The early modern world, from about 1500 to 1760, follows the movable-type printing press and the Atlantic voyages of the late fifteenth century. Trade and conquest tied the continents together for the first time, with lasting human cost.
The Reformation, the Scientific Revolution and the rise of global empires and trading companies belong to these centuries.
Explore this era on the timeline
Key events of the Early modern world
13,883 events are on the timeline for this era; these are among the most notable, in date order.
- from 15th century to 18th centuryAge of Discovery
- c. 1500sDavid
- c. 1500Modern period
- 15th centuryConstruction of Red Square
- from 15th century to 18th centuryEarly modern period
- from 1501 to 1736Safavid dynasty
- c. 1500sMona Lisa
- 8 September 1504Michelangelo's David is unveiled
- 18 April 1506Construction of St. Peter's Basilica
- 1511The Creation of Adam
- 1512The School of Athens
- 1515Construction of Belém Tower
- from 31 October 1517 to 1 January 1648Protestant Reformation
- 31 October 1517Ninety-five Theses
- 31 October 1517Origins of Lutheranism
- 10 November 1517Origins of Protestantism
- 1 January 1519Origins of Reformed Christianity
- from 1520 to 1600Mannerism
- 6 September 1522Magellan's expedition completes the first circumnavigation
- from 1525 to 1947Prussia
- from 1526 to 1857Mughal Empire
- 1532Publication of The Prince
- 1534Henry VIII becomes head of the Church of England
- 1540Construction of Westminster Abbey
- from 1543 to 1687Scientific Revolution
- 1543Copernicus publishes On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres
- 1543Vesalius publishes De humani corporis fabrica
- from 1545 to 1648Counter-Reformation
- from 13 December 1545 to 21 February 1563Council of Trent
- 1550Construction of Süleymaniye Mosque
- 1555Construction of St. Basil's Cathedral
- 23 January 15561556 Shaanxi earthquake
- 1557Discovery of platinum
- from 17 January 1558 to 26 May 1583Livonian War
- 1560Construction of Humayun's Tomb
- 1563Construction of Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial
- 1565Construction of Agra Fort
- 1567Construction of Stari Most
- from 23 May 1568 to 30 January 1648Eighty Years' War
- 1569Invention of Mercator projection
- from 11 June 1569 to 24 October 1795Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
- 1570Construction of Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral
- 1572Wilhelmus
- 24 August 1572St. Bartholomew's Day massacre
- 1574Construction of Selimiye Mosque
- 1581Construction of Uffizi Gallery
- 24 February 1582Pope Gregory XIII reforms the calendar
- 1583Founding of University of Edinburgh
- from c. 1583 to 1997British Empire
- 1585Founding of Frankfurt Stock Exchange
- from 25 April 1588 to 1 August 1588Spanish Armada
- 1589Construction of Harmandir Sahib
- 30 April 1589Construction of Apostolic Palace
- from 16th century to 18th centuryBaroque
- 1592Publication of Journey to the West
- 1595Construction of Naqsh-e Jahan Square
- 13 April 1598Edict of Nantes
- 1600Publication of A Midsummer Night's Dream
- 1600Rise of Baroque music
- 16th centuryRise of baroque architecture
- 1602Publication of Hamlet
- from 1603 to 1868Edo period
- 8 October 1604SN 1604
- 1605Publication of Don Quixote
- May 1607Jamestown
- 1608Publication of King Lear
- 1609Kepler's laws of planetary motion
- 1609Kepler publishes Astronomia Nova
- 7 January 1610Discovery of Io
- 7 January 1610Discovery of Callisto
- 7 January 1610Discovery of Europa
- 7 January 1610Discovery of Ganymede
- 7 January 1610Galileo discovers the moons of Jupiter
- from 1613 to 1762House of Romanov
- 1616Construction of Sultan Ahmed Mosque
- from 1616 to 1912Qing dynasty
- from 1618 to 1648Thirty Years' War
- 1619Manneken Pis
- 1622Publication of Othello
- 1623Publication of Macbeth
- 1623Founding of Barbados
- 1623Publication of The Tempest
- 1628William Harvey describes the circulation of the blood
- 8 September 1636Founding of Harvard University
- 1638Construction of Schönbrunn Palace
- 1642The Night Watch
- from 1642 to 1651English Civil War
- 1642Invention of Pascal's calculator
- 1643Barometer
- June 1644The Manchus take Beijing and found Qing rule
- 6 April 1648Construction of Red Fort
- 24 October 1648Peace of Westphalia
- 1652Origins of Quakers
- c. 1653The Taj Mahal is completed
- 25 March 1655Discovery of Titan
- 1656Construction of Jama Masjid, Delhi
- from 1660 to 1725Rise of Classicism
- 1661Construction of Palace of Versailles
- 1665Girl with a Pearl Earring
- from 2 September 1666 to 6 September 1666Great Fire of London
- 1667Publication of Paradise Lost
- 1669Discovery of phosphorus
- 1670Construction of avenue des Champs-Élysées
- 1671Construction of Badshahi Mosque
- 25 October 1671Discovery of Iapetus
- 23 December 1672Discovery of Rhea
- 1675Construction of St Paul's Cathedral
- 1675Construction of Royal Observatory
- 9 October 1676Leeuwenhoek discovers microorganisms
- 1684Construction of 10 Downing Street
- 21 March 1684Discovery of Dione
- 21 March 1684Discovery of Tethys
- 1687Publication of Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica
- 5 July 1687Newton's laws of motion
- from 28 December 1688 to 1 January 1689Glorious Revolution
- 27 July 1694Founding of Bank of England
- 1698Founding of London Stock Exchange
- 1699Construction of Drottningholm Palace
- from 17th century to 19th centuryAge of Enlightenment
- 17th centuryRise of ukiyo-e
- from 22 February 1700 to 10 September 1721Great Northern War
- 1701Founding of Yale University
- from 18 January 1701 to 9 November 1918Kingdom of Prussia
- from March 1701 to September 1714War of the Spanish Succession
- from 1 May 1707 to 1 January 1801Kingdom of Great Britain
- 1713Peace of Utrecht
- 1714Construction of Belvedere
- 25 April 1719Publication of Robinson Crusoe
- from 22 October 1721 to 1 September 1917Russian Empire
- 1722Construction of Élysée Palace
- 28 October 1726Publication of Gulliver's Travels
- from c. 1730s to 1780sRise of Rococo
- 1732Trevi Fountain
- 1735Discovery of cobalt
- 1735Linnaeus publishes Systema Naturae
- 2 June 1739Construction of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
- 1740Rise of Hasidic Judaism
- from 16 December 1740 to 18 October 1748War of the Austrian Succession
- October 1745Publication of God Save the King
- 1746Founding of Princeton University
- 1748Excavations begin at Pompeii
- c. 1750sRise of Neoclassical architecture
- 1751Encyclopédie
- 1751Discovery of nickel
- 25 May 1754Founding of Columbia University
- 1755Discovery of magnesium
- 12 January 1755Founding of Lomonosov Moscow State University
- 1 November 17551755 Lisbon earthquake
- from 17 May 1756 to 15 February 1763Seven Years' War
- 1759Construction of British Museum