Events from the

1620s The 1620s decade ran from January 1, 1620, to December 31, 1629. Significant people * Antonio Maria Abbatini of Rome (c.1595–1680), composer * George Abbot (bishop), George Abbot of England (1562–1633), Archbishop of Canterbury, held posit ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. This decade sees a change of monarch.

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

–

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

(until 27 March 1625), then

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

Events

* 1620 **27 April – treaty with Spain arranges marriage between the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

and Infanta

Maria Anna of Spain Maria Anna of Spain (18 August 160613 May 1646)Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

s. **3 July – Captain Andrew Shilling, on behalf of the

Honourable East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, lays claim to

Table Bay Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named because it is dominated by the fl ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. **15 July – the armed merchant ship ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

'' embarks about 65 emigrants for New England at or near her home port of

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...

on the Thames east of London. **c. 19 July – the ''Mayflower'' anchors in

Southampton Water Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point, where the estuaries of the River Test and River Itchen meet. Along its salt marsh-fringed we ...

to rendezvous with the '' Speedwell'' which on 22 July (1 August NS) sets out from

Delfshaven Delfshaven () is a borough of Rotterdam, Netherlands, on the right bank of river Nieuwe Maas. It was a separate municipality until 1886. The town of Delfshaven grew around the port of the city of Delft. Delft itself was not located on a major ri ...

carrying English separatist

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

from

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, arriving on 26 July. On or about 5 August the ships set sail, but the ''Speedwell'' is found to be leaking. **12 or 13 August – the ''Mayflower'' and ''Speedwell'' put into

Dartmouth, Devon Dartmouth () is a town and civil parish in the England, English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the western bank of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes. It lies w ...

, for repairs to the ''Speedwell''. **23 August – the ''Mayflower'' and ''Speedwell'' set out from Dartmouth; they are well out into the Atlantic when the ''Speedwell'' is again found to be leaking. **28 August – the ''Mayflower'' and '' Speedwell'' return again to England, anchoring off

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

in the

Cattewater The city of Plymouth, Devon, England is bounded by Dartmoor to the north, the Hamoaze to the west, the open expanse of water called Plymouth Sound to the south and the river Plym to the east. The Cattewater is that stretch of water where the mout ...

; the latter ship is given up as a participant in the voyage and on 2 September departs for London, with most of her passengers and stores having been transferred to the ''Mayflower''. **6 September (16 September NS) – the ''

'' leaves Plymouth carrying the Pilgrims to

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, where they land on 11 November. She carries 41 "saints" (English separatists largely from Holland), 40 "strangers" (largely secular planters from London), 23 servants and hired workers, and c. 30 crew. ** Publication of ''

Novum Organum The ''Novum Organum'', fully ''Novum Organum, sive Indicia Vera de Interpretatione Naturae'' ("New organon, or true directions concerning the interpretation of nature") or ''Instaurationis Magnae, Pars II'' ("Part II of The Great Instauratio ...

'' by

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

. **

Cornelius Drebbel Cornelis Jacobszoon Drebbel (; 1572 – 7 November 1633) was a Dutch engineer and inventor. He was the builder of the first operational submarine in 1620 and an innovator who contributed to the development of measurement and control systems, opti ...

demonstrates the first navigable

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

in the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

; his third is first demonstrated on 12 September 1624. ** A severe frost freezes the Thames. * 1621 **16 January – the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...

sits for the first time since 1614. **3 May – Francis Bacon is imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

on charges of corruption; he is pardoned by King

later in the year. **4 July – 70-year-old

James Ley, 1st Earl of Marlborough James Ley, 1st Earl of Marlborough (c. 1552–1629) was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1622. He was Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Chi ...

, marries 17-year-old Jane Boteler, niece of

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham ( ; 20 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and self-described "lover" of King James VI and I. Buckingham remained at the heigh ...

as his second wife.''BBC History'', July 2011, p12. **24 July – while hunting at

Bramshill Bramshill is a civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. Its name has become synonymous with the Police Staff College, Bramshill located in Bramshill House. Bramshill forms part of the district of Hart. It is bordered by the Rivers ...

, George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury, accidentally kills a keeper with his crossbow. A royal commission of inquiry narrowly finds in his favour. **22 November – poet

John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...

is installed as

Dean of St Paul's The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also '' ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of th ...

Cathedral in London. **18 December – the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

protests against the King's right to imprison Members of Parliament who criticise his

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

. **27 December – Sir

Edward Coke Sir Edward Coke ( , formerly ; 1 February 1552 – 3 September 1634) was an English barrister, judge, and politician. He is often considered the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan era, Elizabethan and Jacobean era, Jacobean eras. Born into a ...

is imprisoned for his part in the Protestation. **30 December – King James tears the page bearing the Protestation from the House of Commons Journal. **Spring–October (approx.) – '' Corante: or, Newes from Italy, Germany, Hungarie, Spaine and France'', one of the first

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

newspapers (translated from the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

), circulates in London. **

Francis Mitchell Francis Mitchell may refer to: * Francis Mitchell (knight) (c. 1556–c. 1628), English knight, last to be publicly degraded * Francis Mitchell (Royal Navy officer) (1876–1946), British admiral * Francis Mitchell (British Army officer) (1904–1 ...

becomes the last

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

of the realm to be publicly degraded (stripped of his knighthood), after being found guilty of

extorting Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded t ...

money from

licensee A licensee can mean the holder of a license or, in U.S. tort law, is a person who is on the property of another, despite the fact that the property is not open to the general public, because the owner of the property has allowed the licensee to en ...

s of his

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

on the licensing of inns. **

engineer

Cornelius Vermuyden Sir Cornelius Vermuyden (, ; also spelled ''Vermuijden''; 1595 – 11 October 1677) was a Dutch engineer who introduced Dutch land reclamation methods to England. Vermuyden was commissioned by the Crown to drain Hatfield Chase in the Isle of Ax ...

is appointed by the King to drain parkland around

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

and begins reclamation of

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames Estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ...

. ** The

University of Oxford Botanic Garden The University of Oxford Botanic Garden is the oldest Botanical garden, botanic garden in Great Britain and one of the oldest scientific gardens in the world. The garden was founded in 1621 as a physic garden growing plants for medicinal resear ...

, the oldest

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

in the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, is founded as a

physic garden A physic garden is a type of herb garden with medicinal plants. Known since at least 800, they are the predecessors of botanical gardens. History Modern botanical gardens were preceded by medieval physic gardens, often monastic gardens, that ...

Henry Danvers, 1st Earl of Danby Henry Danvers, 1st Earl of Danby (28 June 1573 – 20 January 1643/4) was an English soldier. Outlawed after a killing, he regained favour and became a Knight of the Garter. Life He was the second son of John Danvers, of Dauntsey, Wiltshire ...

. **

Robert Burton Robert Burton (8 February 1577 – 25 January 1640) was an English author and fellow of Oxford University, known for his encyclopedic ''The Anatomy of Melancholy''. Born in 1577 to a comfortably well-off family of the landed gentry, Burton a ...

publishes his treatise ''

The Anatomy of Melancholy ''The Anatomy of Melancholy'' (full title: ''The Anatomy of Melancholy, What it is: With all the Kinds, Causes, Symptomes, Prognostickes, and Several Cures of it. In Three Maine Partitions with their several Sections, Members, and Subsections. Ph ...

''. * 1622 **6 January (probably) – the

Banqueting House, Whitehall The Banqueting House, on Whitehall in the City of Westminster, central London, is the grandest and best-known survivor of the architectural genre of banqueting houses, constructed for elaborate entertaining. It is the only large surviving compo ...

, is opened with a performance of

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

's ''

The Masque of Augurs ''The Masque of Augurs'' was a Jacobean era masque, written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones. It was performed, most likely, on Twelfth Night, 6 January 1622. A second performance of the masque, with textual revisions by Jonson, occur ...

'' designed by the building's architect,

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...

. **7 January –

John Pym John Pym (20 May 1584 – 8 December 1643) was an English politician and administrator who played a major role in establishing what would become the modern Westminster system, English Parliamentary system. One of the Five Members whose attempte ...

arrested for criticizing the King in Parliament. **8 February – King James I disbands Parliament. **22 February – a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

is granted for

Dud Dudley Dudd (Dud) Dudley (c.1600–1684) was an English metallurgist, who fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War as a soldier, military engineer, and supplier of munitions. He was one of the first Englishmen to smelt iron ore using cok ...

's process for

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron-making, iron, copper extraction, copper ...

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

with coke. **22 March – in the Jamestown massacre, Algonquian Indians kill 347 English settlers around

Jamestown, Virginia The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent British colonization of the Americas, English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River, about southwest of present-day Willia ...

(33% of the colony's population) and destroy the

Henricus The "Citie of Henricus"—also known as Henricopolis, Henrico Town or Henrico—was a settlement in Virginia founded by Sir Thomas Dale in 1611 as an alternative to the swampy and dangerous area around the original English settlement at James ...

settlement. **23 May –

Nathaniel Butter Nathaniel Butter (died 22 February 1664) was a London publisher of the early 17th century. As the publisher of the first edition of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'' in 1608, he has also been regarded as one of the first publishers of a newspaper in ...

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

newspapers. **25 May – the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

ship ''

Tryall ''Tryall'' (or ''Trial'') was a British East India Company-owned East Indiaman launched in 1621. She was under the command of John Brooke when she was wrecked on the Tryal Rocks off the north-west coast of Western Australia in 1622. Her crew w ...

'' sinks when it hits the

Tryal Rocks Tryal Rocks, sometimes spelled Trial Rocks or Tryall Rocks, formerly known as Ritchie's Reef or Greyhound's Shoal, is a reef of rock located in the Indian Ocean off the northwest coast of Australia, northwest of the outer edge of the Montebell ...

reef off Australia. 94 out of the 143 crew die. **

William Oughtred William Oughtred (5 March 1574 – 30 June 1660), also Owtred, Uhtred, etc., was an English mathematician and Anglican clergyman.'Oughtred (William)', in P. Bayle, translated and revised by J.P. Bernard, T. Birch and J. Lockman, ''A General ...

invents the

slide rule A slide rule is a hand-operated mechanical calculator consisting of slidable rulers for conducting mathematical operations such as multiplication, division, exponents, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry. It is one of the simplest analog ...

. ** William Burton's ''Description of Leicester Shire'' published. ** Second part of

Michael Drayton Michael Drayton ( – ) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era, continuing to write through the reign of James I and into the reign of Charles I. Many of his works consisted of historical poetry. He was also the fir ...

's ''

Poly-Olbion The ''Poly-Olbion'' is a topographical poem describing England and Wales. Written by Michael Drayton (1563–1631) and published in 1612, it was reprinted with a second part in 1622. Drayton had been working on the project since at least 1598 ...

'' published. ** Sir

Richard Hawkins Admiral Sir Richard Hawkins (or Hawkyns) (c. 1562 – 17 April 1622) was a 17th-century English seaman, explorer and privateer. He was the son of Admiral Sir John Hawkins. Biography He was from his earlier days familiar with ships and the ...

' narrative of his adventures ''Voiage into the South Sea'' published. * 1622–1624 –

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

in east

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. * 1623 ** February –

Amboyna massacre The Amboyna massacre (also known as the Amboyna trial) was the 1623 torture and execution on Ambon Island (present-day Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia) of twenty-one men, including ten in the service of the English East India Company, as well as Japan ...

: English East India Company traders killed by agents of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

. ** May – the King's

favourite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In Post-classical Europe, post-classical and Early modern Europe, early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated signifi ...

, George Villiers, is made Duke of Buckingham. **30 August – negotiations of the planned

Spanish Match The Spanish match was a proposed marriage between Prince Charles I of England, Charles, the son of King James VI & I of Kingdom of Scotland and Kingdom of England, England, and Infante, Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of Philip III of ...

, the marriage of

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

Maria Anna of Spain Maria Anna of Spain (18 August 160613 May 1646) **26 October – " Fatal Vespers": 95 people are killed when an upper floor of the French ambassador's house in

Blackfriars, London Blackfriars is in central London, specifically the south-west corner of the City of London. Blackfriars Priory The name first occurs in records of 1317 in many orthographies. Friar evolved from as has, meaning 'brother'. Black refers to the ...

, collapses under the weight of a congregation attending a mass. ** Between 8 November and 5 December – publication in London of the "''

First Folio ''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...

''" (''Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies''), a collection of 36 of the plays of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

(d.

1616 Events January–March * January 1 – King James I of England attends the masque '' The Golden Age Restored'', a satire by Ben Jonson on fallen court favorite the Earl of Somerset. The king asks for a repeat performance on January 6. ...

), half of which have not previously been printed. ** Medieval

right of asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, such as a second country or another enti ...

abolished. ** Building of the

-designed

Queen's Chapel The Queen's Chapel (officially, ''The Queen's Chapel St. James Palace'' and previously the German Chapel) is a chapel in central London, England. Designed by Inigo Jones, it was built between 1623 and 1625 as an adjunct to St. James's Palace, ini ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

begins. * 1624 **12 February – Parliament assembles for the last time under James I's reign. **2 March – Parliament passes a resolution that its elected members are not permitted simply to resign their seats of their own will. **10 March – England declares war on

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. ** May – Parliament impeaches the

Lord Treasurer The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord ...

Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex (1575 – 6 August 1645) was an English merchant and politician. He sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1622 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Cranfield. Life He was the second son ...

, on suspicion of taking bribes. **25 May – Parliament passes the

Statute of Monopolies The Statute of Monopolies ( 21 Jas. 1. c. 3) was an act of the Parliament of England notable as the first statutory expression of English patent law. Patents evolved from letters patent, issued by the monarch to grant monopolies over particula ...

. **24 June –

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

becomes an English

Crown Colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by Kingdom of England, England, and then Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English overseas possessions, English and later British Empire. There was usua ...

. **5–14 August – the King's Men perform

Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

A Game at Chess ''A Game at Chess'' is a comic satirical play by Thomas Middleton, first staged in August 1624 by the King's Men at the Globe Theatre. The play is notable for its political content, dramatizing a conflict between Spain and England. The plot t ...

'' at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, until it is suppressed in view of its allusions to the

. **August – the

Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire is a trade guild of metalworkers based in Sheffield, England. It was incorporated in 1624 by an act of Parliament. The head is called the Master Cutler. Its motto is . In the original act of Parliam ...

begins to function as a trade

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

of metalworkers based in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, having been incorporated by Act of Parliament. **12 December – treaty with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

arranges the marriage of the Prince of Wales to Princess

Henrietta Maria of France Henrietta Maria of France ( French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until his execution on 30 January 1649. She was ...

. **

The Latymer School The Latymer School is a Voluntary aided school, voluntary aided, Selective school, selective, Mixed-sex education, co-educational grammar school located in Edmonton, London. It was founded in 1624 by the will of Edward Latymer to provide educat ...

and

Latymer Upper School Latymer Upper School is a public school in Hammersmith, London, England, on King Street. It derives from a charity school, and is part of the same 1624 Latymer Foundation, from a bequest by the English legal official Edward Latymer. There ...

in London are founded by the bequest of Edward Latymer. ** The 15-arch Berwick Bridge by James Burrell is opened to traffic. * 1625 **27 March – Prince Charles Stuart becomes King

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

upon the death of his father, James I, at

Theobalds House Theobalds House (also known as Theobalds Palace) in the parish of Cheshunt in the English county of Hertfordshire, north of London, was a significant stately home and (later) royal palace of the 16th and early 17th centuries. Set in extensive ...

. **13 June – Marriage in person of King Charles I and the Catholic Henrietta Maria, Princess of

and

Navarra Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, at Canterbury. **18 June – The "

Useless Parliament The Useless Parliament was the first Parliament of England of the reign of King Charles I, sitting only from June until August 1625. It gained its name because it transacted no significant business, making it 'useless' from the king's point o ...

" refuses to vote Charles I the right to collect customs duties for his entire reign, seeking to restrict him to one year instead. ** August *** Over 40,000 killed by

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...

in London; court and Parliament temporarily moved to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. ***

Barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

enslave about 60 people from

Mount's Bay Mount's Bay () is a bay on the English Channel coast of Cornwall, England, stretching from the Lizard Point, Cornwall, Lizard Point to Gwennap Head. In the north of the bay, near Marazion, is St Michael's Mount; the origin of name of the bay. ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. **8 September – Treaty of Southampton makes an alliance between England and the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

against

. **8 October – Cádiz expedition: Admiral George Villiers' fleet sails from

for

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

. **1–7 November – Cádiz expedition: English forces are decisively defeated by the Spanish and the expedition is abandoned. **9 December – the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and England sign the Treaty of Den Haag. ** An English colony is established in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. ** A very high tide occurs, the highest ever known in the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

, and the sea walls in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

are overthrown, with great desolation caused to the lands near the sea. ** A house of correction is established at

Shepton Mallet Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, some southwest of Bath, Somerset, Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells, Somerset, Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. ...

in Somerset; it will still be functioning as

HM Prison Shepton Mallet HMP Shepton Mallet, sometimes known as Cornhill, is a former prison in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England. When it closed in 2013, it had been the United Kingdom's oldest operating prison, following the closure of HMP Lancaster Castle in 201 ...

until 2013. * 1626 **2 February – Coronation of King Charles I (but not the Queen) in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. **6 February – Parliament meets, and refuses to grant funds to King Charles without redress of various grievances. **15 June – King Charles dissolves Parliament after it refuses to grant him

Tonnage and Poundage Tonnage and poundage were English duties and taxes first levied in Edward II's reign on every tun (cask) of imported wine, which came mostly from Spain and Portugal, and on every pound weight of merchandise exported or imported. Traditionally t ...

rights; imposes forced loans. **26 June – King Charles expels Queen Henrietta Maria's French attendants from court. **Start of Western Rising of 1626–32: anti-

enclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

riots in the

royal forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

s of

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

. **

appointed by the King to drain

Hatfield Chase Hatfield Chase is a low-lying area in South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, England, which was often flooded. It was a royal hunting ground until Charles I of England, Charles I appointed the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden to drain it in 1 ...

. **

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

waters found at

Scarborough, North Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town and civil parish in North Yorkshire District, the district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. With a population of 61,749, Scarborough is the largest town on the Yorkshire Coast and the No ...

, by Mrs Thomasin Farrer. **

Little Gidding community The Little Gidding community was an extended family and religious group based at Little Gidding, Huntingdonshire (now in Cambridgeshire), England, in existence from the middle of the 1620s to the later 1650s. It gained attention in its time becaus ...

formed by

Nicholas Ferrar Nicholas Ferrar (22 February 1592 – 4 December 1637) was an English scholar, courtier and businessman, who was ordained a deacon in the Church of England. He lost much of his fortune in the Virginia Company and retreated with his extended fami ...

and his family. * 1627 Chipping Campden Market Hall - Sarah Stierch 04

** January – French ships are seized in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, resulting in an undeclared war with

. **2 June –

, leads an expedition to assist the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

at the

Siege of La Rochelle The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627–1628. The siege marked the height of Huguenot rebellions, the struggle between ...

. **8 November – Duke of Buckingham leaves La Rochelle, having lost half of his expeditionary force. **28 November – Sir Thomas Darnell launches an unsuccessful appeal against his imprisonment without trial for refusing to pay forced loans; a major impetus for the

Petition of Right The Petition of Right, passed on 7 June 1628, is an English constitutional document setting out specific individual protections against the state, reportedly of equal value to Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights 1689. It was part of a wider ...

the following year. **

Barbary corsairs The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

from the

Republic of Salé The Republic of Salé, also known as the Bou Regreg Republic and the Republic of the Two Banks, was a city-state maritime Barbary pirates, corsair republic based at Salé in Morocco during the 17th century, located at the mouth of the Bou Regre ...

begin a 5-year occupation of the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel (, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales (from Pembrokeshire to the Vale of Glamorgan) and South West England (from Devon to North Somerset). It extends ...

island of

Lundy Lundy is an English island in the Bristol Channel. It forms part of the district of Torridge in the county of Devon. About long and wide, Lundy has had a long and turbulent history, frequently changing hands between the British crown and ...

under the command of

renegade

Jan Janszoon Jan Janszoon van Haarlem, commonly known as Reis Mourad the Younger (c. 1570 – c. 1641), was a Dutch pirate who later became a Barbary corsair in the Regency of Algiers and the Republic of Salé. After being captured by Algerian corsairs o ...

. **

Pitstone Windmill Pitstone Windmill is a Grade II* listed windmill in England. It is thought to have been built in the early 17th century, and stands in the northeastern corner of a large field near the parish boundary of Ivinghoe and Pitstone in Buckinghamshi ...

in Buckinghamshire known to exist; it will survive into the 21st century. **

's ''

New Atlantis ''New Atlantis'' is a utopian novel by Sir Francis Bacon, published posthumously in 1626. It appeared unheralded and tucked into the back of a longer work of natural history, ''Sylva Sylvarum'' (forest of materials). In ''New Atlantis'', Bac ...

'' published posthumously. * 1628 ** February – writs are issued by

compelling every county in England (not just seaport towns) to pay

ship tax Ship money was a tax of medieval origin levied intermittently in the Kingdom of England until the middle of the 17th century. Assessed typically on the inhabitants of coastal areas of England, it was one of several taxes that English monarchs cou ...

by 1 March (1628). **2 March – great fire of

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

. **17 March – Charles I reconvenes Parliament.

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

becomes an MP for the first time. **7 June – Charles I forced to accept the

, as a concession to gain his subsidies. **23 August – disaffected Army officer John Felton assassinates George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham at The Greyhound, Portsmouth. ** December – Thomas Wentworth appointed President of the

Council of the North The Council of the North was an administrative body first set up in 1484 by King Richard III of England, to improve access to conciliar justice in Northern England. This built upon steps by King Edward IV of England in delegating authority in th ...

. ** Publication of Sir

's ''

Institutes of the Lawes of England The ''Institutes of the Lawes of England'' are a series of legal treatises written by Sir Edward Coke. They were first published, in stages, between 1628 and 1644. Widely recognized as a foundational document of the common law, they have been cit ...

'' begins with ''A Commentary upon Littleton''. **

William Harvey William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions to anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, pulmonary and systemic circulation ...

publishes his findings about

blood circulation In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart an ...

in ''

Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus ''Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus'' (Latin, 'An Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Living Beings'), commonly called ''De Motu Cordis'', is the best-known work of the physician William Harv ...

'' (published in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

). * 1629 **20 January – Parliament criticises the King for levying Tonnage and Poundage without its authority. **11 February–19 June – around 350 English

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

s on six ships, led by

Francis Higginson Francis Higginson (1588–1630) was an early Puritan minister in Colonial New England, and the first minister of Salem, Massachusetts. He was an ancestor of Thomas Wentworth Higginson. Biography England The son of a minister, Francis Higgin ...

in the ''

Lyon's Whelp Lyon's Whelp or Lion's Whelp is the name of a historical British ship, it is also found in the Bible in Genesis 49:9 “Judah is a lion’s whelp." Popular today, the name was given to a series of 16th-century naval ships, then in the 17th centur ...

'', sail from

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight Yarmouth is a town, port and civil parish in the west of the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. The town is named for its location at the mouth of the small Western Yar river. The town grew near the river crossing, originally a fer ...

, to

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

to settle in the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

in America as part of the

Puritan migration to New England (1620–1640) The Puritan migration to New England took place from 1620 to 1640, and declined sharply thereafter. The term "Great Migration" can refer to the migration in the period of English Puritans to the New England Colonies, starting with Plymouth Col ...

. **2 March – Parliament criticises Archbishop

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I of England, Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Caroline era#Religion, Charles I's religious re ...

's religious reforms. **4 March –

is granted a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

. **10 March – the King dissolves Parliament and begins an 11-year

Personal Rule The Personal Rule (also known as the Eleven Years' Tyranny) was a period in the history of England from the dissolution of the third Parliament of Charles I in 1629 to the summoning of the Short Parliament in 1640, during which the King refused t ...

. **March – Maldon grain riots begin: people in Essex led by "Captain"

Ann Carter Ann Carter (June 16, 1936 – January 27, 2014) was an American child actress who worked with dozens of film stars, compiling an "unimaginably distinguished résumé" despite an acting career which lasted only slightly more than a decade.Lucas, ...

protest against food prices. The local magistracy lowers the corn price but the ringleader is executed.

Births

* 1620 **3 February –

Sir James Clavering, 1st Baronet Sir James Clavering, 1st Baronet (3 February 1620 – 24 March 1702) was an English landowner. He was the grandson of James Clavering (1565–1630), a merchant adventurer, Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1607, who bought an estate at Axwell Ho ...

, landowner (died

1702 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Wednesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 2 – A total solar eclipse is visible from the southern ...

) **23 February –

Francis Newport, 1st Earl of Bradford Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

, politician (died

1708 In the Swedish calendar it was a leap year starting on Wednesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–June * January 1 – Charles XII of Sweden invades Russia, by crossing the ...

) **13 March –

Alexander Seton, 1st Viscount of Kingston Sir Alexander Seton, 1st Viscount of Kingston (13 March 1620 – 21 October 1691), a Cavalier, was the first dignity Charles II conferred as King. Family Alexander was the son of George Seton, 3rd Earl of Winton (1584–1650) by Anna Hay, dau ...

(died

1691 Events January–March * January 6 – King William III of England, who rules Scotland and Ireland as well as being the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, departs from Margate to tend to the affairs of the Netherlands. * January 14 – ...

) **29 March –

Edward Digges Edward Digges (14 February 1620 – 15 March 1674/75) was an English barrister and colonist who became a premium tobacco planter and official in the Virginia colony. The son of the English politician Dudley Digges represented the colony before ...

, barrister and Colonial Governor of Virginia (died

1674 Events January–March * January 2 – The French West India Company is dissolved after less than 10 years. * January 7 – In the Chinese Empire, General Wu Sangui leads troops into the Giuzhou province, and soon takes cont ...

) **15 April – Edward Villiers, politician and military officer (died

1689 Events Notable events during this year include: * Coup, war, and legislation in England and its territories. ** The overthrow of Catholic king James of England, Ireland, and Scotland in the Glorious Revolution. ** The latter realms ente ...

) **18 April –

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, noble and Cavalier soldier (died

1688 Events January–March * January 2 – Fleeing from the Spanish Navy, French pirate Raveneau de Lussan and his 70 men arrive on the west coast of Nicaragua, sink their boats, and make a difficult 10 day march to the city of Ocota ...

) **24 April –

John Graunt John Graunt (24 April 1620 – 18 April 1674) has been regarded as the founder of demography. Graunt was one of the first demographers, and perhaps the first epidemiologist, though by profession he was a haberdasher. He was bankrupted later in ...

, demographer (died

) **25 May –

Warwick Mohun, 2nd Baron Mohun of Okehampton Warwick Mohun, 2nd Baron Mohun of Okehampton (25 May 1620 – 1665) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640 until he inherited his peerage and sat in the House of Lords. Mohun was the son of John Mohun, 1st Baron Mohun ...

, Member of Parliament (died

1665 Events January–March * January 5 – The ''Journal des sçavans'' begins publication of the first scientific journal in France. * February 15 – Molière's comedy '' Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre'', based on the Spanis ...

) **6 June –

Sir John Covert, 1st Baronet Sir John Covert, 1st Baronet (6 June 1620 – 11 March 1679), was an English politician. Covert was the son of Sir Walter Covert, of Maidstone, Kent, by Ann Covert, daughter and heiress of John Covert, of Slaugham, Sussex. He was created a baro ...

, politician (died

1679 Events January–March * January 24 – King Charles II of England dissolves the "Cavalier Parliament", after nearly 18 years. * February 3 – Moroccan troops from Fez are killed, along with their commander Moussa ben Ahmed ...

) **11 June – John Moore, Lord Mayor and Member of Parliament for the City of London (died

) **6 August –

William Hiseland William Hiseland (6 August 1620 (claimed) – 7 February 1732), sometimes spelt William Hasland or Haseland, was an English soldier and reputed supercentenarian. In 1709, at the purported age of eighty-nine, he fought at the Battle of Malp ...

, soldier and reputed supercentenarian (died

1732 Events January–March * January 21 – Russia and Persia sign the Treaty of Riascha at Resht. Based on the terms of the agreement, Russia will no longer establish claims over Persian territories. * February 9 – The Swed ...

) **22 August –

Alexander Rigby Alexander Rigby (1594 – 18 August 1650) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1650. He was a colonel in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War. Life Rigby was the son of Alexander Rigb ...

, politician (died

1694 Events January–March * January 16 – Francesco Morosini, the Doge of Venice since 1688, dies after ruling the Republic for more than five years and a few months after an unsuccessful attempt to capture the island of Negropont from t ...

) **24 August –

Thomas Stucley Thomas Stucley (4 August 1578)Vivian 1895, p. 721, pedigree of Stucley was an English mercenary who fought in France, Ireland and at the Battle of Lepanto before being killed at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir in 1578. He was a Catholic recusan ...

, politician (died

1663 Events January–March * January 10 – The Royal African Company is granted a Royal Charter by Charles II of England. * January 23 – The Treaty of Ghilajharighat is signed in India between representatives of the Mughal ...

) **15 October –

William Borlase William Borlase (2 February 169631 August 1772), Cornish antiquary, geologist and naturalist. From 1722, he was Rector of Ludgvan, Cornwall, where he died. He is remembered for his works ''The Antiquities of Cornwall'' (1754; 2nd ed., 1769) a ...

, politician (died

) **31 October –

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...

, diarist and writer (died

1706 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Monday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 26 ** War of Spanish Succession: The uprising by Bavarians aga ...

) **2 November ''(bapt.)'' – Roger Pratt, gentleman architect (died

1684 Events January–March * January 5 ** King Charles II of England gives the title Duke of St Albans to Charles Beauclerk, his illegitimate son by Nell Gwyn. ** The earliest form of what is now the University of Tokyo (formally chartere ...

) **late November -

Peregrine White Peregrine White ( ) was the first boy born on the Pilgrim ship the ''Mayflower'' in the harbour of Massachusetts, the second baby born on the ''Mayflower''s historic voyage, and the first known English child born to the Pilgrims in America. ...

, first English subject born in New England, aboard the Mayflower while anchored off

(died 1704) * 1621 **27 January –

Thomas Willis Thomas Willis Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (27 January 1621 – 11 November 1675) was an English physician who played an important part in the history of anatomy, neurology, and psychiatry, and was a founding member of the Royal Society. L ...

, physician (died

1675 Events January–March * January 5 – Franco-Dutch War – Battle of Turckheim: The French defeat Austria and Brandenburg. * January 29 – John Sassamon, an English-educated Native American Christian, dies at Assaw ...

) **31 March –

Andrew Marvell Andrew Marvell (; 31 March 1621 – 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend ...

, poet (died

1678 Events January–March * January 10 – England and the Dutch Republic sign a mutual defense treaty in order to fight against France. * January 27 – The first fire engine company in North America goes into service in Boston. ...

) **23 April –

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

, admiral (died

1670 Events January–March * January 17 – Raphael Levy, a Jewish resident of the city of Metz in France, is burned at the stake after being accused of the September 25 abduction and ritual murder of a child who had disappeared ...

) **22 July –

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury PC, FRS (22 July 1621 – 21 January 1683), was an English statesman and peer. He held senior political office under both the Commonwealth of England and Charles II, serving as Chancellor of the ...

, politician (died

1683 Events January–March * January 5 – The Brandenburger-African Company, of the German state of Brandenburg, signs a treaty with representatives of the Ahanta tribe (in modern-day Ghana), to establish the fort and settlement ...

) **2 October ''(bapt.)'' –

Hugh May Hugh May (1621 – 21 February 1684) was an English architect in the period after the Restoration of King Charles II. He worked in the era which fell between the first introduction of Palladianism into England by Inigo Jones, and the full flo ...

, architect **23 December ***

Edmund Berry Godfrey Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey (23 December 1621 – 12 October 1678) was an English magistrate whose mysterious death caused anti-Catholic uproar in England. Contemporary documents also spell the name Edmundbury Godfrey. Early life Edmund Berry God ...

, magistrate (died

) ***

Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham, Privy Council of England, PC (23 December 162018 December 1682), Lord Chancellor of England, was descended from the old family of Earl of Winchilsea, Finch, many of whose members had attained high legal emi ...

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

(died

1682 Events January–March * January 7 – The Republic of Genoa forbids the unauthorized printing of newspapers and all handwritten newssheets; the ban is lifted after three months. * January 12 – Scottish minister James Ren ...

) * 1623 **15 January –

Algernon Sidney Algernon Sidney or Sydney (15 January 1623 – 7 December 1683) was an English politician, republican political theorist and colonel. A member of the middle part of the Long Parliament and commissioner of the trial of King Charles I of Englan ...

, political radical (executed

) **27 May –

Sir William Petty Sir William Petty (26 May 1623 – 16 December 1687) was an English economist, physician, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to survey ...

, scientist, philosopher and economist (died

1687 Events January–March * January 3 – With the end of latest of the Savoyard–Waldensian wars in the Duchy of Savoy between the Savoyard government and Protestant Italians known as the Waldensians, Victor Amadeus III, Duke o ...

) **30 May – John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater, politician (died

1686 Events January–March * January 3 – In Madras (now Chennai) in India, local residents employed by the East India Company threaten to boycott their jobs after corporate administrator William Gyfford imposes a house tax on resid ...

) **

Margaret Cavendish Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (; 1623 er exact birth date is unknown– 16 December 1673) was an English philosopher, poet, scientist, fiction writer, and playwright. She was a prolific writer, publishing over 12 original ...

, Duchess of Newcastle (died

1673 Events January–March * January 22 – Impersonator Mary Carleton is hanging, hanged at Newgate Prison in London, for multiple thefts and returning from penal transportation. * February 10 – Molière's ''comédie-ballet ...

) **

Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury, 11th Earl of Waterford (1623 – 16 March 1668), was an England, English Peerage, peer who was a Royalist officer in the English Civil War. He survived the war only to be mortally wounded in a duel with the ...

(died

1668 Events January–March * January 23 – The Triple Alliance of 1668 is formed between England, Sweden and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. * February 13 – In Lisbon, a peace treaty is established between Afonso ...

) * 1624 **July –

George Fox George Fox (July 1624 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 13 January 1691 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English Dissenters, English Dissenter, who was a founder of the Quakers, Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as t ...

, founder of the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

(died

) **10 September –

Thomas Sydenham Thomas Sydenham (; 10 September 1624 – 29 December 1689) was an England, English physician. He was the author of ''Observationes Medicae'' (1676) which became a standard textbook of medicine for two centuries so that he became known as 'The ...

, physician (died

) * 1625 **25 May –

Ann, Lady Fanshawe Ann Fanshawe, Lady Fanshawe (25 March 1625 – 20 January 1680) was an English memoirist and cookery author. Her recipe for ice cream is thought to be the earliest recorded in Europe. Her ice cream recipe is recorded as follows: Take three pints ...

, née Harrison, memoirist (died

1680 Events January–March * January 2 – King Amangkurat II of Mataram (located on the island of Java, part of modern-day Indonesia), invites Trunajaya, who had led a failed rebellion against him until his surrender on Decem ...

) **23 June – John Fell, bishop and academic (died

) **10 October –

Arthur Gorges Sir Arthur Gorges (c. 1569 – 10 October 1625) was an English sea captain, poet, translator and courtier from Somerset. Origins He was the son of Sir William Gorges (d.1584) of Charlton, in the parish of Wraxall, Somerset, Wraxall in Somerset, ...

, courtier, naval captain, poet and translator (born

1569 Year 1569 ( MDLXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 11 — The first recorded lottery in England begins and continues, nonstop, at the west door of St Paul's Cathedral for al ...

) **11 December ''(bapt.)'' – Charles Hart, actor (died

) * 1626 **12 March –

John Aubrey John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He was a pioneer archaeologist, who recorded (often for the first time) numerous megalithic and other field monuments in southern England ...

, antiquary and writer (died

1697 Events January–March * January 8 – Thomas Aikenhead is hanged outside Edinburgh, becoming the last person in Great Britain to be executed for blasphemy. * January 11 – French writer Charles Perrault releases the book '' Histoires ...

) **28 September –

Elizabeth Maitland, Duchess of Lauderdale Elizabeth Maitland, Duchess of Lauderdale (; 28 September 1626 – 5 June 1698) was a Scottish peeress. She was the eldest daughter of William Murray and his wife Catherine, the Earl and Countess of Dysart. She was raised in English court ci ...

, noblewoman (died

1698 Events January–March * January 1 – The Abenaki tribe and Massachusetts colonists sign a treaty, ending the conflict in New England. * January 4 – The Palace of Whitehall in London, England is destroyed by fire. * January 23 – ...

) **4 October –

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who served as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1658 to 1659. He was the son of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. Following his father ...

, Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland (died

1712 In the Swedish calendar it began as a leap year starting on Monday and remained so until Thursday, February 29. By adding a second leap day, Friday, February 30, Sweden reverted to the Julian calendar and the rest of the year (from Saturday, M ...

) * 1627 **15 February – Charles Morton, nonconformist minister and educator (died 1698 in New England) **27 March – Sir

Stephen Fox Sir Stephen Fox (27 March 1627 – 28 October 1716) of Farley in Wiltshire, of Redlynch Park in Somerset, of Chiswick, Middlesex and of Whitehall, was a royal administrator and courtier to King Charles II, and a politician, who rose from h ...

, statesman (died

1716 Events January–March * January 16 – The application of the Nueva Planta decrees to Catalonia make it subject to the laws of the Crown of Castile, and abolishes the Principality of Catalonia as a political entity, conclud ...

) **29 November –

John Ray John Ray Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (November 29, 1627 – January 17, 1705) was a Christian England, English Natural history, naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his ...

, biologist (died

1705 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Sunday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 8 – George Frideric Handel's first opera, ''Almira'', is p ...

) **

John Flavel John Flavel (c. 1627–1691) was an English Puritan Presbyterian minister and author. Life Flavel, the eldest son of the Rev. Richard Flavel, described as 'a painful and eminent minister,' who was incumbent successively of Bromsgrove, Worces ...

, dissenter (died

) * 1628 **10 January –

George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, 19th Baron de Ros (30 January 1628 – 16 April 1687) was an English statesman and poet who exerted considerable political power during the reign of Charles II of England. A Royalist during the Engl ...

, statesman (died

) **20 January –

Henry Cromwell Henry Cromwell (20 January 1628 – 23 March 1674) was the fourth son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier, and an important figure in the Parliamentarian regime in Ireland. Biography Early life Henry Cromwell was born at Huntingdon on ...

, soldier, politician and lord lieutenant of Ireland (died

) **25 April –

Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet (25 April 162827 January 1699) was an English diplomat, politician and writer. An important diplomat, he was recalled in 1679, and for a brief period was a leading advisor to Charles II of England, with whom he th ...

, statesman and essayist (died

1699 Events January–March * January 5 – A violent earthquake damages the city of Batavia on the Indonesian island of Java, killing at least 28 people. * January 20 – The Parliament of England (under Tory dominance) limits the size of ...

) **29 August –

John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath PC (29 August 1628 – 22 August 1701) was an English landowner who served in the Royalist army during the First English Civil War and was rewarded for his services after the 1660 Stuart Restoration with a title ...

, royalist statesman (died

1701 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Tuesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–June * march 8th – Parts of the Netherlands adopt the Gregorian calenda ...

) **28 November –

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...

, writer and preacher (died

) * 1629 **8 January –

Sir William Hickman, 2nd Baronet Sir William Hickman. 2nd Baronet (8 January 1629 – 10 February 1682) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons from 1660 to 1682. Hickman was the son of Sir Willoughby Hickman, 1st Baronet and his w ...

, Member of the House of Commons of England (died

) **5 February – Henry Muddiman, journalist and publisher (died

1692 Events January–March * January 24 – At least 75 residents of what is now York, Maine are killed in the Raid on York (1692), Candlemas Massacre, carried out by French soldiers led by missionary Louis-Pierre Thury, along with a ...

) **10 March – Metcalfe Robinson, politician (died

) **21 July –

Elizabeth Claypole Elizabeth Claypolealso ''Cleypole'' and ''Claypoole'' (Noble and Firth DNB) (''née'' Cromwell; 2 July 1629 – 6 August 1658) was the second daughter of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, and ...

, daughter of Oliver Cromwell (died

1658 Events January–March * January 13 – Edward Sexby, who had plotted against Oliver Cromwell, dies in the Tower of London. * January 30 – The " March Across the Belts" (''Tåget över Bält''), Sweden's use of winter w ...

) **26 July – John Ferrers, politician (died

) **6 August –

Thomas Walcot Sir Thomas Walcot SL (6 August 1629 – 6 September 1685) was an English judge and politician. Family Thomas Walcot, born 6 August 1629, was the second son of Humphrey Walcot (1586-1650) and his wife Anne Docwra (d.1675), whose mother, Jane (n� ...

, judge (died

1685 Events January–March * January 6 – American-born British citizen Elihu Yale, for whom Yale University in the U.S. is named, completes his term as the first leader of the Madras Presidency in India, administering the colony ...

) **30 August –

Matthew Wren Matthew Wren (23 December 1585 – 24 April 1667) was an influential English clergyman, bishop and scholar. Life Wren was the eldest son of Francis Wren, citizen and mercer of London. Matthew Wren's mother was Susan, daughter of John Wigg ...

, politician and writer (died

1672 Events January–March * January 2 – After the government of England is unable to pay the nation's debts, Charles II of England, King Charles II decrees the Stop of the Exchequer, the suspension of payments for one year "up ...

) **3 September – Lady Mary Dering, composer (died

1704 In the Swedish calendar it was a leap year starting on Friday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 7 – Partial solar eclipse, Solar Saros 146, is visible i ...

) **10 September – John Heydon, neoplatonist occult philosopher (died

1667 Events January–March * January 11 – Aurangzeb, monarch of the Mughal Empire, orders the removal of Rao Karan Singh as Maharaja of the Bikaner State (part of the modern-day Rajasthan state of India) because of Karan's derelic ...

) **21 September – Philip Howard, Roman Catholic Cardinal (died

) **10 October –

Richard Towneley Richard Towneley (10 October 1629 – 22 January 1707) was an English mathematician, natural philosopher and astronomer, resident at Towneley Hall, near Burnley in Lancashire. His uncle was the antiquarian and mathematician Christopher Towne ...

, mathematician and astronomer (died

1707 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Tuesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – John V is crowned King of Portugal and the Algarv ...

) **11 December – Sir Baynham Throckmorton, 3rd Baronet, Member of Parliament (died

1681 Events January–March * January 1 – Prince Muhammad Akbar, son of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, initiates a civil war in India. With the support of troops from the Rajput states, Akbar declares himself the new Mughal Emperor ...

) **23 December –

Paul Rycaut Sir Paul Rycaut FRS (23 December 1629 – 16 November 1700) was an English diplomat, historian, and authority on the Ottoman Empire. Life Rycaut's Huguenot father was held in the Tower of London, during the English Civil War, for his Cavalier ...

, diplomat (died

1700 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 19), where the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 11 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 17) ...

) ** Katherine Austen, diarist and poet (died c.

)

Deaths

* 1620 **23 January –

John Croke Sir John Croke (1553 – 20 January 1620) After selling Chilton, he died in prison, and the issue passed to his only son, Sir Dodsworth Croke. Dodsworth Croke lived in poverty, and died issueless, in old age, in 1728. See also * Croke baronet ...

, judge and Speaker of the House of Commons (born

1553 Year 1553 ( MDLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 2 – The siege of Metz in France, started by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor during the Italian War of 1551–59 o ...

) **1 March –

Thomas Campion Thomas Campion (sometimes spelled Campian; 12 February 1567 – 1 March 1620) was an English composer, poet, and physician. He was born in London, educated at Cambridge, and studied law in Gray's Inn. He wrote over a hundred lute songs, masque ...

, poet and composer (born

1567 Year 1567 ( MDLXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 20 – Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the F ...

) **16 May – William Adams, navigator and samurai (born

1564 Year 1564 ( MDLXIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 26 – Livonian War – Battle of Ula: A Lithuanian surprise attack results in a decisive defeat of the numer ...

) * 1621 **3 May – Elizabeth Bacon, aristocrat (born c.

1541 __NOTOC__ Year 1541 ( MDXLI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 4 – Leonardo Cattaneo della Volta is elected to a two-year term as the new Doge of the Republic o ...

) **2 July –

Thomas Harriot Thomas Harriot (; – 2 July 1621), also spelled Harriott, Hariot or Heriot, was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer and translator to whom the theory of refraction is attributed. Thomas Harriot was also recognized for his con ...

, astronomer and mathematician (born c.

1560 Year 1560 ( MDLX) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 7 – In the Kingdom of Scotland, French troops commanded by Henri Cleutin and Captain Corbeyran de Cardaillac Sar ...

) **25 September –

Mary Sidney Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke ( Sidney, 27 October 1561 – 25 September 1621) was among the first Englishwomen to gain notice for her poetry and her literary patronage. By the age of 39, she was listed with her brother Philip Sidney and ...

, writer, patroness and translator (born

1561 Year 1561 ( MDLXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 4 – Paolo Battista Giudice Calvi is elected as the new Doge of the Republic of Genoa, but serves for only ...

) **26 November – Ralph Agas, surveyor (born c.

1540 Year 1540 ( MDXL) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 6 – King Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves, his fourth Queen consort; the marriage lasts six months. * February 1 ...

) ** Thomas Walkington, cleric and author * 1622 **23 January –

William Baffin William Baffin ( – 23 January 1622) was an English navigator, explorer and cartographer. He is best known for his attempt to find the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans, during which Baffin became the first European to disc ...

, explorer (born

1584 Events January–March * January 11 – Sir Walter Mildmay is given a royal licence to found Emmanuel College, Cambridge in England. * January 16 – Roman Catholic priest George Haydock, imprisoned in the Tower of London ...

) **19 February –

Sir Henry Savile Sir Henry Savile (30 November 154919 February 1622) was an English scholar and mathematician, Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and Provost of Eton. He endowed the Savilian chairs of Astronomy and of Geometry at Oxford University, and was on ...

, educator (born

1549 __NOTOC__ Year 1549 ( MDXLIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. In the Kingdom of England, it was known as "The Year of the Many-Headed Monster", because of the unusually high number of rebellions which occurred in t ...

) **1 July –

William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle William Parker, 13th Baron Morley, 4th Baron Monteagle (15751 July 1622), was an English peer, best known for his role in the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot. In 1605 Parker was due to attend the opening of Parliament. He was a member of the Hou ...

, politician (born

1575 Year 1575 ( MDLXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 21 – Queen Elizabeth I of England grants a monopoly on producing printed sheet music, to Thomas Tallis and Will ...

) * 1623 **8 February –

Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter (5 May 1542 – 8 February 1623), known as Lord Burghley from 1598 to 1605, was an English politician, courtier and soldier. Family Thomas Cecil was the elder son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, by hi ...

, politician (born

1546 Year 1546 ( MDXLVI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 11 – (''Tenbun 15, 20th day of the 12th month''): Ashikaga YoshifushiTitsingh p. 381 n.b., Ashikaga Yoshifushi cha ...

) **4 July –

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English Renaissance composer. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native country and on the Continental Europe, Continent. He i ...

, composer (born

1543 Year 1543 ( MDXLIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. It is one of the years sometimes referred to as an " Annus mirabilis" because of its significant publications in science, considered the start of the Scientific ...

) **18 August –

Samuel Sandys Samuel Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys (10 August 1695 – 21 April 1770) was an English Whigs (British political party), Whig politician and peer who represented Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), Worcester in the House of Commons of Great Brit ...

, politician (born

) **21 October – William Wade, statesman and diplomat (born

) **9 November –

William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...

, historian (born

1551 Year 1551 ( MDLI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 4 – Luca Spinola is elected to a two-year term as the new Doge of the Republic of Genoa, succeeding Gaspare Gri ...

) * 1624 **4 February – Thomas Humphrey, politician (born

1554 __NOTOC__ Year 1554 ( MDLIV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 5 – A great fire breaks out in Eindhoven, Netherlands. * January 12 (10th waxing of Tabodwe 915 ME) &nd ...

) **13 February –

Stephen Gosson Stephen Gosson (April 1554 – 13 February 1624) was an English satirist. Biography Gosson was baptized at St George's Church, Canterbury, on 17 April 1554. He entered Corpus Christi College, Oxford in 1572, and on leaving the university in 1576 ...

, satirist (born

) **1 March – Thomas White, clergyman and benefactor (born c. 1550) **12 May – John Rashleigh, merchant and politician (born

) **31 May ''(bur.)'' – John Knewstub, Puritan (born

1544 __NOTOC__ Events January–March * January 4 – In India, Maldeo Rathore, King of Marwar (now part of the state of Rajasthan) is tricked by counterintelligence spread by Mughal Empire, Mughal Emperor and Afghan Shah Sher Shah Su ...

) **7 September – Carew Reynell, politician (born

1563 Year 1563 ( MDLXIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 2 (January 2, 1562 O.S., January 11, 1563 N.S.) – The convocation of bishops and clerics of the Church of Engla ...

) **10 November –

Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, (pronunciation uncertain: "Rezley", "Rizely" (archaic), (present-day) and have been suggested; 6 October 1573 – 10 November 1624) was the only son of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Sou ...

, patron of the theatre (born

1573 Year 1573 (Roman numerals, MDLXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 25 (22nd day of 12th month of Genki (era), Genki 3 – At the Battle of Mikatagahara in Japan, ...

) **14 December –

Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

, statesman (born

1536 Year 1536 ( MDXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March *January 6 – The Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, the oldest European school of higher learning in the Americas, is ...

) **30 December – John Kendrick, cloth merchant (born

) *1625 **Spring –

Robert Cushman Robert Cushman (1577–1625) was an important leader and organiser of the '' Mayflower'' voyage in 1620, serving as chief agent in London for the Leiden Separatist contingent from 1617 to 1620 and later for Plymouth Colony until his death in 162 ...

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...

settler (born

1577 Year 1577 ( MDLXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 9 – The second Union of Brussels is formed, first without the Protestant counties of Holland and Zeeland (wh ...

) **27 March – King

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...

, King of England, Scotland and Ireland (born 1566 in Scotland) **5 June –

Orlando Gibbons Orlando Gibbons ( bapt. 25 December 1583 – 5 June 1625) was an English composer and keyboard player who was one of the last masters of the English Virginalist School and English Madrigal School. The best known member of a musical famil ...

, composer and organist (born

1583 Events January–March * January 1 – The Duchy of Savoy adopts the Gregorian Calendar, replacing the Julian Calendar. * January 18 – François, Duke of Anjou, attacks Antwerp. * February 4 – Gebhard Truchsess von ...

) **29 August ''(bur.)'' – John Fletcher, dramatist (born

1579 Year 1579 ( MDLXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar, and a common year starting on Monday of the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 6 – The Union of Arras unites the s ...

) **September –

Thomas Lodge Thomas Lodge (September 1625) was an English writer and medical practitioner whose life spanned the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Biography Early life Thomas Lodge was born about 1557 in West Ham, the second son of Sir Thomas Lodge ...

, dramatist, writer and physician (born c. 1558) **c. October –

John Florio Giovanni Florio (1552 or 1553 – 1625), known as John Florio, was an English linguist, poet, writer, translator, lexicographer, and royal language tutor at the Court of James I. He is recognised as the most important Renaissance humanist in ...

, linguist and lexicographer (born

) *1626 **24 January –

Samuel Argall Sir Samuel Argall ( or 1580 – ) was an English sea captain, navigator, and Deputy-Governour of Virginia, an English colony. As a sea captain, in 1609, Argall was the first to determine a shorter northern route from England across the Atlan ...

, adventurer and naval officer (born

1580 1580 (Roman numerals, MDLXXX) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 31 – Portuguese succession crisis of 1580: The death of Henry, King of Portugal, with no direct heirs, leads ...

) **20 February –

John Dowland John Dowland ( – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", " Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", " N ...

, composer and lutenist (born

) **9 April –

, scientist and statesman (born

) **4 May – Arthur Lake, Bishop of Bath and Wells, bishop and Bible translator (born

) **13 July –

Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester (19 November 1563 – 13 July 1626), was an English courtier, soldier, and landowner. He was chamberlain to Anne of Denmark. Family background Robert Sidney was the second son of Sir Henry Sidney, was ...

, statesman (born

) **25 September –

Lancelot Andrewes Lancelot Andrewes (155525 September 1626) was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chi ...

, bishop and scholar (born

1555 Year 1555 ( MDLV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 22 – The Kingdom of Ava in Upper Burma falls. * February 2 – The Diet of Augsburg begins. * February 4 &nda ...

) **25 November –

Edward Alleyn Edward Alleyn (; 1 September 156621 November 1626) was an England, English actor who was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of the College of God's Gift in Dulwich. Early life Alleyn was born on 1 September 1566 in Bishop ...

, actor (born

1566 __NOTOC__ Year 1566 (Roman numerals, MDLXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 7 – Cardinal Michele Ghislieri is 1565–1566 papal conclave, elected as the new Pope ...

) **30 November –

Thomas Weelkes Thomas Weelkes (1576 (?) – 1623) was an English composer and organ (music), organist. He became organist of Winchester College in 1598, moving to Chichester Cathedral. His works are chiefly vocal, and include madrigal (music), madrigals, a ...

, English composer (born 1576) **8 December – John Davies, poet (born

) **10 December –

Edmund Gunter Edmund Gunter (158110 December 1626), was an English clergyman, mathematician, geometer and astronomer of Welsh descent. He is best remembered for his mathematical contributions, which include the invention of the Gunter's chain, the #Gunter's q ...

, mathematician (born

1581 1581 ( MDLXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday in the Julian calendar, and a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) in the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 11 – ...

) *1627 **27 March – Sir John Suckling, politician (born

) **19 April – Sir John Beaumont, poet (born

) **27 June – Sir John Hayward, historian (born c.

) **4 July ''(bur.)'' –

, playwright (born

) *1628 **3 March –

Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester, KG, Earl Marshal (c. 1550 – 3 March 1628) was an English aristocrat. He was an important advisor to King James I (James VI of Scots), serving as Lord Privy Seal. Career He was the only son of thre ...

(born c.

1550 Year 1550 ( MDL) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 6 – Spanish Captain Hernando de Santana founds the city of Valledupar, in modern-day Colombia. * February 7 &nd ...

) **12 March –

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of England, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man. He originated in satirical works of ...

, composer (born c.

1562 __NOTOC__ Year 1562 ( MDLXII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 6 – Shane O'Neill of Tír Eoghain pleads his cause at the Palace of Whitehall in London, before Qu ...

) **29 March –

Tobias Matthew Tobias Matthew (also Tobie and Toby; 13 June 154629 March 1628), was an Anglican bishop who was President of St John's College, Oxford, from 1572 to 1576, before being appointed Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University from 1579 to 1583, and Matthew ...

, Archbishop of York (born

) **13 July –

Robert Shirley Sir Robert Shirley (or Sherley; c. 1581 – 13 July 1628) was an English traveller and adventurer, younger brother of Sir Anthony Shirley and Sir Thomas Shirley. He is notable for his help modernising and improving the Persian Safavid ...

, adventurer (born c.

) **23 August –

, statesman (born

1592 Events January–March * January 29 – Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini of San Pancrazio is elected as the new Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church after Ludovico Madruzzo and Giulio Antonio Santori withdraw following 19 rounds of ...

) **30 September –

Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke (; 3 October 1554 – 30 September 1628) was an Elizabethan poet, dramatist, and statesman who served in the House of Commons at various times between 1581 and 1621, when he was raised to the peerage. Grevill ...

, writer (born

) * 1629 **23 March –

Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland (1 February 158023 March 1629), (styled Sir Francis Fane between 1603 and 1624) of Mereworth in Kent and of Apethorpe in Northamptonshire was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of C ...

, politician (born c.

) **25 March – John Guy, merchant adventurer and first Governor of Newfoundland (born

1568 Year 1568 ( MDLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 6 – In the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, the delegates of Unio Trium Nationum to the Diet of Torda convene i ...

) **27 March –

George Carew, 1st Earl of Totnes George Carew, 1st Earl of Totnes (29 May 1555 – 27 March 1629), known as Sir George Carew between 1586 and 1605 and as The Lord Carew between 1605 and 1626, served under Elizabeth I during the Tudor conquest of Ireland and was appointed Pre ...

, general and administrator (born

) **30 May – "Captain"

, activist leader, hanged **22 September –

Robert Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Sussex Robert Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Sussex, Order of the Garter, KG (12 June 1573 – 22 September 1629) was an English peer, ambassador and military officer. Life He was the only son of Henry Radclyffe, 4th Earl of Sussex and his wife Honora Pounde ...

(born

)

References

{{England year nav