Nuremberg
1541 - 1564	Religion	John Calvin is religious leader of Geneva	Geneva
1545 - 1563		Council of Trent - the Counter-Reformation begins	North Italy
1554	Religion / Politics	Michael Servetus burnt at the stake for denying the Trinity and divinity of Christ.	Geneva
1554	Religion / Politics	Sebastian Castellio:  Whether Heretics are to be Persecuted	Magdeburg (Germany)
1556 - 1598	Politics	Philip II rules Spain	Spain
1558 - 1603	Politics	Reign of Elizabeth I	England
1561	Religion / Politics	The Peace of Augsburg permits both Catholicism and Lutheranism in the Holy Roman Empire	Augsburg (Germany)
c. 1562	Music	Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli (Pope Macellus Mass)	Rome
1562 - 1587	Religion / War	3 million die in French Huguenot Wars	France & elsewhere
1568 - 1648	War	Dutch War of Independence (80 Years' War) from Spain	Netherlands
1569	Philosophy	Michel de Montaigne: Apology for Raimond Sebond	France
1580 - 1595	Philosophy / Literature	Publication of Montaigne's revised Essays	France
1580 - 1630	Religion / Persecution	Peak Years of European Witch Trials
1582		Gregorian calendar introduced
1588	War	Spanish Armada defeated by English	English Channel
1588	Politics / War	The Dutch Republic Established	Netherlands
1589	Politics	Henry IV starts Bourbon Dynasty	France
1598	Religion	Henry IV grants some political rights to Huguenots in the Edict of Nantes	France
1590 - 1613	Literature	William Shakespeare's plays	London
1600 - 1700	Popuation	European Population c. 80 million, little change
1600	Politics	Giordano Bruno burned at the stake for heresy	Rome
1600	Trade - Politics	East India Company founded	England
c. 1600	Science	Invention of the Telescope and Microscope	Netherlands
1602	Trade - Politics	Dutch East India Company founded	Netherlands
1603	Politics	James VI of Scotland also becomes King James I of England. Stuart Dynasty begins.	England/Scotland
1605, 1615	Literature	Miguel de Cervantes: Don Quixote	Spain
1607	Music	Claudio Monteverdi: L'Orfeo - the first lasting opera	Mantua, Italy
1607	Colonization	Jamestown, Virginia settled	North America
1608	Colonization	Samuel de Champlain founds Quebec City	New France
1610 - 1643	Politics	Reign of Louis XIII	France
1613	Politics	The Romanov Dynasty begins with Michael I	Russia
1618 - 1648	War	The Thirty Years' War	Multiple
1619	Religion	Rijnburg Collegiants founded, practice open Christianity	Holland
1620	Philosophy	Francis Bacon: Novum Organum	Engand
1624 - 1632	Politics	Cardinal Richelieu consolidates power of French monarchy	France
1625	Philosophy	Hugo Grotius: On the Law of War and Peace	Amsterdam
1628	Sciencey	William Harvey: An Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Living Beings	Engand
1633	Politics / Religion	Galileo Galilei condemned for heresy by Roman Inquisition	Rome
1635 - 1659	War	24 year Franco-Spanish War begins.	France / Spain
1637	Philosophy	René Descartes: Discourse on the Method	Dutch Republic
1638	Science	Galileo: Two New Sciences	Rome
1640	Politics / Religion	Providence Colony under Roger Williams: democracy, religious liberty and separation of church and state	Providence, R.I.
1641	Philosophy	René Descartes: Meditations on First Philosophy	Dutch Republic
1642	Philosophy	Thomas Hobbes: De Cive
1642 - 1651	War	The English Civil War	England
1643 - 1715	Politics	Reign of Louis XIV	France
1645	Science	Blaise Pascal present his mechanical calculator	France
1647	Revolt	A fisherman, Masaniello, leads a revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs, which ultimately fails	Naples
1648 - 1653	Revolt	Louis XIV victorious in the Fronde, maintaining supreme power in France.	France
1651 (rev 1668)	Philosophy	Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan	England
1659	War / Politics	1657 Treaty of the Pyrenees ends Franco-Spanish War, France replaces Spain as the dominant European power.
1660	Science	Royal Society founded	England
1660 - 1691	Science	Works of chemist Robert Boyle	England
1664 - 1687	Music	Jean-Baptiste Lully (ballet, opera, orchestra music)	France
1666	Disaster	The Great Fire of London	England
1666	Science	French Academy of Sciences founded by Louis XIV	France
1670	Philosophy	Blaise Pascal: Pensée	France
1670	Philosophy (anonymous)	Baruch Spinoza: Theological-Political Treatise (1670)	Netherlands
1672	Philosophy	Samuel von Pufendorf: De jure naturae et gentium libri octo (The Law of Nature and Nations in 8 Books)	Germany
1677	Philosophy (posthum.)	Baruch Spinoza: Ethics (1676)	Netherlands
1681	Literature	Pedro Calderón de la Barca dies ending of the two century Spanish Golden Age of Arts and Literature	Spain
1682	Religion	Pierre Bayle: Diverse Thoughts on the Comet (of 1680)	France
1682 - 1725	Politics	Peter the Great rules Russia	Russia
1683	War	Battle of Vienna starts 15 year war with the Ottoman Empire	Vienna, Austria
1685	Religion / Politics	Louis XIV revokes the Edict of Nantes, eliminating Huguenots	France
1687	Science	Isaac Newton: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy	England
1688	Politics	The Glorious Revolution -William & Mary ascend the throne	England
1689, 1690, 1691	Philosophy	John Locke: A Letter Concerning Toleration, Two Treatises on Government, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding	England
1694	Finance	The Bank of England is established.	England
1700	Science	Prussian Academy of Sciences founded with Gottfried Liebniz as 1st president	Prussia
1700	Early Feminism	Mary Astell: Some Reflections on Marriage (online text)	England
1702 - 1715	War	War of Spanish Succession	Multiple
1707	Politics	The Acts of Union create the Kingdom of Great Britain	Great Britain
1711	Philosophy	Third Earl of Shaftesbury: Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, an Times	England
1714	Philosophy	Gottfried Leibniz: Monadology	Germany
1714	Philosophy	Bernard Mandeville: The Fable of the Bees	Germany
1715 - 1774	Politics	Reign of Louis XV	France
1717	Music	George Frederic Handel: Water Music	London
1719	Literature	Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe	England
1721	Music	Johann Sebastian Bach: The Brandenburg Concertos	Germany
1725	Music	Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons	Italy
1725	Philosophy	Giambattista Vico: The New Science	Italy
1726	Literature	Johnathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels	Italy
1729 - 1796	Politics	Reign of Catherine the Great	Russia
1730 - 1731	Crime	About 200 executed for homosexuality in Utrecht and beyond	Dutch Republic
1734 - 1735	Literature	Alexander Pope: An Essay on Man	England
1738 - 1740	Philosophy	David Hume: A Treatise on Human Nature	Scotland
1740 - 1786	Politics	Frederick the Great reigns - founds education system for boys and girls	Prussia
1740 - 1765	Politics	Francis I - Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of Austria w/ Maria Theresa	Austria, Germany
1740 - 1748	War	The War of Austrian Secession	multiple
1741	Music	Johann Sebastian Bach: The Goldberg Variations	Germany
1742	Music	G.F. Handel: Messiah	London
1745 - 1763	War	The Seven Years' War	5 continents
1748	Philosophy	Montesquieu: The Spirit of the Laws	France
1748	Philosophy	David Hume: An Equiry Concerning Human Understanding	Scotland
1749	Music	J.S. Bach: Mass in B minor	Germany
1749 - 1789	Philosophy	Comte de Buffon: Natural History (36 vols)	Germany
1749	Philosophy	Denis Diderot: Letter on the Blind	Germany
1751 - 1772	Philosophy	Denis Diderot & Jean e Rond d'Alembert publish the Encyclopédie	Paris
1751	Philosophy	David Hume: An Enquiry Concerning the Principle of Morals	Scotland
1754	Philosophy	Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Discourse on the Origin and Basis of the Inequality of Men	Geneva
1755	Disaster	The Great Lisbon Earthquake	Portugal
1756	Law	William Blackstone: Commentaries on the Laws of England	England
1758	Philosophy	Claude Adrien Helvétius: De l'esprit (On Mind)	France
1758	Philosophy	Emer de Vattel: The Laws of Nations	France
1759	Literature	Voltaire: Candide	Scotland
1759	Philosophy	Adam Smith: The Theory of Moral Sentiments	Scotland
1762	Philosophy	Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Social Contract	Geneva
1762	Philosophy	Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Emile, or On Education	Geneva
1762 - 1796	Politics	Catherine the Great reigns	Russia
1765	Philosophy	Pub. of Leibniz: New Essays Concerning Human Understanding	Germany
1764	Philosophy	Cesare Beccaria: On Crimes and Punishment	Milan
1767	Philosophy	Adam Ferguson: Essay on the History of Civil Society	Scotland
1765 - 1783	War	The American Revolution	North America
1770	Philosophy	Baron d'Holbach: The System of Nature	Paris
1770	Philosophy	Guillaume-Thomas Raynal: History of the Two Indies	Paris
1774 - 1791	Politics	Reign of Louis XVI (beheaded 1793)	France
1776	Philosophy	Thomas Paine: Common Sense	Scotland
1776	Philosophy	Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations	Scotland
1779	Philosophy	Hume (posthum): Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion	Scotland
1781	Philosophy	Immanuel Kant: Critique of Pure Reason	Prussia
1783 - 1787	Politics / War	Republican revolutions in the Dutch Republic	Netherlands
1786	Politics	Death of Frederick I; Successor is Frederick Wilhelm II to 1797	Prussia
1786 - 1791	Music	The end of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's career; his final 10 symphonies, final 5 string quintets, 4 greatest operas and the unfinished Requiem mass	Vienna
1788	Philosophy	Immanuel Kant: Critique of Practical Reason	Prussia
1787	Politics	U.S. Constitution goes into effect	United States
(1780),1789	Philosophy	Jeremy Bentham proposes utilitarianism in The Principles of Morals and Legislation	England
1789 - 1799	War	The French Revolution	France, other
1790	Philosophy	Immanuel Kant: Critique of Judgement	England
1790	Philosophy	Edmund Burke: Reflections on the Revolution in France	Prussia
1791	Philosophy	Thomas Paine: The Rights of Man	England
1792	Early Feminism	Mary Wollstonecraft: Vindication of the Rights of Women	English
1795	Philosophy	Marquis de Condorset: Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind	French
1803	Music	Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony # 3 "Eroica"	Vienna
1806	Politics	Holy Roman Empire ends after nine century existence
1803 - 1815	War	The Napoleonic Wars	Multiple Countries
1807	Philosophy	G.W.F. Hegel: The Phenomenology of Spirit	Germany
1815	Politics	Napoleon defeated.  Congress of Vienna balances the European powers	Vienna
1824	Music	Beethoven premiers his Ninth Symphony	Vienna