1618 CE
Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion (after some initial calculations, he soon rejects the idea, but on May 15 confirms the discovery). The Second Defenestration of Prague – Protestant noblemen hold a mock trial, and throw two direct representatives of Ferdinand II of Germany (Imperial Governors) and their scribe out of a window into a pile of manure, exacerbating a low-key rebellion into the Bohemian Revolt (1618–1621), precipitating the Thirty Years' War into armed conflict, and further polarizing Europe on religious grounds. Ferdinand II, a proponent of the Counter-Reformation, is crowned as King of Hungary at a meeting of the Bohemian diet at Pressburg.
In the 1610s, the 17th century.
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
- 23 January – Charter of Waterford revoked after election of recusants (restored 1626).Irelandsource
- February 18 – Chŏng Inhong becomes the new Chief State Councillor (the Yŏngŭijŏng, similar to a Prime Minister) of the Joseon Kingdom, after being appointed by Gwanghaegun of Joseon.source
- 19 February – Richard Wingfield is created first Viscount Powerscourt.Irelandsource
- July 3 – Alonso Fajardo de Entenza becomes the new Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines.source
- 1 October – native Irish ordered to leave lands of the British Plantation of Ulster by 1 May 1619 or be fined.Irelandsource
- 18 October – Foundation of the National Archives of Sweden: Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna appoints clerks to formalize state documentation, establishing the modern Riksarkivet.Swedensource
- December 11 – Russia and Poland sign the Truce of Deulino.source
- The Ming Chinese embassy of the Wanli Emperor presents tea to the Russian tsar.source
- The margraves of Brandenburg are granted Polish approval to inherit the Duchy of Prussia, creating the state of Brandenburg-Prussia.source
- Reprinting of Stadslagen: The old town law is reaffirmed as municipal legal code, remaining in effect until 1734.Swedensource
Conflict & Security
- May 23 – The Second Defenestration of Prague – Protestant noblemen hold a mock trial, and throw two direct representatives of Ferdinand II of Germany (Imperial Governors) and their scribe out of a window into a pile of manure, exacerbating a low-key rebellion into the Bohemian Revolt (1618–1621), precipitating the Thirty Years' War into armed conflict, and further polarizing Europe on religious grounds.source
- September 19 – The Siege of Pilsen begins as the first major battle of the Thirty Years' War, as Bohemian Protestants lay siege to the Bohemian Catholic city and lasts for more than two months.source
- September 28 – The Battle of Orynin takes place. Polish and Lithuanian Army forces fail to stop an invasion by the forces of the Crimean Khanate, who then proceed in burning villages in Lithuania and enslaving residents.source
- November 21 – Pilsen falls to Bohemian Protestants led by Ernst von Mansfeld after more than two months of deprivation of food.source
- a failed prison escape aided by soldiers,Swedensource
- Autumn – Polish–Swedish War armistice: Truce ends this phase of the Polish–Swedish War (1600–1629), halting conflict over Livonia and Estonia.Swedensource
Exploration & Expansion
- January 6 – Jahangir, ruler of the Mughal Empire in northern India, gives an audience for the first time to a representative of the British East India Company, receiving Sir Thomas Roe at the capital at Ahmedabad.source
- April 21 – Spanish-born Jesuit missionary Pedro Páez becomes (probably) the first European to see and describe the source of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia.source
- July 31 – Lenaert Jacobszoon and the crew of the Dutch East India Company ship Mauritius become the first Europeans to sight what is now the Australian state of Western Australia, landing at the North Cape.source
- November 16 – The first Danish voyage to India departs from Copenhagen under the command of Ove Giedde.Denmarksource
- 1 December – Captain Nicholas Pynnar begins his Survey of the Escheated Counties of Ulster.Irelandsource
Religion & Belief
- February 26 – Osman II deposes his uncle Mustafa I as Ottoman sultan (until 1622).source
- October 9 – Residents of Mogilev revolt against Uniate bishop Josaphat Kuntsevych.source
- November 13 – The Synod of Dort has its first meeting.source
Economy & Finance
Science & Discovery
- March 8 – Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion (after some initial calculations, he soon rejects the idea, but on May 15 confirms the discovery).source
- July 20 – Pluto reaches its second most recent aphelion, according to sophisticated mathematical calculations. The next one occurs in 1866, and the following one will occur in 2113.source
- September 18 – Beginning of the 13th Baktun, in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar (12.0.0.0.0).source
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
Climate & Environment
- September 4 – Rodi avalanche: A rock- or snowslide buries the Alpine town of Piuro, claiming 2,427 victims.source
Culture & Society
- January 6 – Ben Jonson's play Pleasure Reconciled to Virtue is given its premiere performance, presented at the Palace of Whitehall in London.source
- January 28 – Rules are established for the Ōoku, the section of Edo Castle that housed the Shōgun's consort and his concubines.source
- June 14 – Joris Veseler prints the first Dutch newspaper Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. in Amsterdam (approximate date).source
- July 1 – Ferdinand II, a proponent of the Counter-Reformation, is crowned as King of Hungary at a meeting of the Bohemian diet at Pressburg.source
- The 3,000 seat Teatro Farnese, the first permanent proscenium theatre, is built into the Great Hall of the Palazzo della Pilotta in Parma, Italy.source
- Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet, begins remodelling the Paris residence which becomes the Hôtel de Rambouillet to form a literary salon.Francesource
- Jens Juel was appointed Governor-General of Norway.Norwaysource
- Circa 1618 – Administrative reform: Oxenstierna reorganizes the Kammarkollegiet into a multi-departmental institution, a model for modern Swedish bureaucracy.Swedensource
Births
- January 1 (bapt.) – Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish painter (died 1682)source
- January 8 – Madeleine Béjart, actress and theatre director (died 1672)Francesource
- February 12 – Olaus Verelius, scholar of Old Norse and Scandinavian studies (died 1682)source
- March 14 – Nadira Banu Begum, Mughal princess (died 1659)source
- March 19 – Thomas Hinckley, last colonial governor of Plymouth Colony (died 1706)source
- June 15 – François Blondel, French architect (died 1686)source
- July 17 – George Stewart, 9th Seigneur d'Aubigny, Scottish nobleman and military commander (died 1642)source
- July 22 – Johan Nieuhof, Dutch traveler who wrote about his journeys to Brazil (died 1672)source
- September 14 – Peter Lely, Dutch painter (died 1680)source
- September 29 – Michiel Sweerts, Flemish painter (died 1664)source
- October 31 – Mariana de Jesús de Paredes, Catholic saint, the first person to be canonized from Ecuador (died 1645)source
- November 3 – Aurangzeb, Mughal emperor of India (died 1707)source
- November – Simon Arnauld, Marquis de Pomponne, French diplomat and minister of Louis XIV (died 1699)source
- December 26 – Elisabeth of the Palatinate, German princess, philosopher, and Calvinist (died 1680)source
- December 28 – Catharina Hooft, noblewoman of the Dutch Golden Age (died 1691)source
- François Blondel, architect (died 1686)Francesource
- Thomas Blood, soldier who tries to steal the Crown Jewels of England from the Tower of London in 1671 (died 1680)Irelandsource
- Olaus Verelius (1618–1682) – Philologist and antiquarian; his editions of Old Norse texts shaped early Swedish historiography.Swedensource
Deaths
- January 6 – Margherita Gonzaga, Duchess of Ferrara (born 1564)source
- February 3 – Philip II, Duke of Pomerania-Stettin (born 1573)source
- February 14 – Paolo Emilio Sfondrati, Italian Catholic cardinal (born 1560)source
- February 27 – Anne Lyon, Countess of Kinghorne, Scottish countess (born 1579)source
- March 23 – James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn, Scottish politician (born c. 1575)source
- April 18 – Marie of the Incarnation, Carmelite (born 1566)source
- April – Powhatan (proper name Wahunsenacawh), Algonquin (indigenous American) leader, father of Pocahontas (born c. 1547)source
- June 7 – Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, English Governor of Virginia (born 1577)source
- October 29 – English adventurer, writer and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh is beheaded at the Palace of Westminster, for allegedly conspiring treasonably against James I of England in 1603, following pressure from the Spanish government, over his attack on their settlement on the Orinoco, on his last (1617–18) voyage.source
- October 29 – Sir Walter Raleigh, English soldier, politician, courtier, explorer, Virginia settler, historian, poet and spy (executed) (born 1552 of 1554)source
- November 2 – Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria (born 1558)source
- December 6 – Jacques Davy Duperron, French cardinal (born 1556)source
- December 10 – Giulio Caccini, Italian composer (born 1551)source
- December 14 – Anna of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empress (born 1585)source
- Jacques Davy Duperron, cardinal (born 1556)Francesource
- Richard Stanihurst, translator, poet and historian (born 1547)Irelandsource
- John, Duke of Östergötland (1589–1618) – Prince and half-brother to the king.Swedensource
- Princess Maria Elizabeth of Sweden (1596–1618) – Sister of Gustavus Adolphus; died shortly after her husband, John, Duke of Östergötland.Swedensource