Events - Browse By Place - France

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The Franks under Charles Martel defeat the Arabs at the Battle of Tours
732
War, France
New abbey at Cluny in Burgundy stimulates monastic revival
909
Religion, France
The crowning of Hugh Capet as king of France begins the Capetian royal dynasty
987
Government, France
Cistercian Order of monks begins in France
1098
Religion, France
Peter Abelard, theologian and philosopher, falls in love with Heloise
1120
Culture, France
In Paris, Abbot Suger begins rebuilding St. Denis Basilica in Gothic style
1137
Architecture, France
"Peter the Venerable commissions the first Latin translation of the Koran."
1142
Religion, France
Building of Notre Dame de Paris begins
1163
Architecture, France
Holy relic survives fire and Chartres Cathedral rebuilt in Gothic splendor
1194
Architecture, France
Philip II Augustus fights the Plantagenets in the Anglo-French War of 1202–14
1202
War, France
Philip II Augustus becomes "first king of France" after capturing Rouen & Normandy
1204
War, France
Nation of France is born and Germany is weakened at the Battle of Bouvines
1214
War, France
King Louis IX buys Christian relics & begins Sainte-Chapelle, near Notre Dame
1239
Religion, France
Louis IX the Saint leads two disastrous crusades
1248
War, France
Summa Theologica is published after the death of Thomas Aquinas
1274
Religion, France
Philip IV agrees to peace with Edward I and no further aid to Scotland
1299
Peace, France
Philip IV beats Flemish, has Clement V elected, & destroys Jews & Knights Templars
1305
Government, France
Pope Clement V begins "Avignon Papacy" that lasted until 1377
1309
Religion, France
Jacques de Molay, last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, executed in Paris
1314
Religion, France
English/Welsh army uses longbow to defeat Philip VI at Crecy in northern France
1346
War, France
Edward the Black Prince defeats French king at the Battle of Poitiers
1356
War, France
Outnumbered army of Henry V defeats the French at Agincourt
1415
War, France
Joan of Arc leads French to break English seige of Orleans
1429
War, France
Joan of Arc, a 19-year-old girl, burns as the stake in Rouen
1431
Religion, France
Francis I initiates French Renaissance
1515
Government, France
France wins back Calais as Mary I loses "the brightest jewel in the English crown"
1558
War, France
French King Henry II dies from injuries in a tournament in Paris
1559
Government, France
St. Bartholomew's Day massacre as thousands of Huguenots killed in Paris
1572
Religion, France
King Henry IV grants freedom of worship to the French Huguenots
1598
Religion, France
A fanatical Catholic kills Henry IV while he is being driven through Paris
1610
Government, France
Academie Francaise is founded as guardian of French language
1635
Education, France
"Penitient Magdalene" by Georges de La Tour
1640
Arts, France
Rene Descartes publishes "Meditations"
1641
Philosophy, France
Duc d'Enghien leads French force to defeat invading Spanish army at Rocroi
1643
War, France
Louis XIV (1643-1715) establishes himself as absolute monarch
1643
Government, France
In the First Fronde, nobles react to Mazarin by inciting the Paris mob to revolt
1648
War, France
"Eliezer and Rebecca" by Nicolas Poussin
1648
Arts, France
"Landscape with the Marriage of Isaac and Rebecca" by Claude
1648
Arts, France
Battle of the Dunes
1658
War, France
Court of the Sun King established at the Palace of Versailles
1682
Government, France
Huguenots flee France after Louis XIV revokes privileges granted to Protestants
1685
Religion, France
"The Embarkation for Cythera" by Antoine Watteau
1717
Arts, France
Voltaire publishes "Letters Concerning the English Nation"
1733
Philosophy, France
Montesquieu publishes "The Spirit of Laws"
1748
Philosophy, France
Diderot publishes Encyclopedie, the "Bible of the European Enlightenment"
1751
Science, France
Rousseau publishes The Social Contract, or Principles of Political Right
1762
Philosophy, France
Montgolfier brothers demonstrate hot-air balloon flight
1783
Invention, France
French Revolution begins with the storming of the Bastille
1789
War, France
French declare the universal rights of man
1789
Human Rights, France
French Assembly passes the Civil Constitution of the Clergy
1791
Government, France
French Revolution continues as mob storms the Tuileries Palace
1792
War, France
French defeat invading Austro-Prussian army at Battle of Valmy
1792
War, France
"Death of Marat" by Jacques-Louis David
1793
Arts, France
In January, King Louis XVI executed by guillotine
1793
Government, France
In October, Queen Marie Antoinette executed by guillotine
1793
Government, France
In September, Robespierre's Jacobins begin Reign of Terror
1793
Government, France
In June, French declare Montagnard Constitution the legal framework for Republic
1793
Government, France
In April, Robespierre's Jacobins take control as the Committee of Public Safety
1793
Government, France
Robespierre is executed by guillotine
1794
Government, France
Condorcet writes on perfecting the human mind & analyzing intellectual history
1795
Philosophy, France
Napoleon claims himself emperor after coup d'état
1799
Government, France
Napoleon's coronation ceremony portrays him as a superhuman figure
1804
Government, France
The Code Napoleon establishes clear laws in France and later in all of Europe
1804
Government, France
In March, Russians, Prussians and Austrians enter Paris--Napoleon abdicates
1814
War, France
Talleyrand presides over French foreign policy from 1814 to 1835
1814
Government, France
In February, Napoleon escapes from Elba and governs France for 100 more days
1815
Government, France
Saint-Simon writes that men engaged in useful work was the basis of equality
1818
Philosophy, France
Napoleon dies on the island of St. Helena
1821
Government, France
The first photograph was taken by Niepce after finding a suitable image fixative
1827
Invention, France
King Charles X, an ultra-royalist, is forced to abdicate by rioters in Paris
1830
Government, France
"Liberty Leading the People" by Eugene Delacroix
1830
Arts, France
Daguerre invents the first practical photographic process
1839
Invention, France
In February, rebels take streets of Paris and Louis-Phillippe abdicates
1848
Government, France
"A Burial at Ornans" by Gustave Courbet
1850
Arts, France
Louis Napoleon stages coup dissolving the assembly
1851
Government, France
Louis Pasteur demonstrates that fermentation is caused by living microorganisms
1859
Science, France
Michaux invents the Velocipede--considered to be the first true bicycle
1861
Transportation, France
Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard invent pasteurization
1862
Invention, France
"The Magpie" by Claude Monet
1869
Arts, France
Napoleon III loses empire and united Germany born at the Battle of Sedan
1870
War, France
French government destroys the 2-month old Commune of Paris
1871
Government, France
"In a Café" or "L'Absinthe" by Edgar Degas
1876
Arts, France
"Paris Street in Rainy Weather" by Gustave Caillebotte
1877
Arts, France
"Five O'clock Tea" by Mary Cassatt
1880
Arts, France
"Luncheon of the Boating Party" by Pierre-August Renoir
1881
Arts, France
"A Bar at the Folies-Bergere" by Edouard Manet
1882
Arts, France
"A Sunday on La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat
1886
Arts, France
Eiffel Tower opens as the star attraction of the World Fair
1889
Culture, France
"The Card Players" by Paul Cezanne
1892
Arts, France
Lumiere brothers demonstrate the first moving picture show
1895
Invention, France
Emile Zola writes "J'accuse!" in newspaper exposing injustice in Dreyfus Affair
1898
Culture, France
Marie and Pierre Curie discover radium
1898
Science, France
Allies defeat German Army in the First Battle of the Marne or Miracle of the Marne
1914
War, France
In February, Germans begin Battle of Verdun in France
1916
War, France
In July, Battle of the Somme begins--57,000 British casualties from machine guns
1916
War, France
Claude Monet's Water Lilies
1916
Arts, France
Allies defeat Germans in final offensive at Second Battle of Marne
1918
War, France
Stone Age cave art discovered in Lascaux, France
1940
Science, France
In June, Nazis capture Paris without opposition
1940
War, France
In May, British forces evacuated from continent at Dunkirk
1940
War, France
Albert Camus publishes "The Stranger"
1942
Philosophy, France
Jean-Paul Sartre writes "Being and Nothingness"
1943
Philosophy, France
Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" begins in 1948 (not published in French until 1952)
1948
Arts, France
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin publishes "The Phenomenon of Man"
1959
Philosophy, France
France paralyzed for 2 weeks by rioting students and striking workers
1968
Government, France
Centre Pompidou arts center opens in Paris
1977
Architecture, France
France's nuclear testing program abandoned after sinking of Rainbow Warrior
1985
War, France
Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris
2015
War, France