jan 1, 1700 - Birth of the pianoforte

Description:

1711 : Scipione Maffei, italian writer and art critic, published a thorough description of a "gravecembalo col piano e forte" he saw 2 years earlier

172X : estimated date of fabrication of the oldest fortepiano, made by Bartolomeo Cristofori (Padua, Italy) and designated as "un cimbalo di cipresso di piano e forte"

1747 : after playing on a Silbermann fortepiano for request of Frederick the Great, king of Prussia, Bach gives his approval on the instrument, despite having disliked a previous version in the 1730s

177X : Americus Backers, one of Gottfried Silbermann's apprentice, designed the hammer striking action on which modern piano is based

1780 : popularization of the instrument (most notably in England)