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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
1580-1640 Spain united with Portugal
1598 Henry IV, first Bourbon king of France, grants equal rights to Protestants
1605 End of Boris Godunov's reign in Russia
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
1632-1654 Reign of Queen Christina of Sweden
1640 Portugal gains independence from Spain
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
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
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
1700-1721 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
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
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
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
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
1806 Napoleon brings the Holy Roman empire to an end
1808-1814 The Peninsular War in Spain
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 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
1833 Abolition of slavery in British empire
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
1852 Louis Napoleon becomes Emperor Napoleon III of the French
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
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
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
1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War
1905 Revolution in Russia
1905 Norway breaks away from Sweden; elects King Haakon VII
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
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 Death of Vladimir Lenin
1925 Locarno Agreements between major European powers aim to maintain peace and stability
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
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 France surrenders to Germany
1940-1945 Holocaust - 6 million Jews are murdered in German extermination camps in Germany and Poland
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
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
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


