- 15th century
As a means of recording the passage of
time , the 15th century was thecentury which lasted from1401 to1500 .Events
*
1403 : The Settle of theCanary Islands signals the beginning of theSpanish Empire .
*1402 : Ottoman andTimurid Empire s fight at theBattle of Ankara resulting in Timur's capture ofBayezid I .
*1402 :Sultanate of Malacca founded by Parameshwara.
*1403 : TheYongle Emperor moves the capital of China fromNanjing toBeijing .
*1405 –33:Zheng He of China sails through theIndian Ocean to India, Arabia, and East Africa.
*1410 : TheBattle of Grunwald was the decisive battle of the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War leading to the downfall of theTeutonic Knights .
*1410 –13: Foundation ofSt Andrews University inScotland
*1415 :Henry the Navigator leads the conquest of Ceuta from theMoors marking the beginning of thePortuguese Empire .
*1415 :Battle of Agincourt fought between theKingdom of England andFrance
*1415 :Jan Hus is burned at the stake as a heretic at theCouncil of Constance .
*1420 : Construction of the ChineseForbidden City is completed in Beijing.
*1420 –34:Hussite Wars inBohemia
*1424 : James I returns toScotland after being held hostage under threeKings of England since1406
*1429 :Joan of Arc ends theSiege of Orléans and turns the tide of theHundred Years' War .
*1438 :Pachacuti founds theInca Empire .
*1440s : TheGolden Horde breaks up into theSiberia Khanate , theKhanate of Kazan , theAstrakhan Khanate , theCrimean Khanate , and theGreat Horde .
*1440 –69: UnderMoctezuma I , theAztec s become the dominant power inMesoamerica .
*1441 : Portuguese navigators cruiseWest Africa and reestablish the European slave trade with a shipment of African slaves sent directly fromAfrica toPortugal .
*1441 :Eton College founded by Henry IV.
*1444 : The Albanian league is established in Lezha,Skanderbeg is elected leader
*1444 :Ottoman Empire underSultan Murad II defeats the Polish and Hungarian armies underWładysław III of Poland and János Hunyadi at theBattle of Varna .
*1445 :Kazan Khanate defeatsGrand Duchy of Moscow at theBattle of Suzdal
*1446 : King Sejong the Great published ahangul , the native phonetic alphabet system for theKorean language .
*1449 :Esen Tayisi leads an Oirat Mongol invasion of China which culminate in the capture of theZhengtong Emperor atBattle of Tumu Fortress .
*1453 : TheFall of Constantinople marks the end of theByzantine Empire and the beginning of theGrowth of the Ottoman Empire .
*1453 : TheBattle of Castillon is the last engagement of theHundred Years' War .
*1454 –66: After defeating the Teutonic Knights in theThirteen Years' War , Poland annexesRoyal Prussia .
*1455 –85:Wars of the Roses - English civil war between the House of York and the House of Lancaster.
*1456 : TheSiege of Belgrade halts the Ottoman's advance into Europe.
*1462 : Sonni Ali Ber, the ruler of the Songhai (or Songhay) Empire, along theNiger River , conquered Mali in the centralSudan by defeating theTuareg contingent at Tombouctou (orTimbuktu ) and capturing the city. He developed both his own capital,Gao , and the main centres of Mali, Timbuktu andDjenné , into major cities. Ali Ber controlled trade along the Niger River with a navy of war vessels.
*1462 :Mehmed the Conqueror is driven back byWallachian princeVlad III Dracula at theNight Attack .
*1467 :Uzun Hasan defeats the Black Sheep Turkoman leader Jahān Shāh.
*1467 –1615 : TheSengoku period is one of civil war in Japan.
*1469 : The marriage ofFerdinand II of Aragon andIsabella of Castile leads to the unification ofSpain .
*1469 : Birth ofGuru Nanak Dev . Beside followers ofSikhism , Guru Nanak is revered byHindus andMuslim Sufis across theIndian subcontinent .
*1471 : The kingdom ofChampa suffers a massive defeat by the Vietnamese kingLê Thánh Tông .
*1474 –77:Burgundy Wars of France,Switzerland , Lorraine and Sigismund II of Habsburg against theCharles the Bold , Duke of Burgundy.
*1478 :Muscovy conquersNovgorod .
*1480 : After theGreat standing on the Ugra river , Muscovy gained independence from the Great Horde.
*1481 :Spanish Inquisition begins in practise with the firstauto de fe .
*1485 : Henry VII defeats Richard III at theBattle of Bosworth and becomes King of England
*1492 : The death of Sunni Ali Ber left a leadership void in the Songhai Empire, and his son was soon dethroned by Mamadou Toure who ascended the throne in 1492 under the name Askia (meaning "general") Muhammad. Askia Muhammad made Songhai the largest empire in the history of West Africa. The empire went into decline, however, after 1528, when the now-blind Askia Muhammad was dethroned by his son,Askia Musa .
*1492 :Boabdil 's surrender ofGranada marks the end of theReconquista andAl-Andalus .
*1492 :Jews expelled fromSpain .
*1492 :Christopher Columbus founds Spain's firstNew World colony onHispaniola .
*1494 : Spain and Portugal sign theTreaty of Tordesillas and agree to divide the World outside of Europe between themselves.
*1494 –1559 : TheItalian Wars lead to the downfall of theItalian city-states .
*1497 –1499 :Vasco da Gama 's first voyage fromEurope toIndia and back.
*1499 : Ottoman fleet defeats Venetians at theBattle of Zonchio .ignificant people
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Abu Sa'id al-Afif , aSamaritan physician.
*Afonso de Albuquerque (1453 -1515 ) was a Portuguese nobleman, naval general officer whose military and administrative activities conquered and established the Portuguese colonial empire in theIndian ocean . Generally considered as a world conquest military genius by means of his successful strategy.
*Constantine XI , LastByzantine Emperor (1404 –1453 ).
*Matthias Corvinus of Hungary , Renaissance ruler (1443 –1490 ).
*Ferdinand II of Aragon , co-ruler of Spain with Isabella of Castile and responsible with her for the unification of Spain (1452 –1516 ).
*Johannes Gutenberg , European inventor of printing with movable type (c.1398 –1468 ) "infante " and patron of the Portuguese exploration]
*Henry the Navigator Infante Henrique, Duke of Viseu (1394 –1460 ); "infante " (prince ) of the PortugueseHouse of Aviz and an important figure in the early days of thePortuguese Empire , being responsible for the beginning of the European worldwide explorations.
*Henry V of England , the English King who won the famousBattle of Agincourt in1415 (1387 –1422 ).
*Henry VII of England , English King and founder theTudor dynasty (1457 –1509 ).
*ThePrinces in the Tower ,Edward V of England (1470 – 1483?) and his brother,Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York (1473 – 1483?), two sons ofEdward IV of England andElizabeth Woodville .
*John Hunyadi , Regent ofKingdom of Hungary , won theSiege of Belgrade in1456 (1387 –1456 )
*Jan Hus , Bohemian religious thinker and reformer (c.1369 –1415 ).
*Isabella of Castile , co-ruler of Spain with Ferdinand II of Aragon and responsible for the unification of Spain and the discovery of theNew World (1451 –1504 ).
*Joan of Arc , nationalhero ine of France (1412 –1431 ).
* Gjergj Kastrioti,Skenderbeg - Albanian Prince who resisted the Ottomans for almost 30 years in the name of the Albanian people and Catholic faith (1443 –1468 ).
*Kazimierz IV Jagiellon King ofPoland and Grand Duke ofLithuania (1427 –1492 ).
*Louis XI , King of France (1423 –1483 ).
*Mehmed II , Sultan of theOttoman Empire and Conqueror ofConstantinople (1432 –1481 ).
*Guru Nanak , founder of theSikh Religion (1469 ).
*Sejong the Great of Joseon , a Korean monarch who developedhangul , the native Korean alphabet (1397 –1450 ).
*Stephen III of Moldavia , also known as Stephen the Great, ruler of Moldavia, national hero ofRomanians for long resistance to the Ottomans (1437 –1504 )
*Richard III of England , last English King of theHouse of York , last of theHouse of Plantagenet (1452 –1485 ).
*Mir Chakar Khan Rind (1468 –1565 ), aBaloch king.
*Vlad III Dracula , Prince of Wallachia who led the defense of his territory against the expandingOttoman Empire (1431 –1476 ).Visual artists, architects, sculptors, printmakers, illustrators
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Bartolomé Bermejo (c.1440 -1498 ), Spanish painter who adopted Dutch painting techniques and conventions.
*Hieronymus Bosch (c.1450 –1516 ), Early Netherlandish painter. Many of his works depict sin and human moral failings.
*Dirk Bouts (c.1410 /1420 -1475 ),Early Netherlandish painter .
*Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 –1446 ), invents one-point perspective, leads innovation in Italian architecture.
*Robert Campin (c.1375 –1444 ), the "Master of Flémalle," first great master ofEarly Netherlandish painting .
*Petrus Christus (c.1410 /1420 –1475 /1476 ), Early Netherlandish painter.
*Gerard David (c.1460 –1523 ),Early Netherlandish painter andmanuscript illuminator known for his brilliant use of color.
*Albrecht Dürer (1471 –1528 ) [Mueller, Peter O. (1993) "Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Durers", Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 3-11-012815-2.] was a German painter,printmaker andtheorist fromNuremberg , Germany.
*Barthélemy d'Eyck [ also sometimes in contemporary documents Barthélemy de Cler, der Clers, Deick d'Ecle, d'Eilz - Harthan, John, "The Book of Hours",p.93, 1977, Thomas Y Crowell Company, New York, ISBN 0690016549] ; (ca.1420 –after1470 ) [Cite book| first=Franz| last=Unterkircher| title=King René's Book of Love (Le Cueur d'Amours Espris)| year=1980| location= New York | publisher= G. Braziller|isbn=0-8076-0989-7] was anEarly Netherlandish art ist who worked inFrance and probably inBurgundy Early Netherlandish painter andmanuscript illuminator . He was active between about1440 to about1469 . [Tolley]
*Hubert van Eyck (c.1366 –1426 ), Flemish painter and older brother ofJan van Eyck .
*Jan van Eyck (before c.1395 – before1441 ), Early Netherlandish painter, considered one of the best Northern European painters of the 15th century.
*Juan de Flandes (1460 -1519 ),Early Netherlandish painter who was active inSpain from 1496 to 1519 at the court ofIsabella of Castile .
*Jean Fouquet (1420 -1481 ) French painter of both panel painting and manuscript illumination, inventor of theportrait miniature .
*Nicolas Froment (c.1435 – c.1486 ), French painter.
*Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378 –1455 ) was an Italian artist of the earlyRenaissance best known for works insculpture andmetalworking .
*Hugo van der Goes (?c.1440 –1482 or1483 ), Early Netherlandish painter.
*Jean Hey (ca.1475 – ca.1505 ), [Brigstocke, 2001, p. 338] now generally identified with the artist formerly known as the "Master of Moulins,"Early Netherlandish painter .
*Hans Holbein the Elder (c.1460 –1524 ), German painter,woodcut artist, illustrator of books and church window designer. [cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07385a.htm|title=Hans Holbein|work=Catholic Encyclopedia |accessdate=2007-02-18] He and his brother Sigismund Holbein painted religious works in the late Gothic style.
*Limbourg brothers , (Herman, Paul, and Johan;1385 –1416 ), Dutch Renaissance miniature painters from the city ofNijmegen .
*Simon Marmion (c.1425 -1489 ) French, or Burgundian, painter of panels andilluminated manuscript s.
*Hans Memling (c.1430 –1494 ), Early Netherlandish painter, born inGermany .
*Enguerrand Quarton (c.1410 - c.1466 ) was a French painter and manuscript illuminator.
*Leonardo da Vinci , (1452 –1519 ), Italianpolymath ,scientist ,mathematician ,engineer ,inventor ,anatomist , painter,sculptor ,architect ,botanist ,musician andwriter .
*Rogier van der Weyden (1399 /1400 –1464 ), considered one of the greatest exponents ofEarly Netherlandish painting .See links above forItalian Renaissance painting andRenaissance sculpture .Literature
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Leon Battista Alberti (1404 –1472 ) was an Italian author, artist,architect ,poet , linguist,philosopher , and cryptographer, and generalRenaissance humanist polymath .
*Joseph Albo (Hebrew : יוסף אלבו) (c.1380 –1444 ) was aJew ish philosopher andrabbi who lived inSpain . The author of "Sefer ha-Ikkarim " ("Book of Principles"), the classic work on the fundamentals of Judaism.
*Marsilio Ficino , Significant translator ofPlato 's works (1433 –1481 ).
*John Lydgate (c.1370 – c.1451 )cite book |last=Platt |first=Colin |title=King Death: The Black Death and its aftermath in late-medieval England |year=1996 |publisher=UCL Press Limited |location=London |isbn=1-85728-313-9 ] was amonk andpoet , born in Lidgate,Suffolk ,England .
*SirThomas Malory (c.1405 –March 14 ,1471 ) was an English writer, the author or compiler of "Le Morte d'Arthur ."
*CountGiovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463 -1494 ), ItalianRenaissance philosopher . ["Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni, Conte" in Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge, volume 15, copyright 1991. Grolier Inc., ISBN 0-7172-5300-7] He is famed for the events of1486 , when at the age of twenty-three, he wrote the famous "Oration on the Dignity of Man" which has been called the "Manifesto of the Renaissance", ["Oration on the Dignity of Man" (1486) http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_1/pico.html] and a key text ofRenaissance humanism .
*Thomas Occleve (c.1368 –1426 ), Englishpoet .
*Reginald Pecock (c.1395 -1460 ), was an English prelate and writer.
*Christine de Pizan , French writer (1364 –1430 ).
*François Villon , French poet (c.1431 –1474 ).Musicians and Composers
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Adrien Basin (c.1457 –1476 ; died after1498 ), Franco-Flemish composer, singer, and diplomat of theBurgundian school of the early Renaissance.
*Gilles Binchois , (c.1400 –1460 ), Franco-Flemish composer, one of the earliest members of theBurgundian School .
*Antoine Busnois (c.1430 –1492 ), Frenchcomposer andpoet of the early RenaissanceBurgundian School .
*Guillaume Dufay , (c.1397 –1474 ), Franco-Flemish composer and music theorist.
*John Dunstaple (c.1390 –1453 ), English composer of polyphonicmusic .
*Hayne van Ghizeghem (c.1445 –1472 or possibly later; New Grove says he died between 1472 and1497 ), Flemish composer of the early RenaissanceBurgundian School .
*Nicolas Grenon (c.1375 –1456 ), French composer of the early Renaissance.
*Robert Morton (c.1430 –1479 ), Englishcomposer of the early Renaissance.
*Johannes Ockeghem , (ca.1410 –1497 ), Flemish composer.
*Leonel Power (c.1370 to1385 –1445 ), English composer of the late Medieval and early Renaissance eras.
*Johannes Tapissier (c.1370 –1408 to1410 ), French composer and teacher of the late Middle Ages.
*Jacobus Vide (c.1405 –1433 ), Franco-Flemish composer of the transitional period between the medieval period and early Renaissance.Exploration
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Diogo de Azambuja (1432 -1518 ) Portuguese explorer of theAfrican coast.
*John Cabot (c. 1450 - 1499) - Italian explorer forEngland . Discovered Newfoundland and claimed it for theKingdom of England .
*Pedro Álvares Cabral (c. 1467 – about 1520), Portuguesenavigator and explorer.
*Pêro Vaz de Caminha (c.1450 -1500 ), Portuguese explorer that accompaniedPedro Álvares Cabral in the discovery ofBrazil .
*Christopher Columbus (1451 - 1506) - Italian explorer forSpain . Sailed in 1492 and discovered the "New World " of the Americas.
*Niccolò Da Conti (1395 –1469 ), Venetian merchant and explorer, born inChioggia , who traveled toIndia andSoutheast Asia .
*Bartolomeu Dias (c. 1450 - 1500) - Portuguese explorer. He sailed from Portugal and reached theCape of Good Hope .
*Vasco da Gama reaches India forPortugal , creating the first maritime alternative for theSilk Road (c.1469 –1524
*Zheng He , Chinese eunuch admiral and explorer (1371 –1433 ).
*João Fernandes Lavrador (1445? - 1501) - Portuguese explorer. First European reachingNewfoundland and Labrador .
*João da Nova (c.1460 -1509 , Portuguese explorer of theAtlantic andIndian Ocean .
*Amerigo Vespucci (c. 1454 - 1512) - Italian explorer forSpain . Sailed in 1499 and 1502. He explored the east coast ofSouth America .cience, invention and philosophy
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Johannes Gutenberg (circa1400 –1468 ) was a Germangoldsmith and printer who is credited with inventingmovable type printing inEurope around 1439, and mechanical printing globally.
*Georg von Peuerbach (1423 -1461 ) was a German/Austria nastronomer andmathematician .Inventions, discoveries, introductions
List of 15th century inventions
*Renaissance affectsphilosophy , science andart .
*Age of Discovery begins.
* Rise ofModern English language fromMiddle English .
* Introduction of thenoon bell in theCatholic world.
* Public banks
*Yongle Encyclopedia —over 22,000 volumes
*Hangul alphabet inKorea
*Scotch whisky
*Psychiatric hospital s
* Development of thewoodcut for printing between 1400–1450
*Movable type first used by KingTaejong of Joseon —1403 (Movable type, which allowed individual characters to be arranged to form words, was invented in China byBi Sheng between 1041 to 1048.)
* Although pioneered earlier in Korea and by the Chinese official Wang Zhen (withtin ),bronze metalmovable type printing is created in China byHua Sui in 1490.
*Johannes Gutenberg invents theprinting press in Europe (c. 1455).
*Linear perspective drawing perfected byFilippo Brunelleschi 1410–1415
* Invention of theharpsichord c. 1450
* Discovery of theAmericas byChristopher Columbus 1492
* Firstpound lock in Europe reportedly built in Vreeswijk, Netherlands in 1481References
ources
Decades and years
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