1436 -- Johannes Gutenberg invents movable-type printing press.
1455 -- Gutenberg Bible printed.
1481 -- Spanish Inquisition against Jews, Muslims, and heretics begins.
1483 -- Martin Luther born in Eisleben, Nov. 10; baptized Nov. 11.
1492 -- Columbus reaches the Americas.
1499 -- Katharina von Bora (Luther's wife) born in Lippendorf, Jan. 29.
1501 -- Luther enters University of Erfurt (receives master of arts in philosophy, 1505).
1502 -- Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, founds University of Wittenberg.
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; Luther begins study of theology.
1508 -- Michelangelo begins painting Sistine Chapel, completed 1512.
1509 -- Luther obtains bachelor of theology degree, March 9, returns to Erfurt; Henry VIII becomes king of England.
1510 -- First African slaves brought to the New World (Haiti).
1511 -- Luther sent to Wittenberg University to serve as professor, takes over chair of Staupitz at Wittenberg.
1512 -- Luther awarded doctor of theology degree, Oct. 18--19.
1513 -- Ponce de Leon reaches Florida; Pope Leo X begins pontificate, March 11.
1517 -- Pope Leo X declares indulgence for rebuilding of St. Peter's; Luther nails 95 Theses to Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Oct. 31.
1518 -- Process against Luther begins in Rome.
1521 --Luther excommunicated by papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem, Jan. 3; 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; Frederick the Wise hides Luther at the Wartburg Castle for eleven months; Luther translates New Testament into German, from December to March 1522.
1523 --Escaped nuns from Nimbschen, including Katharina von Bora (Luther's future wife), arrive in Wittenberg, April 7.
1525 -- Luther marries Katharina von Bora, June 13; Luther's German Mass first used, Dec. 25.
1526 -- Hans Luther born (first child of six to Luther and Katharina), June 7.
1527 -- Plague strikes Wittenberg; the Luthers turn their home into a hospital.
1528 -- 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.
1531 -- Comet appears, eventually known as "Halley's Comet."
1533 --English King Henry VIII excommunicated, July 11.
1534 -- Ignatius of Loyola founds Society of Jesus (Jesuits), Aug. 15; Henry VIII declares himself to be head of the Church of England.
1536 -- Henry VIII allows English Bible in England.
1539 -- Catholic counter reformation begins in earnest.
1541 -- De Soto reaches the Mississippi River, May 8.
1543 -- Spanish Catholics begin to burn Protestants at the stake.
1545 -- Council of Trent's first sessions, 1545--1547.
1546 -- Luther dies at Eisleben, Feb. 18; Luther is buried at Castle Church in Wittenberg, Feb. 22.
1551 -- Council of Trent holds more sessions, 1551--1552.
1555 -- Peace of Augsburg allows Lutherans equal rights in Holy Roman Empire; Pope Paul IV begins pontificate, makes stamping out Protestantism high priority.
1559 -- John Knox brings Calvinism to Scotland.
1563 -- Council of Trent ends, settling Roman doctrine and establishing Roman Catholic Church.
1577 -- Francis Drake begins circumnavigating globe.
1582 -- Gregorian calendar implemented by Pope Gregory XIII.
1586 --Colony of Roanoke established in Virginia.
1595 -- Rene Descartes, a key leader of the Enlightenment, born, March 31.
1598 -- French King Henry IV grants religious freedom to Protestants via Edict of Nantes, April 13.
1600 -- First performance of Hamlet at Globe Theater.
1618 -- Thirty Years' War begins.
1997 -- Lutheran and Catholics sign Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.
SOURCE: Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions
NAN Religion on 10/28/2017