"The Renaissance" still at large in Italy (above: Botticelli's "Primavera", 1477).

1401 - Timur conquers Damascus and Baghdad. Klaus Stortebeker, the pirate, executed at Hamburg.

1402 - Timur defeats Baiazet at Ankara and takes him prisoner.

1403 - Henry IV subdues Northumberland. Bajazet dead, succeeded by his son, Suleiman I.

1406 - Robert II of Scotland dead; succeeded by James I, who is imprisoned in England.

1407 - Duke Louis of Orleans is murdered by Burgundians; start of Civil War in France.

1411 - Sigismund, King of Hungary, elected German King, and crowned Emperor.

1413 - Henry IV dead, succeeded by his son Henry V.

1415 - Hus burned at the stake at Constance for heresy.

1416 - Jerome of Prague, a follower of Hus, burned for heresy. Dutch fishermen the first to use drift nets.

1417 - Henry V takes Caen.

1419 - War between Empire and Bohemian Hussites.

1420 - The "Great Temple of the Dragon" in Peking is built.

1422 - Henry V of England dead; succeeded by nine-month-old Henry VI. Charles VI of France dead; succeeded by Charles VII. Blind Hussite general John Ziska of Trocnov defeats the Imperial army near Prague.

1423 - James I of Scotland released by the English.

1425 - John VIII, Byzantine Emperor.

1427 - Itzcoati, King of the Aztecs, in Mexico, enlarges his empire.

1428 - Joan of Arc leads French armies against England.

A teenage girl from a remote village stood before France and announced she would defeat the world's greatest army (the English), and liberate her country. It began as a small voice in the heart of a simple girl... but as the voice grew stronger, rulers were drawn to listen, armies were empowered to fight, and her countrymen were inspired to believe.

1429 - Joan of Arc raises "seige of Orleans". Charles VII crowned in Rheims. Henry VI crowned at Westminster.

1430 - Beginning of first Dutch school. Joan of Arc captured by Burgundians at Compiegne. Modern English develops from Middle English. "Mad Marjorie", the great cast-iron gun, introduced.

1431 - Joan of Arc (Jehanne d'Arc) is burned at the stake in Rouen (May 30) on charges of heresy.

She was charged with witchcraft because she claimed to hear voices from St. Michael, St. Margaret, and St. Catherine; and that it was these voices which told her to dress like a boy, and fight for the French in the "Hundred Years War" against the English. The charge against her stated that the voices were actually demons instead of saints. They accused her of being linked to the devil. On these charges, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in the Old Market Place of Rouen, near the church of Saint-Sauveur. She was only 18 or 19 years old, and her death was a powerful witness of her commitment to God. When her sentence was to be carried out, she asked to face the cross from the church, and to hold a small, wooden cross until she died. While her body was burning, she kept repeating the name of Christ over and over to give her strength. Two decades later, the judgment is overturned, and she is declared innocent.

Henry VI of England crowned King of France in Paris. First German peasant revolt at Worms.

1433 - Sigismund crowned Holy Roman Emperor. The double-eagle becomes the emblem of the Holy Roman emperors.

1434 - Florence Cathedral completed. Viadislav III, King of Poland. Revolt in Rome.

1435 - Swedish Parliament meets for the first time.

1436 - English troops withdraw from Paris. Scots defeat English near Berwick.

1437 - John Dunstable develops counterpoint in musical composition. James I murdered at Perth; succeeded by James II. Emperor Sigismund dead; succeeded by Albert V.

1438 - The Inca empire conquers all of the Andean coast and highlands of South America (Peru), from 1438-1532. Nine years' truce between English and Scots.

1439 - Dogma of the 7 Sacraments adopted by the Roman Catholics. "Purgatory" declared valid dogma.

1441 - Portugese navigators discover the first known "negroes", near Cape Blanc, western Africa, and begin slave trade again.

1443 - English plague order on quarantine and cleansing. Janos Hunyady, the Hungarian national hero, defeats the Turks at Nish.

1444 - Viadislav III of Poland and Hungary killed by the Turks at the Battle of Varna.

1445 - Portugese navigator Diniz Diaz discovers Cape Verde.

1446 - Janos Hunyady elected regent of Hungary.

1447 - Scanderbeg defeats Murad II, and gains independence for India, Persia, and Afghanistan.

1448 - Anglo-Scot. war renewed. Knutson Bonde elected King Charles VIII of Sweden. Murad II defeats Janos Hunyady at Kossovo. Constantine XI Palaeologus the last Byzantine Emperor(-1453).

1449 - English break truce with France, capture Fougeres.

1450 - Mocha in southwestern Arabia becomes main port for coffee export. The Incas subdue the Indians of Chimu in northern Peru. Jack Cade's rebellion in England.

1451 - Mohammed II, Sultan of the Turks. Christopher Columbus born.

1452 - Frederick III crowned Emperor. Leonardo da Vinci, universal genius, born. Metal plates are used for printing.

1453 - Turks capture Constantinople and kill Emperor Constantine XI; end of Byzantine (E.Roman) Empire. End of 100 Years' War between England and France: England gives up all possessions except Calais. The Gutenberg (Mazarin) Bible is created using a moveable-type printing press.

1454 - Richard, Duke of York, named "Protector of England" during insanity of Henry VI; Edward, son of Henry, named Prince of Wales.

1455 - Beginning of the "War of the Roses" in England.

1456 - Turks conquer Athens. The trial of Joan of Arc is annulled (July 7), and she is publicly proclaimed as innocent; later revered as a Saint.

1457 - Ladislas V Posthumus, King of Hungary and Bohemia, dead; Frederick III inherits Upper and Lower Austria.

1458 - The Turks sack the Acropolis, in Greece. Hussite leader, George of Podebrad, becomes King of Bohemia. Matthias Cornivus, son of Janos Hunyady, becomes King of Hungary.

1459 - Renewal of Civil War in England.

1460 - Richard of York defeats Henry VI at Northampton; is defeated and killed by Queen Margaret at Wakefield. James II of Scotland dead; succeeded by James III.

1461 - Edward IV, King of England. Charles VII of France dead; succeeded by Louis XI. Leonardo da Vinci becomes a pupil of Verrocchio.

1463 - The Turks conquer Bosnia.

1464 - Peace between England and Scotland.

1465 - First printed (sheet) music.

1466 - The Bible is printed in German.

1467 - The Turks conquer Herzegovina. Philip II of Burgundy dead; succeeded by Charles "the Bold".

1468 - Pope Paul II authorizes torture against "witches".

1470 - Portugese navigators discover Gold Coast, West Africa. First French printing press in Paris.

1471 - Edward IV, King of England, defeats and kills Richard, Earl of Warwick, defeats Queen Margaret and kills Prince Edward, and enters London; Henry VI murdered in the Tower. King George of Bohemia dead; succeeded by Viadislav II.

1472 - Danish navigator Deltrich Pining claims to have discovered Newfoundland. Ivan III of Moscow marries Sophia Palaeologus, niece of the last Byzantine Emperor.

1473 - Cyprus comes under Venetian rule. The Fuggers of Augsburg begin business dealings with the Hapsburgs.

1474 - William Caxton prints the first book in English. Isabella I, Queen of Aragon.

1475 - Italian artist Michelangelo Buonarroti born (-1564).

1478 - "The Spanish Inquisition" is established by Ferdinand and Isabella, against heresy among Jews and Muslims (or 1480). Grand Prince Ivan III of Moscow subdues Novgorod.

1479 - After the destruction of Arras, Brussels becomes the center of European tapestry industry. Union of Aragon and Castile under Ferdinand the Catholic and Isabella; beginning of Spanish state.

1480 - Leonardo da Vinci invents the parachute. Ferdinand Magellan, Portugese navigator, born. Ivan III styles himself as Czar of the Russians.

1481 - Beginning of the Spanish Inquisition under the state and church.  Baiazet II, Sultan of the Turks.

1482 - Peace of Arras between Louis XI and Hapsburgs.

1483 - Martin Luther, German Reformation leader, born. King John II of Portugal refuses to finance Columbus's voyage.  Russians begin to explore Siberia. Louis XI of France dead; succeeded by Charles VIII. Edward IV of England dead; succeeded by his son, young Edward V. Edward V and his brother vanish, probably murdered by their uncle, Richard of Gloucester, who claims the throne as Richard III.

1484 - Richard III reforms law, trade, and tax collection. Portugese navigator Diego Cam discovers mouth of the Congo River.

1485 - Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, defeats and kills Richard III at Bosworth; succeeds as Henry VII; begins Tudor dynasty. Establishment of "Yeomen of the Guard" in England.

1486 - Portugese discover Angola. Maximilian I elected German King. Two infamous German monks produce the "Malleus Maleficaruml" (The Witch Hammer).

1487 - Spaniards conquer Malaga from the Arabs.

1488 - James III of Scotland murdered; succeeded by James IV. Revolt against Maximilian. Construction of Henry VII's ship "Great Harry".

1489 - The symbols + (plus) and - (minus) first come into use. Hans Waldmann, Mayor of Zurich, executed as dictator. Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus, forced to cede her kingdom to Venice. Yasuf Adil Shah, a former slave, becomes ruler of Bijapur, India.

1490 - First orphanages in Italy and Holland. Beginnings of ballet at Italian courts. Matthias Corvinus of Hungary dead; Viadislav II of Bohemia elected to succeed.

1491 - Five-year truce of Coldstream between England and Scotland.  Treaty of Pressburg between Viadislav II and Hapsburgs.

1492 - Columbus sails from Palos, Spain, on Aug. 3rd, with the Spanish ships: the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria en route to India, and discovers Watling Island, San Salvador in the Bahamas (Oct.12), Cuba, Haiti, and Hispaniola. The Santa Maria is wrecked off Haiti on Dec. 25th.  Book publishing becomes a profession.  Leonardo da Vinci draws schematics for the first workable "flying machine" (helicopter).  The Spanish conquer Granada and extinguish Moorish kingdom. Lorenzo de' Medici "The Magnificent", dead; succeeded by his son, Piero, as ruler of Florence. Casimir IV, King of Poland, dead; succeeded in Poland by John Albert, in Lithuania by Alexander. Henry VII of England invades France. France pays England an indemnity of 159,000 Franks. Albert, Duke of Bavaria, undertakes to uphold authority of Holy Roman Empire. Baiazet II of Turkey defeats the Hungarians at the Save River.

1493 - Columbus leaves Spain on second voyage (-1496), during which he discovers Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Trinidad, Dominica, and Jamaica. Pope Alexander VI publishes Inter cetera divina, dividing "the New World" (America) between Spain and Portugal. Frederick III dead; succeeded as Holy Roman Emperor by Maximilian I. First peasants' revolt in Alsace and s.west Germany. Turks invade Dalmatia and Croatia.

1494 - Luca di Pacioli: Algebra, including cubic equations. "Goods lottery" introduced in Germany. Treaty of Tordesillas. Spain and Portugal divide New World between them. Charles VIII of France begins invasion of Italy. Perkin Warbeck is recognized as King of England. Parliament of Drogheda marks subservience of Ireland to England.

1495 - Syphilis epidemic spreads from Naples all over Europe through French soldiers. Dry dock in Portsmouth, England.  Jews expelled from Portugal. Sir William Stanley is executed for complicity in Warbeck's conspiracy. Charles VIII enters Naples, is crowned King of Naples, retreats to n.Italy; then returns to France. Perpetual Peace is proclaimed in Worms. Ferdinand II reconquers Naples, French fleet is captured. English Parliament makes new statute of treasons and an act against vagabonds and beggars. Manuel "the Fortunate" succeeds John II as King of Portugal.

1496 - Columbus returns to Spain from second voyage after 2 years, 8.5 mos.. Romano Pane, a monk who accompanied Columbus, first to describe the tobacco plant. Henry VII commissions Venetian navigator John Cabot and his son Sebastian to discover new trade route to Asia. James IV of Scotland invades Northumberland in support of Perkin Warbeek. Teneriffe becomes Spanish. Ferdinand II of Naples dead; succeeded as king by Frederick III.

1497 - Severe famine in Florence. The Cabots reach the east coast of N.America. Rising in Cornwall; Lord Audley's rebellious army defeated by Henry VII at Blackheath. Perkin Warbeck captured by royalist troops at Taunton. King John II of Denmark defeats Sweden army at Brunkeberg, enters Stockholm, and revives Scandinavian Union.

1498 - Columbus, on third voyage, discovers Orinoco River.  John Cabot dead. Vasco da Gama discovers sea route to India, arrives on Malabar coast. The first German pawnshop at Nuremberg. Charles VIII of France dead; succeeded by his cousin, Louis VII, Duke of Orleans. Perkin Warbeck makes public confession of his treason, is imprisoned in Tower of London.

1499 - Antimony, produced in Hungary, exported to neighboring countries. First political cartoons (on the French-Italian war) appear. The Spanish "Inquisitor-General", Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros, introduces forced mass conversions of Moors, causing great Moorish revolt in Granada.  Louis XII of France marries Anne of Brittany, widow of Charles VIII, to keep duchy of Brittany for the French Crown. French take Milan; Louis XII enters the city. War between Swabian League and Swiss cantons; ends with the Peace of Basel, the Swiss establishing their independence. War between Turks and Venice; defeat of Venetian fleet at Sapienza; Lepanto surrenders to the Sultan.  Conspiracy of Perkin Warbeck to escape from Tower of London discovered; tried for treason, and is finally executed.

1500 - Columbus arrested, put in irons, brought to Spain, and rehabilitated. First black-lead pencils used in England.  First known Caesarean operation performed on a live woman by a Swiss pig gelder, Jakob Nufer. First regular postal connection between Vienna and Brussels. Silver guilders introduced in Germany (remain in use in Austria till 1892). Pedro Alvarez Cabral discovers Brazil, claiming it for Portugal. Juan de la Cosa's famous map of "the New World". De Djeda and Vespucci return from their voyage during which they discovered the mouth of the Amazon River. Lodovico Sforza recovers Milan from the French; two months later the town is recaptured; Sforza is captured and imprisoned in France. Germany is divided into six regions.  Dom Miguel, heir to thrones of Spain and Portugal, dead.   Pope Alexander VI proclaims a "Year of Jubilee", and imposes a tithe for crusade against Turks. Horses are re-introduced to America by the Spanish (after nearly 10,000 years of absency).