/year

English language

West Germanic language

29 dated entries naming English language, drawn from 25 separate years between 1362 CE and 1992 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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14th century

  • 1362October 13 – The Chancellor of England for the first time opens Parliament with a speech in English. Under Edward III, the Pleading in English Act makes English rather than Law French the official language in English law courts.source

15th century

  • 1417August 12 – King Henry V of England begins using the English language in correspondence back to England from France, where he is leading a campaign, marking the beginning of this king's continuous usage of English in prose, and the beginning of the restoration of English as an official language for the first time since the Norman Conquest, some 350 years earlier.source
  • 1475Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye is the first book to be printed in English, by William Caxton in Bruges (or 1473–74?).source
  • 1484March 26 – William Caxton, the first printer of books in English, prints his translation of Aesop's Fables in London.source
  • 1490June 15 – English printer William Caxton prints his English language translation of the French book, Ars moriendi, which he renders as The art and crafte to knowe well to dye.source

16th century

  • 1557Welsh-born mathematician Robert Recorde publishes The Whetstone of Witte in London, containing the first recorded use of the equals sign, and the first use in English of plus and minus signs.source
  • 1582March – The New Testament of the Douai Bible, the translation into English by Father Gregory Martin from Latin of the New Testament, for use in the Roman Catholic Church, is published. Martin had started his work on October 16, 1578.source

17th century

  • 162223 May – Nathaniel Butter begins publication in London of Newes from Most Parts of Christendom or Weekly News from Italy, Germany, Hungaria, Bohemia, the Palatinate, France and the Low Countries, one of the first regular English language newspapers.source
  • 1663Katherine Philips' translation of Pierre Corneille's Pompée is successfully produced at the Theatre Royal, Dublin (Smock Alley Theatre), the first English language play written by a woman to be performed on the professional stage. It is published in Dublin and London later in the year.source
  • 1699A Roman Catholic English language New Testament is probably printed in Dublin at about this date, but all copies appear to have been suppressed.source

18th century

  • 1725Alexander Pope produces an English language translation of Homer's Odyssey.source
  • 1731Proceedings in Courts of Justice Act 1730: Legal proceedings in the courts to be conducted in the English language.source
  • 1732Conor Begley and Hugh MacCartin's English-Irish dictionary is published in Paris.source
  • 1733Legal proceedings in the Welsh courts to be conducted in the English language.source
  • 1733March 25 – English replaces Latin and Law French as the official language of English and Scottish courts following the enforcement of the Proceedings in Courts of Justice Act 1730.source
  • 173325 March – English replaces Latin and Law French as the official language of English and Scottish courts on coming into effect of the Proceedings in Courts of Justice Act 1730.source
  • 1734George Sale produces a translation of the Koran into English.source
  • 1737September 1 – The oldest existing English language newspaper in the world, The News Letter, is founded in Belfast, Ireland.source
  • 1737September 1 – The News Letter is first published in Belfast by Francis Joy, making it the world's oldest existing English language newspaper.source
  • 1753Robert Wood publishes The ruins of Palmyra; otherwise Tedmor in the desart in English and French, making the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra known to the West.source
  • 1768Bishop John O'Brien's Irish-English dictionary, Focaloir Gaoidhilge-Sacs-Bhéarla, is published posthumously and anonymously in Paris.source
  • 1771Peter Williams (1722-1796) - Hymns on Various Subjects (includes "Prayer for Strength", the first English translation of the hymn "Cwm Rhondda")source

19th century

  • 1817January 20 – Ram Mohan Roy and David Hare found Hindu College, Calcutta, offering instructions in English on Western subjects, including other European languages.source
  • 1835October - First printing in English in New Zealand made by William Colenso, a notice warning against French influence in New Zealand.source
  • 1838Lady Charlotte Guest begins publication of her translation into English of the Mabinogion.source
  • 1882In the Cape Colony, the Dutch language is once again admitted as an official language alongside English.source
  • 1888The Finnish epic Kalevala is published for the first time in the English language, by American linguist John Martin Crawford.source

20th century

  • 19921 January – Radio Luxembourg shuts down its English language terrestrial signal on 208 MW.source
  • 199230 December – Radio Luxembourg shuts down its English language satellite signal, putting an end to its English coverage.source

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