Timeline: TOWNSEND, John: Byrne and Asimov Genealogy and Family Histories

	Date	Event(s)
1	1583	1583: Cesalpino, in 'De Plantis', classified plants with seeds according to the number, position, and shape of the parts of their fruit. 1583: Galileo Galilei discovered by experiment that the oscillations of a swinging pendulum took the same amount of time regardless of their amplitude.
2	1584	1584: William of Orange is murdered and England sends aid to the Netherlands; 1586 Expedition of Sir Francis Drake to the West Indies; Conspiracy against Elizabeth I involving Mary Queen of Scots
3	1587	1587: Sprouts were believed to have been cultivated in Italy in Roman times, and possibly as early as the 1200s in Belgium but the modern Brussels sprout that we are familiar with was first cultivated in large quantities in Belgium (hence the name) 1587: Execution of Mary Queen of Scots; England at war with Spain; Drake destroys Spanish fleet at Cadiz
4	1588	1588: The Spanish Armada is defeated by the English fleet under Lord Howard of Effingham, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir John Hawkins: war between Spain and England continues until 1603
5	1590	1590: Zacharias and Hans Janssen combined double convex lenses in a tube, producing the first telescope.
6	1596	1596: The work of Dutch cartographer Abraham Ortelius suggests the possibility of continental drift, which will be described more forcefully by Alfred Wegener centuries later.
7	1597	1597: Cultivation of sweet potatoes was tried (probably unsuccessfully) by John Gerarde of London 1597: Irish rebellion under Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone (finally put down 1601)
8	1600	1600: William Gilbert, in 'De Magnete', held that the earth behaves like a giant magnet with its poles near the geographic poles. He coined the word 'electrica' (from the Greek word for amber, elektron), and distinguished electricity from magnetism. 1600: Elizabeth I grants charter to East India Company
9	1601	1601: Elizabethan Poor Law charges the parishes with providing for the needy; Essex attempts rebellion, and is executed
10	1603	1603: Elizabeth dies; James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England
11	1604	1604: Hampton Court Conference: no relaxation by the Church towards Puritans; James bans Jesuits; England and Spain make peace 1604: Cawdrey's A Table Alphabeticall, first English dictionary, is published
12	1605	1605: Gunpowder Plot; Guy Fawkes and other Roman Catholic conspirators fail in attempt to blow up Parliament and James I
13	1607	1607: Parliament rejects proposals for union between England and Scotland; colony of Virginia is founded at Jamestown by John Smith; Henry Hudson begins voyage to eastern Greenland and Hudson River
14	1609	1609: Galileo built a telescope with which he discovered the mountains on the moon, that the Milky Way consisted of innumerable stars, the four largest satellites of Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and sunspots. 1609: Henry Hudson explores present-day New York and Hudson River and claims them for the Dutch 1609: Avisa Relation oder Zeitung', world's first regular newspaper is published
15	1610	1610: Hudson Bay discovered
16	1611	1611: James I's authorized version (King James Version) of the Bible is completed; English and Scottish Protestant colonists settle in Ulster
17	1614	1614: James I dissolves the "Addled Parliament" which has failed to pass any legislation
18	1616	1616: Italian philosopher Lucilio Vanini suggests that humans descended from apes. For this heresy, he is burned alive three years later.
19	1618	1618: Thirty Years' War begins, lasts until 1648
20	1620	1620: Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the "Mayflower"; found New Plymouth
21	1622	1622: James I dissolves Parliament for asserting its right to debate foreign affairs 1622: Weekly News, first English newspaper, published.
22	1623	1623: Wilhelm Schickard built a six digit calculator, driven directly by gears, which could add, subtract, and indicate overflow by ringing a bell.
23	1624	1624: Alliance between James I and France; Parliament votes for war against Spain; Virginia becomes crown colony
24	1625	1625: Charles I, King of England (to 1649); Charles I marries Henrietta Maria, sister of Louis XIII of France; dissolves Parliament which fails to vote him money
25	1627	1627: William Harvey was able to confirm his observation that the blood circulates throughout the body, which he inferred from the structure of the venal valves. The following year, in Exercitatio Anatomica, he published these conclusions as well as a description of the heart as a mechanical pump.
26	1628	1628: Petition of Right; Charles I forced to accept Parliament's statement of civil rights in return for finances
27	1629	1629: Charles I dissolves Parliament and rules personally until 1640
28	1630	1630: England makes peace with France and Spain
29	1636	1636: Tulip mania begins and ceases the following year in a precursor of the 2000 'dot-com' crash
30	1639	1639: First Bishops' War between Charles I and the Scottish Church; ends with Pacification of Dunse
31	1640	1640: Charles I summons the "Short " Parliament ; dissolved for refusal to grant money; Second Bishops' War; ends with Treaty of Ripon; The Long Parliament begins. 1640: Athanasius Kirchner's magic lantern invented
32	1641	1641: Triennial Act requires Parliament to be summoned every three years; Star Chamber and High Commission abolished by Parliament; Catholics in Ireland revolt; some 30,000 Protestants massacred; Grand Remonstrance of Parliament to Charles I
33	1642	1642: Charles I fails in attempt to arrest five members of Parliament and rejects Parliament's Nineteen Propositions; Civil War (until 1645) begins with battle of Edgehill between Cavaliers (Royalists) and Roundheads (Parliamentarians)
34	1643	1643: Solemn League and Covenant is signed by Parliament
35	1644	1644: Battle of Marston Moor; Oliver Cromwell defeats Prince Rupert
36	1645	1645: Formation of Cromwell's New Model Army; Battle of Naseby; Charles I defeated by Parliamentary forces
37	1646	1646: Charles I surrenders to the Scots
38	1647	1647: Scots surrender Charles I to Parliament; he escapes to the Isle of Wright; makes secret treaty with Scots
39	1648	1648: Scots invade England and are defeated by Cromwell at battle of Preston Pride's Purge: Presbyterians expelled from Parliament (known as the Rump Parliament); Treaty of Westphalia ends Thirty Years' War
40	1649	1649: Charles I is tried and executed; The Commonwealth, in which ; England is governed as a republic, is established and lasts until 1660; Cromwell harshly suppresses Catholic rebellions in Ireland
41	1650	1650: Charles II lands in Scotland; is proclaimed king
42	1651	1651: Thomas Hobbes, in 'Leviathan', argued from a mechanistic theory that man is a selfishly individualistic animal at constant war with others. In the state of nature, life is "nasty, brutish, and short." 1651: Charles II invades England and is defeated at Battle of Worcester; Charles escapes to France; First Navigation Act, England gains virtual monopoly of foreign trade
43	1653	1653: Cromwell dissolves the "Rump" and becomes Lord Protector
44	1654	1654: James Ussher, Protestant archbishop of Armagh, determined by a close reading of scriptural genealogies that the events described on the first page of the Book of Genesis occurred in 4004 B.C. 1654: Treaty of Westminster between England and Dutch Republic
45	1655	1655: Christiaan Huygens discovered 'Titan,' Saturn's largest moon, and that what Galileo had thought were moons were actually rings. He was the first to note markings on Mars. 1655: England divided into 12 military districts by Cromwell; seizes Jamaica from Spain
46	1656	1656: Huygens built the first pendulum-regulated clock. Two years later, Huygens, in Horologium, claimed that his clock could establish longitude at sea which was not then possible and had led to many maritime disasters. 1656: War with Spain (until 1659)
47	1658	1658: Oliver Cromwell dies; succeeded as Lord Protector by son Richard; Battle of the Dunes, England and France defeat Spain; England gains Dunkirk
48	1659	1659: Richard Cromwell forced to resign by the army; "Rump" Parliament restored 1659: First cheque drawn in London
49	1660	1660: Convention Parliament restores Charles II to throne
50	1661	1661: Clarendon Code; "Cavalier" Parliament of Charles II passes series of repressive laws against Nonconformists; English acquire Bombay
51	1662	1662: Boyle, using a vacuum pump of his own invention, determined that the volume and pressure of a gas are inversely proportional 1662: John Graunt, in 'Observations upon the Bills of Mortality', using London population data, noted that life expectancy is 27 years, with nearly two/thirds dying before 16 years. 1662: Act of Uniformity passed in England
52	1664	1664: England siezes New Amsterdam from the Dutch, change name to New York
53	1665	1665: Great Plague in London
54	1666	1666: Great Fire of London 1666: First European printed paper banknote issued
55	1667	1667: Dutch fleet defeats the English in Medway river; treaties of Breda among Netherlands, England, France, and Denmark
56	1668	1668: Triple Alliance of England, Netherlands, and Sweden against France
57	1669	1669: Isaac Newton circulated a manuscript, 'De analysi per aequationes numero terminorum infinitas', the first notice of his calculus.
58	1670	1670: Secret Treaty of Dover between Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France to restore Roman Catholicism to England; Hudson's Bay Company founded
59	1672	1672: Third Anglo-Dutch war (until 1674); William III (of Orange) becomes ruler of Netherlands
60	1673	1673: Test Act aims to deprive English Roman Catholics and Nonconformists of public office
61	1674	1674: Hennig Brand discovered phosphorus in a distillation of human urine 1674: Anton van Leeuwenhoek reported his discovery of protozoa, using his newly-devised microscope 1674: Treaty of Westminster between England and the Netherlands
62	1677	1677: William III, ruler of the Netherlands, marries Mary, daughter of James, Duke of York, heir to the English throne
63	1678	1678: Popish Plot' in England; Titus Oates falsely alleges a Catholic plot to murder Charles II
64	1679	1679: Act of Habeas Corpus passed, forbidding imprisonment without trial; Parliament's Bill of Exclusion against the Roman Catholic Duke of York blocked by Charles II; Parliament dismissed; Charles II rejects petitions calling for a new Parliament; petitioners become known as Whigs; their opponents (royalists) known as Tories
65	1681	1681: Whigs reintroduce Exclusion Bill; Charles II dissolves Parliament
66	1685	1685: James II of England and VII of Scotland (to 1688); rebellion by Charles II's illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, against James II is put down
67	1686	1686: James II disregards Test Act; Roman Catholics appointed to public office
68	1687	1687: James II issues Declaration of Liberty of Conscience, extends toleration to all religions
69	1688	1688: Edward Lloyd's coffee house opens in England 1688: England's 'Glorious Revolution'; William III of Orange is invited to save England from Roman Catholicism, lands in England, James II flees to France
70	1689	1689: Convention Parliament issues Bill of Rights; establishes a constitutional monarchy in Britain; bars Roman Catholics from the throne; William III and Mary II become joint monarchs of England and Scotland (to1694), Toleration Act grants freedom of worship to dissenters in England; Grand Alliance of the League of Augsburg, England, and the Netherlands 1689: Parliament draws up the Declaration of Right detailing the unconstitutional acts of King James II. James' daughter and her husband, his nephew, become joint sovereigns of Britain as King William III and Queen Mary II. Parliament passes the Bill of Rights. Toleration Act grants rights to Trinitarian Protestant dissenters. Catholic forces loyal to James II land in Ireland from France and lay siege to Londonderry
71	1690	1690: King William defeats the Irish and French armies of his father-in-law at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland
72	1691	1691: The Treaty of Limerick allows Cathloics in Ireland to exercise their religion freely, but severe penal laws soon follow. The French War begins
73	1692	1692: The Glencoe Massacre occurs
74	1694	1694: Death of Queen Mary; King William now rules alone. Foundation of the Bank of England. Triennial Act sets the maximum duration of a parliament to three years
75	1695	1695: Lapse of the Licensing Act
76	1697	1697: Peace of Ryswick between the allied powers of the League of Augsburg and France ends the French War. Civil List Act votes funds for the maintenance of the Royal Household 1697: Blasphemy Act in England
77	1698	1698: Thomas Savery patented an engine which produced a vacuum by condensing steam. It was employed for raising water from a mine and supplying water to several country houses.
78	1701	1701: The Act of Settlement settles the Royal Succession on the Protestant descendants of Sophia of Hanover. Death of the former King James II in exile in France. The French king recognizes James II's son as "King James III". King William forms a grand alliance between England, Holland and Austria to prevent the union of the Spanish and French crowns. The War of the Spanish Succession breaks out in Europe over the vacant throne
79	1702	1702: Death of King William III in a riding accident. He is succeeded by his sister-in-law, Queen Anne. England declares war on France as part of the War of the Spanish Succession
80	1704	1704: Johann Sebastian Bach began composing music 1704: British, Dutch, German and Austrian troops, under the Duke of Marlborough, defeat the French and Bavarians at the Battle of Blenheim. British, Bavarian and Austrian troops under Marlborough defeat the French at the Battle of Ramillies, and expel the French from the Netherlands. The British capture Gibraltar from Spain
81	1706	1706: The Evening Post', first evening newspaper issued in London
82	1707	1707: The Act of Union unites the kingdoms of England and Scotland and transfers the seat of Scottish Government to London
83	1708	1708: The Duke of Marlborough defeats the French at the Battle of Oudenarede. The French incur heavy losses. Queen Anne vetoes a parliamentary bill to recognise the Scottish militia. This is the last time a bill is vetoed by the sovereign
84	1709	1709: Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit constructed an alcohol thermometer 1709: Marlborough defeats the French at the Battle of Malplaquet
85	1710	1710: A Tory ministry is formed, under Harley, with the impeachment of Dr. Sacheverell and the fall of the Whig government
86	1713	1713: The Treaty of Utrecht is signed by Britain and France, thus concluding the War of the Spanish Succession
87	1714	1714: Death of Queen Anne at Kensington Palace. She is succeeded by her distant cousin, the Elector George of Hanover, as King George I. A new parliament is elected with a strong Whig majority, led by Charles Townshend and Robert Walpole
88	1715	1715: Thomas Fairchild produced the first artificial hybrid plant 1715: The Jacobite Rebellion begins in Scotland with the aim of overthrowing the Hanovarian succession and placing the "Old Pretender" - James II's son - on the throne. The rebellion is easily defeated
89	1716	1716: The Septennial Act sets General Elections to be held every seven years
90	1717	1717: Townshend is dismissed from government by George I, causing Walpole to resign. The Whig party is split. Convocation is suspended
91	1719	1719: South Sea Bubble bursts, leaving many investors ruined after speculating with stock of the 'South Sea Company'
92	1721	1721: Sir Robert Walpole Prime Minister to 1742 (Whig) 1721: Sir Robert Walpole returns to government as First Lord of the Treasury. He remains in office until 1742 and effectively becomes Britain's first Prime Minister
93	1722	1722: First written reference to Stilton cheese in William Stukeley?s Itinerarium Curiosum, letter V 1722: Death of the Duke of Marlborough. The Jacobite 'Atterbury Plot' is hatched
94	1726	1726: First circulating library in Britain opens in Edinburgh. Jonathan Swift publishes his 'Gulliver's Travels'
95	1727	1727: Death of Sir Isaac Newton and of King George I (in Hanover). The latter is succeeded by his son as King George II 1727: The Gentleman's Magazine', first modern magazine, published
96	1728	1728: Pierre Fauchard, in 'The Surgeon Dentist', described preventive measures to keep teeth healthy as well as inventing the word 'dentist.'
97	1729	1729: Alexander Pope publishes his ' Dunciad'
98	1730	1730: A split occurs between Walpole and Townshend
99	1732	1732: A royal charter is granted for the founding of Georgia in America
100	1733	1733: The 'Excise Crisis' occurs and Walpole is forced to abandon his plans to reorganise the customs and excise
101	1736	1736: John Harrison finished building and tested at sea what proved to be the first accurate chronometer for timing longitude
102	1737	1737: Death of King George II's wife, Queen Caroline
103	1738	1738: John and Charles Wesley start the Methodist movement in Britain
104	1739	1739: Britain goes to war with Spain in the 'War of Jenkins' Ear'. The cause: Captain Jenkins' ear was claimed to have been cut off during a Naval Skirmish
105	1740	1740: Commencement of the War of Austrian Succession in Europe
106	1742	1742: Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington Prime Minister until 1743 (Whig) 1742: Beginning with a bull calf from the cow 'Silver' and two cows, 'Pidgeon' and 'Mottle' (inherited from his father's estate), Benjamin Tomkins is credited with founding the Hereford breed. 1742: Walpole resigns as Prime Minister
107	1743	1743: Henry Pelham Prime Minister until 1754 (Whig) 1743: George II leads British troops into battle at Dettingen in Bavaria
108	1744	1744: Ministry of Pelham
109	1745	1745: Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland led by 'Bonnie Prince Charlie'. There is a Scottish victory at Prestonpans
110	1746	1746: The Duke of Cumberland crushes the Scottish Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden
111	1747	1747: Yorkshire pudding mentioned in recipes
112	1748	1748: The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle brings the War of Austrian Succession to a close
113	1750	1750: The grapefruit was first described by Griffith Hughes as the "forbidden fruit" of Barbados
114	1751	1751: Benjamin Franklin published 'Experiments and Observations on Electricity' after several years of experiments done with several friends. In this book Franklin suggested an experiment to prove that lightning is a large-scale electrical discharge, a task which later he took upon himself, using a kite. This led to the invention of the lightning rod. 1751: Death of Frederick, Prince of Wales. His son, Prince George, becomes heir to the throne
115	1752	1752: James Lind called attention to the value of fresh fruit in the prevention of scurvy 1752: Ren? Antoine Ferchault de R?aumur showed by experiment that gastric juice liquifies meat. 1752: Adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in Britain
116	1753	1753: Parliament passes the Jewish Naturalization Bill
117	1754	1754: The ministry of Newcastle
118	1755	1755: Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language published
119	1756	1756: Mayonnaise invented to commemorate a victory at the start of the Seven Years War, the successful seige of English-held St. Philip's Castle 1756: Britain, allied with Prussia, declares war against France and her allies, Austria and Russia. The Seven Years' War begins
120	1757	1757: The Pitt-Newcastle ministry. Robert Clive wins the Battle of Plassey and secures the Indian province of Bengal for Britain. William Pitt becomes Prime Minister
121	1759	1759: Wolfe captures Quebec and expels the French from Canada
122	1760	1760: Death of King George II. He is succeeded by his grandson as George III
123	1761	1761: Laurence Sterne publishes his 'Tristram Shandy'
124	1762	1762: John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, 'created' the Sandwich. This Englishman was said to have been fond of gambling and, during a 24 hour gambling streak, he instructed a cook to prepare his food in such a way that it would not interfere with his game. The cook presented him with sliced meat between two pieces of toast. Perfect! This meal required no utensils and could be eaten with one hand, leaving the other free to continue the game. 1762: The Earl of Bute is appointed Prime Minister. He becomes very unpopular and employs a bodyguard 1762: Acad?mie Francaise recognises term 'millionaire'
125	1763	1763: Peace of Paris ends the Seven Years' War. Grenville ministry.
126	1764	1764: James Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny
127	1765	1765: Rockingham ministry. The American Stamp Act raises taxes in the colonies in an attempt to make their defence self-financing 1765: Earliest known children's pop-up book
128	1766	1766: Chatham ministry. Repeal of the American Stamp Act
129	1768	1768: Grafton ministry. The Middlesex Election Crisis occurs
130	1769	1769: James Watt patented a new type of steam engine with a separate condensing chamber and an air pump to bring steam into the chamber and equipped it with a simple 'governor' for safety: if the engine started to go too fast, the power would be automatically cut back. He coined the term 'horsepower' and later loaned his name to the unit of power, or work, done per unit of time 1769: Captain James Cook's first voyage to explore the Pacific begins
131	1770	1770: Lord North begins service as Prime Minister. The Falkland Island Crisis occurs. Edmund Burke publishes his 'Thoughts on the Present Discontents' 1770: James Cook documents the location of Australia 1770: Gum pencil eraser invented
132	1771	1771: The Encyclopedia Britannica is first published

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