Cultural History

Highlights of the History of Literature and Art

Sistine Chapel


Readings in the history of literature and the arts (visual and performing) by some of the greatest writers.

Some of the years listed below are approximate.

YearTitleAuthor(s)
3800 BCArcheological Excavation of CreteDr. Edgar J. Banks
1184 BCFall of TroyGeorge Grote
551-479 BCConfuciusRobert K. Douglas
399 BCThe Last Days of SocratesPlato
640Saracens Destroy the Great LibraryWashington Irving
1000ChivalryLéon Gautier
900-1300Feudalism in France and EnglandWilliam Stubbs
1300-1318Dante Composes he Divine ComedyRichard William Church
1341Modern Recognition of Scenic Beauty — Crowning of Petrarch at RomeJacob Burckhardt
1300’sRomance of the Three KingdomsLuo Guanzhong
YearTitleAuthor(s)
1447-1455Nicholas V Rebuilds RomeMrs. Margaret Oliphant
1449-1492Lorenzo de Medici and Florence’s RenaissanceOliphant Smeaton
1400-1550Early RenaissanceJohn Addington Symonds
1508Painting the Sistine ChapelCharles Clement
1576Building the First Theatre In EnglandKarl Mantzius
1601Hamlet, Drama’s ApexJames Halliwell-Phillipps
1638Comenius Modernizes EducationSimon Somerville Laurie
1643-1673Molière Creates Modern ComedyHenri Van Laun
1723The First Advice ColumnistJack Le Moine
YearTitleAuthor(s)
1740The First Modern NovelEdmund Gosse
1703-1750Bach Lays the Foundation of Modern MusicHenry Tipper
1754-1758Voltaire in GenevaJohn Morley| |George W. Kitchin
1775Pestalozzi’s Method of EducationGeorge Ripley
1775Goethe and the Intellectual Revolt of GermanyKarl Hillebrand
1807An Arab Looks at U.S. PoliticsWashington Irving
1900Earliest MoviesJack Le Moine
1915Birth of a NationD.W. Griffith
1915From the Early Days of BaseballRing Lardner
YearTitleAuthor(s)
1959Loretta Young’s CrisisJack Le Moine
202020 of the Most Important Moments in Internet HistoryTodd Gilchrist
PresentElectronic PaintingJack Le Moine

General Entries

 

TitleAuthor(s)
Early New England ClassroomNathaniel Hawthorne
Mark Twain’s Mississippi RiverMark Twain

More at History Moments.