| A | B |
|---|
| first poet known by name | c. 670 Caedmon, HYMNS |
| first biography in Britain | c. 690 Adamnan, LIFE OF ST. COLUMBA |
| first history of the English people | 731 Bede, "Ecclesiastical History" |
| first Danish invasion | 787 |
| first mention of King Arthur | c. 800 Nennius, "History of the Britons" |
| beginning of medieval drama | 875-900 Easter trope, QUEM QUAERITIS |
| first life record of a layman | 893 Asser, LIFE OF ALFRED THE GREAT |
| earliest evidence of English drama | c. 975 St. Aethelwold's REGULARIS |
| First Crusade | 1096-1099 |
| first "miracle" or saints play in England | c. 1100 "Play of St. Catherine" |
| first elaborate account of Arthur's court | c. 1136 Geoffrey of Monmouth, "History of the Kings of Britain" |
| first pastoral romance | 1342 Boccaccio, AMETO |
| earliest extant morality play | 1400 THE PRIDE OF LIFE (fragmentary) |
| first complete morality play | c. 1405 CASTLE OF PERSEVERANCE |
| beginning of modern printing | c. 1450 Gutenberg press (Germany) |
| beginning of lowland Scots as northern literary dialect | c. 1450 |
| THE GUTENBERG BIBLE | 1456 |
| first book printed in English | 1474 Caxton prints RECUYELL OF THE HISTORIES OF TROY |
| first printing press in England | c. 1477 Caxton's press set up at Westminster |
| first dated book printed in England | 1477 DICTES AND SAYINGS OF THE PHILOSOPHERS |
| first published interlude; advocates adequacy of English for literary purposes | 1519 Rastell, THE FOUR ELEMENTS |
| first printed English translation of any part of the Bible | 1525 Tyndale, NEW TESTAMENT |
| first complete English Bible | 1535 Coverdale |
| first "regular" English comedy | 1552 Udall, RALPH ROISTER DOISTER |
| first English tragedy | 1562 Sackville and Norton, GORBODUC |
| poems with first English treatise on versification appended | 1575 Gascoigne, THE POSIES |
| first London playhouse | 1576 The Theatre built |
| first printing press in America set up at Cambridge | 1639 |
| first book printed in America | 1640 BAY PSALM BOOK |
| founding of Philosophical Society in England | 1645 |
| The Royal Society founded as reorganization of the Philosophical Society in England | 1662 |
| starts tradition of "discreet" biography | 1668 Sprat, LIFE OF COWLEY |
| first daily newspaper in England | 1702 THE DAILY COURANT |
| first american newspaper | 1704 BOSTON NEWS LETTER |
| first complete performance of Italian opera in England | 1710 ALMAHIDE |
| establishment of newspapers in America | 1719 BOSTON GAZETTE and the AMERICAN WEEKLY MERCURY (Philadelphia) |
| the NEW ENGLAND CURRANT established in America | 1720 James Franklin |
| NEW YORK GAZETTE established in America | 1723 |
| first newspaper in Maryland established | 1728 |
| first important "freedom of the press" lawsuit | 1735 Zenger found not guilty in libel suit over JOURNAL |
| first newspaper in Virginia | 1736 |
| Whitefield's first preaching tour in America | 1738 |
| first American play to be acted | 1767 Godfrey, PRINCE OF PARTHIA |
| first theater in Charleston, SC | 1773 |
| first American comedy acted by professionals | 1787 Tyler, THE CONTRAST |
| first American novel | 1789 William Hill Brown, THE POWER OF SYMPATHY |
| first issue of THE QUARTERLY REVIEW (England) | 1809 |
| first of Leatherstocking series (America) | 1823 Cooper, PIONEERS |
| HARPER'S MAGAZINE established in America | 1850 |
| start of "Little Theatre" movement in England | 1891 Independent Theatre opens |
