Events
Anglo Saxon settlement of Britain BeginsSt. Augustine arrives in Britain, this is the beginning of Christian ConversionApproximate date of the Earliest manuscript records in Old EnglishThe venerable Bede publishes The Ecclesiastical History of EnglishViking raids and settlements beginAlfred becomes king of Wessex. He has Latin works translated into English and begins the practice of English prose.Charles II of France grants Normandy to the Viking chief Hrolf the Granger. This is the beginning of Norman French.The oldest surviving manuscript of Beowulf dates from this periodThe Norman conquestThe oldest surviving manuscripts of Middle English date from this period.Henry II conquers IrelandKing John loses the province of Normandy to FranceUniversity of Cambridge is fromed by scholars from OxfordMagna Carta is signed by King JohnEnglish replaces Latin as the medium of instruction in schools, other than Oxford and Cambridge which retain LatinThe Statue of Pleading replaces French with English as the language of LawWyclif publishes his English translation of the BibleChaucer begins the Canterbury TalesKing Henry IV becomes the first English monarch to deliver a speech in EnglishWilliam Caxton establishes the first English printing pressColumbus discovers the New WorldFyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge by Andrew Boorde. This book illustrates regional dialectsFirst version of the Book of Common PrayerThomas Wilson publishes The Art of Rhetorique, one of the first works on logic and rjetoric in EnglishFirst grammar of English- William Bullokar's Pamphlet for Grammar is published.Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World is establishedThe authorized, or King James version of the Bible is publishedWeekly News, the first English newspaper is published in LondonThe First Folio edition of Shakespeare's plays is publishedThe Royal Society of London appoints a committee to consider ways of "improving" English as a language of science.John Milton publishes Paradise LostAphra Behn, the first women novelist in England publishes Oroonoko, or the History of the Royal Slave.Publication of the first daily English-language newspaper, The Daily Courant, in London.First copywrite act is enacted in EnglandSamuel Johnson is bornSamuel Johnson publishes his 2 volume dictionaryRobert Lowth publishes his Short Introduction to English GrammarCook discovers AustrilaThe Decleration of Independence was signed-> this lead to the creation of the United States which was the first country outside of the British Isles with English as the principle languageNoah Webster publishes his American Spelling BookNoah Webster publishes Dissertations on the English Language, which advocates an American standard of usage.William Hazlitt publishes A New and Improved Grammar of the English Language.John Pickering complies the first dictionary of Americanisms.Noah Webster publishes his American Dictionary of the English LanguageRichard Whateley publishes the Elements of RhetoricThe telegraph is invented by Samuel MorseFirst edition of Roget's Theaurus is publishesAlexander Graham Bell invents the telephoneHenry Fowler publishes the first edition of this Dictionary of Modern English usageThe Oxford English Dictionary is publishedBritish linguist C.K. Ogden introduces Basic EnglishThe number of speakers using English as a second language exceeds the number of native speakersWebster's Third New International Dictionary is publishedCanada officially becomes bilinguial, with English and FrenchThe internet is opened to commercial interestsThe second edition of The Oxford English Dictionary is publishedDavid Crystal publishes The Cmabridge Encyclopedia of the English LanguageThe Oxford English Dictionary online is made available to subscribersThe two-volume Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary is published by Oxford University PressPeriods
Earliest Old English inscriptions date from this periodOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEarly Modern EnglishShakespeare writes his sonnets and the majority of his playsLate Modern English
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