Select a Century

THE STORY OF THE CHURCH

INTRODUCTION

1st Cent AD

5 BC?Jesus is born. ♦

4 BCHerod the Great dies. ♦

6 ADArchelaus deposed and exiled. ♦

9 AD — Three legions of Romans are attacked and defeated by German natives at the Battle of Teutoburg. — Wang Mang usurps the throne ending Han rule and establishing the short-lived Xin dynastry in China.

14 ADAugustus dies; succeeded by Tiberius. ♦

23 — Wang Mang is decapitated by Red Eyebrow rebels.

25 — Liu Xiu, as Han Guang Wudi (d.57), founds the Later Han dynasty, until 220, in China.

26Pontius Pilate assumes office as prefect in Judea. ♦

c.30Jesus is crucified but is resurrected from the dead.

33Paul is converted to Christianity.

36Pontius Pilate is recalled to Rome.

37 — Tiberius dies; succeeded by Gaius-Caligula.

38Herod Antipas is exiled.

38 — Outbreak of Jewish-Gentile hostilities in Alexandria.

40Gaius demands his image to be erected in the Jerusalem Temple.

41 — Gaius is assassinated; Claudius is acclaimed emperor.

44Death of Agrippa I.

c.46Paul & Barnabas make 'First Missionary Journey.

48Paul writes his letter to the Galatians.

49The Jerusalem Council.

49 — Claudius expells Jews from Rome.

49Paul makes 'Second Missionary Journey'.

Buddhism is introduced into China about this time.

c.50Paul writes 1 & 2 Thessalonians.

50-52Paul in Corinth.

52Felix takes up his office as prefect in Judea.

c.53Paul makes 'Third Missionary Journey'.

54 — Claudias dies; succeeded by Nero.

54Paul writes 1 Corinthians.

55Paul writes 2 Corinthians.

57Paul writes his letter to the Romans.

57Paul arrested in Jerusalem and placed in Roman prison in Caesarea.

60 — Boudicca raises revolt against Roman rule in Britain.

61(?) — Paul in Rome (?).

62James, the brother of Jesus, is killed on order of the high-priest.

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64The great fire of Rome.

66Start of 'First Jewish Revolt'.

68 — The year of the four emperors in Rome.

?Gospel of Mark possibly written about this time.

68Revolt against Nero; he commits suicide.

69Vespasian proclaimed emperor.

?Gospel of Luke and Acts probably written about this time.

70The destruction of the Jerusalem Temple.

74Fall of Masada. ♦

79Vespasian dies; succeeded by Titus.

79 Aug 24 — Vesuvius erupts.

80 — Colosseum in Rome is inaugurated.

81Titus dies; succeeded by Domitian.

90(?) — Gospel of John & Revelation probably written about this time.

96 — Domitian dies, and is succeeded by Nerva.

98 — Nerva dies, and is succeeded by Trajan.

ExcursusThe fate of the Apostles.

2nd Cent AD

105 — Tsai Lun creates the first paper in China.

112Pliny the Younger begins governorship in Bithynia.

115Ignatius is taken to Rome and martyred.

117 — Trajan dies and is succeeded by Hadrian.

138 — Hadrian dies and is succeeded by Antoninus Pius.

156Polycarp is martyred.

161Antoninus dies, and is succeeded by Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

169 — Lucius Verus dies, leaving Marcus Aurelius sole Roman emperor.

180 — Marcus Aurelius dies and is succeeded by Commodus.

192 — Commodus dies and is succeeded by Pertinax..

193 — Pertinax dies and is succeeded by Didius Julianus, who dies three months later and is succeeded in turn by Septimus Severus.

3rd Cent AD

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211 — Septimus Severus dies and is succeeded by Caracalla and Geta; Geta dies ten months later leaving Caracalla sole Roman emperor.

217 — Caracalla dies and is succeeded by Macrinus.

220 (-280) — Period of the Three Kingdoms in China.

249Decius becomes emperor; fresh new round of persecution against Christians.

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4th Cent AD

305Constantius Chlorus becomes one of two augustii.

312Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine goes into battle with the sign of the cross.

313Edict of Milan legalizes Christianity.

320 — Chandragupta establishes the Gupta Empire in India.

325The Council of Nicea to tackle the Arian controversy opens.

330Eusebius completes Onomasticon.

337Constantine dies, and the Roman empire is divided into the Eastern and Western Roman Empire.

353Constantius becomes sole emperor.

354Augustine is born.

360Jerome is born.

361Julian "the Apostate" becomes emperor of the Roman empire.

363Julian the Apostate's death returns Christianity to official religion of the Roman Empire.

376 — Chandragupta II begins his reign and India reaches its golden classical age. — Ostrogoth empire invaded by the Huns.

378Roman emperor Valens is killed y Visigoths..

381Council of Constantinople.

398John Chrysostom is 'kidnapped' and made bishop of Constantinople.

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5th Cent AD

405 — Fa Xian begins his journey to India in search of Buddhist manuscripts.

410Rome is sacked by Visigoths.

430Augustine dies.

439 — Carthage is captured by Vandals.

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451 — Attila the Han is defeated at the Battle of Chalons.

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455 — Saxons make significant advance on their conquest of England with the victory at Aylesford, Kent.

461
— 17 Mar - St Patrick of Ireland dies.

476Rome falls to the barbarians.

486Clovis I establishes the Kingdom of the Franks.

488Theodoric I (the Great) establishes the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy.

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500 — Indian mathematicians introduce the concept of zero into the number system. — The Ghanaian kingdom in west Africa rises to power. — The first Swedish state, Svealand, is founded.

6th Cent AD

503Start of the Persian-Roman Wars.

532The Nika revolt against Justinian occurs in Constantiniple.

537Hagia Sophia is completed.

552 — Buddhism is introduced into Japan.

565Emperor Justinian dies.

581 — Sui dynasty established in China.

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7th Cent AD

621 — Li Yuan's rebellion against Sui emperor ends with establishment of Tang dynasty in China.

622 July 16 — The Hijra; beginning of Muslim era.

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630 — Muhammad captures Mecca.

632: Muhammad dies.

639 — Caliph Umar's armies capture Jerusalem.

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660 — Empress Wu Zetian assumes power in China.

661 — Umayyah caliphate is established after war between Uthman and Ali with Damascus as it centre.

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680 — Battle of Karbala formalizes split between Shias and Sunnis.

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690 — Sung dynasty reunites China.

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8th Cent AD

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750 — Abbasid caliphate is established with Baghdad as its centre.

756 — Independent rival Ummayad caliphate established in Cordoba, Spain.

786 — Harun al-Rashid succeeds as 6th Caliph of Abbasid dynasty.

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800Charlemagne is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

9th Cent AD

881 — Huang Chao's sacking of Chang'an brings an end to the Tang dynasty in China.

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899 — Alfred the Great of Britain dies; succeeded by Edward.

10th Cent AD

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930 — Qarmatians (an extremist Shias group) sack Mecca and Medina, steal the Kaaba and held it for ransom in their 'capital' near Bahrain for 22 years.

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962Pope John XII crowns King Otto I of Germany 'Roman Emperor'.

991 — Vikings, under Swein, son of Harold Bluetooth, invades England.

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11th Cent AD

1009Hakim orders destruction of Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

1013 — English makes Sweyn king; Ethelred seeks asylum in Normandy.

1016 — Battle of Ashingdon; Canute becomes King of England.

1042Edward the Confessor becomes King of England.

1054 Jul 16 — The Great Schism: Roman Cardinal Humbert and Byzantine Patriarch issue bulls of excommunication to each other.

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1066 Oct — Battle of Hastings: William of Normandy conquers England.

1071Battle of Manzikert; .

1087 — William the Conqueror dies; succeeded by William Rufus.

1095 Nov 27 — Pope Urban II proclaims the First Crusade at Council of Clermont.

1097Siege of Antioch begins.

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1098 Jun 19: Crusaders begin fight for Nicaea.

1099 3 Jun: Antioch falls to Crusaders.

1099 15 Jul: Jerusalem falls to Crusaders.

1100 — Henry I is crowned King of England.

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12th Cent AD

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1147Start of Second Crusade.

1154 — Henry II Plantegenet becomes first Angevin king to be crowned King of England.

1170Thomas a Becket is murdered in Canterbury Cathedral.

1174 Oct 28 — Saladin takes over Damascus.

1179 — Palace construction on site of present Forbidden City begins.

1187 Jul 4: Saladin defeats Crusaders at the Horns of Hattin.

1189Third Crusade begins.

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13th Cent AD

1202Fourth Crusade begins.

1206 — Temujin (Genghis Khan) unites the Mongul tribes and begins conquest.

1212The Children's Crusade.

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1215 — Temujin invades China and captures Chengdu; fall of Chin dynasty. — Disenchanted barons presents Magna Carta to King John in England.

1215Fourth Lateran Council opens in Rome.

1217The Fifth Crusade begins.

1236Cordoba falls to the armies of Castile..

1260 — Kublai Khan proclaims himself Great Khan.

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1264 — Kublai Khan begins construction of new city at Dadu (later renamed Beijing)/p>

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1266 — Kublai Khan moves his capital to Dadu.

1268 May 18 — Antioch falls to Mamluks.

1274 — Kublai Khan fails to capture Japan, resulting in costliest defeat in Mongul history.

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1275 — Marco Polo begins tour of China.

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1279 — Last of the Song emperors dies; China's unification under Mongol Yuan dynasty is complete.

1291Acre, the last Crusader stronghold, falls to the Muslims.

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1297 — William Wallace defeats English at Battle of Stirling Bridge, Scotland.

14th Cent AD

1305The "Babylonian Captivity" of the papacy.

1306 — Robert Bruce raises a rebellion and crowns himself Robert I in Scotland.

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1327 — King Edward II is killed; succeeded by Edward III in England.

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1329 — Robert I secures independence for Scotland with Treaty of Northampton.

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1368 — Zhu Yuan-zhang founds the Ming dynasty in China.

1375John Wycliffe publishes Dominium.

1377 — Richard II, the Black Prince, becomes King in England.

1380Thomas a Kempis is born.

1389 — Yi Songgye rebels against his Koryo king and establishes the Choson dynasty in Korea.

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1399 — Henry IV of House Lancaster becomes King in England.

15th Cent AD

1405 — Zheng He begins the first of his seven epic oceanic journeys.5

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1411 — St Andrew's University is founded.

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1413 — Henry IV dies, succeeded by Henry V in England.

1415 — Henry V wins Battle of Agincourt.

1415Jan Hus is betrayed and burned at the Council of Constance.

1417Martin V is elected pope, ending the Great Schism.

c.1418Thomas aKempis publishes The Imitation of Christ.

1422 — Henry V dies; succeeded by Henry VI.

1430 May 23: Joan of Arc is captured and handed over to the English.

1431 — The Khmers, under pressure from the Chams, abandon their capital at Angkor. —

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1450 — Building of Machu Picchu begins.

1453 May 29 — Constantinople falls to Ottoman sultan Mehmet II, ending the Byzantine Empire.

1455 — The War of the Roses breaks out with first battle at St Albans (22 May) in England.

1455Gutenburg publishes the "Gutenburg Bible" in Mainz, Germany.

1457
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Latin edition of the Psalter is printed in Mainz..

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1461 — The Kingdom of Ulster is annexed by England.

1471 - Albrecht Durer is born.

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1475 — The Vatican Library is founded.

1482 — Portugal, under King John, becomes first European power to establish a foothold in Africa, at Elmina.

1483
6 Jul - Richard III is crowned king of England.

Tomas de Torquemada is appointed Inquisitor-General of Spain.

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10 Nov - Martin Luther is born.

1485 — Richard III is killed by Henry VII's forces at Bosworth Common; Henry VII is King of England.

1488 — Bartholomew Diaz rounds the Cape of Good Hope, becoming first European to cross from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

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1491 — Henry VIII is born (Jun 28).

1494 — Treaty of Tordesillas partitions the world between Spain and Portugal.

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1490 — Vasco da Gama arrives at Calicut, India, by way of Cape of Good Hope.

1492
Christians recapture Granada.

Ximenes de Cisneros becomes confessor to Queen Isabella.

Columbus makes landfall on Carribean islands.

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1498 —

1494
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Treaty of Tordesillas..

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1498
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— Christopher Columbus, on his 3rd journey, makes first known footfall of a European on continental America.

Savonarola dies at the stake in Florence.

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1500 Apr 2 — Cabral sights mainland of South America.

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16th Cent AD

INTRODUCTION TO 16th CENT

1501 — Iran becomes Shia.

1503Erasmus publishes his Handbook of the Christian Soldier.

Prelude to the Reformation in Germany

1505Martin Luther makes his "Storm Vow:.

1506Johannes Reuchlin publishes The Rudiments of Hebrew.

First scholarly printed edition of all of Augustine's known works is published in Basel.

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1507
— Martin Luther takes priestly order.

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1509 — John Calvin is born.

1509Prelude to the Reformation in England. ♦

—24 June - Henry VIII is crowned king of England.. ♦

1511
Contarini comes to faith.

Erasmus publishes his The Praise of Folly.

Martin Luther takes up teaching post in the university at Wittenberg.

— Portugese captures Malacca.

1512
— Feb - John Colet charges the Church with corruption at Canterbury Convocation.

— May -Fifth Lateran Council opens in Rome.

Martin Luther is appointed Professor of Biblical Theology at the university in Wittenberg.

d'Estaples publishes his commentary on Paul's Epistles.

— Michelangelo completes his painting of the Sistine Chapel, begun in 1508.

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1513
Erasmus publishes his Julius Exclusus.

Prelude to the Reformation in Scotland

— James IV invades England in support of his French ally & John Knox is born.

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1514Copernicus espouses a heliocentric order of the universe.

1515
Luther begins lectures on Romans.

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1516
Jan 23 - Ferdinand of Spain dies and is succeeded by his grandson Charles.

Feb 18 - Mary is born to Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon.

Feb - Erasmus publishes his edition of the Greek New Testament.

1517Martin Luther proclaims the 95-Theses.

1518
Erasmus publishes his Colloquies.

— Aug - Martin Luther is summoned to appear at the Vatican.

— Oct - Luther meets Cajetan at Diet of Augsburg..

Prelude to the Reformation in Switzerland

1519
— Jan 1 - Zwingli announces his intention to preach systematically through the Gospel of Matthew.

— Jan 12 - Maximilian I dies and Charles V of Spain is elected Holy Roman Emperor.

— Jun - Theological disputation between von Karlstadt and Johann Eck at Leipzig.

Prelude to the Anabaptist Reformation

1520
Luther publishes To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and The Freedom of the Christian..

— Dec 10 - Luther receives papal bull Exsurge Domine which his followers burn in a bonfire.

1521
— Jan 3 - Pope issues bull excommunicating Luther and his followers.

— Apr 16 - Luther appears before the Diet of Worms, and is then "kidnapped". — Henry VIII reads Luther's Babylonian Captivity

— Apr 27 - Magellan is killed in skirmish with local tribesmen in Philippines.

— May - Ignatius of Loyola comes to faith.

— Nov - Thomas Müntzer issues his Prague Manifesto..

— Nov 24 - Henry VIII is granted title of "Defender of the Faith" by Pope Leo X.

1522
— Jan - Karlstadt breaks his vow of celibacy.

— Mar - Luther returns from Wartburg Castle to Wittenberg.

— 25 Mar - Ignatius' night virgil at Montserrat.

— Lent - Zwingli preaches on "The Choice and Freedom of Foods" in Zurich.

— May 29 - Battle of Mohacs; Hungarian king Louis II's forces defeated by Suleiman??? 1526?.

— Sept 8 - del Cano and his crew complete first recorded circumnavigation of the globe begun under Magellan.

1523
— Jan 29 - Zurich city council calls its first public disputation on religious questions.

— Apr - Müntzer is appointed pastor of Allstedt.

Luther publishes On Secular Authority.

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1524
— Sept - Müntzer seeks to establish the Eternal League of God in Mühlhausen.

— ## - Balthasar Hübmaier issues his Eighteen Theses for disputation at Waldshut.

— ## - William Tyndale begins translating the New Testament into English.

— Sept - Erasmus attacks Luther's theology in The Freedom of the Will.

— Dec - Luther responds to Erasmus in The Bondage of the Will.

Outbreak of Peasant War.

1525
— Jan - Zurich city council calls for third public disputation to discuss subject of baptism.

Mar - Peasant leaders publish Twelve Articles.

Apr - Luther published Admonition to Peace.

— Apr - Zurich breaks with Church of Rome.

May - Luther publishes Against the robbing . . ..

— Jun 13 - Luther breaks his vow of celibacy and marries Katherina von Bora.

— Jun - Zwingli launches the Prophezei in Zurich.

Poland becomes first evangelical state-church in Europe.

1526
— Apr - Anabaptist Hübmaier recants his anabaptist beliefs.

— May - Baden Declaration.

Imperial Diet of Speyer agrees on policy of cuius regio, eius religio.

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1527
— May - Rome is sacked by German mercenaries serving with the Imperial forces in Italy.

Elector Johann of Saxony issues orders for reform of the church.

Swiss Brethren compiles the Schleitheim articles.

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1528
— Apr 29 - Patrick Hamilton becomes the first Scottish martyr of the Reformation movement.

— Albrecht Durer dies.

Ignatius leaves Spain to sturdy in Paris.

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1529
Luther publishes Shorter Catechism.

Hutterites founded.

Philipp of Hesse unites evangelical-sympathtic princes - the birth of 'Protestants'.

Swiss-Zurich evangelical communities form the Christian Civil Union.

— 9 Oct - Wolsey is charged with praemunire.

— Nov - Thomas More is appointed Chancellor of England.

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1530
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Augsburg Confession formulated.

— 29 Nov - Cardinal Wolsey dies of dysentry.

1531 Mar 8 — Convocation of bishops recognizes Henry VIII as Head of the Church of England.

1532 Nov 16 —

1532
Thomas Cranmer is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.

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— Nov 16 - Pizarro captures Inca leader Atahuallpa and begins subjugation of Peru..

1533
— 25 Jan - Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn are secretly married by the king's chaplain in Whitehall Palace.

— Mar - Thomas Cranmer is consecrated Archibishop of Canterbury.

— 7 Sept - Elizabeth is born to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn at Greenwich Palace.

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1534
Anabaptists sieze Munster.

— Oct 18 - The "Affairs of the Placard" breaks out in Paris.

— Nov - Act of Supremacy declares Henry VIII Supreme Head of the Church in England.

Pope Clement VII dies, succeeded by Pope Paul III..

Thomas Fitzgerald leads rebellion against Henry VIII..

1535
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Valdes settles in Naples.

Pope Paul III makes Reginald Pole, Gaspar Contarini, Jacapo Sadoleto, Giovanni Carafa, and John Fisher cardinals..

Jul 6 - Thomas More is beheaded at Tower Hill.

The Ursaline Order is founded.

Spanish army siezes Milan.

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1536
— 1 Jan - Wittenberg Disputations between Lutherans and the English opens.

— 7 Jan - Catherine of Aragon dies.

John Calvin publishes the 1st ed of Institutes of the Christian Religion.

Jul - John Calvin leaves France, never to return.

— Erasmus dies while on visit to Basel.

The 'Pilgrimage of Grace' rebellion in England.

Archbishop of Cologne, von Wied, publishes proposals for reform of church.

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— 19 May - Anne Boleyn is beheaded on charges of adultery; Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour.

Tyndale is betrayed and martyred.

1537
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— Oct 12 - Edward VI is born to Henry VIII and Jane Seymour.

Thomas Cromwell persuades Henry VIII to order provision of Bibles in parish churches..

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1538 Apr — Calvin and Farel are expelled from Geneva.

1540
Pope Paul III approves formation of Society of Jesus.

— 6 Jun - Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleve.

— 28 Jul - Thomas Cromwell is executed in the Tower of London.

Melanchton published Variata on the Eucharist.

Philipp of Hesse's bigamy, with evangelical collusion, exposed.

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1541
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— 5 Apr - Imperial Diet at Regensburg.

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— 13 Sept - Calvin returns to Geneva.

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1542
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— 21 Jul - Papal Bull promulgates Roman Inquisition.

— Aug - Contarini dies, under house-arrest.

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1545
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— Dec 13 - Council of Trent opens.

1546
— Feb - Martin Luther dies.

— Sept - Schmalkald War breaks out.

1547
— Jan 28 — Henry VIII dies; succeeded by Edward VI

— Apr - Battle of Mühlberg.

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. — Ivan IV (The Terrible) is crowned tzar in Russia.

1549
— Jun 9 - Act of Uniformity enforces use of Book of Common Prayer in England.

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University of Mexico and University of San Marcos, Lima, receive their charter, though not yet operational.

1551Martin Bucer dies.

1552 — The St Andrew's Golf Club in Scotland is founded.

1552
The Treaty of Passau grants Lutherans liberty in Germany..

Revised Book of Common Prayer issued in England.

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1553
July 6 - King Edward VI dies.

July 19 - Mary is crowned Queen of England.

Oct 27 - Miguel Servetus is condemned for heresy in Geneva.

1554
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— Nov 30 - England formally returns to Rome.

1555 — Martin Bucer's corpse is exhumed and burned at the stake. — Spain and Austria becomes separate independent powers.

1555
The Peace of Augsburg is signed

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— Sept - Peace of Augsburg.

. — Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley are burned at the stake in Oxford.

Charles V abdicates.

Cathedral of St Basil is built in Moscow.

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1556 - The Royal (Stock) Exchange is founded in London. — Akbar the Great begins his reign in India.

— 21 Mar - Thomas Cranmer and the bishops of London and Worcester are burned for heresy.

1557 — Portugese establishes trading settlement in Macau.

1558
John Knox publishes The First Blast of the Trumpet against the Montrous Regiment of Women.

— 17 Nov - Queen Mary I of England dies; succeeded by Elizabeth I.

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1559.

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1560The Geneva Bible is published.

Parliament of Scotland abolishes the authority of the pope in Scotland, forbids the celebration of the Mass, and adopts the Reformed Confession of Faith..

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1563
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion passed as doctrinal confession of the Church of England.

Foxe's Book of Martyrs published.

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1564
— May 27 - John Calvin dies

— Michelangelo dies.

1566 - James VI is born to Mary (Queen of Scot) and Lord Darnley.

1567Mary (Queen of Scot) is deposed, triggering civil war in Scotland..

1572
Last Inca ruler is executed with Spanish capture of Vilcabamba.

— Aug - The St Bartholomew's Day Massacre of Huguenot in Paris.

— Nov 24 - John Knox dies.

1577 — Francis Drake sets out to circumnavigate the world.

1577Formula of Concord signed..

1581
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— Dec 1 - Campion is martyred at Tyburn.

1582 — Pope Gregory's reform removes 10 days from the calendar; 5 October was followed by 15 October.

1584 — Ivan the Terrible dies.

1585Elizabeth I authorizes British forces to aid Protestants in Netherland.

1586 Apr — Spanish Armada's failed attempt to invade England.

1587
— Feb 8 - Mary Queen of Scot is executed.

1588
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1589 — Portugese forces sack Mombasa, giving Portugal a hold on East Africa.

1589Patriarchate of Moscow is established.

1596Union of Brest creates the 'Greek Catholics'..

1600 31 Dec: British East India Company receives charter from Queen Elizabeth.

17th Cent AD

1603Prelude to the English Reformation under the Stuarts.

— Mar 24 Queen Elizabeth of England dies; succeeded by James I.

1604 — Jan 14 - James I (England) Hampton Court Conference opens.

1605 Nov 5: The 'Gunpowder Plot' by Guy Fawkes.

1606The Virginia Company establishes the first English colony in America, named Jamestown.

1611The King James Bible is published.

1613 — Mikhail Romanov declared Tzar in Moscovy.

1616 Mar 5: Holy Office of the Vatican decrees Galileo's On the Revolution be "suspended for correction".

1618Start of Thirty Years' War in Europe.

1619 Jul 30 — First elected assembly (the House of Burgesses) in the English colonies meets in Jamestown, Virginia.

1620 Sept 16 — Mayflower sails from England to found a colony at Plymouth, North America.

1625James I dies; succeeded by Charles I in England.

1630 — Work starts on Taj Mahal (completed 1652) —.

1637, 23 July —The Prayer Book Riots break out in St Gile's, Edinburgh.

1638, 28 Feb —The National Covenant was signed in the Greyfriars', Edinburgh.

1639Blaise Pascal, at age 16, writes Essay on Conic Sections.

1642 — Aug 22: Start of English Civil War.

1643 1 July: The Westminster Assembly meets for the first time to revise the Common Book of Prayer, resulting in the Westminster Confession.

— 8 Oct: hypothetical event to test formatting.

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1644 — Peasant rebellion brings Ming dynasty to an end; Shunzhi establishes Qing dynasty and rule China until 1911.

1648 Oct 24 — Treaty of Westphalia brings Thirty Years' War to an end.

1649 Jan 30 — Charles I executed.

1652Dutch settlers establish a colony at the Cape, Africa.

1653 Jul 4 — First sitting of Cromwell's Nominated Assembly in England.

1660 May 5 — Charles II returns to England.

1662 24 Aug — Uniformity Act results in the Great Ejection of Puritan preachers from their churches in England.

1666 Sept 2 — The Great Fire of London.

1669 Oct 29 — Isaac Newton is appointed Lucasian professor at Trinity College, Cambridge.

1679 — St Mary's, first Anglican church in Madras, India — .

1685 — Johann Sebastian Bach & George Handel are born.

— Charles II dies, and is succeeded by James II.

1688 Nov 5 — The Glorious Revolution: William of Orange becomes King of England.

1690Irish Catholics defeated by Protestant forces of William of Orange at Battle of Boyne.

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18th Cent AD

1707 — Act of Union creates United Kingdom.

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1714 — Queen Anne dies; George I becomes King of Britain & Ireland.

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1727 Mar 20 — Isaac Newton dies.

1735John Wesley leaves for America for missions among the Amerindians.

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1736 — Qianlong succeeds to the throne of China; apex of Qing dynasty.

1738 May 24 — John Wesley's heart is "strangely warmed" at Aldersgate meeting.

1744John Wesley holds his first preachers' conference.

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1760 Oct 25 — King George II of England dies; succeeded by George III.

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1762 Jul 9 — Catherine II the Great proclaimed Empress in St Petersburg.

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1768First Methodist chapel in US opens in New York.

1769 — Treaty of Paris awards Canada to Britain & ends Seven Years' War.

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1773 Dec 16 — Boston 'Tea Party' in USA.

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1773 Apr 19 — Battle of Lexington, first battle of the American War of Independence.

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1782 Nov 30 — Britain and US sign preliminary Treaty of Paris, essentially ending the American War of Independence.

1783 — Al-Khalifa family conquers Bahrain.

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1789 Jul 14 — Storming of the Bastille, start of the French Revolution. — Edward Jenner develops vaccine against smallpox.

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1792Freetown founded by Britain in West Africa for resettling freed slaves.

1792 Sept 22 — Newly elected Convention declares France a Republic.

1793 — King Louis XVI of France is beheaded (21 Jan). — The "Reign of Terror" begins (Oct).

1795
"Plan of Pacification" makes the separation of the Methodist Conference with the Church of England complete.

London Missionary Society is founded.

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1796 — Emperor Qianlong abdicates in China as he promised.

1796 Nov 17 — Catherine the Great dies; succeeded by Paul I.

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1798 — Napoleon invades Egypt. — Wolfe Tone's insurrection in Ireland.

1799 — Emperor Qianlong dies.

1799Church Missionary Society is founded.

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1800 Jul 2 — British act of parliament established the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

19th Cent AD

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1804 — Haiti granted independence of France. — Napoleon is crowned Emperor in France.

1804The British and Foreign Bible Society is founded.

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1805 — Battle of Trafalga (21 Oct). — Battle of Austerlitz (2 Dec) in which Napoleon beats combined forces of Austria and Russia.

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1806 Aug 6 — Francis II surrenders his crown, ending 9 centuries of the reign of the Holy Roman Empire.

1807 Mar 15 — British parliament passes bill abolishing slave trade in British West Indies.

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1810 — Hawaiian islands united under Kamehameha. — Start of Hidalgo Revolt (16 Sept) in Mexico.

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1812 — Napoleon invades Russia.

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1814 — Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba (Apr) — Congress of Vienna (Sept-Jun 1815) redraws the map of Europe.

1815 — Napoleon escapes from Elba (20 Mar) but is defeated at Battle of Waterloo (18 Jun) and exiled to St Helena.

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1819 — Stamford Raffles acquires Singapore for Britain.

1821Monrovia, capital of Liberia, founded.

1821 — Treaty of Cordoba (24 Aug) grants Mexico independence from Spain.

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1824 — Anglo-Dutch Treaty (17 Mar) divides control of SE Asia between them, essentially demarcating the Malay world into Indonesia and Malaya.

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1825 — Czar Alexander I dies; succeeded by Nicholas II in Russia.

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1831 — Belgium becomes independent nation with Leopold as new king (20 Jan) — Charles Darwin begins his journey on the Beagle.

1833 - Johannes Brahms is born.

1834Monopoly of trade by East India Company is terminated.

1837 — Victoria is crowned Queen in Britain. — Dwight Moody is born.

1839Start of the Opium War between Britain and China.

1842 — Treaty of Nanjing (29 Aug) forces China to open to foreign presence and indemnities.

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1844 - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is born.

1845 — The Great Famine of Ireland.

1846Emperor Daoguang issues edict lifting ban on Christian missionary presence in treaty-ports.

1847 — Algeria becomes French colony.

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1848 — Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (2 Feb), Mexico cedes all territories north of Rio Grande to US — Louis Napoleon Bonaparte wins election and is sworn in as president in France (20 Dec).

1849 - Vancouver becomes crown colony.

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1851Start of the Taiping Rebellion in China.

1851 — "Operation Rubicon" by Louis Napoleon makes him Emperor Napoleon III in France.

1852 — Sand River Convention in which Britain recognizes independence of Transvaal Boers.

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1853 — Commodore Matthew Parry arrives in Japan (Jul) demanding that the Tokugawa shogunate opens the country to trade with US.

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1854 — Britain recognizes independence of Orange Free State in Africa.

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1858 — Irish Republican Brotherhood established by Stephen James (17 Mar) — Abraham Lincoln accepts Republican senatorial nomination (16 Jun) — Act for Better Government transfers functions of East India Company to the British Crown.

1859 Nov 24 — Charles Darwin's Origin of Species is published..

1860 — Lord Elgin orders razing of Old Summer Palace in Beijing (16 Oct) — Abraham Lincoln elected president of USA (6 Nov).

1860 Jun 30 — The Huxley-Wilberforce Debate in Oxford.

1861 — Czar Alexander II passes Emancipation Act, freeing Russian serfs (19 Feb) — First battle of American Civil War breaks out at Fort Sumter (12 Apr) — Cixi becomes regent to Emperor Tongzhi in China. — Italy becomes a unified nation.

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1863 — Lincoln makes his 'Gettysburg Address' (19 Nov) — Red Cross International is founded by Jean-Henri Dunant in Switzerland.

1865 :

— Jun 25 - James Hudson Taylor founds the China Inland Mission (later Overseas Missionary Fellowship).

— Abraham Lincoln is shot at Ford's Theatre, Washington (14 Apr)

Taiping Revolution ends with execution of Tiangui Fu in China.

1866 - Sun Yat-Sen is born.

1867 —
Diamond is discovered at Kimberley, which is soon annexed by British Cape Colony. — Russia sells Alaska to USA. — Meiji Emperor accepts resignation of Tokugawa shogunate (12 Nov).

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1868 — Bahrain becomes British protectorate.

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1869First Vatican Council.

1869 - Mahatma Gandhi is born.

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1869 — Suez Canal opens after 10 years of construction.

1873 1 May: Dr David Livingstone dies.

1874 — East India Company closes its business operations (1 Jan) — Britain intervenes in Malayan affairs with signing of Pangkor Treaty (20 Jan) — Egypt goes bankrupt and begins its colonial bondage to European financiers.

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1875 — China buys ironclads to modernize her navy (30 May) and appoints her first diplomatic representative, Guo Songtao, to Britain (Aug).

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1877 :Britain annexes Transvaal despite Boer protest.

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1879 — First battle (23 Jan) of the Zulu War is fought at Isandlwana.

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1883 — France forces Vietnam into her protection. — Frank Kafka is born. — Krakatoa erupts.

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1889 — Emperor Guangxu formally assumes imperial power in China (4 Mar). — Meiji Constitution promulgated in Japan (11 Feb).

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1890 — Bismarck is forced to resign as Chancellor by Kaiser Wilhelm II (20 Mar). — Cecil Rhodes become PM of Cape Colony.

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1894 — Uganda is made a British protectorate (18 Jun). — Japan kidnaps Korean queen to force regime change (23 Jul). — Port Arthur in China falls to Japanese (21 Nov). — Czar Alexander III dies.

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1895 — Italy invades Ethiopia (Mar) — China signs Treaty of Shimonoseki (17 Apr). — Roentgen discovers X-ray (Nov). — France begins conquest of Madagascar. — Cecil Rhodes names Rhodesia after himself.

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1896 — Henri Becquerel discovers "uranium ray" (Feb). — Menelik of Ethiopia crushes Italian forces at Battle of Adowa (1 Mar). — British forces begin putting down Madhists in Sudan.

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1898 — Marie & Pierre Curie discover new element they named polonium (Apr) and radium (Dec).

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1899 — Emilio Aquinaldo becomes first president of Philippines (23 Jan). — Boers declare war on Britain (Oct). — Boxer Rebellion breaks out in China.

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20th Cent AD

1901 — Commonwealth of Australia proclaimed (1 Jan). — Queen Victoria dies (22 Jan); succeeded by Edward VII. — First Nobel Prize awarded (Dec).

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1902 — Britain and Japan sign treaty of alliance to protect their mutual interests in Asia (Jan).

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1903 — North Nigeria accepts British control with fall of Kano (3 Feb). — Henry Ford begins sales of Model A. — Wright brothers makes first powered, sustained flight.

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1904 — Japan launches surprise attack on Russian fleet at Port Arthur in China leading to Russo-Japanese War (8 Feb).

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1905 — First Russian Revolution breaks out and is put down (Jan). — Albert Einstein publishes Theory of Relativity. — Empress Cixi announces intention to establish a constitutional monarchy, with elected parliament, for China (1 Sept).

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1910 - George V is crowned king of Britain.

1912 — 15 Apr The RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic after hitting an ice-berg..

1962 (-1965) — Second Vatican Council.

1963C. S. Lewis dies. — President J. F. Kennedy is assassinated.

1969 — 20 July Apollo 11 Eagle lunar module, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on board, lands on the moon.

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21th Cent AD

2004 — 14 Apr Ecumenical patriarch of Eastern Orthodox Church accepts apology offered by Pope John Paul II in 2001 for the sacking of Constantinople.

2016 — 13 Feb Pope Francis meets Russian Orthodox Patriach Kirill in Havana.