2. Timeline
Marco Polo 1254
Marco Polo was born in 1254 and
died in 1324.
Polo is probably the most famous
Westerner who travelled on the Silk
Road. He excelled all the other
travellers in his determination, his
writing, and his influence. His journey
through Asia lasted 24 years and he
reached China and Mongolia, where
he became a confidant of Kublai
Khan. Polo travelled the whole of
China and returned to tell the tale,
which became the greatest
travelogue.
Polo gathered many new resources
and discoveries from his travels and
introduced them to Europe. These
achievements still affect our lives
today.
3. Timeline
Dante 1265
Born in 1265 and died in 1321
Dante was born in Florence, Italy. He
was an Italian poet, prose writer,
literary theorist, moral philosopher,
and political thinker. He is best known
for his poem about the 9 circles of
hell. For example the first circle is
Limbo when you don’t know what to
believe in.
I believe he affects us nowadays
because his writings changed the way
people thought about the Roman
Catholic faith. The writings gave
people a better view of what hell was
and since people knew about the sins
of hell they wanted to avoid them by
converting to the Catholic faith. Dante
made a big leap forward in the realm
of religion and his work converted
even more people to the Catholic
faith.
4. Timeline
Joan of Arc 1412
Joan of Arc was born in 1412
and died in 1431.
She was a peasant girl who
was born in eastern France.
Joan of Arc had visions of god
and went to tell the French
armies that the English would
attack from a certain location.
They thought that she was
contacting the devil and
charged her with heresy and
burned her at the stake in
1431. She is now a saint.
5. Timeline
Christopher Columbus 1451
Christopher Columbus was
born in 1451and died in 1506.
Columbus “found" the Americas
and he spread the Catholic
Church’s faith there. He
brought slaves, resources and
spices from the Americas to
Spain to trade with other
countries.
He is important to us because
of his discovery of America,
which led to the colonization
and spread of European
religion in America.
6. Timeline
1452 Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo was born in 1452 and
died in 1519
In 1503 Leonardo painted his
most prized work, the Mona
Lisa. He is also famous for his
painting of the Last Supper.
He was a praised artist and
inventor, who brought many new
ideas and styles of art to the
modern era. He is considered
by many as the best example of
a “Renaissance man.”
.
7. Timeline
Nicholas
Copernicus 1473
Born in 1473 and died in 1543.
Copernicus is now considered as
the father of modern astronomy
because of his discovery that the
Earth was not at the center of the
universe. This period of modern
astronomy is sometimes referred
to as the “Copernicus Revolution.”
His ideas affect us today because
he started a period that is know
for its great scientific
breakthroughs.
8. Timeline
Martin Luther 1483-1546
Born in 1483 and died in 1546.
Luther believed that you could not
pay priests money to forgive your
sins. Before his time people believed
that even if you murdered somebody
you could pay a priest and he would
talk to god to forgive you. Luther
wrote his book about the 95 Theses
and nailed it to the wall of a church.
He greatly affected us today because
he led the organized reformation of
the Catholic Church, which gave birth
to the Protestant faith.
He did have a bad side because he
wanted to destroy Jews’ homes and
confiscate their money.
9. Born in 1491 and died in 1547.
Henry had a disagreement
with the Pope because Henry
wanted to get a divorce from
his first wife who did not
produce a male heir. Divorce
was not allowed in the Catholic
faith, so Henry broke away
from the church in Rome and
set up the Church of England.
He is important to us today
because England was the first
country to break away from the
Roman Catholic church. This
was a major event because it
involved a whole country and
not just an individual or group
10. • William Shakespeare was born in
1564 and died in 1616.
• Shakespeare was a poet, actor,
and writer. He wrote many poems
and plays which are praised
today because of his expert use
of language. His most famous
plays are Romeo & Juliet and
Hamlet.
• Shakespeare affects us today
because of the unique way he
expressed his characters’
emotions in his work. He is still
very widely studied by scholars
and also his plays are still
performed today all over the
world.
