1590

1595 Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young Italian star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare’s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.

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1592 Journey to the West

Journey to the West (Chinese: 西遊記) is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng’en. It is regarded as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, and has been described as arguably the most popular literary work in East Asia. Arthur Waley‘s abridged translation, Monkey, is known in English-speaking countries. The novel is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who travelled to the “Western Regions” (Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent) to obtain Buddhist sacred texts (sūtras) and returned after many trials and much suffering. The monk is referred to as Tang Sanzang in the novel. The novel retains the […]

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1597 Willem Barentsz dies at Nova Zembla

June 20, 1597: Dutch cartographer and explorer Willem Barentsz died at sea somewhere in the Arctic. He went on three expeditions to the far north in search for a Northeast passage, and during his third expedition, the crew was stranded on Nova Zembla for almost a year.   They were the first Europeans to winter so far north and their wintering place became known as ‘Huys, or ‘The Barents House’, which remained undisturbed for nearly 300 years. After the winter the crew started for the mainland in two small boats but Barents died on the way.  It is not known whether […]

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1599 Shakespeare writes play Julius Caesar

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a history play and tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1599. Although the play is named Julius Caesar, Brutus speaks more than four times as many lines as the title character, and the central psychological drama of the play focuses on Brutus. Brutus joins a conspiracy led by Cassius to murder Julius Caesar, to prevent Caesar becoming a tyrant. Antony stirs up hostility against the conspirators. Rome becomes embroiled in civil war.

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