Christian History Timeline: John Bunyan and Pilgrim’s Progress
John Bunyan
1628 Bunyan born
1644 Drafted into the Parlimentary army
1649 Marries first wife
1651 Bunyan comes under ministry of John Gifford
1653 Bunyan baptized
1656 First preaches in public
1656 Publishes Some Gospel Truths Opened
1658 First wife dies; left with four children
1659 Marries Elizabeth
1660 Improsioned until 1672 for unlicensed preaching
1666 Grace Abounding published
1672 Called as pastor of Bedford church (Jan. 21)
1672 Released from prison
1672 Licensed as Congregational preacher (May 9)
1675 Warrant issued for Bunyan’s arrest
1677 Inprisioned for six months for not attending parish church
1678 Pilgrim’s Progress, Part 1, published
1682 Holy War published
1684 Pilgrim’s Progress, Part 2, published
1688 Bunyan dies
1692 Elizabeth dies
English Monarchy
Elizabeth I (1558–1603)
James I (1603–1625)
Charles I (1625–1649)
Civil War (1642–1646)
Cromwell’s Protectorate (1649–1660)
Charles II (1660–1685)
James II (1685–1689)
William & Mary (1689–1702)
World Events
1603 Scotland and England united
1605 Gunpowder plot stirs hatred of Roman Catholics
1606 Plague in London
1608 John Milton born (1608–1674)
1611 King James Bible completed
1616 William Shakespeare dies
1617 Calvin’s completed works published in Geneva (posth.)
1618–1648 Thiry Years War in Europe
1620 Mayflower leaves Plymouth, England
1622 James I dissolves Parliment
1628 Parliment makes Petition of Rights
1628 William Harvey publishes work on blood circulation
1633 Galileo forced to renounce heretical ideas
1633 William Laud becomes Archbishop of Canterbury
1642 Sir Isaac Newton born (1642–1727)
1644 William Penn born (1644–1718)
1648 George Fox founds Society of Friends
1650 Bishop James Ussher calculates beginning of world as 4004 b.c.
1653 Rump Parliment dissolved
1655 Jews readmitted to England
(1656–1659) England at war with Spain
1660 Declamation of Breda
1662 Act of Uniformity
1664 Conventicle Act
1665 Five-Mile Act
1665 England at war with Holland (1665–1667)
1665 Great plauge devastates London
1666 Great London fire
1667 Milton’s Paradise Lostpublished
1672 Declaration of Indulgence (revoked following year)
1672 England at war with Holland (1672–1674)
1675 Sir Christopher Wren begins rebuilding of St. Paul’s Cathedral
1678 Popish Plot
1682 Halley predicts comet
1685 Declaration of Indulgence
1688 Glorious Revolution (1688–1689)
1689 Bill of Rights
1689 Toleration Act
1697 Respected sea captain William Kidd turns to piracy
By the Editors
[Christian History originally published this article in Christian History Issue #11 in 1986]
Next articles
Principalities and Powers: Authorities in Conflict
The events of Bunyans life were played out in 17th century England. It was a time when politics and religion were inextricably intertwined, and both state and church were facing major conflicts.
the EditorsThe Pilgrim’s Progress: A Dream That Endures
Furnishing as it did much counsel, caution and consolation amid the toilsome traffic of daily life, Pilgrim’s Progress bore a message that was at once both useful and agreeable.
James F. ForrestWhat Shall I Do to Be Saved?
The opening scene of The Pilgrim’s Progress presents a solitary figure crying out in anguish. His distress expresses Bunyan’s own tormenting struggle with sin—yet not his alone. Throughout the book’s history, readers have seen themselves in the man with the great burden on his back, and recognized their own spiritual pilgrimages in Christian’s journey to the Celestial City.
John BunyanFrom the Archives: Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners
Grace Abounding is Bunyan’s spiritual autobiography. The book’s major concern is the working of God’s grace in his life. Bunyan wrote the account to encourage friends and followers who faced struggles and persecutions like his own.
John Bunyan
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