In anticipation of our upcoming release of The Family and Social Life of the Puritans, we thought it would be nice to share Ezra Hoyt Byington’s Timeline of Puritan History which will be included in the book.
Ezra Hoyt Byington’s Timeline of Puritan History
The 14th – 16th Centuries
1330 John Wycliffe born.
1382 Wycliffe’s New Testament.
1526 Tyndale’s New Testament.
1534 Henry VIII acknowledged as “Supreme Head of the Church of England” via the Act of Supremacy.
1535 Coverdale’s Bible.
1547 Edward VI ascends the throne.
1553 Mary I becomes Queen.
1555 Persecution of Protestants begins.
1558 Elizabeth I becomes Queen. Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity.
1564 The name “Puritan” first used.
1565 The Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, imprisoned for Non conformity.
1572 Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day.
1576 John Robinson born.
1580 Separatist Church in Norwich under Robert Browne.
1583 Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury. Ecclesiastical Commission receives new powers. Two Puritans hung for Non-conformity.
1588 Defeat of the Spanish Armada.
1588-89 Martin Marprelate tracts.
1593 Barrowe, Greenwood, and Penry publicly executed for their Non-conformity.
The 17th Century
1602 The Separatist Church at Gainsborough.
1603 Death of Queen Elizabeth I. James I ascends the throne. Millenary Petition.
1604 Hampton Court Conference.
1605 Three hundred Ministers expelled from their parishes for Non-conformity.
1606 Church formed at Scrooby.
1607-08 The Pilgrims removed to Amsterdam.
1609 The Pilgrims settled at Leyden.
1611 Authorized Version of the Bible.
1618 Thirty Years’ War begun.
1620 The Pilgrims land at Plymouth.
1621 Death of Governor Carver. Bradford chosen Governor.
1625 Charles I ascends the throne.
1628 Endicott lands at Salem, with a colony.
1629 A charter granted for the Massachusetts Bay Company. Agreement to settle in Massachusetts signed, in Cambridge, by Winthrop and others. Re-enforcements sent to Salem, with Higginson. Puritan Church formed at Salem, August 6.
1630 Governor Winthrop arrives in Massachusetts with a large colony of Puritans. Boston settled. First General Court in Massachusetts.
1633 Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury.
1635 First Settlement in Connecticut.
1636 Harvard College founded.
1637 The first Massachusetts Synod. The case of John Hampden tried, in England.
1639 The Constitution of Connecticut (Fundamental Orders) adopted.
1640 The Long Parliament met. The Bay Psalm Book, printed.
1643-49 Westminster Assembly. New England Confederation.
1644 Death of Elder Brewster.
1646-48 Cambridge Synod. Platform of Church Government.
1649 Execution of Charles I.
1651-52 Hugh Parsons tried in Springfield for Witchcraft.
1653 Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector.
1656-62 Persecution of the Quakers.
1658 Death of Cromwell. The Savoy Synod adopts a Confession of Faith.
1660 The Restoration of the Stuarts.
1662 The Boston Synod adopts the Half-Way Covenant.
1673 The first Church organized in Maine, at York. The Act of Uniformity re-enacted in England.
1679 The Reforming Synod.
1680 The Synod adopts the Savoy Confession.
1691-2 Witchcraft in Salem and elsewhere.
1691 Charter of the Province of Massachusetts.
The 18th Century
1701 Yale College founded.
1708 The Saybrook Platform adopted.
1709 The General Association of Connecticut Ministers organized.
1716 Yale College located at New Haven.
1720-50 The Great Awakening.
1727 Jonathan Edwards ordained, Northampton.
1738 The Methodists appear in London.
1740 Whitefield preaches in New England.
1750 Jonathan Edwards dismissed from Northampton.
1754 Edwards’ Work on The Freedom of the Will.
1758 Death of President Edwards.
1762 Church in Bennington, Vt., organized.
1769 Dartmouth College founded.
–
To read more articles like the Byington Puritan Timeline, subscribe to our email list.
Are you a Christian writer looking to publish? Learn more.