400
1436 —
- John Gutenberg invents movable-type printing press
1444 —
- First European slave market, Lagos, Portugal
1448 —
- Portuguese establish first trading post in Africa
1449 —
- Lorenzo de’ Medici born, January 1
1450
1450 —
- Portuguese bring African slaves to Cape Verde Islands
- Inca Empire flourishes in Peru
1451 —
- The Vatican Library founded
- Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa orders Jews in the Netherlands to wear identification badges
1452 —
- Leonardo da Vinci born, April 15
1453 —
- Constantinople falls to the Turks
1455 —
- Gutenberg Bible printed
1456 —
- Pope sees comet; calls for prayer against “The Devil, the Turk, and the Comet”
1457 —
- King James II of Scotland bans football (soccer) and golf for distracting young men from combat training
1459 —
- Jacob Fugger, Imperial banker, born, March 6
1463 —
- Frederick the Wise born, January 17
1465 —
- Johann Staupitz born
1466 —
- Erasmus born
1468 —
- John the Steadfast born, June 30
1472 —
- Lucas Cranach the Elder born in Kronach, Oberfranken
1473 —
- Copernicus born, February 19
1475
1475 —
- Michelangelo born, March 6
1481 —
- Spanish Inquisition against Jews, Muslims, and heretics begins
1483 —
- Raphael, artist, born, April 16
- Martin Luther born in Eisleben, November 10; baptized November 11
- Nicholas Amsdorf born, December 3
1484 —
- Ulrich Zwingli born, January 1
- Papal bull condemns witchcraft; inquisitors sent to Germany
1485 —
- John Bugenhagen born at Wellin, Pomerania, June 24
- Gregory Brück born at Belzig
- Botticelli paints The Birth of Venus
1486 —
- John Eck born, November 13
1487 —
- Diaz sails around the Cape of Good Hope
1492 —
- Columbus reaches the Americas
- First lead pencils used
- Corn discovered by Columbus
- First known reference to tobacco
- Ferdinand and Isabella expel 100,000 Jews from Spain
1493 —
- Justas Jonas born in Nordhausen, June 5
- Pope divides discoveries in the New World between Spain and Portugal
1494 —
- Charles VIII of France invades Italy
- Sulayman the Magnificent born, November 6
- Earliest report of Scots making whiskey
1495 —
- Da Vinci begins painting Last Supper; completed 1497
- William Tyndale born in Slymbridge, England
1496 —
- Michelangelo begins sculpting Pieta
- Santo Domingo founded in New World
- Pope Alexander VI gives his son as hostage to Charles VIII of France
1497 —
- Philip Melanchthon born, February 16
- Copernicus makes first recorded European astronomical observations, March 9
- Dürer publishes Apocalypse woodcuts
- Hans Holbein the Younger, artist, born in Augsburg
- Savonarola hanged in Florence, May 23
- John Cabot discovers Newfoundland
1498 —
- Vasco de Gama reaches India
- Toothbrush invented
1499 —
- Katharina von Bora born in Lippendorf, January 29
- John Brentz born in Weil, Württemberg, June 24
- Louis XII of France seizes Milan
1500
1500 —
- Charles V born in Ghent, February 24
- Pope Alexander VI proclaims Jubilee Year; calls for crusade against Turks
- Aldus Manutius, Italian printer who founded the Venice Academy for the study of Greek classics and invented Italic type, born
- World population estimated at 400 million, 100 million in Europe and Russia
1501 —
- Luther enters University of Erfurt (receives Master of Arts in philosophy, 1505)
1502 —
- Michelangelo begins sculpting David
- Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, founds University of Wittenberg
- First portable timepiece created in Nürnberg
1503 —
- John Frederick the Magnanimous born at Torgau, June 30
- Da Vinci begins painting the Mona Lisa
1504 —
- Philip of Hesse born in Marburg, November 13
1505 —
- Luther in thunderstorm, July 2; enters monastery, July 17
1506 —
- Pope Julius II lays cornerstone of St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome
- Luther takes final vows as Augustinian Monk, autumn
1507 —
- Luther ordained priest at Erfurt Cathedral, April 3
- Luther celebrates first Mass, May 2; begins study of theology
1508 —
- Michelangelo begins painting Sistine Chapel; completed 1512
- Luther appointed substitute lecturer in moral philosophy at University of Wittenberg
1509 —
- John Calvin born in Noyon, France, July 10
- Luther obtains Bachelor of Theology degree, March 9; returns to Erfurt
- Henry VIII becomes king of England
- Pope Julius II excommunicates the city of Venice
1510
1510 —
- First African slaves brought to the New World (Haiti)
- Luther sent to Rome on mission for Augustinian order
- Wheelock firearm introduced in Nürnberg, Germany
1511 —
- Luther sent to Wittenberg University to serve as professor, takes over chair of Staupitz at Wittenberg
1512 —
- Luther awarded Doctor of Theology degree, October 18–19
- Fifth Lateran Council begins; ends in 1517
1513 —
- Ponce de Leon reaches Florida
- Portuguese explorers reach China
- Balboa reaches Pacific Ocean
- Pope Leo X begins pontificate, March 11
- Luther’s “tower experience,” spring
- Luther begins lectures on Psalms
1514 —
- Albert of Brandenburg, cardinal, Archbishop of Mainz, and elector, begins his reign
1515 —
- Luther begins lectures on Romans
- Index of Prohibited Books adopted at Fifth Lateran Council
- Coffee from Arabia appears in Europe
1516 —
- Erasmus publishes Novum Instrumentum, first Greek New Testament
- Luther begins first lecture series on Galatians
- Reinheitsgebot law enacted in Bavaria to assure pure beer
- Music printed on engraved plates used for first time in Italy
1517 —
- Pope Leo X declares indulgence for rebuilding of St. Peter’s
- Luther nails Ninety-Five Theses to Castle Church door in Wittenberg, October 31
- Hernandez de Cordoba reaches Yucatán
- Hernando Cortes reaches Aztec capital Tenochtitlan (Mexico City)
1518 —
- Philip Melanchthon comes to Wittenberg University
- Heidelberg Disputation, April
- Process against Luther begins in Rome
- Luther appears before Cardinal Cajetan in Augsburg, October–November
- Luther appeals to General Council, refuses to recant
- Frederick the Wise refuses to surrender Luther, December
- Forks first used at a banquet in Vienna
1519 —
- Leonardo da Vinci dies, May 2
- Ulrich Zwingli begins preaching on New Testament
- Charles V elected Holy Roman Emperor, June 28
- Leipzig Debate between Luther and Eck, July
1520
1520 —
- Matthias Flacius born, March 3
- Raphael, artist, dies, April 6
- Leo X issues papal bull Exsurge Domine, giving Luther sixty days to recant or be excommunicated, June 15
- Lucas Cranach the Elder creates first portrait of Martin Luther, an engraving
- Luther burns the papal bull and a copy of Canon Law, December 10
- Montezuma II, last Aztec ruler, dies
- Chocolate brought from Mexico to Spain
1521 —
- Luther excommunicated by papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem, January 3
- Hans Holbein the Younger paints The Dead Christ
- Luther appears before Diet of Worms and refuses to recant, April 17–18
- Charles V issues Edict of Worms, declaring Luther a public outlaw and criminal and making it illegal to have Luther’s books, May 25
- Sulayman conquers Belgrade, August
- Frederick the Wise hides Luther at the Wartburg Castle for eleven months
- Luther translates New Testament into German, from December to March 1522
- Philip Melanchthon publishes first Lutheran dogmatic text, Loci Theologici
- Anabaptist Thomas Münzer begins preaching against infant Baptism
- Hernando Cortes conquers Mexico
1522 —
- Luther returns from Wartburg, March 6
- Luther preaches the Invocavit Sermons against excesses of the Zwickau prophets
- Ban on Luther lifted
- Magellan’s ship, the Victoria, completes circumnavigation of globe, September 6
- Luther’s translation of the New Testament published, September 21
- Martin Chemnitz born at Treuenbrietzen, November 9
- Luther writes Personal Prayer Book, predecessor of Small Catechism
- Charles V establishes Inquisition in Spanish Netherlands; over 2,000 killed
- Ulrich Zwingli begins Reformation in Zurich
- Bible printed in Spain in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Arabic
1523 —
- Escaped nuns from Nimbschen, including Katharina von Bora, arrive in Wittenberg, April 7
- Heinrich Voes and John Esch, first Lutheran martyrs, burned at stake in Antwerp, July 1
- Luther’s translation of the Pentateuch published, summer
- Luther writes his first hymn
- Luther writes The Baptismal Booklet
1524 —
- Peasants’ War begins, led in part by Thomas Münzer
- Luther’s translation of Psalter published
- Luther resumes lecturing in Wittenberg
- Luther stops wearing monk’s clothing, October
- Achtliederbuch (A Book of Eight Hymns), first Lutheran hymnal, published by John Walter and Luther
- John Staupitz dies, December 28
1525
1525 —
- George Blaurock is rebaptized by Conrad Grebel; marks formal beginning of Anabaptist movement
- Frederick the Wise dies, May 5
- John the Steadfast, brother of Frederick, becomes Elector of Saxony
- Luther marries Katharina von Bora, June 13
- Luther’s German Mass first used, December 25
- Luther’s Personal Prayer Book revised and reissued
- William Tyndale visits Luther in Wittenberg; influenced by Luther’s translation, Tyndale’s English translation of the New Testament is printed in Worms; over 18,000 copies eventually smuggled into England
- First Lutheran ordination takes place in Wittenberg
- Luther works on new church order for Saxony
1526 —
- Albrecht Dürer paints The Four Apostles
- Diet of Speyer grants German princes right to establish religion in their territory
- Church visitation begins to assess needs of congregations
- Hans Luther born, June 7
- Sulayman captures all of Hungary, Battle of Mohács, August 29
1527 —
- Plague strikes Wittenberg; the Luthers turn their home into a hospital
- Luther writes “A Mighty Fortress”
- Mutinous troops of Charles V sack Rome, May
- Elizabeth Luther born, December 10
1528 —
- Patrick Hamilton, Lutheran martyr, executed, February 29
- Jacob Andreae born in Waiblingen, March 25
- Albrecht Dürer dies, April 6
- Elizabeth Luther dies, August 3
- Melanchthon prepares Visitation Articles for inspection of Lutheran pastors and congregations in Saxony; Luther participates in one visitation in October
- Luther writes his Confession concerning Christ’s Supper
1529 —
- Second Diet of Speyer, April, results in the issue of the Protestio, hence giving rise to the label “Protestant,” which the Romanists applied to all who agreed with Luther
- Luther publishes Large Catechism, April, and Small Catechism, May
- Magdalena Luther born, May 4
- Luther, Melanchthon, and Zwingli meet for Marburg Colloquy; unable to agree on Lord’s Supper, October 2–4
- Turks unsuccessfully lay siege to Vienna
- Schwabach Articles written by Luther and others, presented October 16
- Marburg Articles written by Luther
- Sulayman and his Turkish armies lay siege to Vienna
1530
1530 —
- Torgau Articles prepared by Luther, Melanchthon, Bugenhagen, and Jonas
- John Eck writes the Four Hundred and Four Articles
- Luther stays at Coburg Castle, April–October
- Augsburg Confession presented to Charles V at Diet of Augsburg, June 25
- Roman Confutation presented, August 3
1531 —
- David Chytraeus born in Ingelfingen, February 26
- Formation of Smalcaldic League, February 27
- Augsburg Confession and Apology published, April–May
- Second edition of Apology (the Octavo edition) published, September
- Ulrich Zwingli dies on Swiss battlefield at Kappel am Albis, October 11
- Martin Luther (son of Martin and Katharina) born, November 9
- Comet appears, eventually known as “Halley’s Comet”
1532 —
- John the Steadfast dies, August 15; his son, John Frederick the Magnanimous becomes Elector with John Ernest
- Religious Peace of Nürnberg signed
- Sulayman repulsed at Vienna; goes no further
- Luther publishes An Admonition to Prayer against the Turks
1533 —
- Paul Luther born, January 28
- Ivan IV (“the Terrible”) becomes Russian czar at age 3
- English King Henry VIII excommunicated, July 11
1534 —
- Hans Lufft publishes first edition of Luther’s complete German Bible; by 1574, Lufft had printed over 100,000 copies of the Luther Bible
- Ignatius of Loyola founds Society of Jesus (Jesuits), August 15
- First complete edition of Luther’s Bible commentaries published
- Henry VIII declares himself to be head of the Church of England
- Margarethe Luther born, December 17
1535
1535 —
- Luther begins his last major lecture series, on Genesis
1536 —
- Luther, Melanchthon, and Englishmen Edward Fox and Robert Barnes agree to complete Wittenberg Concord; rejected by Zwinglians
- John Calvin publishes first edition of Institutes of the Christian Religion
- Martyrdom of William Tyndale in Belgium, October 6
- Norway becomes Lutheran
- Menno Simons assumes leadership of Anabaptists
- Henry VIII allows English Bible in England
- John Frederick commissions Luther to prepare articles for the meeting of the Smalcaldic League, December 1
1537 —
- Melanchthon writes Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope for the Smalcaldic League
1538 —
- Luther’s Smalcald Articles published
1539 —
- First volume of Luther’s collected works appears, completed 1558
- Saxony and electoral Brandenburg formally become Lutheran
- Catholic Counter-Reformation begins in earnest
1540
1540 —
- Melanchthon’s Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope published
- Melanchthon publishes his revised Augsburg Confession, the Variata
- Martyrdom of Robert Barnes, Lutheran Confessor, in England, July 30
- Wittenberg holds first celebration of anniversary of the Gutenberg press
- Society of Jesus (Jesuits) confirmed by pope, September
1541 —
- De Soto reaches the Mississippi River, May 8
- Council of Regensburg attempts unity between Rome and Lutherans on justification; the compromise of justification is rejected by John Frederick and others
- Nicholas von Amsdorf consecrated as Bishop of Naumburg-Zeitz by Luther
- Calvin initiates the Reformation in Geneva, which he establishes as a “City of God”
1542 —
- John Frederick the Magnanimous becomes sole ruler of Saxony
- Magdalena Luther dies, September 20
- Portuguese traders first Westerners to reach Japan
1543 —
- John Eck dies, February 13
- Copernicus’s On the Revolution of Heavenly Bodies, describing a sun-centered universe, published
- Copernicus dies, May 24
- Territory of Braunschweig becomes Calvinist
- Spanish Catholics begin to burn Protestants at the stake
1544 —
- Another diet at Speyer appears to grant major concessions to the Lutherans
- First church built to be Lutheran, Torgau Castle Chapel, dedicated by Luther, October 5
- Sweden declares Lutheranism to be state religion
1545
1545 —
- Council of Trent’s first sessions, 1545–47
- Fifth edition of Luther’s Bible, the last under his supervision, is published
- First complete edition of Luther’s writings in Latin is published
1546 —
- Luther preaches his last sermon, February 14
- Luther dies at Eisleben, February 18
- Luther is buried at Castle Church in Wittenberg, February 22
- Electoral Palatinate becomes Lutheran
1547 —
- Smalcaldic League defeated by Charles V at Battle of Mühlberg, April 24
- John Frederick the Magnanimous taken captive in battle and exiled to Weimar
- Wittenberg surrendered to save itself and the lives of John Frederick’s wife and sons
- Luther’s Small Catechism is first book printed in Lithuania
1548 —
- Augsburg Interim published, May 15
- John Frederick the Magnanimous founds Jena College
- Adiaphoristic controversy begins
- Leipzig Interim presented by Maurice, December
1549 —
- Francis Xavier introduces Christianity in Japan
- Matthias Flacius moves to Magdeburg, November 9
1550
1550 —
- Calvin writes the Consensus Tigurinus to merge Zwingli and Calvinist views of the Lord’s Supper
- Charles V commands the death penalty for all heresy in the Holy Roman Empire
1551 —
- Council of Trent holds more sessions, 1551–52
1552 —
- Maurice turns against Charles V, April 5, who then is forced to grant limited legal rights to Lutherans in signing the peace treaty of Passau, August 2
- John Frederick the Magnanimous released from captivity (September 1), moves electoral capital to Weimar
- Katharina von Bora dies in Torgau, December 20
- Joachim Westphal publishes treatise fully exposing Calvinist error on Lord’s Supper
1553 —
- Maurice is killed trying to enforce the peace treaty of Passau, July 9
- Augustus I becomes Elector of all of Saxony
- Lucas Cranach the Elder dies in Weimar, October 16
- Mary Tudor begins her reign, attempts to return England to Catholicism
1554 —
- John Frederick the Magnanimous dies, March 3
1555
1555 —
-
- Peace of Augsburg allows Lutherans equal rights in Holy Roman Empire
- Justas Jonas dies in Eisfeld, October 5
- Pope Paul IV begins pontificate, makes stamping out Protestantism high priority
- Pfeffinger publishes treatise on human cooperation in salvation, occasions Synergist controversy
1556—
-
-
- Charles V abdicates throne, retires to monastery in Spain
-
1557—
-
-
- Gregory Brück dies at Jena, February 15
- Colloquy of Worms (to unite Lutherans and Catholics) fails
-
1558 —
-
-
-
- Elizabeth I becomes queen of England, restores Reformation via Calvinism
- College of Jena becomes the University of Jena; becomes stronghold of authentic Lutheranism, supplanting Wittenberg
- John Bugenhagen dies in Wittenberg, April 20
- Charles V dies in Spain, September 21
-
-
1559 —
-
-
-
- Spanish explorer Tristán de Luna enters Pensacola Bay, Florida, August 14
- John Knox brings Calvinism to Scotland
-
-
1560
1560 —
- Philip Melanchthon dies, April 19
1561 —
- Naumburg Conference attempts to unite Lutherans; effort fails when it rejects second edition of Augsburg Confession and Apology
- Chemnitz publishes The Lord’s Supper and Judgment on Certain Controversies
1563 —
- Council of Trent ends, settling Roman doctrine and establishing Roman Catholic Church
- Council of Trent orders clothes to be painted on nude figures on Michelangelo’s Last Judgment panel in Sistine chapel
- Heidelberg Catechism approved, widely adopted by Reformed churches
1564 —
- Galileo born, February 15
- Michelangelo dies, February 18
- Martin Luther (son of Martin and Katharina) dies, March 2
- William Shakespeare born, April 23
- John Calvin dies in Geneva, May 27
- Bullinger’s Second Helvetic Confession is adopted by many Reformed churches
- Andreas Vesalius’s death sentence for dissecting human bodies commuted in exchange for his pilgrimage to the Holy Land
1565 —
- Nicholas Amsdorf dies in Eisenach, May 14
- Martin Chemnitz begins writing Examination of the Council of Trent (completed 1573)
1567 —
- Philip of Hesse dies in Kassel, March 31
1568 —
- Martin Chemnitz and Jacob Andreae begin work on uniting Lutheran territories and cities
1570
1570 —
- Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth
- John Brenz dies in Stuttgart, September 11
- Margarethe Luther Kuhnheim dies
1571 —
- The Thirty-Nine Articles establishes a more Calvinist form of Reformation in England
1572 —
- St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of Protestant Huguenots in France, August 24–September 17
1573 —
- Jacob Andreae publishes Six Christian Sermons
- Roman Confutation of the Augsburg Confession finally published
1574 —
- Crypto-Calvinists fully exposed in Wittenberg
- Lutheranism restored by Augustus I
- Swabian Concord published
1575 —
- Matthias Flacius dies, March 11
- Hans Luther dies, October 27
1576 —
- Torgau Conference called by Elector Augustus I to begin Lutheran unity efforts
- Formula of Concord’s “Epitome” (the “Torgau Book”) completed by Jacob Andreae
1577 —
- Formula of Concord’s “Solid Declaration” completed at Bergen Abbey, Magdeburg
- Francis Drake begins circumnavigating globe
1578 —
- Chemnitz publishes Two Natures in Christ
1580
1580 —
- Book of Concord published on the fiftieth anniversary of presentation of Augsburg Confession, June 25
1582 —
- Gregorian calendar implemented by Pope Gregory XIII
- Conference at Quedlinburg, in which the authoritative Latin edition of the Book of Concord is approved, begins, December–January 1583
1584 —
- Latin Book of Concord published in Leipzig
1586 —
- Martin Chemnitz dies in Braunschweig, April 8
- Colony of Roanoke established in Virginia
1588 —
- English defeat Spanish Armada
1590
1590 —
- Jacob Andreae dies in Tübingen, January 7
1592 —
- Saxon Visitation Articles published; Calvinism rooted out in Saxony
- Galileo invents the thermometer
1593 —
- Diet of Uppsala in Sweden upholds Lutheran doctrine
- Paul Luther dies, March 8
1595 —
- Zacharias Janssen develops compound microscope
- René Descartes, a key leader of the Enlightenment, born, March 31
1598 —
- Formula of Concord subscribed in Strasbourg
- French King Henry IV grants religious freedom to Protestants via Edict of Nantes, April 13
1600
1600 —
- Giordano Bruno burned at the stake for support of Copernican astronomy, February 17
- David Chytraeus dies in Rostock, June 25
- First performance of Hamlet at Globe Theater
1618 —
- Thirty Years’ War begins