1020 Italian towns, including Rome, Florence and Venice, become city states 1000-1038 Rule of Stephen, first of Arpad dynasty of Hungary; he accepts Christianity for his people 1014 Brian Boru, High King of all Ireland, defeats Vikings at Battle of Clontarf, but is killed after victory 1016-1035 Reign of Canute, Viking king of England, Denmark, Norway and Sweden 1019-1054 Yaroslav the Wise, ruler of Kiev in Russia, unifies many Russian principalities 1020 Boleslav I of Poland creates a powerful state 1034 Scotland becomes united down to present border with England 1035-1066 Normandy in north of France grows powerful 1037 Spanish kingdoms of Castile and Lel'n unite 1054 Split between Catholic church of Rome and Orthodox Christian church of Byzantium 1066 William Duke of Normandy, defeats Harold of England at Battle of Hastings 1072-1091 Norman armies conquer Sicily 1077 Pope Gregory expels Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV from church; Henry pleads forgiveness, but conflict between empire and Papacy continues into 12th century 1086 Survey of England by order of William I is recorded in Domesday Book 1098 Monastery founded at Citeaux in France; start of Cistercian order of monks 1115-1142 French teacher Henry IV makes Paris centre of religious learning 1115-1153 Career of Bernard of Clairvaux, whose abbey becomes most important monastery in Europe 1119 Bologna University founded in Italy; Paris University, in France, is founded in 1150 1124-1153 David I rules Scotland 1132-1144 St Denis Abbey, the first Gothic church, built by Abbot Suger in Paris 1139-1185 Alphonso I becomes first king of Portugal 1152-1190 Reign of powerful Holy Roman emperor Frederick I, called Barbarossa (red beard) 1154-1189 Reign of Henry II Plantagenet of Anjou as king of England; he reforms law and government 1171-1172 Henry II invades Ireland and is accepted as its lord 1180-1223 Philip II Augustus rules France, conquering Angevin lands in the west 1190 Teutonic Order of knights, a military society, set up in Germany to defend Christian lands in Palestine and Syria 1209 St Francis of Assisi founds Franciscan religious order 1212 Almohads defeated by Christians at battle of Las Navas de Tolosa 1215 English King John seals Magna Carta, giving more power to barons 1240 Russian Alexander Nevsky defeats Swedes at great battle on the Neva river 1241 Lubeck and Hamburg form a Hansa (association) for trade and mutual protection; beginning of Hanseatic League 1249 University College, first college of Oxford University, England, founded 1254 Explorer Marco Polo born in Venice 1262 Iceland and Greenland come under Norwegian rule 1273 Rudolph I becomes first Habsburg ruler of Austria 1282-1284 Edward I of England conquers Wales 1284 Peterhouse, first college of Cambridge University, founded in England 1284 Sequins coined in Venice, Italy 1290 Invention of spectacles in Italy 1291 Three Swiss cantons join together to begin struggle for independence from Habsburgs 1308 Papal court moves to Avignon; Great Schism follows 1314 Scots defeat English at Battle of Bannockburn 1337 Edward III of England claims French throne - 100 Years War (1337 - 1453) begins 1346 English defeat French at Battle of Crecy 1347 Bubonic plague or Black Death reaches Europe 1358 Jacquerie Revolt; peasant uprising north of Paris, France 1370 Geoffrey Chaucer writes first book, Book of the Duchess 1373 Treaty of Anglo-Portuguese friendship; the English and Portuguese are still allies today 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England led by Wat Tyler 1389 Christian Serbs defeated by Ottoman Turks at Kossovo in Serbia 1397 Kalmar Agreement unites three Scandinavian kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden 1403 Ghiberti sculpts human bodies in realistic style for bronze doors of Florence baptistry, heralding the Renaissance 1415 John Hus, Bohemian religious reformer, burnt at stake 1417 End of Great Schism in Catholic church; a single pope elected in Rome 1429 Joan of Arc leads French forces against occupying English army at Siege of Orleans 1431 Joan of Arc is burnt at the stake by the English 1430 Gutenberg, a German metalworker, experiments with printing using moveable type 1447 Casimir IV of Poland unites Polish kingdom with Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1453 Ottomans besiege and capture Constantinople, ending Byzantine empire 1453 End of 100 Years War; English expelled from all France except Calais 1455-1456 First Bible printed in Europe by Gutenberg 1456 Hungarians under nobleman John Hunyadi storm Belgrade and drive out Turks 1462-1505 Reign of Ivan III (the Great), Grand Prince of Muscovy 1466 Birth of Desiderius, Dutch scholar and leader of revival of learning in northern Europe 1478-1492 Rule of Renaissance art patron, Lorenzo de' Medici 1479 Crowns of Aragon and Castile in Spain united under Ferdinand and Isabella 1480 Spanish Inquisition introduced to uncover heresy 1485 Henry VII becomes first Tudor king of England and Wales after defeat of last Plantagenet king Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth 1492 Christian Spanish capture Granada in Spain from Muslims 1492 Christopher Columbus lands on Bahama islands, Cuba, and Hispaniola; he is first European to reach Americas since Vikings 1497-1498 Portuguese Vasco da Gama rounds Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, and sails on to India 1498 Italian religious reformer, Savonarola, burnt at stake 1500 Black-lead pencils used in England 1506-1512 Construction of basilica of St Peter's in Rome 1517 Martin Luther, German scholar, publishes 95 objections to Catholic practices 1519 Charles, archduke of Austria (and king of Spain), elected Holy Roman emperor (retires in 1556) 1519 Death of Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci 1527 Troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, sack Rome and capture Pope Clement VII 1534 Henry VIII of England breaks with Rome; makes himself head of English church 1541-1564 Leadership of John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland 1545-1563 Council of Trent, Italy; Catholics efforts to reform 1547 Tsar Ivan IV "the Terrible" (reigns 1533 - 84) takes power in Russia 1556-1598 Reign of Philip II of Spain 1558-1603 Reign of Elizabeth I of England 1559-1584 Building of palace of Escorial outside Madrid 1560-1590 French Wars of Religion: Protestant minority in conflict with Catholic majority as leading nobles struggle for power under weak Valois kings 1564-1616 Life of English playwright, William Shakespeare 1568-1648 Dutch campaign for independence from Spanish rule 1571 Don John of Austria smashes Ottoman fleet at Battle of Lepanto 1572 Massacre of St Bartholomew: 8,000 Protestants die in Paris, France 1572 Dutch Sea Beggars take Brill 1575-1586 Stephen Batory, prince of Transylvania in Romania, is elected king of Poland 1577-1580 English seaman Francis Drake sails round the world 1580-1640 Spain united with Portugal 1588 English fleet defeats Spanish Armada off south coast of England 1598 Henry IV, first Bourbon king of France, grants equal rights to Protestants 1605 End of Boris Godunov's reign in Russia 1605 Gunpowder Plot fails 1609 Italian Galileo Galilei confirms that the sun is the centre of the universe 1611-1632 Reign of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden 1613 Michael becomes tsar of Russia; Romanov dynasty begins 1613-1629 Reign of Bethlen Gabor in Hungary 1618-1648 30 Years War involves almost all Europe except Britain 1619-1628 In London, England, William Harvey discovers the circulation of the blood 1624 Cardinal Richelieu becomes first minister in France 1625 Dutchman Hugo Grotius publishes De Jure Belli ac Pacis, which becomes the basis of international law 1627-1628 Catholics besiege Huguenots in La Rochelle on western coast of France 1628 Petition of Right, England; parliament curtails king's powers 1629-1640 British king Charles I tries to rule without parliament 1632-1654 Reign of Queen Christina of Sweden 1640 Portugal gains independence from Spain 1642-1647 Civil war in England, Scotland, and Ireland 1643 Italian physicist Torricelli invents the barometer 1643-1715 Reign of Louis XIV of France 1645-1669 Candian War between Venice and Ottoman Turks 1648 Treaty of Westphalia ends 30 Years War 1648-1653 The Frondes; revolts against mazarins rule in France 1649 Charles I of England and Scotland executed 1678 Imaginary "popish Plot" to overthrow Charles II of England invented by Titus Oates 1679 Habeas Corpus Act in England ensures no imprisonment without court appearance first 1682-1725 Reign of Peter the Great of Russia 1683 Turks besiege Vienna; beaten off by John Sobieski 1685 Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in France 1688 Revolution in England against James II brings William of Orange to the throne 1689 Formation of Grand Alliance of Habsburgs, the Dutch, and the English against France 1697 Treaty of Ryswick between France and Grand Alliance 1697-1698 Peter I (the Great) of Russia travels through western Europe in disguise 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz; Habsburgs gain almost all Hungary 1700 Age of Enlightenment introduces revolutionary new ideas to Europe 1700 Agricultural Revolution begins in Britain; later spreads across Europe 1700-1721 Great Northern War: Russia is victorious and replaces Sweden as the dominant power in northeastern Europe 1701-1713 Much of Europe involved in War of Spanish Succession; French routed at Battle of Blenheim, 1704 1703 Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, founds St Petersburg 1707 Act of Union unites England and Scotland 1712 In England, Thomas Newcomen invents a workable steam pump for use in mines 1712 Religious warfare in Switzerland 1713-1740 Reign of King frederick william I of Prussia 1715 First Jacobite rising in Britain attempts to restore exiled Stuart dynasty to throne 1720 South Sea Bubble - financial scandal in England 1721-1742 Robert Walpole is first and longest-serving British prime minister 1724 Peter the Great founds Russian Academy of Sciences 1726-1743 Cardinal Fleury governs France peacefully 1733-1735 France and Austria fight War of Polish Succession to make their candidates Polish king 1740-1786 Frederick The Great rules Prussia; he greatly expands its territory and Prussia becomes a major power in Europe 1740-1748 Prussia attacks Austria and drags much of Europe into War of Austria Succession 1741-1761 Reign of Elizabeth I of Russia, daughter of Peter the Great; she founds Russia's first university at Moscow 1745-1746 Second Jacobite rising in Britain led by Bonnie Prince Charlie attempts but fails to restore exiled Stuart dynasty to British throne 1750-1777 Sebastian de Carvalho (later Marquis of Pombal) appointed foreign secretary and acts as chief minister to Jose I of Portugal; introduces reforms 1754 Concordat with Vatican gives Spanish church independence from Rome 1755 The great Lisbon earthquake in Portugal; many thousands killed 1756-1763 Seven Years War; Prussia and Britain versus France, Austria, and Russia 1757 Battle of Rossbach; Frederick The Great of Prussia defeats French and Austrians 1762 Publication of French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau's Contrat Social 1762-1796 Reign of Russian empress Catherine the Great 1764-1795 Reign of King Stanislas Poniatowski, the last king of Poland 1772-1795 Poland is divided between Russia, Austria, and Prussia 1773-1775 Emelian Pugachev leads uprising of Cossacks and peasants in Russia 1774-1792 Reign of Louis XVI, king of France 1777 Accession of Maria as queen of Portugal; she exiles Pombal but continues his work 1778 War of Bavarian Succession between Prussia and Austria 1780 Joseph II, co-ruler of Austria with his mother Maria Theresa in 1780, becomes sole ruler on her death; ten year period of important reforms 1783 Russian government annexes the Crimea 1783-1801 William Pitt the Younger is prime minister of England 1787-1792 Turkey fights Russia to regain the Crimea, but is defeated 1788-1790 Sweden attacks Russia, but a peace treaty confirms the pre-war borders 1789 Outbreak of French Revolution; Paris Bastille stormed (14 July)* 1795 France overruns Netherlands; creates dependent Dutch republic 1798-1799 Wolfe Tone organizes Irish revolt against English rule 1800 Italian scientist Volta invents electric cell 1801-1825 Reign of Tsar Alexander I of Russia 1804 First oil lamp made in England, designed by Frenchman Argand 1804 Napoleon becomes Emperor of the French 1805 Battles of Trafalgar (British naval victory) and Austerlitz (French army victory) 1806 Napoleon brings the Holy Roman empire to an end 1807 Britain abolishes slave trade; slavery continues until 1833 1808-1814 The Peninsular War in Spain 1812 First tin cans produced in England for preserving food 1812 Napoleon reaches Moscow; is forced by partisan warfare and burning of Moscow to retreat to France 1813 Napoleon defeated in the "Battle of the nations", Leipzig 1815 Battle of Waterloo; final defeat of Napoleon 1815 Congress of Vienna follows defeat of Napoleon; map of Europe decided 1821-1829 Greek War of Independence, against Turks 1827 Frenchman Nicephore Niepce takes the first photograph 1827 Battle of Navarino Bay; British, French, and Russian navies destroy Turkish fleet 1830 Russians suppress Polish revolt 1830 Revolution in France 1830-1831 Kingdom of Belgium is founded 1832 First Great Reform Bill gives more men the vote in Britain 1833 Abolition of slavery in British empire 1840 Penny postage stamp introduced in Britain; postage stamps transform postal systems 1841 Nationalist leader Lajos Kossuth founds Hungarian liberal reform newspaper 1844 First effective Factory Act in Britain 1847-1848 Civil war leaves Switzerland a federal state 1848 Publication of the Communist Manifesto 1848 Year of Revolution throughout Europe 1851 The Great Exhibition in England 1852 Louis Napoleon becomes Emperor Napoleon III of the French 1853-1856 Crimean War: Russia fights Turkey, Britain, France, and Sardinia 1860 Italian parliament meets in Turin; Garibaldi takes southern Italy; most of Italy unified 1861 Tsar Alexander II abolishes serfdom in Russia 1862-1890 Career of Bismarck as chief minister of Germany 1863-1864 Poles rebel against Russian rule 1866 Prussia defeats Austria at Sadowa in Seven Weeks War 1867 Disraeli introduces Second Reform Bill in Britain 1868-1874 Gladstone is British prime minister for first time 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War; Napoleon III abdicates, Third Republic established in France (to 1940) 1871 Unification of Germany: Prussian king William I becomes emperor of Germany 1874-1910 Disraeli's second and last government in Britain 1876 Turks put down Bulgarian rising with great cruelty 1878 Congress of Berlin ends Russo-Turkish War (1877 - 78); freedom for some Balkan countries 1881 Assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia 1882 Triple Alliance is formed between Germany, Austria, and Italy 1885 German Karl Benz is first to sell motor cars 1887 Bulgaria elects Ferdinand of Coburg king; it becomes leading Balkan state 1888-1918 Kaiser (Emperor) William II reigns in Germany 1891-1894 Franco-Russian agreement 1895 In France, the Lumiere brothers invent the film projector 1895 Assassination of Bulgarian prime minister Stambuloff 1895 Marconi invents wireless telegraphy 1900 German naval law introduces 20-year building programme for a high seas fleet to compete with the British navy 1901-1905 Separation of the church from the state in France 1901 Foundation of Russian Social Revolutionary party (Bolsheviks) 1903 Assassination of Alexander, king of Serbia 1903-1905 Scandal breaks in Belgium over Belgian rule in Zaire 1904 "Entente Cordiale" between Britain and France 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War 1905 Revolution in Russia 1905 Norway breaks away from Sweden; elects King Haakon VII 1906 Liberal government comes to power in Britain; many reforms 1906 Navy arms race escalates 1908 Young Turk revolution 1908 Carlos I of Portugal assassinated 1908 Austria annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina 1908 Ferdinand I proclaimed emperor of Bulgaria 1910 Portuguese revolution brings about the end of the monarchy 1912-1913 Balkan Wars 1913 Coup d'etat of Young Turks in Turkey 1914 Assassination of heir to Austrian throne leads to outbreak of World War I 1914 Battle of the Marne 1914 Battle of Tannenberg between the Germans and the Russians; German victory 1915 Dardanelles Campaign; British try to force passage to Constantinople 1915 Germans start submarine campaign to blockade British Isles 1916 Battle of Jutland between British and German fleets; stalemate 1916 Easter Rising against British government in Ireland 1917 Russian Revolution: Liberal revolution (February); Bolshevik revolution (October)* 1918 Armistice ends World War I 1919 Ernest Rutherford splits atom for first time 1921 Lenin introduces New Economic Policy in Russia 1922 Irish Free State founded 1922 Mussolini becomes Italian prime minister; dictator from 1925 1923-1930 Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera in Spain 1924 First British Labour party victory at a general election 1924 Death of Vladimir Lenin 1925 Locarno Agreements between major European powers aim to maintain peace and stability 1926 In Britain, John Logie Baird invents the television 1928 French begin to build fortification, the Maginot Line, on German border 1928 Stalin launches five-year plan to expand Soviet industry 1931 Republic declared in Spain after King Alfonso XIII abdicates 1931 Statute of Westminster makes dominions of British empire self-governing 1933 Nazi leader Hitler appointed German chancellor; Nazis begin organized persecution of Jews 1934 Mussolini meets Hitler 1936 Germany invades Rhineland region on French-Belgian border 1936-1939 Civil War in Spain 1937 Eamonn de Valera becomes prime minister of Ireland (Eire) 1938 Hitler compels Austria to form union with Germany (the "Anschluss") 1938 Munich crisis: France and Britain agree to let Germany partition Czechoslovakia 1939 Stalin and Hitler agree to divide Poland between them 1939 Germany invades Poland; this leads to World War II 1940 British scientists develop radar 1940 France surrenders to Germany 1940-1945 Holocaust - 6 million Jews are murdered in German extermination camps in Germany and Poland 1941 Jet aircraft developed in England and Germany 1943 German Sixth Army fails to capture Stalingrad (present-day Volgograd) in Soviet Union, and surrenders 1944 Allies invade France and begin to reconquer Europe 1948-1949 The Berlin airlift 1949 Britain recognizes the independence of Ireland 1951 Sir Winston Churchill forms his first peacetime government in England 1953 Death of Stalin in Russia; Nikita Khrushchev takes power 1953 DNA discovered 1955 The Warsaw Pact is signed 1956 Soviet troops invade Hungary and quash revolt 1957 Russians launch Sputniks; Laika, a small dog, becomes the first living creature in space 1957 The Treaty of Rome ushers in the EEC 1958 Charles de Gaulle brings strong presidential rule to France 1961 Russian Yuri Gagarin becomes first human in space 1961 Berlin Wall built to stop East Germans fleeing to the West 1961 Female oral contraceptive pill comes onto the market 1964 Leonid Brezhnev takes over from Khrushchev as ruler in Russia 1968 Paris erupts into student riots followed by general strike 1968 Czechoslovakia tries to initiate internal reforms; Soviet troops enter Prague and end "Prague Spring" 1972 "Bloody Sunday" in Londonderry, Northern Ireland; troops fire on civil rights marchers 1972 Munich Olympics; Israeli athletes killed by Arab "Black September" organization 1976 Helsinki convention on human rights adopted 1977 240 Czech intellectuals sign Charter 77 stating that democratic freedoms are still denied 1979 Britain elects first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher 1980 Independent trade union, Solidarity, formed in Poland 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev elected Soviet Communist party leader; introduces reforms 1986 Nuclear power disaster at Chernobyl in Ukraine 1989 Berlin Wall dismantled 1990 East and West Germany are unified as one nation 1990 Solidarity's Lech Walesa is elected president of Poland 1991 Break-up of the Soviet Union, resignation of Gorbachev; Yeltsin takes power in Russia 1992 Yugoslavia breaks up and erupts into bloody civil war