1644 CE
It is one of eight years (CE) to contain each Roman numeral once (1000(M)+500(D)+100(C)+(-10(X)+50(L))+(-1(I)+5(V)) = 1644).
In the 1640s, the 17th century.
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
- January 22 – The Royalist Oxford Parliament is first assembled by King Charles I of England.source
- 22 January – King Charles I opens the Royalist 'Oxford Parliament'.Englandsource
- March 24 – Roger Williams is granted an official grant for his Rhode Island Colony from the Parliament of England, allowing the establishment of a general assembly.source
- May 6 – Johan Mauritius resigns as Governor of Brazil.source
- June 3 – Li Zicheng proclaims himself emperor of China.source
- 14 July – Queen Henrietta Maria leaves the country for France.Englandsource
- 16 July – First English Civil War: Parliamentary forces capture York.Englandsource
- October 24 – the Long Parliament of England passes an Ordinance of no quarter to the Irish.Irelandsource
- 19 December – the House of Commons passes the Self-denying Ordinance.Englandsource
- 25 December – Christmas falls on a date set aside for fasting by Parliament, whose supporters are enjoined to observe the fast.Englandsource
- the Torstenson War breaks out between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. It was resolved by the Second Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645.Denmarksource
- Queen Christina is declared to be of legal majority and the regency government is dissolved.Swedensource
Conflict & Security
- 9 January – the Battle of Kolding begins the Torstenson War.Denmarksource
- January 26 – First English Civil War: Battle of Nantwich – The Parliamentarians defeat the Royalists, allowing them to end the 6-week siege of the Cheshire town.source
- January 30 – Battle of Ochmatów: Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth forces under hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski secure a substantial victory over the army of the Crimean Khanate under Tugay Bey.source
- February 2 – Prince of Transylvania George I Rákóczi invades Hungary to aid Sweden against the Habsburgs.source
- February and April 1644 - Battle of Beijing fought between forces of the Ming Dynasty and rebel forces led by Li ZichengChinasource
- April 18 – Opchanacanough leads the Powhatan Indians in an unsuccessful uprising against the English at Jamestown. Although 300 of the English colonists are slain, the settlers pursue Opchanacanough, who is imprisoned in Jamestown for the rest of his life. This is the last such Indian rebellion in the region.source
- May 25 – Ming general Wu Sangui forms an alliance with the invading Manchus and opens the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhaiguan Pass, letting the Manchus through towards the capital Beijing.source
- May 26 – Battle of Montijo: The Kingdom of Portugal is victorious over Habsburg Spain, in the first major action between the two nations during the Portuguese Restoration War.source
- May 27 – Battle of Shanhai Pass: The Manchu Qing dynasty and Wu Sangui gain a decisive victory over Li Zicheng's Shun dynasty.source
- June 6 – The invading Qing army, with the help of Ming general Wu Sangui, captures Beijing in China, marking the beginning of Manchu rule over China proper, which will last until 1912.source
- June 11 – During the English Civil War, Prince Rupert and his men take Liverpool Castle. Liverpool is later reclaimed by Sir John Moore.source
- July 1 – Torstenson War: Battle of Colberger Heide – The Dano-Norwegian and Swedish fleets fight a naval battle off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein. The battle is indecisive but represents a minor success for the Dano-Norwegian fleet.source
- 1 July - Battle of Colberger HeideSwedensource
- July 2 – English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor – The Parliamentarians crush the Royalists in Yorkshire, ending Charles I's hold on the north of England.source
- 2 July – First English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor, the largest battle of the war, produces a crushing victory for the Parliamentary side in Yorkshire, ending Charles I's hold on the north of England.Englandsource
- September 1 – English Civil War: Battle of Tippermuir – Montrose defeats Lord Elcho's Covenanters, reviving the Royalist cause in Scotland.source
- September 2 – English Civil War: Second Battle of Lostwithiel (in Cornwall) – Charles I and the Royalists gain their last major victory.source
- October 1 – The Jews of Mogilev, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, are attacked during Tashlikh.source
- 13 October - Battle of Fehmarn (1644)Swedensource
- 22 October – Newcastle upon Tyne captured by a Scottish army led by Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven.Englandsource
- November 8 – The Shunzhi Emperor, the second emperor of the Qing dynasty, is enthroned in Beijing after the collapse of the Ming dynasty as the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper.source
- November 23 – Battle of Jüterbog (December 3 New Style): Sweden's forces defeat those of the Holy Roman Empire.source
- November – The Castle of Elvas in Portugal resists a 9-day siege by the Spanish during the Portuguese Restoration War.source
- 22 December – the Battle of Bysjön.Denmarksource
- 22 December – Norwegian troops fought in the Battle of Bysjön.Norwaysource
Exploration & Expansion
- January 30 – Dutch explorer Abel Tasman departs from Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Jakarta in Indonesia) on his second major expedition for the Dutch East India Company, to map the north coast of Australia. Tasman commands three ships, Limmen, Zeemeeuw and Braek, and returns to Batavia at the beginning of August with no major discoveries.source
- The Dutch West India Company displays greater interest in profit than in colonization.source
- The British establish themselves at Madras, building Fort George there.Indiasource
Religion & Belief
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
- February 5 – The first livestock branding law in America is passed in Connecticut.source
Health & Medicine
- December – Bubonic plague breaks out in Edinburgh (Scotland).source
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society
- February 8 – Li Zicheng declares the founding of the Shun dynasty in China, with himself as emperor.source
- November 23 – Areopagitica, an appeal for freedom of speech written by John Milton, is published in London.source
- 23 November – John Milton's Areopagitica, an appeal for freedom of speech, is published in London.Englandsource
- December 8 (December 18 New Style) – As Christina comes of age, she is made ruling queen of Sweden.source
- Philosopher René Descartes publishes Principia Philosophiae (Principles of Philosophy) in Amsterdam.source
- The opera Ormindo is first performed in Venice (music by Francesco Cavalli, and libretto by Giovanni Faustini).source
- Sigismund's Column is erected in Warsaw to commemorate King Sigismund III Vasa, who moved the capital of Poland from Kraków to Warsaw in 1596.source
- the Domus Anatomica anatomical theatre is completed.Denmarksource
- A new sumptuary law bans the use of textiles, laces and ribbons of gold and silver for clothing, as well as engagement- and baptism parties: the law is not respected and is replaced in 1664.Swedensource
Births
- January 9 – Robert Gibbes, English-born landgrave in South Carolina (died 1715)source
- 7 February - Nils Bielke, member of the High Council of Sweden, military and politician (died 1716)Swedensource
- February 12 – Jakob Ammann, Swiss founder of the Amish sect (died 1712)source
- April 7 – François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, French soldier (died 1730)source
- April 11 – Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours, Duchess of Savoy (died 1724)source
- May 5 – Sir Richard Newdigate, 2nd Baronet, English landowner (died 1710)source
- June 2 – William Salmon, English medical writer (died 1713)source
- June 16 – Henrietta Anne Stuart, Princess of Scotland, England and Ireland and Duchess of Orléans (died 1670)source
- August 6 – Louise de La Vallière, French mistress of Louis XIV (died 1710)source
- August 12 – Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Bohemian composer and violinist (died 1704)source
- August 30 – Thomas Tufton, 6th Earl of Thanet, English politician (died 1729)source
- September 25 – Ole Rømer, Danish astronomer (died 1710)source
- 25 September – Ole Rømer, astronomer (died 1710)Denmarksource
- October 1 – Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (died 1682)Francesource
- October 13 – Sipihr Shikoh, Mughal Emperor (died 1708)source
- October 14 – William Penn, English Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania (died 1718)source
- 14 October – William Penn, Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania (died 1718)Englandsource
- December 9 – Robert Kirk, Scottish folklorist, Bible translator, Gaelic scholar (died 1692)source
Deaths
- January 31 – Georg II of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl, German nobleman (born 1588)source
- February 28 – Guru Har Gobind, the Sixth Sikh Guru (born 1595)source
- April 10 – Reverend William Brewster, English Pilgrim leader (born 1567)source
- 21 April - Torsten Stålhandske, Finnish officer in the Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War (born 1593)Swedensource
- April 25 – A popular Chinese rebellion led by Li Zicheng sacks Beijing, prompting Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty, to commit suicide.source
- April 25 – Chongzhen, last Ming Emperor of China (suicide) (born 1611)source
- July 4 – Brian Twyne, English archivist (born 1581)source
- July 29 – Pope Urban VIII (born 1568)source
- September 7 – Guido Bentivoglio, Italian statesman and historian (born 1579)source
- September 8 – John Coke, English politician (born 1563)source
- October 6 – Elisabeth of France, queen of Philip IV of Spain (born 1602)source
- October – Corfits Ulfeldt, naval officer (born c. 1600)Denmarksource
- November 6 – Thomas Roe, English diplomat (born c. 1581)source
- 6 November – Thomas Roe, diplomat (born c. 1581)Englandsource
- November 24 – Deodat del Monte, Flemish painter, architect (born 1582)source
- December 23 – Sir Alexander Carew, 2nd Baronet, English politician (born 1609)source
- December 30 – Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist (born 1577)source
- Chongzhen Emperor, committed suicideChinasource