Key European History Dates, 1450-present

A comprehensive timeline of key dates and events in European History from 1453 to 2004, covering political, social, and cultural milestones in thought.

1453

Fall of Constantinople & rise of the Ottoman Empire

1492 (Global)

Columbus' expedition to the "New World"

1492 (Iberia)

Fall of Granada & completion of the Spanish Reconquista

1513

Machiavelli's The Prince

1517

Luther posted "95 Theses"

1536

Calvin's The Institutes of Christian Religion

1555

Peace of Augsburg ends the Schmalkaldic Wars

1588

Defeat of the Spanish Armada

1618

Defenestration of Prague marks the beginning of the Thirty Years' War

1648

Treaty (Peace) of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War

1649

Execution of Charles I of England

1688

Glorious Revolution in England

1690

Locke's Two Treatises on Government

1713 (International)

Treaty (Peace) of Utrecht ends the War of Spanish Succession

1713 (Austria)

Charles VI of Austria's Pragmatic Sanction

1748

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the War of Austrian Succession

1762

Rousseau's Social Contract

1763

Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years' War

1776 (Economics)

Smith's Wealth of Nations

1776 (Politics)

American colonies issue Declaration of Independence

1789

Beginning of the French Revolution

1793

Execution of Louis XVI

1795

Execution of Robespierre marked the end of the Reign of Terror

1799

Napoleon Bonaparte's rise to power

1815

Congress of Vienna ends the Napoleonic Wars

1830

July Revolution in France

1832

Great Reform Bill in Britain

1848 (Political)

Revolutions of 1858

1848 (Intellectual)

Marx & Engels Communist Manifesto

1851

The Great Exhibition in London

1859

Darwin's Origin of Species

1861

Alexander II's emancipation of serfs in Russia

1867

Austria's Augsleich

1869

J.S. Mill's "On Liberty"

1885

Berlin Conference

1900

Freud's Interpretation of Dreams

1905

Revolution of 1905 in Russia

1913

Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" debuts in Paris

1914

Start of World War I

1917

Russian Revolution

1919

Treaty of Versailles ends World War I

1921

Lenin's NEP (New Economic Policy)

1933

Hitler appointed German Chancellor

1937

Picasso's Guernica

1938

Munich Conference

1939

Start of World War II

1945

End of World War II

1957 (Space)

Launch of Sputnik

1957 (Diplomacy)

Treaty of Rome created European Economic Community (EEC)

1961

Berlin Wall built

1962

Start of Second Vatican Council

1968

Paris Student Riots

1975

Helsinki Accords

1979

Thatcher became Prime Minister of Britain

1985

Gorbachev became premier of the Soviet Union

1989

Fall of the Berlin Wall and Revolutions in Eastern Europe

1991 (Conflict)

Start of civil war in Yugoslavia

1991 (Geopolitical)

Collapse of the Soviet Union

1992

Maastricht Treaty created European Union

1997

Blair's "New Labour" Party took power in Britain

1999

Launch of the Euro

2000

Putin elected President of Russia

2004

European Union expanded to include many "Eastern Bloc" countries