The Lumen Curriculum

Living Timeline

History Timeline

Every date and event the student meets across the year, in one chronological sweep — from the first cities of Sumer to the close of the twentieth century. Filter by era, search for a person or event, and click any entry to jump to the week it’s taught. Events from weeks you’ve completed are checked off automatically.

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190 of 190 events· 13,000 BC – 1989

Ancient World

34 events
  1. c. 15,000 years agoWeek 1

    First peoples reach the Americas across the Beringia land bridge

  2. c. 3500-3000 BCWeek 1

    The first cities rise in Sumer - Ur, Uruk, Lagash

  3. c. 3200 BCWeek 1

    Cuneiform, the world's first writing, is invented in Mesopotamia

  4. c. 3100 BCWeek 2

    Upper and Lower Egypt are united; the Old Kingdom begins

  5. c. 2600 BCWeek 1

    The Standard of Ur is crafted

  6. c. 2600-1900 BCWeek 4

    The Indus Valley civilization flourishes (Harappa, Mohenjo-daro)

  7. c. 2560 BCWeek 2

    The Great Pyramid of Giza is built under Khufu

  8. c. 2000 BCWeek 3

    Abraham and the covenant - the age of the patriarchs

  9. c. 1792-1750 BCWeek 1

    Hammurabi rules Babylon and issues his Code of Law

  10. c. 1600-1100 BCWeek 5

    Mycenaean Greece - the world behind Homer's epics

  11. c. 1400 BCWeek 1

    The Hurrian Hymn, the oldest written melody, is composed

  12. c. 1336 BCWeek 2

    Reign of Tutankhamun; the age of Nefertiti (New Kingdom)

  13. c. 1279-1213 BCWeek 2

    Reign of Ramesses II, 'the Great'

  14. c. 1250 BCWeek 3

    The Exodus from Egypt (traditional date)

  15. c. 1010-970 BCWeek 3

    Reign of King David

  16. c. 960 BCWeek 3

    Solomon builds the First Temple in Jerusalem

  17. 776 BCWeek 5

    Traditional date of the first Olympic Games

  18. 753 BCWeek 7

    Traditional founding of Rome

  19. 586 BCWeek 3

    Jerusalem falls to Babylon; the Exile begins

  20. c. 563-483 BCWeek 4

    Life of the Buddha

  21. c. 551-479 BCWeek 4

    Life of Confucius

  22. 509 BCWeek 7

    The Roman Republic begins

  23. c. 508 BCWeek 5

    Democracy is established at Athens

  24. c. 495-429 BCWeek 5

    Pericles leads Athens

  25. 490 BCWeek 6

    Battle of Marathon (Persian Wars)

  26. 480 BCWeek 6

    Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis

  27. 431-404 BCWeek 6

    The Peloponnesian War

  28. 399 BCWeek 6

    The death of Socrates

  29. 336-323 BCWeek 6

    Reign of Alexander the Great

  30. 264-146 BCWeek 7

    The Punic Wars with Carthage (Hannibal)

  31. 221 BCWeek 4

    Qin unifies China; work begins on the Great Wall

  32. 44 BCWeek 7

    Julius Caesar is assassinated

  33. 27 BCWeek 8

    Augustus becomes Rome's first emperor; the Pax Romana begins

  34. c. 4 BCWeek 8

    The birth of Jesus Christ in Roman Judea

Late Antiquity & the Early Church

12 events
  1. AD 64Week 9

    Persecution of Christians under Nero in Rome

  2. AD 303Week 9

    The Great Persecution under Diocletian

  3. AD 313Week 9

    The Edict of Milan - Constantine legalizes Christianity

  4. AD 410Week 10

    The Visigoths sack Rome

  5. AD 476Week 10

    The fall of the Western Roman Empire

  6. AD 527-565Week 10

    Reign of Justinian - his Code and the Hagia Sophia

  7. c. AD 529Week 12

    St. Benedict founds Monte Cassino and writes his Rule

  8. AD 610Week 11

    Muhammad begins preaching Islam

  9. AD 622Week 11

    The Hijra - the Muslim calendar begins

  10. AD 732Week 11

    Charles Martel halts the Muslim advance at the Battle of Tours

  11. AD 800Week 12

    Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor

  12. 9th-10th c.Week 12

    Viking and Magyar raids strike Europe

The Middle Ages

6 events
  1. 11th-13th c.Week 13

    Feudalism and the manorial system shape Europe

  2. AD 1066Week 13

    William the Conqueror wins at Hastings - the Norman Conquest

  3. AD 1086Week 13

    The Domesday Book surveys England

  4. AD 1088Week 16

    The University of Bologna, the first university, is founded

  5. AD 1095Week 15

    Pope Urban II calls the First Crusade

  6. AD 1099Week 15

    Crusaders capture Jerusalem

Ancient World

1 event
  1. c. AD 1100Week 1

    Cahokia, the great Mound Builder city, is at its height

The Middle Ages

6 events
  1. AD 1198-1216Week 14

    Pontificate of Innocent III - the papacy at its height

  2. AD 1209Week 14

    St. Francis founds the Franciscans

  3. AD 1216Week 14

    St. Dominic founds the Dominicans

  4. AD 1225-1274Week 16

    Life of St. Thomas Aquinas; the Summa Theologiae

  5. AD 1226-1270Week 15

    Reign of St. Louis IX of France

  6. AD 1265-1321Week 16

    Life of Dante; the Divine Comedy (c. 1320)

Renaissance, Exploration & Reformation

7 events
  1. AD 1337-1453Week 17

    The Hundred Years' War

  2. AD 1347-1351Week 17

    The Black Death devastates Europe

  3. AD 1378-1417Week 17

    The Western Schism divides the papacy

  4. c. 1387Week 17

    Chaucer writes 'The Canterbury Tales'

  5. 15th c.Week 18

    The Medici lead Renaissance Florence

  6. AD 1431Week 17

    St. Joan of Arc is martyred

  7. c. 1440Week 18

    Gutenberg develops the printing press

Ancient World

1 event
  1. c. AD 1450Week 2

    The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy is founded (date debated)

Renaissance, Exploration & Reformation

2 events
  1. AD 1452-1519Week 18

    Life of Leonardo da Vinci

  2. AD 1475-1564Week 19

    Life of Michelangelo

Ancient World

1 event
  1. AD 1492Week 3

    Columbus reaches the Americas; the Columbian Exchange begins

Renaissance, Exploration & Reformation

1 event
  1. AD 1492Week 20

    Columbus's first voyage

Ancient World

1 event
  1. AD 1497Week 3

    John Cabot reaches North America for England

Renaissance, Exploration & Reformation

11 events
  1. AD 1498Week 19

    Vasco da Gama reaches India by sea

  2. 16th-18th c.Week 23

    European powers compete for empire under mercantilism

  3. AD 1508-1512Week 19

    Michelangelo paints the Sistine Chapel ceiling

  4. AD 1517Week 21

    Luther posts the 95 Theses

  5. AD 1519-1521Week 20

    Cortes conquers the Aztec Empire

  6. AD 1519-1522Week 20

    Magellan's expedition circumnavigates the globe

  7. AD 1532-1533Week 20

    Pizarro conquers the Inca Empire

  8. AD 1534Week 21

    Henry VIII breaks with Rome (Act of Supremacy)

  9. AD 1540Week 22

    The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) is approved; St. Ignatius

  10. AD 1543Week 24

    Copernicus publishes the heliocentric theory

  11. AD 1545-1563Week 22

    The Council of Trent

Ancient World

9 events
  1. AD 1565Week 4

    St. Augustine, Florida is founded - the oldest U.S. city

  2. AD 1587Week 5

    The 'Lost Colony' of Roanoke

  3. AD 1607Week 5

    Jamestown, the first lasting English colony, is founded

  4. AD 1608Week 4

    Quebec is founded (New France)

  5. AD 1619Week 5

    Virginia's House of Burgesses meets; first enslaved Africans arrive

  6. AD 1619 onwardWeek 8

    African slavery takes root in the English colonies

  7. AD 1620Week 6

    The Mayflower lands; the Mayflower Compact; Plymouth founded

  8. AD 1630Week 6

    Puritans found the Massachusetts Bay Colony

  9. AD 1632Week 7

    Maryland is chartered as a Catholic refuge (Lord Baltimore)

Revolutions & the Modern Age

1 event
  1. AD 1632-1704Week 25

    Life of John Locke

Renaissance, Exploration & Reformation

1 event
  1. AD 1633Week 24

    The trial of Galileo

Ancient World

2 events
  1. AD 1636Week 6

    Roger Williams founds Rhode Island

  2. AD 1642-1649Week 4

    The North American (Jesuit) Martyrs are killed

Renaissance, Exploration & Reformation

1 event
  1. AD 1643-1715Week 24

    Reign of Louis XIV (Versailles)

Ancient World

3 events
  1. AD 1649Week 7

    Maryland's Act of Toleration

  2. AD 1673Week 4

    Marquette and Jolliet explore the Mississippi

  3. AD 1681Week 7

    Pennsylvania is founded by William Penn

Renaissance, Exploration & Reformation

1 event
  1. AD 1687Week 24

    Newton publishes the 'Principia'

Revolutions & the Modern Age

1 event
  1. 18th c.Week 25

    The Enlightenment (Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaire)

Ancient World

1 event
  1. AD 1730s-1740sWeek 8

    The First Great Awakening sweeps the colonies

Revolutions & the Modern Age

1 event
  1. AD 1732-1799Week 26

    Life of George Washington

Ancient World

1 event
  1. AD 1733Week 7

    Georgia, the last of the thirteen colonies, is founded

Revolutions & the Modern Age

1 event
  1. AD 1751-1836Week 27

    Life of James Madison

Late Antiquity & the Early Church

2 events
  1. AD 1754-1763Week 9

    The French and Indian War

  2. AD 1765Week 9

    The Stamp Act

Revolutions & the Modern Age

1 event
  1. AD 1769-1821Week 28

    Life of Napoleon Bonaparte

Late Antiquity & the Early Church

9 events
  1. AD 1770Week 9

    The Boston Massacre

  2. AD 1773Week 9

    The Boston Tea Party

  3. AD 1775Week 10

    Lexington and Concord; Bunker Hill

  4. AD 1776Week 10

    'Common Sense'; the Declaration of Independence (July 4)

  5. AD 1777Week 11

    American victory at Saratoga; the winter at Valley Forge

  6. AD 1781Week 11

    British surrender at Yorktown

  7. AD 1781Week 12

    The Articles of Confederation are ratified

  8. AD 1783Week 11

    The Treaty of Paris ends the Revolutionary War

  9. AD 1787Week 12

    Shays' Rebellion; the Constitutional Convention meets in Philadelphia

The Middle Ages

2 events
  1. AD 1787Week 13

    The Constitutional Convention drafts the U.S. Constitution

  2. AD 1789Week 14

    Washington is inaugurated; the first U.S. presidency begins

Revolutions & the Modern Age

1 event
  1. AD 1789Week 27

    The French Revolution begins

The Middle Ages

1 event
  1. AD 1791Week 14

    The Bill of Rights is ratified

Revolutions & the Modern Age

2 events
  1. AD 1793-1794Week 27

    The Reign of Terror

  2. AD 1799-1815Week 28

    Napoleon's rise and fall (Waterloo, 1815)

The Middle Ages

3 events
  1. AD 1800Week 15

    The peaceful transfer of power (Jefferson elected)

  2. AD 1803Week 15

    The Louisiana Purchase; Marbury v. Madison

  3. AD 1804-1806Week 15

    The Lewis and Clark expedition

Revolutions & the Modern Age

2 events
  1. AD 1804Week 27

    Haiti wins its independence

  2. AD 1809-1865Week 29

    Life of Abraham Lincoln

The Middle Ages

3 events
  1. AD 1812-1815Week 16

    The War of 1812

  2. AD 1814Week 16

    The British burn Washington; 'The Star-Spangled Banner' is written

  3. AD 1815Week 16

    The Battle of New Orleans (Andrew Jackson)

Renaissance, Exploration & Reformation

15 events
  1. AD 1820Week 17

    The Missouri Compromise

  2. AD 1823Week 17

    The Monroe Doctrine

  3. AD 1825Week 17

    The Erie Canal opens

  4. AD 1828Week 18

    Andrew Jackson is elected president

  5. AD 1830Week 18

    The Indian Removal Act

  6. AD 1831Week 19

    Garrison launches 'The Liberator' (abolitionism)

  7. AD 1838-1839Week 18

    The Trail of Tears

  8. 1840sWeek 19

    A great wave of Irish and German Catholic immigration

  9. AD 1846-1848Week 20

    The Mexican-American War

  10. AD 1848Week 19

    The Seneca Falls women's rights convention

  11. AD 1849Week 20

    The California Gold Rush

  12. AD 1850Week 21

    The Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act

  13. AD 1854Week 21

    The Kansas-Nebraska Act; 'Bleeding Kansas'

  14. AD 1857Week 21

    The Dred Scott decision

  15. AD 1858Week 21

    The Lincoln-Douglas debates

Revolutions & the Modern Age

1 event
  1. AD 1858-1919Week 30

    Life of Theodore Roosevelt

Renaissance, Exploration & Reformation

8 events
  1. AD 1860Week 22

    Lincoln is elected; Southern states begin to secede

  2. AD 1861Week 22

    The Confederacy forms; Fort Sumter is fired upon (April)

  3. AD 1861Week 23

    First Battle of Bull Run

  4. AD 1862Week 23

    The Battle of Antietam

  5. AD 1863Week 23

    The Emancipation Proclamation; Gettysburg and Vicksburg (July); the Gettysburg Address

  6. AD 1865Week 23

    Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox (April)

  7. AD 1865Week 24

    Lincoln is assassinated; the 13th Amendment ends slavery

  8. AD 1868 & 1870Week 24

    The 14th and 15th Amendments (citizenship and the vote)

Revolutions & the Modern Age

13 events
  1. AD 1869Week 25

    The first transcontinental railroad is completed

  2. AD 1869Week 27

    The transcontinental railroad opens the West

  3. AD 1869-1870Week 28

    The First Vatican Council; the Papal States are lost

  4. 1870s-1890sWeek 25

    The Gilded Age - Carnegie, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt

  5. AD 1870-1871Week 28

    The unifications of Italy and Germany

  6. 1880s-1910sWeek 26

    New immigration from southern and eastern Europe

  7. 1880sWeek 29

    The 'Scramble for Africa'

  8. AD 1889Week 26

    Jane Addams opens Hull House (the settlement movement)

  9. AD 1890Week 27

    Wounded Knee; the frontier is declared 'closed'

  10. AD 1892Week 26

    Ellis Island opens

  11. AD 1898Week 29

    The Spanish-American War

  12. AD 1906Week 28

    The Pure Food and Drug Act (muckrakers; T. Roosevelt)

  13. AD 1914Week 29

    The Panama Canal opens

The Contemporary World

1 event
  1. AD 1914-1918Week 31

    World War I

Revolutions & the Modern Age

2 events
  1. AD 1917Week 26

    St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, patron of immigrants, dies

  2. AD 1917Week 29

    The United States enters World War I

The Contemporary World

1 event
  1. AD 1917Week 31

    The Russian Revolution (the rise of communism)

Revolutions & the Modern Age

3 events
  1. AD 1918Week 29

    World War I ends; Wilson's Fourteen Points

  2. AD 1920Week 28

    The 19th Amendment - women win the vote

  3. 1920sWeek 30

    The Roaring Twenties (the Jazz Age, the automobile)

The Contemporary World

1 event
  1. AD 1920-2005Week 32

    Life of St. John Paul II

Revolutions & the Modern Age

3 events
  1. AD 1929Week 30

    The Stock Market Crash

  2. 1930sWeek 30

    The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl

  3. AD 1933Week 30

    Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal begins

The Contemporary World

10 events
  1. AD 1933Week 31

    Hitler and the Nazis take power in Germany

  2. AD 1939-1945Week 31

    World War II

  3. AD 1941Week 31

    Pearl Harbor (Dec 7); the U.S. enters the war

  4. AD 1944Week 31

    D-Day (June 6)

  5. AD 1945Week 31

    The full horror of the Holocaust is revealed; WWII ends

  6. AD 1947-1991Week 32

    The Cold War

  7. AD 1963Week 32

    Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech

  8. AD 1969Week 32

    The first Moon landing

  9. AD 1978Week 32

    Karol Wojtyla is elected Pope John Paul II

  10. AD 1989-1991Week 32

    The fall of communism in Europe