Culture & Society in the 17th century

852 sourced entries, 1600 CE to 1699 CE, oldest first. Also see Culture & Society across every century or everything else in the 17th century.

1600January 1 – Scotland adopts January 1 as New Year's Day instead of March 25.source
16001 January – today is adopted as New Year's Day following the partial adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in ScotlandScotland source
1600April 4 – a contract for marriage between king Henry IV and Marie de Medici was signed in Florence.France source
1600October 5 – a proxy Marriage between king Henry IV and Marie de Medici was held in Florence.France source
1600October 6 – The première of Jacopo Peri's Euridice, the earliest known fully surviving work of modern opera, takes place in Florence for the wedding of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici. Emilio de' Cavalieri stages the production.source
160019 November – the future King Charles I of England and Scotland, son of James VI, is born in Dunfermline PalaceScotland source
1600William Shakespeare's plays Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing are published in London.source
1600Sumo wrestling becomes a professional sport in Japan.source
1600Fabritio Caroso's dance manual Nobiltà de dame is published.source
1600William Gilbert publishes in Latin De Magnete, one of the first significant scientific books published in England, describing the Earth's magnetic field, and the beginning of modern geomagnetism. The adjective electrus (meaning “amber-like“ from the Greek elektron) was crafted by him. That's the inception of the “modern“ theory of electricity (from that adjective).source
1600Jan Brueghel the Elder, Adoration of the Magi (c. 1600), now in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts AntwerpBelgium source
1601April 3 – At an assembly of nobles at Kolozsvár (now Cluj-Napoca in Romania), Sigismund Báthory is again proclaimed Prince of Transylvania.source
1601Possible first performance of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, perhaps in springtime.source
1602January 26: Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully becomes the governor of the Bastille.France source
1602February 2 (Candlemas night) – In London, the first known production of William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night takes place.source
1602July 15: Claude de La Trémoille sells the Château de Sully-sur-Loire to Maximilien de BéthuneFrance source
1602July 26 – William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, recently premiered by the Lord Chamberlain's Men, is licensed for publishing in London but not in fact printed at this time.source
1602September 12 – King Sigismund III Vasa of Poland receives the delivery of eight specially woven Persian carpets displaying Poland's royal coat of arms, after having dispatched agent Sefer Muratowicz to Kashan.source
1602November 8 – The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford in England is opened.source
1602William Shakespeare's comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor.source
1602Hedevig, the king's older sister, marries Elector Christian II of Saxony.Denmark source
1602Prestepina, a quiz book, is published for the first time. The book was a translation from German by Hallvard Gunnarssøn, and was later reissued numerous times, the last time in 1870.Norway source
1603March 24 – James VI of Scotland becomes King James I of England and Ireland upon the death of Elizabeth I in England (but the news is withheld from the Irish leaders in treaty negotiations).Ireland source
1603August 17 – The Accademia dei Lincei, the oldest scientific academy in the world, is founded in Rome by Federico Cesi.source
1603Johann Bayer publishes the star atlas Uranometria, the first to cover the entire celestial sphere.source
1604January 1 – The earliest recorded performance of William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream takes place at Hampton Court prior to the main presentation, The Masque of Indian and China Knights, which is performed by courtiers of King James.source
1604November 1 – The first recorded performance of William Shakespeare's tragedy, Othello, takes place at the Palace of Whitehall in London.source
1604The Table Alphabeticall, the first known English dictionary to be organized by alphabetical ordering, is published.source
1604Lancelot de Casteau's L'Ouverture de cuisine published in Liège, including the first printed recipe for choux pastry.source
1604Christian IV's Arsenal is completed at Slotsholmen in CopenhagenDenmark source
1605January 1 – William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, copyrighted 1600, is given its earliest recorded performance, and witnessed by the Viscount Dorchester.source
1605January 7 – Shakespeare's play Henry V, copyrighted 1600, is given its earliest recorded performance, presented by the Lord Chamberlain's Men for King James I of England.source
1605January 15 – Shakespeare's play Love's Labour's Lost, copyrighted 1598, is given its second recorded performance, probably presented at the home of the Earl of Southampton for Queen Anne, wife of King James I of England.source
1605January 16 – The first part of Miguel de Cervantes' satire on the theme of chivalry, Don Quixote (El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha, "The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha"), is published in Madrid. One of the first significant novels in the western literary tradition, it becomes a global bestseller almost at once.source
1605February 10 – Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice is given its earliest recorded performance, presented by the King's Men players at the Palace of Whitehall for King James I of England. A second performance is given on February 12, Shrove Tuesday, at the King's request.source
1605February 21 – Stephen Bocskai is elected Prince of Transylvania at the capital, Belugrad (modern-day Alba Iulia in Romania.)source
1605April 8 – The city of Oulu (Uleåborg) is founded by King Charles IX of Sweden.source
1605April 16 – In England, John Winthrop, later governor of the future Massachusetts Bay Colony, marries his first wife (of 4), Mary Forth, daughter of John Forth, of Great Stambridge, Essex.source
1605June 20 – Pretender Dmitriy and his supporters, including troops of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, march to Moscow.source
1605December 11 – King Sigismund III of Poland marries his former sister-in-law, Constance, daughter of Charles II, Archduke of Austria, after Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor refuses to permit the King to marry Anna of Tyrol. King Sigismund, a widow, had previously been married to Constance's older sister, Anne.source
1605The Irish College in Paris is co-founded by John Lee, an Irish priest, and John de l'Escalopier, President of the Parlement.source
1605The first issue of Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien by Johann Carolus in Strasbourg (Holy Roman Empire), generally regarded as the world's first newspaper, is published. De Nieuwe Tijdinghen, a Dutch proto-newspaper, is also published this year.source
1605Francis Bacon's Of the Proficience and Advancement of Learning, Divine and Human is published in London.source
1606February 12 – Maximilien de Béthune becomes 1st Duke of Sully in the Peerage of France.France source
1606March - The Riksdag of the Estates is summoned to Örebro. The main topic is the claim to the Swedish throne from the Polish monarch Sigismund III Vasa and the Counter-Reformation which his accession is feared to signify.Sweden source
1606May 19 – Vasili Ivanovich Shuisky becomes the new Tsar of Russia as Vasili IV.source
1606June 3 – The Duke of Sully is named captain lieutenant in the Queen’s company.France source
1606July 24 – King Christian IV of Denmark, as the guest of his brother-in-law, King James of England, Scotland and Ireland, is welcomed at London, and the two monarchs are driven by coaches to a banquet at Theobalds House at Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. They are entertained by playwright Ben Jonson's play, The Entertainment of the Kings of Great Britain and Denmark.source
1606July 31 – Playwright John Marston presents his own original play to King James and King Christian during the Danish monarch's visit to London.source
1606August (approx.) – Possible first performance of William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth in London.source
1606December 26 – William Shakespeare's play King Lear is given its first recorded performance, staged at the Palace of Whitehall.source
1607February 24 – Claudio Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, the earliest fully developed opera in the modern-day repertoire, premieres at the Ducal Palace of Mantua.source
1607June 5 – Dr John Hall marries Susanna, daughter of William Shakespeare, at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon (England).source
1607July 20 – The second "False Dmitry", one of three people claiming to be Dmitry Ivanovich, son of the late Tsar Ivan the Terrible, appears at the Russian town of Starodub and persuades residents that he is the rightful heir to the Russian throne.source
1607October 4 – Flight of the Earls: The Earl of Tyrone and the Earl of Tyrconnell, along with their followers, reach the European continent, landing on St. Francis' Day at Quilleboeuf in France with 99 people. after having departed Rathmullan in Ireland on September 12.source
1607November 15 – Flight of the Earls: After the departure from Ireland of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone and Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, along with 90 of their followers, King James I of England, Scotland and Ireland issues a proclamation "that the flight of the Earles of Tyrone and Tyrconell, with some others of their fellowes out of the North parts of our Realme of Ireland; these men's corruption and falshood, whose hainous offences remaine so fresh in memorie since they declared themselves so very monsters in nature, as they did not only whithdraw themselues from their personall obedience to their Soveraigne, but were content to sell over their Native Countrey to those that stood at that time in the highest termes of hostilitie with the two Crownes of England and Ireland... we doe hereby professe in the worde of a King, that... notwithstanding all that they can claime, must be acknowledged to proceed from meere Grace upon their submission after their great and unnaturall Treasons", and must forfeit their rights and possessions as nobles.source
16081 January – Inauguration in Paris of the Grand Galerie linking the Louvre and Tuileries Palaces.France source
1608March 18 – Susenyos is formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia, at the ancient city of Axum.source
1608April 20 – Old Bushmills Distillery is first licensed to distil whiskey at Bushmills, County Antrim, Ireland by King James I.source
1608April 20 – Old Bushmills Distillery is first licensed to distil whiskey at Bushmills, County Antrim, by King James I.Ireland source
1608May 14 – The Protestant Union is founded in Auhausen.source
1608September 21 – The University of Oviedo in Spain is founded.source
1608November 19 – In Budapest, the coronation ceremonies take place for Matthias to be crowned as King Mátyás II of Hungary.source
1608Five royal schools in Ulster are given a Royal Charter by King James I.source
1608Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød is expanded with a new east wing (The Princess's Wing).Denmark source
1608The privy Council and representatives of the Estates support the King in naming Prince Christian heir apparent.Denmark source
1608Five royal schools in Ulster are given Royal Charter, by King James I.Ireland source
1608The Lanark Silver Bell (horse racing trophy) establishedScotland source
1609January 15 – One of the world's first newspapers, Avisa Relation oder Zeitung, begins publication in Wolfenbüttel (Holy Roman Empire).source
1609February 4 – The last day of Keichō 慶長 13 (according to the Japanese lunar calendar).source
1609October 12 – A version of the rhyme Three Blind Mice is published in London. The editor, and possible author of the verse, is the teenage Thomas Ravenscroft.source
1609November 19 – Archduke Matthias of Austria is formally crowned in Budapest as Mátyás II, King of Hungary, after having been appointed on June 26, 1608.source
1609December 8 – One of the first public libraries, the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, is opened in the Italian city of Milan, founded by Cardinal Federico Borromeo. Unlike other reading rooms, the library houses its collection on shelves along the walls, rather than chained to reading tables.source
1609The Douay–Rheims Bible Old Testament translation from the Vulgate into English vol. 1 is published in Reims.source
1609Johannes Kepler publishes his first two laws of planetary motion in Astronomia nova.source
1609Hugo Grotius publishes Mare Liberum, his legal text on freedom of the seas, in Leiden.source
1610April 20 – William Shakespeare's play, The Tragedie of Macbeth, is given its first performance, staged at the Globe Theatre in London.source
1610May 13 – A formal coronation is held for Marie de' Medici, wife of King Henry IV, as Queen Consort of France. King Henry is preparing to depart to Germany to participate in the War of the Jülich Succession.source
1610May 13 – Marie de' Medici is crowned Queen of France at the Basilica of Saint-Denis.France source
1610May 14 – Henry IV, King of France, is fatally stabbed by François Ravaillac during a parade marking the recent coronation of his wife; he is succeeded by his 8-year-old son Louis.France source
1610June 5 – The masque Tethys' Festival is performed at Whitehall Palace to celebrate the investiture of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales.source
161017 June – Prince Christian was proclaimed as heir apparent to Christian IV of Norway, in Oslo.Norway source
1610July 9 – Lady Arbella Stuart, a claimant to the throne of England, is imprisoned for clandestinely marrying William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, another claimant, without royal permission on June 22.source
1610September 19 – Frederick V, age 14, becomes the new Prince-Elector of the Rhineland Palatinate, two days after the death of his father, Frederick IV.source
1610October 17 – The coronation of Louis XIII of France takes place.source
1611April 28 – The Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario is established in Manila, the Philippines (later renamed Colegio de Santo Tomas, and later still the University of Santo Tomas).source
1611May 2 – The Authorized King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time, printed by Robert Barker in London.source
1611May 11 – The first known performance of William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, probably new this year, is given at the Globe Theatre in London.source
1611August 27 – The Novgorodians send a letter to Charles IX, placing themselves under his protection and asking to be ruled by one of his sons.Sweden source
1611September 13 – Thanksgiving is celebrated in Sweden for the Capture of Novgorod.Sweden source
1611November 1 – At Whitehall Palace in London, William Shakespeare's last solo play, The Tempest, is given its earliest reported performance.source
1611Giolla Brighde Ó hEoghusa (Bonaventura Ó hEoghusa or O'Hussey)'s An Teagasc Criosdaidhe is published in Antwerp, the first devotional work in Irish.Ireland source
1612March 2 – The False Dmitry III, one of three pretenders to the Russian throne who all claim to be sons of Ivan the Terrible, is recognized as Tsar of Russia by the Cossacks.source
1612May 10 – Prince Khurram, the 20-year-old son of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, marries 19-year-old Arjumand Banu Begum at a ceremony in Delhi. In 1628, Khurram becomes the Emperor Shah Jahan with Arjumand Begum as his chief consort Mumtaz Mahal. Arjumand dies in 1631 and Khurram later commissions and builds the Taj Mahal in her memory.source
1612July 22 – Four women and one man are hanged following the Northamptonshire witch trials in England.source
1612July 24 – Marcantonio Memmo is elected as the Doge of the Republic of Venice on the first ballot of the Venetian council, winning 38 of the 41 votes. Memmo succeeds the late Doge Leonardo Donato, who died on July 16.source
1612September 2 (August 23 O.S.) – The Lutheran Duchy of Prussia, a fiefdom within Poland, becomes the first Protestant government to follow the Roman Catholic nations in adopting the Gregorian calendar.source
1612Thomas Shelton's English translation of the first half of Don Quixote is published. It is the first translation of the Spanish novel into any language.source
1612The Nagoya Castle is completed in Japan.source
1613February 14 – Elizabeth, daughter of King James I of England, marries Elector Frederick V of the Palatinate.source
1613May 12 – Mikhail Romanov arrives in Moscow to begin his reign as Tsar of Russia, after having been elected on March 3.source
1613October 23 – Gabriel Bethlen is elected as the new Prince of Transylvania.source
1613November 3 – English royal favourite Robert Carr is created 1st Earl of Somerset.source
1613December 26 – The Earl of Somerset marries Frances Howard, following the September 25 annulment of her marriage to Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex; the event is the inspiration for John Donne's Eclogue.source
1613Construction of the Tomb of Akbar the Great was completedIndia source
1614August 23 – The University of Groningen is established in the Dutch Republic.source
1614The Fama Fraternitatis is published, the first of three allegorical Rosicrucian manifestoes in the Holy Roman Empire.source
1614Possible date – John Webster's revenge tragedy The Duchess of Malfi is first performed in public, at the newly-reconstructed Globe Theatre in London.source
1614Dermod O'Meara produces the first book of Latin verse published in Ireland, Ormonius.Ireland source
1615November 22 – Alexandru Movilă is installed as Prince of Moldavia by Poland as Prince Ștefan IX Tomșa is driven from the throne.source
1615November 24 – King Louis XIII of France marries Princess Ana María Mauricia, the 14-year-old daughter of King Philip III of Spain. The two had been legally united in a marriage by proxy on October 18.source
161524 November – Louis XIII marries Anne of AustriaFrance source
1615December 6 – In England, John Winthrop, later governor of the future Massachusetts Bay Colony, marries his second wife (of four), Thomasine Clopton, daughter of William Clopton of Castleins, near Groton, Suffolk.source
161531 December – King Christian IV marries Kirsten Munk.Denmark source
1615The Perse School in Cambridge, England, is founded by Dr Stephen Perse.source
1615The second volume of Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote ("El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha") is published, and is as successful as the first. Don Quixote eventually becomes the only truly famous work its author ever writes.source
1615Wilson's School in Wallington, near London, is founded by Royal Charter.source
1615Act makes parishes responsible for road maintenance, labourers and cottiers to supply six days free labour annually.Ireland source
1615Wedding between Catherine of Sweden, Countess Palatine of Kleeburg and John Casimir, Count Palatine of Kleeburg.Sweden source
1616January 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.source
1616January 3 – In the court of James I of England, the king's favorite George Villiers becomes Master of the Horse (encouraging development of the thoroughbred horse); on April 24 he receives the Order of the Garter; and on August 27 he is created Viscount Villiers and Baron Waddon, receiving a grant of land valued at £80,000. In 1617, he will be made Earl of Buckingham. After the Earl of Pembroke, he is the second richest nobleman in England.source
1616March 19 – The Scornful Lady, a comedy stage play written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, is published.source
1616March 31 – Mughal Emperor Jahangir confers the title of Nur Jahan ('Light of the World') on his 20th wife.source
1616June 12 – Pocahontas (now Rebecca) arrives in England, with her husband, John Rolfe, their one-year-old son, Thomas Rolfe, her half-sister Matachanna (alias Cleopatra) and brother-in-law Tomocomo, the shaman also known as Uttamatomakkin (having set out in May). Ten Powhatan Indians are brought by Sir Thomas Dale, the colonial governor, at the request of the Virginia Company, as a fund-raising device. Dale, having been recalled under criticism, writes A True Relation of the State of Virginia, Left by Sir Thomas Dale, Knight, in May last, 1616, in a successful effort to redeem his leadership. Neither Pocahontas or Dale see Virginia again.source
1616September 15 – The first non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe is opened in Frascati, Italy.source
1616October/November – Ben Jonson's satirical five-act comedy, The Devil is an Ass, is produced at the Blackfriars Theatre in London by the King's Men, poking fun at contemporary credence in witchcraft and Middlesex juries.source
1616November 4 – Prince Charles (15-year-old surviving son of James I of England and Anne of Denmark) is invested as Prince of Wales at Whitehall in London, the last such formal investiture until 1911.source
1616November 6–25 – Ben Jonson's works are published in a collected folio edition (the first of any English playwright).source
16162 December – The Order of the Armed Arm is bestowed for the first and only time, at the great celebrations that took place in Kolding, on the occasion of the enfeoffment of Slesvig to the King's nephew,Denmark source
1616December – In the Middle East, traveller Pietro Della Valle marries Jowaya, daughter of a Nestorian Christian father and an Armenian mother, in Baghdad. The couple then sets off (1617) to find the Shah in Isfahan.source
1616Danish natural philosopher Ole Worm collects materials that will later be incorporated into his museum in Copenhagen. His museum is the nucleus of the University of Copenhagen Zoological Museum.source
1616Oorsprong en voortgang der Nederlandtscher beroerten (Origin and progress of the disturbances in the Netherlands), by Johannes Gysius, is published.source
1616King James's School, Knaresborough in Yorkshire is founded by Dr. Robert Chaloner, and the charter is signed by King James I of England.source
1616Gian Lorenzo Bernini sculpts Bacchanal: A Faun Teased by Children, at the age of 18 years. This work is now in New York, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.source
1616Elizabethan polymath and alchemist Robert Fludd publishes his first book, Apologia Compendiaria, Fraternitatem de Rosea Cruce suspicionis … maculis aspersam, veritatis quasi Fluctibus abluens, which is a defense of the ideas of the Rosicrucians.source
1616Latest probable date of Thomas Middleton composition of The Witch, a tragicomedy that may have entered into the present-day text of Shakespeare's Macbeth.source
1616The Collegium Musicum is founded in Prague.source
1616Week-long festivities in honor of the Prince of Urbano, of the Barberini family, occur in Florence, Italy.source
1616Marie Venier (called Laporte) is the first female actress to appear on the stage in Paris.source
1616Captain John Smith publishes his book A description of New England in London. Smith relates one voyage to the coast of Massachusetts and Maine, in 1614, and an attempted voyage in 1615, when he was captured by French pirates and detained for several months before escaping.source
1616Croatian mathematician Faustus Verantius publishes his book Machinae novae, a book of mechanical and technological inventions, some of which are applicable to the solutions of hydrological problems, and others concern the construction of clepsydras, sundials, mills, presses bridges and boats for widely different uses.source
1616An important English dictionary is published by Dr. John Bullokar with the title An English Expositor: teaching the interpretation of the hardest words used in our language, with sundry explications, descriptions and discourses.source
1616John Cotta writes his influential book The Triall of Witch-craft.source
1616Moralist writer John Deacon publishes a quarto entitled Tobacco Tortured in the Filthy Fumes of Tobacco Refined (supporting the views of James I of England). Deacon writes the same year that syphilis is a "Turkished", "Spanished", or "Frenchized" disease that the English contract by "trafficking with the contagious courruptions."source
1617January 5 – Pocahontas and Tomocomo of the Powhatan Algonquian tribe, in the Virginia colony of America, meet King James I of England as his guests, at the Banqueting House at Whitehall.source
1617January 5 – The Mad Lover, a play by John Fletcher, is given its first performance.source
1617April 19 – The town of Uusikaupunki (Nystad, lit. "New Town") was founded by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.source
1617May 8 – title of Baron Hamilton of Strabane in the County of Tyrone created in the Peerage of Ireland for the 13-year-old James Hamilton, Master of Abercorn.Ireland source
1617May 13 – King James I of England is escorted by the Earl of Home across the border to return to Scotland (where he reigns as King James VI) for the first time since the Union of the Crowns 14 years earlier in 1603. He is given lodging at Home's Dunglass Castle, East Lothian.source
1617August 8 – King James of England and Scotland returns to England after having spent three months in Scotland, arriving at Wharton, Cumbria.source
1617August 24 – The "Fruitbearing Society" (Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft) of German scholars is founded in Weimar.source
1617October 12 – The coronation ceremony of King Gustav Adolf of Sweden takes place in Stockholm, almost six years after he succeeded to the throne.source
1617November 14 – L’Union de la Boîte was founded.France source
1617December 15 – Sir Thomas Roe, a representative of England's East India Company, arrives in Ahmedabad at India's Mughal Empire, and seeks an audience with the Emperor, Shah Jahan. The Emperor receives Roe in an audience three weeks later, on January 6.source
1617The Book of Swindles, a collection of short stories on fraud in the late Ming dynasty, is published.source
1617Giambattista Andreini's play The Penitent Magdalene is published in Mantua.source
1617The De Barry family moves from Barryscourt Castle near Carrigtwohill to Barrymore Castle in Castlelyons.Ireland source
1618January 6 – Ben Jonson's play Pleasure Reconciled to Virtue is given its premiere performance, presented at the Palace of Whitehall in London.source
1618January 28 – Rules are established for the Ōoku, the section of Edo Castle that housed the Shōgun's consort and his concubines.source
1618June 14 – Joris Veseler prints the first Dutch newspaper Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. in Amsterdam (approximate date).source
1618July 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
1618The 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
1618Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet, begins remodelling the Paris residence which becomes the Hôtel de Rambouillet to form a literary salon.France source
1618Jens Juel was appointed Governor-General of Norway.Norway source
1618Circa 1618 – Administrative reform: Oxenstierna reorganizes the Kammarkollegiet into a multi-departmental institution, a model for modern Swedish bureaucracy.Sweden source
16196 April – A royal decree states that everybody who builds a "good house" in Christianshavn will get a deed on the lots and several years of tax discounts.Denmark source
1619June 21 – Dulwich College founded by Edward Alleyn, in Dulwich, London.source
1619September 9 – The coronation of Ferdinand II takes place in Vienna.source
1619November 16 – William Parker School, Hastings, England, is founded by the will of Reverend William Parker.source
1619Dermod O'Meara's text on genetic disorders, De Moribus: Pathologia Haereditaria Generalis is published in Dublin, the first work in Latin and the first medical text published in Ireland.Ireland source
1620May 17 – The first merry-go-round is seen at a fair in Philippapolis, Turkey.source
1620September 7 – The Finnish town of Kokkola (Karleby) is founded by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.source
162013 October – the Blundell Baronetcy is created in the Baronetage of Ireland in favour of Francis Blundell, Vice-Treasurer and Receiver-General of Ireland.Ireland source
162010 November – the Parsons Baronetcy, of Bellamont in the County of Dublin, is created in the Baronetage of Ireland in favour of William Parsons, Surveyor General of Ireland.Ireland source
1620November 25 – The wedding of Gustav II Adolf and Maria Eleonora takes place in Sweden.source
162025 November - Wedding of Gustav II Adolf and Maria EleonoraSweden source
1620Francis Bacon publishes the Novum Organum (beyond Aristotle's Organon) on logical thinking. 1.source
1621October 9 (September 29 O.S.) – The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony and Wampanoags celebrate a harvest feast (three days), later regarded as the First Thanksgiving, noted for the temporary peace between the English and the local Indians. The celebration is believed by later historians to have coincided with Michaelmas, observed on September 29 by the Anglican Communion on the calendar used in England at the time.source
162110 year old Jai Singh I ascends to the throne as the Raja of Amber and the head of the Kachwaha RajputsIndia source
16226 January (probably) – the Banqueting House, Whitehall, is opened with a performance of Ben Jonson's The Masque of Augurs designed by the building's architect, Inigo Jones.England source
1622January – The Courtenay Baronetcy of Newcastle, County Limerick, is created for George Courtenay.Ireland source
16223 May – The Montgomery Viscountcy of the Great Ards in the Peerage of Ireland is created for Hugh Montgomery.Ireland source
1622Christian IV invites Jews to settle in Denmark.Denmark source
1622Christian IV establishes a new deer park at present-day Charlottenlund Palace, which was to replace Rosenborg Deer Park at Rosenborg Castle just outside Copenhagen.Denmark source
1622Francis Bacon publishes his History of the Reign of King Henry VIIEngland source
1623February 4 – the Talbot Baronetcy, of Carton in the County of Kildare, is created in the Baronetage of Ireland for the lawyer and politician William Talbot.Ireland source
1623February 21 – the Barnewall Baronetcy, of Crickstown Castle in the County of Meath, is created in the Baronetage of Ireland for Patrick Barnewall.Ireland source
1623March 7 – Charles, Prince of Wales, the future King Charles I of England, travelling incognito with royal favourite George Villiers, arrives in Madrid to pursue negotiations over the "Spanish match", the Protestant Charles's proposed marriage with the Catholic Habsburg Infanta Maria Anna of Spain.source
1623June 29 – Première of Pedro Calderón de la Barca's first play, Amor, honor y poder (Love, Honor and Power), at the Court of Habsburg Spain.source
1623July 30 (probable date) – The second Thanksgiving is celebrated in Plymouth Colony.source
1623July - Discovery of silver in Buskerud. Led to the founding of Kongsberg and the Kongsberg Silver Mines in 1624.Norway source
1623August 30 – Negotiations, resumed in March, of the planned "Spanish match" break down. On October 5, Prince Charles returns to England from Spain without a bride.source
1623November 8–December 5 – Publication between these dates in London of the "First Folio" (Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies), a collection of 36 of the plays of Shakespeare, half of which have not previously been printed.source
1623Johannes Rudbeck founds Rudbeckianska gymnasiet, the first gymnasium in Sweden.source
1623Imprisoned Italian Dominican philosopher Tommaso Campanella's utopian The City of the Sun is published in Latin (as Civitas Solis) in Frankfurt.source
1623Italian poet Giambattista Marini's epic L'Adone is published in Paris.source
1624February 11 – Yi Gwal installs Prince Heungan, son of the late King Seongjo, to the Korean throne.source
1624April 13 – Garcia Mvemba a Nkanga is enthroned as King Garcia I of the southern African nation of Kongo (now in Angola), upon the death of his father, King Pedro II.source
1624April 15 – The University of Saint Francis Xavier is founded in Bolivia.source
1624September 13 – the Style Baronetcy is created in the Baronetage of Ireland in favour of Humphry Style.Ireland source
1624September 19 – Michael I, the Tsar of Russia, is married at Moscow, making Maria Dolgorukova the Tsaritsa. Maria becomes ill shortly afterward and dies five months after the marriage, on January 17.source
1624December 24 – Royal Danish Mail is founded.Denmark source
1624December 31 – the title of Baron Herbert of Castle Island is created in the Peerage of Ireland in favour of Anglo-Welsh soldier, diplomat and poet Edward Herbert.Ireland source
1624Frans Hals produces the painting later known as the Laughing Cavalier.source
1625February 3 – Francesca Caccini's opera La liberazione di Ruggiero has its premiere, stated in Florence in Italy. The opera will continue to be staged almost 400 years later, as late as the year 2018.source
1625March 27 – Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland succeeds to the throne on the death of his father, King James VI and I.source
1625March 27 – Charles I becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland upon the death of his father James I.Ireland source
1625April 4 – Frederick Henry of Nassau marries Amalia, Countess von Solms-Braunfels.source
1625June 13 – King Charles I of England marries Catholic princess Henrietta Maria of France and Navarre, at Canterbury.source
1626February 2 – King Charles I of England is crowned, but without his wife, Henrietta Maria, who declines to participate in a non-Catholic ceremony.source
1626July 27 – George II becomes the new Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt upon the death of his father, Louis V.source
16265 August: Gaston, Duke of Orléans marries Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of MontpensierFrance source
162723 May – the office of Second Serjeant-at-law at the Irish Bar is created, the first holder being Nathaniel Catelyn.Ireland source
1627September 12 – Mohammed Adil Shah begins his reign as the new Sultan of Bijapur in south India, after the death of his father, Ibrahim Adil Shah II.source
1627October 2 – The Tianqi Emperor's 16-year-old brother, Zhu Youjian, is enthroned as the Chongzhen Emperor.source
1627December 18 – La selva sin amor (The Forest without Love), written by Lope de Vega and with music by Alessandro Piccinini, premieres as the first Spanish opera.source
1627The title Earl of Meath is created in the Peerage of Ireland. Since its creation the title has remained in the Brabazon family.Ireland source
1628February 5 – The Chongzhen Era begins in Ming dynasty China after the October 2 ascension of Zhu Youjian, the Chongzhen Emperor, on the first day of the Chinese New Year, and the Tianqi era formally ends.source
1628February 14 – The coronation of Shah Jahan as ruler of the Mughal Empire takes place in Agra.source
162818 June – Albert de Ligne, Prince of Barbançon, invested as a Knight of the Golden Fleece.Belgium source
162810 July – Royal proclamation on the licensing of taverns and hostelries in the Duchy of Brabant, and the prosecution of crimes of violence taking place in them.Belgium source
16283 November – Royal proclamation prohibiting markets and fairs on Sundays and holy days in the Duchy of LuxembourgBelgium source
1628December 12 – At the age of 15, Chetthathirat is crowned as the new King of Thailand upon the death of his father, Intharacha III. Prince Chetthathirat takes the regnal name of Borommaracha II and is killed less than a year later.source
1628The Collegiate School, the oldest surviving educational institution in the United States, is established.source
1628William Harvey publishes Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus in Frankfurt, containing his findings about blood circulation.source
1628The Livrustkammaren is founded.Sweden source
1628Christian Thum appointed director of the royal court theater.Sweden source
162929 October – Public celebrations ordered for the birth (on 17 October) of Balthasar CharlesBelgium source
1630May 20 – The Swedish National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet) is created, with Johannes Bureus as its first director. The Board is still in existence almost 400 years later.source
1630October 17 – Empress Meishō's Coronation takes place.source
1630Johann Heinrich Alsted's Encyclopaedia septem tomis distincta is published.source
16319 January – The masque Love's Triumph Through Callipolis, written by Ben Jonson with music by Nicholas Lanier and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace.England source
163111 January – The Master of the Revels refuses to license Philip Massinger's new play, Believe as You List, because of its seditious content; it is first performed in a revised version on 7 May.England source
1631February 16 – The Reval Gymnasium is founded in Tallinn, Estonia, by Swedish king Gustavus II Adolphus.source
1631February 16 – Gustav Adolf Secondary School is founded in Tallinn, Estonia by the king.Sweden source
1631March 28 – the Morres Baronetcy, of Knockagh in the County of Tipperary, is created in the Baronetage of Ireland in favour of John Morres.Ireland source
1631May 30 – Gazette de France, the first weekly French newspaper, is published.source
163130 May – La Gazette, the first French newspaper, is founded by Théophraste Renaudot.France source
163111 August – Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia arrives in Mons to welcome Marie de' Medici.Belgium source
1631Thomas Hobbes is employed as a tutor by the Cavendish family, to teach the future Earl of Devonshire.England source
1632January 8 – University of Amsterdam is established at the site of the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam.source
1632February 22 – Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published in Florence.source
1632June 15 – Sir Francis Windebank is made chief Secretary of State in England.source
1632June 30 – The University of Tartu is founded.source
163230 July – The Infanta summons the Estates General, to meet on 7 September.Belgium source
1632July – portraitist Anthony van Dyck, newly returned to London, is knighted and granted a pension as principalle Paynter in ordinary to their majesties.England source
16327 September – Estates General convene what will be their last session (dissolved in 1634).Belgium source
1632September 25 – Yakutsk, Russia is founded by Pyotr Beketov.source
1632October 15 – The University of Tartu officially opens, in Swedish Livonia.source
1632October 15 – Official opening of the University of Tartu in Swedish Livonia.Sweden source
163217 October – the court of Star Chamber prohibits all "news books" because of complaints from Spanish and Austrian diplomats that coverage in England of the Thirty Years' War is unfair.England source
1632November 8 – Wladyslaw IV Waza is elected king of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, after Sigismund III Vasa's death.source
16327 December – Delegates of the Estates General received in The Hague.Belgium source
1632Peter Lombard's De Regno Hiberniae sanctorum insula commentarius is published at Louvain.Ireland source
1632Foundation of the Rudbeckii flickskola, the first school for girls.Sweden source
16331 August – Exeter School is founded in Devon.England source
1633August 22 – First of the published weekly conferences on subjects of interest arranged by Théophraste Renaudot in Paris.France source
163318 October – Charles I reissues the Declaration of Sports, which had originated during his father's reign, listing the sports and recreations permitted on Sundays and other holy days.England source
1633A professorship in Arabic studies is founded at the University of Cambridge in England.source
1633St Paul's, Covent Garden, designed by Inigo Jones in 1631 overlooking his piazza, opens to worship, the first wholly new parish church built in London since the English Reformation.England source
1633Earliest surviving edition of the Christopher Marlowe play The Jew of Malta published, around 40 years after its first performance.England source
1633Foundation of the Allmänna Barnhuset.Sweden source
163422 January – William Davenant's comedy The Wits first performed by the King's Men at the Blackfriars TheatreEngland source
1634February 24 – By this date, the Paulaner Brewery is established in Munich, by Minim friars.source
1634March 25 – Leonard Calvert arrives in Maryland, with Jesuit missionaries Andrew White, John Altham Gravenor, and Thomas Gervase, establishing St. Mary's as the fourth permanent settlement in British North America. In this year they also establish an institution of higher learning here, which later becomes Georgetown University, the United States's oldest university.source
1634April – The first performance of the Oberammergau Passion Play is held in Bavaria.source
16345 May – A royal proclamation confines flying of the Union Flag (the first recorded reference to it by this name) to the king's ships; English merchant vessels are to fly the flag of England.England source
16345 July – Estates General, in session since 7 September 1632, disbanded by order of Philip IV of Spain.Belgium source
16345 October – The grand wedding of Christian, Prince-Elect of Denmark and Magdalene Sibylle of Saxony is celebrated in Copenhagen.Denmark source
16344 November – Joyous Entry into Brussels of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria as new governor general.Belgium source
1634Moses Amyraut's Traité de la predestination is published.source
1634First Théâtre du Marais opens in Paris.France source
1634Foras Feasa ar Éirinn (literally "Foundation of Knowledge on Ireland", more usually translated "History of Ireland") is completed by Geoffrey Keating in Early Modern Irish. This history of Ireland from ancient times is circulated in manuscript as the English rulers of the country suppress the printing of Irish history.Ireland source
1634Termini Juridici, the first Norwegian dictionary by Chancellor Jens Bjelke, is first published.Norway source
163528 January – Joyous entry into Ghent of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria as new governor general, Gaspar de Crayer playing a key role in the monumental decorations.Belgium source
1635February 22 – The Académie française in Paris is formally constituted, as the national academy for the preservation of the French language.source
1635April 14 – English adventurer John Clavell, practising as a doctor in Ireland at this time, marries a young Dublin heiress.Ireland source
163517 April – Joyous entry into Antwerp of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria as new governor general, Gaspar Gevartius co-ordinating the reception and Peter Paul Rubens playing a key role in the monumental decorations.Belgium source
1635April 23 – Boston Latin School, the oldest school in what will become the United States of America, is founded in Boston, Massachusetts.source
1635August 16 – a Galway jury refuses to find the king's title to land, juries in counties Roscommon, Sligo and Mayo having found for the king during the previous month.Ireland source
1635Nagyszombat University (predecessor of Budapest University) is established.source
1635Peter Paul Rubens paints the ceiling of the Banqueting House, Whitehall.England source
1635The stage tragedy Hannibal and Scipio by Thomas Nabbes is first performed by Queen Henrietta's MenEngland source
1636January 18 – The Duke's Mistress, the last play by James Shirley, is given its first performance.source
16363 March – A "great charter" to the University of Oxford establishes the Oxford University Press as the second of the privileged presses.England source
1636March 13 (March 3 Old Style) – A "great charter" to the University of Oxford establishes the Oxford University Press, as the second of the privileged presses in England.source
1636March 26 – Utrecht University is founded in the Dutch Republic.source
1636May – London playwright James Shirley moves to work for four years under John Ogilby at the new Werburgh Street Theatre in Dublin, the first in Ireland.Ireland source
1636July 30 – In France, Cardinal Richelieu persuades King Louis XIII to issue an ordonnance excusing the French nobility from military service if they pay a tax which allows the hiring of paid cavalry.source
16365 August – Crossing of the SommeFrance source
16368 September – New College founded at the English colony of Massachusetts; later renamed 'Harvard'.England source
1636September 18 (September 8 Old Style) – A vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony establishes New College (Harvard University), as the first college founded in the United States.source
1636October 28 – Harvard University was founded.source
1637January 5 – Pierre Corneille's tragicomedy Le Cid is first performed, in Paris, France.source
1637March 6 – The world's first opera house, Teatro San Cassiano, opens in Venice with the premiere of L'Andromeda, with music by Francesco Manelli and libretto by Benedetto Ferrari.source
16379 April – Charles IV and Béatrix de Cusance marry, just nine days after the death of her first husband. On 23 August the couple have their first child, Francis de Lorraine, who dies in infancy.France source
1637May – Chinese encyclopedist Song Yingxing publishes his Tiangong Kaiwu ("Exploitation of the Works of Nature"), considered one of the most valuable encyclopedias of classical China.source
1637July 25 – Christopher Wandesford acquires an estate at Castlecomer, County Kilkenny.Ireland source
1637November 18 – The coronation as the new Holy Roman Emperor of Ferdinand III, Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, takes place in Vienna.source
1637December 22 – a charter incorporates the guild of goldsmiths in Dublin and the Dublin Assay Office is established.Ireland source
1637Richard Norwood's book The Seaman's Practice is published for the first time.source
16381 January – James Shirley's comedy The Royal Master is premiered at the Werburgh Street Theatre, Dublin.Ireland source
1638November 24 – New Haven, the first planned city in America, is founded when local Indians make a deed of Quinnipiac to Theophilus Eaton and other English settlers.source
1638John Milton's elegy "Lycidas" is published.England source
1638The Queen's House at Greenwich, designed by Inigo Jones in 1616 as the first major example of classical architecture in the country, is completed for Henrietta Maria.England source
1639February 14 – Writers Jacques Esprit François de La Mothe Le Vayer are elected to the Académie française.France source
1639February 17 – Ballet de cour staged at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on the theme of the happy birth last year of the Dauphin.France source
1639March 13 – Harvard University is named for clergyman John Harvard.source
1639August 22 – The British East India Company buys a strip of land from King Peda Venkata Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire for the construction of Fort St. George, the first settlement of British India, so founding modern-day Chennai, capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu (celebrated as Madras Day).source
1639September 27 – Cardinal Richelieu has an equestrian statue of Louis XIII (sculpted by Pierre Biard le jeune with the horse by Daniele da Volterra) erected in the Place royale in Paris.France source
1639December 22 – Birth at La Ferté-Milon of dramatist Jean Racine.France source
1639c. January – The first printing press in British North America is started in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by Stephen Daye.source
1639Before December 22 – Georges de La Tour becomes painter in ordinary to the king.France source
164017 March (Saint Patrick's Day) – Henry Burnell's play Landgartha premieres at the Werburgh Street Theatre in Dublin. It is one of the earliest dramatic works from a native Irish playwright.Ireland source
1640The first book to be printed in North America (the Bay Psalm Book) is published.source
1640Introduction of the Louis d'orFrance source
1640James Shirley's play Saint Patrick for Ireland is published. The author returns to England around 16 April.Ireland source
1640Foundation of the University of Helsinki in the Swedish province of Finland.Sweden source
1640The first theater in Stockholm, Björngårdsteatern, is opened by Christian Thum.Sweden source
16412 May – Mary, Princess Royal, 9 year-old eldest daughter of the King, marries 14-year old William II of Orange in the Chapel Royal of Whitehall Palace in London.England source
1641Moses Amyraut's De l'elevation de la foy et de l'abaissement de la raison en la creance des mysteres de la religion is published.source
1641Corfitz Ulfeldt is appointed as Steward of the Realm.Denmark source
1641A chalice created by Klaus Christensen (Odense) is presented to Viby Church by Knud Ulfeld til Urup (1600-46) in commemoration of his wife Anne Lykke of Hverringe (1595-1641).Denmark source
1641A new set of statues for the University of Copenhagen are issued.Denmark source
1641Hans Ulrik Gyldenløve is appointed as lensmand [bailiff] of the three castles, the Kronborg, Frederiksborg and Abrahamstrup (now the Jægerspris Castle).Denmark source
1642February 22 – The Italian opera Il palazzo incantato (The Enchanted Palace), by Luigi Rossi with libretto by Giulion Rospigliosi (the future Pope Clement IX), is given its first performance at the Teatro delle Quattro Fontane (Palazzo Barberini) in Rome.source
1642February 23–March 11 – Henrietta Maria, queen consort of England, and her eldest daughter Mary, newly created Princess Royal, leave Falmouth, Cornwall, to go into exile at the Dutch court in The Hague.source
164223 February–11 March – Queen Henrietta Maria and her eldest daughter Mary leave Falmouth, Cornwall, to go into exile at the Dutch court in The Hague. Just before she leaves, Mary becomes the first child of an English Sovereign to be granted the title Princess Royal.England source
1642The Rundetaarn in Copenhagen was completed.Denmark source
1642The angel is last minted this year.England source
16431 October – The wedding of Crown Prince Frederick (III) and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Calenberg takes place at Castle Glücksburg.Denmark source
1643The first professional book publisher to use printing press in Norway is established in Oslo.source
1643Miyamoto Musashi begins to dictate The Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho) to his student; he will complete it in 1645, just before his death.source
1643Jean Bolland publishes the first two volumes of the Acta Sanctorum (in Antwerp). This is the beginning of the Bollandists' work.source
1643Roger Williams, co-founder of Rhode Island, publishes A Key into the Language of America.source
1643The first professional book publisher to use printing press in Norway is established in Christiania.Norway source
1644February 8 – Li Zicheng declares the founding of the Shun dynasty in China, with himself as emperor.source
1644November 23 – Areopagitica, an appeal for freedom of speech written by John Milton, is published in London.source
164423 November – John Milton's Areopagitica, an appeal for freedom of speech, is published in London.England source
1644December 8 (December 18 New Style) – As Christina comes of age, she is made ruling queen of Sweden.source
1644Philosopher René Descartes publishes Principia Philosophiae (Principles of Philosophy) in Amsterdam.source
1644The opera Ormindo is first performed in Venice (music by Francesco Cavalli, and libretto by Giovanni Faustini).source
1644Sigismund'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
1644the Domus Anatomica anatomical theatre is completed.Denmark source
1644A 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.Sweden source
164515 February – English Civil War: New Model Army officially founded.England source
1645July 23 – Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich of Russia comes to the throne.source
164525 December – Christmas, being omitted from the Directory of Public Worship is not officially observed under Parliamentarian rule.England source
1645The Roxbury Latin School is founded.source
1645Stephanius publishes Saxonis Grammatici Historiæ Danicæ Libri XVI, a Latin edition of Saxo Grammaticus's Gesta Danorum.Denmark source
1645Francois Morneau married Marie Mornet - 1645France source
1645John Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae is published in Leuven.Ireland source
1646January 21 – Philip Sidney, 3rd Earl of Leicester is approved by England's House of Commons as the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.source
16463 March – the title of Earl of Leinster in the Peerage of Ireland is created for Robert Cholmondeley.Ireland source
1646March – Nicolas de Neufville is made governor of the young Louis XIV by the queen-motherFrance source
1646July 7 – The populist political movement called the Levellers appears in England with the publication of the Levellers manifesto, A Remonstrance of Many Thousand Citizens by Richard Overton and William Walwyn.source
16467 July – Levellers William Walwyn and Richard Overton publish Remonstrance of Many Thousand Citizens calling for the abolition of the monarchy.England source
1646August Philipp, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck becomes Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck.Denmark source
1646September 16 – The new Orange College of Breda opens at Breda in the Dutch Republic.source
164620 October – Nicolas de Neufville is promoted to marshal of FranceFrance source
1646December 7 – Countess Louise Henriette of Nassau marries Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, on her 19th birthday at The Hague.source
164624 December — Prince of Gui Zhu Youlang established the Yongli (永曆) regime in the same vicinity.China source
164625 December – scuffles in Bury St Edmunds over the celebration of Christmas.England source
1646Coustumes generales du Pays by Bertrand d'Argentré (1519–1590) is published by Nicolas BuonFrance source
1647January 17 – Posten Norge is founded as Postvesenet.source
1647March 25 – In an incident that attracted attention, an orphan, Elisabett Månsdåtter, leads sixteen orphans from the Allmänna Barnhuset up to the royal palace, where she successfully demands to be given an audience with queen Christina and states in a complaint, that the children in the orphanage had been forced to beg on the streets to be given anything to eat.Sweden source
1647June 8 – The Puritan rulers of England's Long Parliament pass the "Ordinance for abolishing all Holidays, and appointing other Days for Sports and Recreations for Scholars, Apprentices, and Servants, in their Room", confirming abolition of the feasts of Christmas, Easter and Whitsun, though making the second Tuesday in each month a secular holiday. The Act declares "Forasmuch as the Feasts of the Nativity of Christ, Easter, and Whitsuntide, and other Festivals, commonly called Holidays, have heretofore been superstitiously used and observed; be it ordained, That the said Feasts and Festivals be no loner observed within England and Wales."source
1647June 16 – Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans, is crowned as the King of Hungary and Croatia at Pressburg, now the Slovakian capital of Bratislavasource
1647June – the Long Parliament passes an ordinance confirming abolition of the feasts of Christmas, Easter and Whitsun, though making the second Tuesday in each month a secular holiday.England source
164715 July – the King is allowed (at the request of Fairfax) to meet his children (James, Duke of York, Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester, and Princess Elizabeth) for what will be the last time, at the Greyhound Inn, Maidenhead.England source
1647The group portrait painting of Ole Worm and his family is completed.Denmark source
1648January 15 – Alexis, Tsar of Russia, marries Maria Miloslavskaya, who later gives birth to two future tsars (Feodor III and Ivan V) as well as Princess Sophia Alekseyevna, the regent for Peter I.source
16486 July – Frederick III signs his håndfæstning, which is the most restrictive of its kind to date.Denmark source
16486 July - Prince Frederick was accepted as his father's successor, and became king of both Denmark and Norway, as King Frederick III.Norway source
1648September – Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin welcomes the Marquis of Ormond when he returns to Ireland.Ireland source
164823 November – Coronation of Frederick III.Denmark source
164824 November – Coronation of Queen Sophie Amalie. By that time, the triumphal arch has already been dismantled, giving rise to various speculations and rumors, particularly relating to Corfitz Ulfeldt and his party.Denmark source
1648Sabbatai Zevi declares himself the Messiah at Smyrna.source
1648The epic poem Padmavati is written by Alaol.source
1648Giacomo Carissimi composes Historia di Jephte, one of the first significant Latin oratorios.source
16499 February – Eikon Basilike: the Pourtrature of His Sacred Majestie in His Solitudes and Sufferings, purporting to be the spiritual autobiography of Charles I, is published.England source
1649March 15 – The city of Lappeenranta (Villmanstrand) is founded by Queen Christina of Sweden.source
1649August 8 – Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh completes Book VIII of Leabhar na nGenealach, in Galway, within days of an outbreak of the plague.source
1649October – John Milton's Eikonoklastes: in Answer to a Book Intitl'd Eikon Basilike, a defence of the execution of Charles I, is published.England source
1649Dutch artist Frans Hals paints a portrait of René Descartes.source
1649Sale and breaking up of the crown jewels of England under terms of the Act for the Sale of the Goods and Personal Estate of the Late King, Queen and Prince begins.England source
1649Långholmens spinnhus is founded.Sweden source
1650February 1 – The French verse play Andromède, commissioned by Cardinal Mazarin, written by Pierre Corneille and with elaborate sets designed by Giacomo Torelli, premieres before the royal family at the Théâtre Royal de Bourbon.source
1650June 9 – The Harvard Corporation, the more powerful of the two administrative boards of Harvard, is established (the first legal corporation in the Americas).source
1650June 23 – Claimant King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland arrives in Scotland (at Garmouth), the only one of the three kingdoms that has accepted him as ruler.source
1650July 1 – Einkommende Zeitungen, the first daily printed newspaper, begins publication in Leipzig (ceases 1918).source
1650October 20 – Christina, Queen of Sweden, who has been the legal ruler of Sweden for almost 18 years, has an elaborate coronation ceremony at the castle of Jacobsdal near Stockholm. The coronation had originally been planned for her 18th birthday in 1644 but was delayed by a war with Denmark-Norway.source
1650The first modern Palio di Siena horserace is held in Italy.source
1650William How publishes his flora Phytologia Britannica.England source
1650Andrew Marvell writes An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland.Ireland source
1651January 1 – Charles II is crowned King of Scots at Scone (his first crowning).source
16511 January – Charles II is crowned King of Scotland at Scone.England source
16513 February – Muggletonianism inaugurated.England source
1651March 15 – Prince Aisin Gioro Fulin attains the age of 13 and becomes the Shunzhi Emperor of China, which had been governed by a regency since the death of his father Hong Taiji in 1643.source
1651April 25 – Thomas Hobbes publishes his magnum opus, the political tract Leviathan, in England.source
1651May - Hannibal Sehested was sentenced to resigning as Governor-General of Norway and surrendering all his private property in Norway to the crown.Norway source
165129 July - Gregers Krabbe was appointed Governor-General of Norway.Norway source
165124 November – City of Liège issues regulations on hunting, fishing, and keeping pigeonsBelgium source
1651Kunstkammeret ("Royal Art Cabinet") is mentioned for the first time.Denmark source
1651The Lycée Stendhal was foundedFrance source
1651Château de Maisons was completedFrance source
1652June 13 – George Fox preaches to a large crowd on Firbank Fell in England, leading to the establishment of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).source
165213 June – George Fox preaches to a large crowd on Firbank Fell in Westmorland, leading to the establishment of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).England source
1652Theodoor van Thulden, Harmony and MarriageBelgium source
1652David Teniers the Younger, Flemish KermessBelgium source
1652Jan van den Hecke, Still Life of Parrot Tulips, Roses, Carnations, Morning Glory and Other Flowers in a Silver Dish on a Stone PedestalBelgium source
1652Lorentz Jørgensen completes the altarpiece in St. Nicholas' Church in Køge.Denmark source
1652Gerard Boate's Natural History of Ireland is published posthumously.Ireland source
1652Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie becomes Lord High TreasurerSweden source
165327 May – Discovery of the tomb of Childeric I near TournaiBelgium source
1653October 25 – Erdeni Bumba, the wife and chief consort of China's Shunzhi Emperor, is demoted from being the empress to being a concubine.source
1653November 16 – The Krishnanattam, a series of eight dance dramas written by Mana Veda, Zamorin of Calicut in India to tell the epic of the Hindu god Krishna, is completed.source
1653The gardens surrounding the Taj Mahal mausoleum are completed at Agra.source
1653Jacob Jordaens, The Banquet of CleopatraBelgium source
1653Jørgen Ringnis completes the altarpiece for Nørre Alslev Church.Denmark source
1653Madeleine de Scudéry and her friend, the lutenist Mlle Bocquet, launch a salon.France source
1653Blaise Pascal publishes his Traité du triangle arithmétique in which he describes Pascal's triangle; and his Traités de l’équilibre des liqueurs in which he explains Pascal's law.France source
1653Queen Kristina establishes the Amaranthe Order in Stockholm.Sweden source
1654January 6 – In India, Jaswant Singh of Marwar (in the modern-day state of Rajasthan) is elevated to the title of Maharaja by Emperor Shah Jahan.source
1654June 3 – Louis XIV of France is crowned at Reims.source
165424 October - The wedding between Charles X Gustav and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp.Sweden source
1654William Edmondson establishes what is probably the first Quaker Meeting in Ireland at his house in Lurgan.Ireland source
1655February 16 – Dutch Grand Pensionary advisor Johan de Witt marries Wendela Bicker.source
1655June 13 – Adriana Nooseman-van de Bergh becomes the first actress, in Amsterdam theater.source
1655November 24 – English Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell announces measures against the Laudian party, which are enforced starting on January 1.source
1655The Bibliotheca Thysiana is erected, the only surviving 17th century example in the Netherlands, of a building designed as a library.source
1656February 23 – London's Lord Mayor Christopher Packe suggests to Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector and chief executive of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, that the monarchy should be restored with Cromwell as its King. Cromwell declines to become King Oliver, but his right to name his successor becomes effective on May 25, 1657 with the commencement of the Humble Petition and Advice.source
165627 February - The first Lindesnes Lighthouse was established on the Lindesnes peninsula, it was the first lighthouse in Norway.Norway source
165611 May – John of Austria the Younger enters Brussels as Governor General.Belgium source
1656May – first performance of The Siege of Rhodes, Part I, by Sir William Davenant (with music by Henry Lawes, Matthew Locke, Captain Cooke and others) the first English opera (under the guise of a recitative), in a private theatre at his home, Rutland House, in the City of London. This also includes the innovative use of painted backdrops and the appearance of England's first professional actress, Mrs. Coleman.England source
1656June 15 – Bertuccio Valier is elected as the new Doge of the Venetian Republic in Venice.source
1656September 15 – Köprülü Mehmed Pasha becomes Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.source
1656Physician Samuel Stockhausen of the metal mining town of Goslar, Lower Saxony publishes his Libellus de lithargyrii fumo noxio morbifico, ejusque metallico frequentiori morbo vulgò dicto die Hütten Katze oder Hütten Rauch ("Treatise on the Noxious Fumes of Litharge, Diseases caused by them and Miners' Asthma"), a pioneering study of occupational disease.source
1656Adams' Grammar School at Newport, Shropshire, England is founded by William Adams.source
1656St. James' Church, Antwerp completedBelgium source
1656Cromwell and his Privy Council issue an order for the founding of Durham College.England source
1656Adams' Grammar School is founded in Newport, Shropshire by London haberdasher William Adams, a native of the town.England source
1656Niels Trolle is appointed Steward of Norway.Norway source
16574 February – resettlement of the Jews in England: Oliver Cromwell gives Antonio Fernandez Carvajal the assurance of the right of Jews to remain in England. This year the country's first Jewish cemetery in modern times is opened in London.England source
1657February 23 – In England, the Humble Petition and Advice offers Lord Protector Cromwell the crown.source
165723 February – Oliver Cromwell is offered the Crown by the Humble Petition and Advice.England source
165726 June – Cromwell is installed as Lord Protector for the second time at a ceremony at Westminster.England source
1657Christiaan Huygens writes the first book to be published on probability theory, De ratiociniis in ludo aleae ("On Reasoning in Games of Chance").source
1657Thomas Middleton's tragedy Women Beware Women (c. 1623–24) is published posthumously in London.source
1657The Accademia del Cimento is founded in Florence, Italy.source
1657Andreas Gryphius' drama Katharina von Georgien is published in Breslau.source
1658April 16 – In Skåneland, a region recently ceded by Denmark to the Swedish Empire, representatives of the nobility of the provinces of Blekinge, Halland and Scania gather at the Scanian city of Malmö to swear their allegiance to King Charles X Gustav of Sweden.source
1658August 1 – The coronation of Leopold I takes place in Frankfurt.source
165830 August – The Royal Life Guards on foot is founded.Denmark source
1658David Teniers the Younger designs the frontispiece of Theatrum Pictorium (published 1660)Belgium source
1659January 24 – Pierre Corneille's Oedipe premieres in Paris.source
1659March 1 – In exile in the Netherlands while plotting the restoration of the monarchy to England, Scotland and Ireland, Charles, son of the late King Charles I appoints seven royalists (including six from the "Sealed Knot" group) to a "Great Trust and Commission" to make plans for a post-restoration government. The Great Trust is led by Charles's trusted advisor, Edward Hyde.source
1659July 16 – Princess Henriette Catherine of Nassau marries John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, in Groningen.source
1659September 30 – Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherland forbids tennis playing during religious services, marking the first mention of tennis in what will become the United States.source
1659Diego Velázquez's portrait of Infanta Maria Theresa is first exhibited.source
1659Peter Swink, the first known non-white settler to own land in Massachusetts, and first known African to live in Springfield, Massachusetts, arrives. He holds a seat in the town meetings.source
1660February 13 – Charles XI becomes king of Sweden at the age of five, upon the death of his father, Charles X Gustavus.source
166013 February - Charles XI of Sweden succeeds Charles X Gustav of Sweden under a regency headed by his mother Queen Dowager Hedvig Eleonora.Sweden source
1660February – John Rhodes reopens the old Cockpit Theatre in London, forms a company of young actors and begins to stage plays. His production of Pericles will be the first Shakespearean performance of the Restoration era; Thomas Betterton makes his stage debut in the title role.England source
1660April 2 – The Merces baronets, a British nobility title is created.source
1660April 23 – Charles II becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland.Ireland source
1660May 29 – King Charles II of England arrives in London and assumes the throne, marking the beginning of the English Restoration.source
1660June – George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, one of the principal architects of Charles II's Restoration, is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, although represented by deputies.Ireland source
166017 October – Extensive celebrations pay homage to the new Heraldry King.Denmark source
1660November 28 – At Gresham College in London, twelve men, including Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, and Sir Robert Moray meet after a lecture by Wren, and decide to found "a College for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematicall Experimentall Learning" (later known as the Royal Society).source
166028 November – at Gresham College, twelve men, including Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, and Robert Moray, meet after a lecture by Wren and decide to found "a College for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematicall Experimentall Learning" (later known as the Royal Society).England source
1660December 8 – The first English actress appears on the professional stage in England in a non-singing role, as Desdemona in Othello at Vere Street Theatre in London, following the reopening of the theatres (various opinions have been advanced that the actress was Margaret Hughes, Anne Marshall or Katherine Corey). Historian Elizabeth Howe notes, however, that both William Davenant and Thomas Killigrew had women in their acting companies before 1660, and that Anne Marshall might be just one of the first rather than the actual first.source
16608 December – first English actress to appear on the professional stage in a non-singing role, as Desdemona in Othello; variously considered to be Margaret Hughes, Anne Marshall or Katherine Corey.England source
1660Hopkins School is founded in New Haven, Connecticut.source
1660Former Queen Christina visits Sweden and unsuccessfully claims the throne.Sweden source
1661January – The Royal Horse Guards is founded. It is discontinued in 1866.Denmark source
1661March 28 - Erik Dahlbergh receives royal privilege to compose the series of illustrations titled Suecia antiqua et hodierna.Sweden source
1661June 1 – At Edinburgh, the public execution of Presbyterian minister James Guthrie, followed by Captain William Govan, takes place at the Mercat Cross at Parliament Square, days after both have been convicted of treason for their roles in the execution of King Charles I. The heads are severed from the corpses and displayed on spikes in the square.source
166123 June – Bombay is given to Charles II of England as the marriage portion of Catherine of Portugal.India source
166124 June – The Coat of arms of Copenhagen is granted to the city by the king in appraisal of its citizens' efforts in repelling the Swedish siege and attack on the city the previous year. An accompanying royal letter of privilege also introduced various privileges which, however remained of relatively minor importance. The city is also granted the fief Roskilde (Bidstrup estate).* September – Corfitz Ulfeldt and Leonora Christina are released from their imprisonment at Hammershus on the island of Bornholm.Denmark source
166128 June – Lisle's Tennis Court in Lincoln's Inn Fields, London is opened as a playhouse.England source
16611 October – a yacht race from Greenwich to Gravesend between King Charles and James, Duke of York makes the sport fashionable.England source
1661December 16 – Abraham Cowley's comedy The Cutter of Coleman Street premieres at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Playhouse in London as a production of the Duke's Company.source
1661The Paris Opera Ballet establishedFrance source
1661Jacob Maschius poetry book, Norwegia religiosa is published for the first time.Norway source
1662January 10 – At the age of 19, Louis Grimaldi becomes the new Prince of Monaco upon the death of his grandfather, Honoré II.source
1662February 21 – James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, returns to the office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (until 1669).Ireland source
1662March 18 – Carrosses à cinq sols - A short-lived experiment of the first public buses (holding 8 passengers) begins in Paris.France source
1662May 9 – Samuel Pepys witnesses a Punch and Judy show in London (the first on record).source
16629 May – Samuel Pepys witnesses an "Italian puppet show" in London, the first Punch and Judy show on record.England source
1662May 21 – (May 31 N.S.); Princess Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King João IV of Portugal, marries Charles II of England. As part of the dowry, Portugal cedes Bombay in India, and Tangier in Morocco, to England.source
166221 May – Catherine of Braganza marries Charles II of England at Portsmouth in both a secret Catholic and a public Anglican ceremony the day after they first meet.England source
1662June 21 – The Pierce baronets British nobility title is created.source
1662July 15 – The Royal Society, founded by King Charles II of England and Scotland receives an official charter in London.source
166223 August – an extravagant pageant on the River Thames greets the arrival of Charles II and his new queen Catherine of Braganza on their arrival at the Palace of Whitehall from Hampton Court.England source
1662November 28 – The English Royal Society holds its first meeting.source
1662December 26 – Molière's play, The School for Wives, is given its première in Paris.source
1662December 26 – Molière's play The School for Wives premieres.France source
1662Joan Blaeu publishes Atlas Maior, sive cosmographia Blaviana in Amsterdam (first complete edition, 11 volumes in Latin).source
1662The Akademie der Bildenden Künste Nürnberg is founded in Germany.source
1662John Ogilby, Master of the Revels in Ireland, opens the first Theatre Royal, Dublin, in Smock Alley.Ireland source
1662The mourning period of the late monarch is terminated.Sweden source
1663November 6 – The Kingdom of Sweden adopts a law creating the flag in use in the nation now, a yellow Nordic cross on a blue background. The original version, used as a state flag and on ships, had three pennants.source
1663The Prix de Rome scholarship is established in France for students of the arts.source
1663Baruch Spinoza publishes Principia philosophiae cartesianae, which is the only book he would publish under his name, in his life.source
1663Undated – Roger L'Estrange is appointed Surveyor of the Imprimery and Printing Presses and licenser of the press.England source
1663The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres is foundedFrance source
1663The Prix de Rome scholarship is established for students of the artsFrance source
1663Construction of the Church of Saint-Just, Lyon is completedFrance source
1663Katherine Philips' translation of Pierre Corneille's Pompée is successfully produced at the Theatre Royal, Dublin (Smock Alley Theatre), the first English language play written by a woman to be performed on the professional stage. It is published in Dublin and London later in the year.Ireland source
1663The Swedish Collegium medicum is founded to supervise the medical professions.Sweden source
1664January – Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve is appointed Steward of Norway.Norway source
1664May 12 – The original version of Tartuffe, a comedy by French playwright and actor Molière, is given its first performance, staged at the Palace of Versaillessource
1664June 3 – In the city of Mantua in Italy, the world's oldest continuously published private newspaper, Gazzetta di Mantova, publishes its first-known issue. The newspaper would celebrate its 350th anniversary in 2014.source
1664October 28 – The "Duke of York and Albany's maritime regiment of foot" is formed in London and serves as a precursor to the Royal Marines of the United Kingdom.source
1664John Evelyn's Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-Trees and the Propagation of Timber is published in London, in book form.source
1664Changsha becomes the capital of Hunan province, having been upgraded from a superior prefectureChina source
1664A new sumptuary law, replaced and amended the previous one of 1644, restrict the guests at engagement dinners to family and bans the custom of conducting them in bath houses; weddings are no longer to be celebrated for more than one day; the guests at weddings are restricted; dress fashion are regulated according to class and only the nobility, the clergy and the highest circles of the burgher class are allowed valuable textiles (in the latter cases in more discreet colors), and then only within the restrictions of customary dress, as the habit of adjusting to fashion had become more and more common, which worried the authorities who wished to have a permanent dress fashion for each class: this law is however not respected.Sweden source
1665February 15 – Molière's comedy Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre, based on the Spanish legend of the womanizer Don Juan Tenorio and Tirso de Molina's Spanish play El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra, premieres in Paris at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal.source
1665March – Nell Gwyn, perhaps aged just 15, makes her first definitely recorded appearance as an actress on the London stage, in John Dryden's heroic drama The Indian Emperour, having previously been a theatre orange-seller.England source
1665April–November – Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini is fêted in Paris.France source
1665August 27 – Ye Bare & Ye Cubbe, the first play in English in the American colonies, is given its first performance. The presentation takes place at Cowles Tavern in Pungoteague, Virginia. The event is documented in 1958 in a historical marker with the heading "The Bear and the Cub" which says "This first play recorded in the United States was presented August 27, 1665. The Accomack County Court at Pungoteague heard charges against three men 'for acting a play,' ordered inspection of costumes and script, but found the men 'not guilty.'"source
1665September 22 – Molière's L'Amour médecin is first presented, before Louis XIV, at the Palace of Versailles, with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully.source
1665September – Robert Hooke's Micrographia is published in London, first applying the term 'cell' to plant tissue, which he discovered first in cork, then in living organisms, using a microscope.source
1665October 5 – Kiel University is founded in the Duchy of Holstein.source
1665October or November — Kangxi Emperor marries Lady Hešeri, granddaughter of his regent Sonin and she becomes Empress XiaochengrenChina source
1665November 7 – The London Gazette is first published as The Oxford Gazette.source
16657 November – The London Gazette begins publication as The Oxford Gazette.England source
1665December 10 – The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps is founded by Michiel de Ruyter.source
1665Joan Blaeu completes publication of his Atlas Maior (Theatrum Orbis Terrarum) in Amsterdam.source
1665An embassy from the East-India Company, a Dutch-language account of China by Johan Nieuhof is published. The book served as a major influence in the rise of chinoiserie in the early eighteenth centuryChina source
1665Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers publishes Livre d'orgue contenant cent pièces de tous les tons de l'église, the first organ collection that featured forms that became standard for the Baroque French organ school.France source
1665King Charles II elevates the office of Mayor of Dublin to Lord Mayor of Dublin, the first holder being The Right Honourable Sir Daniel Bellingham.Ireland source
166612 January - All the crown estates in Helgeland, Salten, Lofoten, Vesterålen, Andenes, Senja and Troms were given to Joachim Irgens von Westervick.Norway source
1666June 4 – Molière's comedy of manners The Misanthrope is premièred at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris by the King's Players with himself in the title role.source
1666July - Prince Christian was hailed as heir to the throne of Norway in Christiania.Norway source
16661 August – Anders Bording's Den Danske Mercurius, Denmark's first newspaper, is published for the first time.Denmark source
1666December 19 – Lund University is founded in Lund, Sweden.source
1666December 22 – The French Academy of Sciences, founded by Louis XIV, first meets.source
166622 December – The French Academy of Sciences, founded by the king, first meets.France source
1666Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer paints The Art of Painting, his largest and most complex work.source
1666Holmen Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Denmark still in use, relocates to its current location in ØsterbroDenmark source
1666The enactment of the Royal Placat of 1666.Sweden source
1666Second return to Sweden of Christina, Queen of Sweden.Sweden source
1666The Lund University is founded.Sweden source
1667January 27 – The 2,000 seat Opernhaus am Taschenberg, a theater in Dresden (capital of the Electorate of Saxony) opens with its first production, Pietro Ziani's opera Il teseo.source
1667February 22 – The Lejonkulan ("lion's den") opens at Stockholm in Sweden as the first permanent theater in Scandinavia, with the performance of Jean Magnon's Orontes en Satira.source
1667March – Louis XIV of France abolishes the livre parisis (Paris pound), in favor of the much more widely used livre tournois (Tours pound). He also designates Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie as the first chief of "police" of Paris.source
1667March – Louis XIV abolishes the livre parisis (Paris pound), in favor of the much more widely used livre tournois (Tours pound). He also designates Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie as the first chief of police of Paris.France source
1667April 27 – The blind, impoverished, 58-year-old John Milton seals a contract for publication of Paradise Lost with London printer Samuel Simmons, for an initial payment of £5. The first edition is published in October and sells out in eighteen months.source
166727 April – John Milton seals a contract for publication of Paradise Lost with London printer Samuel Simmons for an initial payment of £5. The first edition is published in October and sells out in eighteen months.England source
1667June 27 – George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, one of the five members of the Cabal ministry in England (Lords Chudleigh, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley and Lauderdale), turns himself in after a warrant for his arrest is issued on February 25 on charges of treason (including the casting of the horoscope of King Charles II). He is held in the Tower of London for four years before being released on July 17, 1671.source
166727 June – George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, one of the five members of the Cabal ministry (Lords Chudleigh, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley and Lauderdale), turns himself in after a warrant for his arrest is issued on 25 February on charges of treason (including the casting of the King's horoscope). He is held in the Tower of London for four years before being released on 17 July 1671.England source
1667August 15 – John Dryden's comedy Sir Martin Mar-all, or The Feign'd Innocence is given its first performance, presented by the players of the King's Theatre in London.source
1667August 25 – In China, 14-year-old Xuanye, the Kangxi Emperor, participates in an ascension ceremony to take full power to rule China, bringing an end to the domination of the "Four Regents" who had been ruling in his name when he had first inherited the throne at the age of 6. The move comes shortly after the August 12 death of one of the regents, Sonin, when it becomes clear that the regents were planning to expand their power in advance of Kangxi's coming of age.source
1667China Illustrata, a book written by the Jesuit Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680) is published. It compiles the 17th century European knowledge on the Chinese Empire and its neighboring countriesChina source
1667c. February – Elkanah Settle's play Cambyses, King of Persia first performed.England source
1667William Penn attends meetings of the Quakers in Cork, marking his conversion.Ireland source
1667Inauguration of the theater in Lejonkulan in Stockholm, the first confirmed permanent theater in Sweden.Sweden source
1668April (traditional date) – Actress Nell Gwyn becomes the King's mistress.England source
1668May 18 – Charles Sedley's comedy The Mulberry-Garden premieres at the Theatre Royal in London.source
1668May – The King's former mistress, Barbara Castlemaine, leaves the Court and is pensioned.England source
1668June 12 – John Dryden's play An Evening's Love, or The Mock Astrologer premieres at the Theatre Royal in London in a performance by the King's Company players for King Charles and Queen Catherine.source
1668September 9 – Molière's comedy The Miser (L'Avare) is first performed, in Paris.source
16681668 or 1669 – James, Duke of York, the heir to the throne, secretly takes Eucharist in the Roman Catholic Church.England source
1668Richard Duckworth's Tintinnalogia, or, the Art of Ringing, the first work on change ringing, is compiled and published complete by Fabian Stedman in London.England source
1669February 13 – The first performance of the Ballet de Flore, a joint collaboration of Jean-Baptiste Lully and Isaac de Benserade is given, premiering at the Palais du Louvre in Paris. King Louis XIV finances the performance and even appears in a minor role in the production as a dancer.source
1669March 26 – a royal charter is granted to the trust established by Erasmus Smith for the provision of grammar schools in Ireland, under whichIreland source
1669May–August – George Fox, founder of the Quakers, visits Ireland. William Penn also returns to Ireland this year.Ireland source
1669September 23 – Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor grants the status and privileges of a university to the Jesuit Academy in Zagreb, the precursor to the modern University of Zagreb.source
1669September 29 – The formal coronation of Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki as King of Poland (and Grand Duke of Lithuania) takes place in Kraków.source
1669October 15 – The University of Innsbruck is chartered in Austria by Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. After being reduced to a lesser function on November 29, 1781, it is rechartered in 1826.source
1669December 13 – Jean Racine's five-act tragic play Britannicus is performed for the first time, premiering at the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris. The play continues to be performed more than 350 years later, including a 2011 version translated by Dr. Howard Rubenstein.source
1669Antonio Stradivari makes his first violin in Cremona.source
1669Jan Swammerdam publishes his Algemeene Verhandeling van de bloedeloose dierkens, a groundbreaking work in microscopy, as well as entomology.source
1669The École des Jeunes de langues was foundedFrance source
1669The Régiment Royal–La Marine was establishedFrance source
1669Drogheda Grammar School is founded.Ireland source
1670January – Françoise-Marguerite, daughter of Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, marries the Comte de Grignan.France source
1670February 9 – Christian V becomes the king of Denmark-Norway upon the death of his father, Frederick III.source
1670February 27 – The royal wedding in Poland, between King Michal Wisniowiecki (who is also the Grand Duke of Lithuania) and Eleonore of Austria (daughter of the late Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor), with ceremonies taking place at the Denhoff Palace in Kruszyna.source
167020 September – production of Mrs Aphra Behn's first play, The Forced Marriage, at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre by the Duke's Company, with Thomas Betterton in the lead.England source
1670October 14 – Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, a five-act comedy and ballet authored by Molière, is given its first performance, presented before King Louis XIV at the Château de Chambord. Public performances begin on November 23 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris.source
167014 October – The première of Molière's 5-act comédie-ballet Le Bourgeois gentilhomme is performed by his troupe with himself in the title rôle before Louis XIV and the royal court at the Château de Chambord, with incidental music by Jean-Baptiste Lully.France source
167021 November – The première of Racine's tragedy Berenice takes place with the Comédiens du Roi at the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris.France source
1670First recognized precursor to modern Gaelic football is played in County Meath.Ireland source
1671January 17 – The ballet Psyché, with music composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully, premieres before the royal court of King Louis XIV at the Théâtre des Tuileries in Paris.source
1671February 1 – The Tsar Alexis of Russia marries Nataliya Kyrillovna Naryshkina, who gives birth 16 months later to the future Peter the Great.source
1671March 3 – Pomone, written by Robert Cambert and considered by modern scholars to be the first French opera, is given its first performance. Using innovative costumes, and machinery for special stage effects, the premiere performed by the Académie d'Opéra at the Salle de la Bouteille theater in Paris is a success.source
1671March – Charles Bertie (senior) is named British envoy-extraordinary to Denmark.Denmark source
1671June 7 – The coronation ceremony of Christian V of Denmark-Norway takes place at the Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød, north of Copenhagen. Christian had assumed the throne on February 9, 1670, upon the death of his father, Frederick III.source
1671June 10 – the King permits Sir George Hamilton to raise a regiment for service in France.Ireland source
1671August 4 – Viscount Ranelagh undertakes to manage revenues of the Crown in Ireland.Ireland source
167120 September – Princess Wilhelmine Ernestine is married to Charles, the heir of the Electorate of the Palatinate at Sophie Amalienborg in Copenhagen.Denmark source
1671December 30 – The Académie royale d'architecture is founded by Louis XIV of France in Paris as the world's first school of architecture.source
167130 December – The Académie royale d'architecture is founded by Louis XIV in Paris, the world's first school of architecture.France source
1671c. 23 April – First record of ice cream being served in England, to the King at Windsor.England source
1671Late – French lady-in-waiting Louise de Kérouaille becomes a mistress to the King.England source
1671The King grants the nobility Court leet.Sweden source
1672May 2 – John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.source
1672July 4 – William III of Orange is appointed Stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland.source
167230 December – first commercial public concert series in Europe begins; organised by John Banister at Whitefriars, near Fleet Street in London.England source
1672December – John Dryden's play Marriage à la Mode first performed in London by the King's Company.England source
1672Foundation of the Chorina Comedy, the first theater in Russia.source
1672Sir William Petty's Political Anatomy of Ireland is written (first published in Dublin, 1691); also, engraving of the maps for his Hiberniae Delineatio (published 1685) is completed.Ireland source
1673February 10 – Molière's comédie-ballet The Imaginary Invalid premiers in Paris. During the fourth performance, on February 17, the playwright, playing the title rôle, collapses on stage, dying soon after.source
1673April 27 – Cadmus et Hermione, the first opera written by Jean-Baptiste Lully, premières at the Paris Opera in France.source
167327 April? – Jean-Baptiste Lully's first opera, Cadmus et Hermione, is premièred.France source
167312 June – James, Duke of York, is forced to resign the office of Lord High Admiral because of the Test Act, making his Catholicism public.England source
167319 June – Thomas Osborne becomes Lord High Treasurer.England source
16733 July – Elkanah Settle's play The Empress of Morocco first publicly performed at the Dorset Garden Theatre in London by the Duke's Company and published with illustrations.England source
1673July 24 – Edmund Halley enters The Queen's College, Oxford, as an undergraduate.source
16739 November – the King removes Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, from his position as Lord Chancellor.England source
1673November 14 – Christopher Wren is knighted in England.source
1673November 23 – James, Duke of York, marries Mary of Modena; they meet for the first time immediately before the ceremony in Dover.source
167323 November – the widowed James, Duke of York, the King's brother and heir, marries Mary of Modena; they meet for the first time immediately before the ceremony in Dover.England source
1673Nysø Manor at Præstø is completed as the first manor house in Denmark to be designed in the Baroque style.Denmark source
1673The monarch makes his Eriksgata.Sweden source
1674January 19 – The tragic opera Alceste, by Jean-Baptiste Lully, is performed for the first time, presented by the Paris Opera company at the Theatre du Palais-Royal in Paris.source
1674May 21 – John III Sobieski is elected by the nobility, as King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (to 1696).source
1674June 6 – Shivaji Maharaj is crowned as Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj of the Maratha Empire at Raigad Fort in India.source
1674June 12 – The British East India Company arranges a commercial treaty with the Maratha Empire after Henry Oxenden, the company's deputy governor, meets Emperor Shivaji for his recent coronation.source
167412 June – the British East India Company arranges a commercial treaty with the Maratha Empire after Henry Oxenden, the company's deputy governor, meets Emperor Shivaji at his recent coronation.England source
1674October 4 – A second coronation is held by the Maratha Empire for the Chhatrapati Shivaji Bhonsle, after the Vedic priest Nischal Puri Goswami decides that the June 18 coronation was "held under inauspicious stars".source
1674Lorenzo Magalotti publishes his book about his travel in Sweden, Sverige under år 1674.Sweden source
1674Gustav Düben publishes his composition of the poem of Samuel Columbus, Odæ Sveticæ.Sweden source
1674The building of the Swedish House of Lords in Stockholm is completed.Sweden source
1675February 4 – The Italian opera La divisione del mondo, by Giovanni Legrenzi, is performed for the first time, premiering in Venice at the Teatro San Luca. The new opera, telling the story of the "division of the world" after the battle between the Gods of Olympus and the Titans, becomes known for its elaborate and expensive sets, machinery, and special effects and is revived 325 years later in the year 2000.source
1675February 27 – Matthew Locke's "semi-opera" Psyche premieres at the Duke's Theatre in London.source
167527 February – Matthew Locke's "semi-opera" Psyche premieres at the Duke's Theatre in London.England source
1675March 30 – The guild organisation Maîtresses couturières is founded in Paris.source
167530 March – The guild organisation Maîtresses couturières is founded in Paris.France source
167522 June – The Royal Danish Academy of Surgery is founded as a replacement for the old Theatrum Anatomico-chirurgicum.Denmark source
167520 September – the Great Fire of Northampton occurs in the county town.England source
1675Kangxi's son Yunreng named Crown PrinceChina source
1675The Green Ribbon Club founded; the earliest political club, based in Fleet Street.England source
1675The King retracts the Court leet of the nobility.Sweden source
1675The King is engaged to Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark.Sweden source
1676January 31 – Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, the oldest institution of higher education in Central America, is founded.source
16762 March – first performance of George Etherege's play The Man of Mode.England source
16768 May – Dutchman Cornelis Tromp becomes Admiral-General in the Royal Danish Navy and knight in the Order of the Elephant.Denmark source
167611 December – first performance of William Wycherley's play The Plain Dealer.England source
1676Froinsias Ó Maolmhuaidh's Lucerna fidelium, seu, Fasciclus decerptus ab authoribus magis versatis qui tractarunt de doctrin a Christiana (Lochrann na gCreidmheach), an Irish language catechism of Catholic Church doctrine is published by the Congregation of Propaganda Fide in Rome.Ireland source
1677January 1 – Jean Racine's tragedy Phèdre is first performed, in Paris.source
1677January 1 – Jean Racine's tragedy Phèdre is first performed.France source
1677April 6 – Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor visits the University of Innsbruck.source
167724 August – James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, is again sworn in as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.Ireland source
1677August – The French guild of the Maitresses bouquetieres is founded in Paris.source
1677September 10 – Henry Purcell is appointed a musician to the court of Charles II of England.source
1677September 18 – the Kangxi Emperor of China grants titles and ranks to all of his wives, and names Empress Xiaozhaoren as his consort.source
1677November 4 – The future Mary II of England marries William of Orange in London.source
16774 November – William of Orange marries Princess Mary of York at St James's Palace.England source
167731 December – Christian V establishes the County of Samsø for mistress Sophie Amalie Moth from the manors of Brattingsborg and Bisgård.Denmark source
1677Spinoza's Ethics (Ethica, ordine geometrico demonstrata) is published as part of his Opera Posthuma in Amsterdam.source
1677The use of male impotence is ended as a factor in French divorce proceedings.source
1677The John Roan School is established in Greenwich, London.source
1677Jules Hardouin Mansart begins la place Vendôme in Paris (it is completed in 1698).source
1677Elias Ashmole gifts the collection that begins the Ashmolean Museum to the University of Oxford in England.source
1677Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve's mansion which will later become known as Charlottenborg Palace is completed as the first building at Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen.Denmark source
1677Elias Ashmole gifts the collection that begins the Ashmolean Museum to the University of Oxford.England source
1677Jules Hardouin Mansart begins la place Vendôme in Paris (completed in 1698).France source
1677Tornedalens epos by Antti Keksi is published.Sweden source
1678February 18 – The first part of English nonconformist preacher John Bunyan's Christian allegory The Pilgrim's Progress is published in London.source
1678March 21 – Thomas Shadwell's comedy A True Widow is given its first performance, at The Duke's Theatre in London, staged by the Duke's Company.source
167821 March – Thomas Shadwell's comedy A True Widow is given its first performance, at The Duke's Theatre in London, staged by the Duke's Company.England source
167831 May – the Godiva Procession, a commemoration held in honour of Lady Godiva's legendary 11th century naked horseback ride through the streets of Coventry in protest against her husband's treatment of the citizens, begins.England source
1678June 25 – Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia becomes the first woman to be awarded a university degree, a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Padua.source
1678Dorothe Engelbretsdatter hymn and poetry book, Siælens Sang-Offer is published for the first time.Norway source
167927 November – The Duke of Monmouth returns (without royal permission) from exile and is greeted in London by widespread celebration from those who consider him a potential Protestant heir to the throne.England source
1680April 21 – Prince Rajaram Bhosle, the 10-year-old son of the Shivaji, the Chhatrapati (Emperor) of the Maratha Empire in India, is installed on the throne as the new Emperor, less than three weeks after the death of his father. Sambhaji Bhosle, the eldest son of Shivaji, learns the news while imprisoned at Panhala and makes plans to escape prison and take over the throne.source
1680May 6 – King Charles XI of Sweden marries Princess Elonora, daughter of the late King Frederick III of Denmark-Norway and sister of King Christian V.source
1680August 24 – Comédie-Française is founded by decree of Louis XIV as La maison de Molière in Paris.source
1680Johann Pachelbel writes his Canon in D Majorsource
1680Trinity House erects a lighthouse on St Agnes, Isles of Scilly.England source
1680Edmund Borlase's The History of the execrable Irish Rebellion is published.Ireland source
1680Wedding between the King and Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark.Sweden source
1680Great Reversion also served to curtail the political and economic influence of the nobility, further consolidating Charles XI’s absolute rule.Sweden source
168125 June – A royal decree provides for the first street lighting in Copenhagen. 500 street lights using whale oil are installed but are not to be lit on light summer nights or when the moon is out.Denmark source
168129 June – King Christian V travels from Copenhagen to Kolding in just one day, leaving at 03:00 and arriving Kolding at 22:00.Denmark source
1681August 10 – English sea captain Robert Knox of the East India Company publishes his book An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon, about his adventures, 20-years imprisonment and escape from Ceylon.source
1681August 12 – Ahom King Gadadhar Singha (or Gadapani), who takes the Tai name Supaatphaa, ascends the throne.source
1682January 7 – The Republic of Genoa forbids the unauthorized printing of newspapers and all handwritten newssheets; the ban is lifted after three months.source
1682January 24 – The first public theater in Brussels, the Opéra du Quai au Foin, is opened.source
1682February 9 – Thomas Otway's classic play Venice Preserv'd or A Plot Discover'd is given its first performance, premiering at the Duke's Theatre.source
1682February 21 – the Eaton Baronetcy of Dunmoylin, County Limerick is created in the Baronetage of Ireland for Simon Eaton.Ireland source
1682April 9 – At the mouth of the Mississippi River, near modern Venice, Louisiana, Robert de La Salle buries an engraved plate and a cross, claiming the territory as La Louisiane for France.source
1682May 6 – Louis XIV of France moves his court to Versailles.source
1682June 17 – The Indonesian city of Bandar Lampung is founded on the island of Sumatra.source
1682July 24 – the office of Third Serjeant-at-law at the Irish Bar is created, the first holder being John Lyndon.Ireland source
1682October 27 – The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is founded by William Penn.source
1682The French theater company La troupe du Roi de Danemark is opened as the theater of the royal court and the first and only permanent theater in Denmark for forty years onward.Denmark source
1682Lund University is reopened after the war.Sweden source
1683January 6 – The tragic opera Phaëton, written by Jean-Baptiste Lully and Philippe Quinault, is premiered at the Palace of Versailles.source
1683February 7 – The opera Giustino by Giovanni Legrenzi and about the life of the Byzantine Emperor Justin, premieres in Venice.source
1683February 19 – the Evans Baronetcy, of Kilcreene in the County of Kilkenny, is created in the Baronetage of Ireland in favour of William Evans.Ireland source
1683May 24 – The Ashmolean Museum opens in Oxford (England), as the world's second university museum, after the establishment of the Kunstmuseum Basel in 1661 by the University of Basel.source
168324 May – the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, opens as the world's first purpose-built university museum.England source
1683June 23 – the Caldwell Baronetcy of Wellsborough in County Fermanagh, is created in the Baronetage of Ireland in favour of James Caldwell, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh.Ireland source
168328 July – The Lady Anne, the King's niece and fourth in line of succession, marries Prince George of Denmark in the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace, London.England source
1683August 18 – Francesco Maria Imperiale Lercari becomes the new Doge of the Republic of Genoa.source
1683October 9 (possible date) – Louis XIV of France makes a morganatic marriage with Madame de Maintenon in a secret ceremony following the death on July 30 of his queen consort, Maria Theresa of Spain.source
1683October 15 – first meeting of the Dublin Philosophical Society, established by William Molyneux.Ireland source
1683The Danish Code is officially completed, providing the first codification of Danish legislation. Some statutes are still active today.Denmark source
1683The London Jilt; or, the Politick Whore, probably by Alexander Oldys, is published.England source
1683Orpolapsen vaikerrus by Maria Simointytär, first published poem by a female in the province of FinlandSweden source
1684January 5 – The earliest form of what is now the University of Tokyo (formally chartered in 1877), the Tenmongata, is established in Japan.source
1684August 15 – Louis XIV decrees the foundation of the Maison royale de Saint-Louis, a boarding school for girls at Saint-Cyr, at the urging of Madame de Maintenon.source
1684Japanese poet Ihara Saikaku composes 23,500 verses in 24 hours at the Sumiyoshi-taisha (shrine) at Osaka; the scribes cannot keep pace with his dictation and just count the verses.source
1684John Bunyan publishes the second part of The Pilgrim's Progress.source
1684John Bunyan writes the second part of The Pilgrim's ProgressEngland source
1684The Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, designed by Jules Hardouin Mansart, is completedFrance source
1684The Château de Marly in the Marly-le-Roi commune is completed for Louis XIVFrance source
1684Historian Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh (Roderic O'Flaherty) compiles his Chorographical description of West or Iar Connacht for William Molyneux.Ireland source
1685January 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 on behalf of the East India Company, and is succeeded by William Gyfford.source
16856 February – James II becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland upon the death of Charles II.Ireland source
1685The Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow in the State of New York is constructed by the original Dutch settlers (later to become famous as the site of the rampage of the "Headless Horseman" spirit in the novel The Legend of Sleepy Hollow).source
1685Dorothe Engelbretsdatter hymn and poetry book, Taare-Offer is published for the first time.Norway source
1686January 9 – Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon, sworn as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in Dublin.Ireland source
1686February – first known music printed in Ireland.Ireland source
1686May 4 – The Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines.source
1686July – The League of Augsburg was founded in response to claims made by Louis XIV on the Electorate of the Palatinate in western Germany. It comprises the Holy Roman Empire, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain and the electors of Bavaria, Saxony and the Electorate of the Palatinate.France source
1686English historian and naturalist Robert Plot publishes The Natural History of Staffordshire, a collection of illustrations and texts detailing the history of the county. It is the first document known to mention crop circles and a double sunset.source
1686Store Bededag is introduced by the Church of Denmark, combining several Catholic holy days into a single holiday.Denmark source
1686A group of conspirators meet at Charborough House in Dorset to plan the overthrow of James II by Parliamentarians and the Dutch Stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (James's son-in-law).England source
1686A church regulation explicitly confirms the common custom of Widow Conservation by stating that a parish vicar is to be chosen first by those candidates willing to marry the widow or daughter of his predecessor.Sweden source
16879 July – The Copenhagen Royal Fire Brigade os founded.Denmark source
1687July 11 – Isaac Newton's Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, known as the Principia, is published by the Royal Society of London. In it, Newton describes his law of universal gravitation, explains the laws of mechanics, and gives a formula for the speed of sound. The writing of Principia Mathematica ushers in a tidal wave of changes in thought, significantly accelerating the Scientific Revolution by providing new and practical intellectual tools, and becomes the foundation of modern physics.source
16874 September – King James II tries to expel the Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford, for refusing to Catholicise their institution.England source
1688February 28 – The French opera David et Jonathas, composed by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, is performed for the first time.source
1688April 18 (Julian calendar) – The Germantown Quaker Protest Against Slavery is drafted by four Germantown Quakers.source
1688May 10 – King Narai of Ayutthaya nominates Princess Sudawadi as his successor, with Constantine Phaulkon, Mom Pi and Phetracha acting as joint regents.source
1688June 10 – The birth of James Francis Edward Stuart (later known as the Old Pretender), son and heir to James II of England and his Catholic wife Mary of Modena, at St James's Palace in London, increases public disquiet about a Catholic dynasty, particularly when the baby is baptised into the Catholic faith. Rumours about his true maternity swiftly begin to circulate.source
168810 June – birth of James Francis Edward Stuart, son to King James II and his Catholic wife Mary of Modena, at St James's Palace in London. Rumours about his true maternity swiftly begin to circulate.England source
168830 June – a conspiracy of notables, the "Immortal Seven", send the Invitation to William, inviting William of Orange and Mary to depose James II, as has been planned since April. Mary is James's second heir, her husband (and cousin) is James's nephew, and both have been raised Protestant.England source
16883 August – the Royal Pawn is created by royal ordinance.Denmark source
168825 November – James's daughter Princess Anne, with the assistance of her favourite Sarah Churchill, flee the royal court at Whitehall and, with their husbands, declare for William.England source
1688Oroonoko, one of the first English novels and the first by a professional female author (Aphra Behn) is published.source
1688by July – first definitely known performance of the Henry Purcell opera Dido and Aeneas, at Josias Priest's girls' school in Chelsea, London.England source
1689January 30 – The first performance of the opera Henrico Leone composed by Agostino Steffani takes place in Hannover to inaugurate the new royal theatre in the Leineschloss.source
168913 February – William III and Mary II are proclaimed co-rulers of England, Scotland and Ireland in a ceremony at the Guildhall in the City of London but are not yet recognised in Scotland or Ireland.England source
168913 February – the Protestant William, Prince of Orange, and Mary II are proclaimed co-rulers of England, Ireland and Scotland in London following the deposition of the Catholic James II at the end of 1688 but are not yet recognised in Ireland or Scotland.Ireland source
1689February 23 (February 13, 1688 O.S.) – William III and Mary II are proclaimed co-rulers of England, Scotland and Ireland.source
168921 March – Robert Lundy swears allegiance to William III and Mary II and is commissioned as governor of Derry, where he commands the garrison.Ireland source
1689April 11 (O.S.) – William III and Mary II are crowned in London as King and Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Ireland does not recognise them yet, while the Estates of Scotland declare King James VII deposed.source
1689May 25 – The last hearth tax is collected in England and Wales.source
1689August 23 – Gravely ill, the Empress Xiaoyiren is proclaimed empress by her husband, China's Kangxi Emperor, after having been Imperial Noble Consort since 1682. She dies the next day.source
1689The first documented performance of the opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell takes place at Josias Priest's girls' school in Chelsea, London, with a libretto based on Virgil's Aeneid.source
1689Windsor Guildhall in Berkshire, designed by Sir Thomas Fitz (or Fiddes), is completed by Christopher Wren.England source
1689The march Lillibullero is first published in its present form by Henry Purcell in his compilation Music's Handmaid; the satirical text is attributed to Thomas Wharton.England source
1690February 21 – The opera Orphée by Louis Lully receives its first performance at the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opera).source
1690April 6 – Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor issues a document inviting Serbians to resettle in Hungary, at this time a part of the Empire.source
1690September 25 – The only issue of Publick Occurrences is published in Boston, Massachusetts, before being suppressed by the colonial authorities.source
1690October 21 – The play Amphitryon by John Dryden, based on Molière's 1668 play of the same name, receives its first performance at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.source
1690November 7 – The opera Énée et Lavinie (Aeneas and Lavinia) by the French composer Pascal Collasse receives its first performance at the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opera).source
1690The French dictionary and encyclopaedia Dictionnaire universel, contenant generalement tous les mots françois, compiled by Antoine Furetière, is published posthumously.source
1690Dutch polymath Christiaan Huygens publishes his book Treatise on Light. The book is considered a pioneering work of theoretical and mathematical physics.source
1691March 17 – The Athenian Mercury begins twice-weekly publication by The Athenian Society in London.source
1691June – The first performance takes place of the semi-opera King Arthur with a libretto by John Dryden and music by Henry Purcell.source
1691June – first performance of the semi-opera King Arthur with a libretto by John Dryden and music by Henry Purcell.England source
1691August 27 – In Scotland, King William offers the Highland clans a pardon for their part in the Jacobite rising of 1689 if they agree to pledge allegiance to him before New Year's Day.source
1691Nimavar school in Isfahan, Iran is built and opens in this era of Suleiman I.source
1691The Society for the Reformation of Manners is founded in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the aim of suppressing profanity, immorality, and other lewd activities in general, and of brothels and prostitution in particular.source
1691Sir William Petty's Political Anatomy of Ireland (written 1672) is first published, posthumously in Dublin.Ireland source
1692May 2 – The first performance of the semi-opera The Fairy-Queen by Henry Purcell, based on William Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, takes place at the Queen's Theatre, Dorset Garden in London.source
16922 May – first performance of Henry Purcell's semi-opera The Fairy-Queen at the Queen's Theatre, Dorset Garden, in London.England source
16924 September – The Royal Knight Academy in Copenhagen is established as a replacement for the closed Sorø Academy.Denmark source
1692November 8 – William Mountfort's play Henry The Second, King Of England; With The Death Of Rosamond is given its first performance, premiering at the Drury Lane Theatre.source
169222 November – first performance of Henry Purcell's Ode to St. Cecilia.England source
1693February 8 – The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia is granted a Royal charter.source
16938 February – the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, is granted a Royal charter from King William III and Queen Mary II of England.England source
1693February 27 – The publication of the first women's magazine, titled The Ladies' Mercury, takes place in London. It is published by the Athenian Society.source
1693March 27 – Bozoklu Mustafa Pasha becomes the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, after Sultan Ahmed II appoints him as the successor of Çalık Ali Pasha.source
1693March – William Congreve's first play, the comedy The Old Bachelor, is performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.England source
16934 April Anne Palles, an alleged witch, becomes the last woman to be legally executed for sorcery in Denmark.Denmark source
1693April 5 – The Order of Saint Louis, the first medal to be awarded in France to military personnel who are not members of nobility, is created by order of King Louis XIV, and named after his ancestor, King Louis IX.source
1693June 5 – The first performance of the opera Didon by French composer Henri Desmarets takes place at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris.source
1693September 9 – Francesco Invrea, King of Corsica, begins a two-year term as the Doge of the Republic of Genoa in Italy, succeeding Giovanni Battista Cattaneo Della Volta.source
1693October – William Congreve's comedy The Double-Dealer is first performed in London.source
1693October – Congreve's comedy The Double Dealer is first performed at Drury Lane.England source
1693The Academia Operosorum Labacensium is established in Ljubljana, Slovenia.source
1693William Penn publishes his proposal for European federation, Essay on the Present and Future Peace of Europe.source
1693Dimitrie Cantemir presents his Kitâbu 'İlmi'l-Mûsiki alâ Vechi'l-Hurûfât (The Book of the Science of Music through Letters) to Sultan Ahmed II, which deals with melodic and rhythmic structure and practice of Ottoman music, and contains the scores for around 350 works composed during and before his own time, in an alphabetical notation system he invented.source
1693John Locke publishes his influential book Some Thoughts Concerning Education.source
1693Bromsgrove School endowed by Sir Thomas Cookes.England source
1693Huguenot cemetery, Dublin, is established.Ireland source
1693Vertue rewarded, or The Irish princess, an early romance novel set in Clonmel during the Williamite War in Ireland, is published in London.Ireland source
1694January 21 (January 11 O.S.) – The Kiev Academy, predecessor of the national university of Ukraine, receives official recognition by Tsar Ivan V of Russia.source
1694January 28 – Pirro e Demetrio, an opera by Alessandro Scarlatti, is given its first performance, debuting at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples. The opera is adapted in 1708 in London as Pyrrhus and Demetrius and becomes the second most popular opera in 18th century London.source
1694August 6 – The coronation of Sultan Husayn of the Safavid dynasty as the Shah of Persia takes place in Isfahan, eight days after the death of his father Suleiman I.source
1694August 24 – The Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, the first official dictionary of the French language, is presented by Jacques de Tourreil and Academy members on behalf of the Académie française to King Louis XIV.source
169428 December – with the death of Queen Mary II, William III becomes sole monarch.Ireland source
1694Juellund Manor is established by Jens Juel.Denmark source
1695January 7 (December 28, 1694 O.S.) – The United Kingdom's last joint monarchy, the reign of husband-and-wife King William III and Queen Mary II comes to an end with the death of Queen Mary, at the age of 32. Princess Mary had been installed as the monarch along with her husband and cousin, Willem Hendrik von Oranje, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, in 1689 after King James II was deposed by Willem during the "Glorious Revolution".source
169513 January – Princess Anne returns to court to act as royal hostess.England source
1695March 5 – The funeral of Queen Mary II of England takes place, accompanied by music written for the occasion by Henry Purcell.source
16954 May – Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan, is appointed Lord High Treasurer of Ireland, in succession to Lord Burlington, his grandfather, Lord Treasurer of Ireland since 1660.Ireland source
16955 December – The wedding of Crown Prince Frederick (IV) and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow takes place at Copenhagen Castle.Denmark source
16956th Month: Lady Si is named the consort of Heir Apparent Yunreng.China source
16952nd Month: the reconstruction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony beginsChina source
169511th Month: the emperor conducts a grand military inspection at the South Gardens (Nan yuan). Orders are issued for codifying the use of horns and drums in military inspections.China source
1695Wren Library, Cambridge, the library of Trinity College, designed by Christopher Wren, is completed.England source
1695Basilica di Santa Croce (Lecce) completed.Italy source
1696January 31 – In the Netherlands, undertakers revolt after funeral reforms in Amsterdam.source
1696January – Colley Cibber's play Love's Last Shift is first performed in London.source
1696June 17 – The throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth becomes vacant with the death of Jan Sobieski, prompting a competition between Friedrich Augustus, Elector of Saxony and Prince François Louis of France to compete under the commonwealth's "Golden Liberty" system for an elective monarchy of the new king by the nobility. Jerzy Albrecht Denhoff, the Grand Chancellor, remains the head of the Polish-Lithuanian government during the vacancy of the ceremonial throne.source
1696August 13 – The Dutch state of Drenthe makes William III of Orange its Stadtholder.source
1696November 21 – John Vanbrugh's play The Relapse is first performed in London.source
169621 November – John Vanbrugh's play The Relapse, or Virtue in Danger first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.England source
1696December 19 – Jean-François Regnard's verse comedy Le Joueur ("The Gamester") premieres in Paris.source
1696A New Theory of the Earth, a book by William Whiston, is published and is well received by intellectuals of the day.source
1696Edward Lloyd probably begins publication of Lloyd's News, a predecessor of Lloyd's List, in London.source
1696Colley Cibber's play Love's Last Shift is first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London.England source
1696Main façades of Chatsworth House in Derbyshire completed in a pioneering English Baroque style.England source
1696Bentse Brug is established, the first paper mill in Norway.Norway source
1696Kalmar Nation at Lund University is first mentioned.Sweden source
1697January – Charles Perrault publishes Histoires ou contes du temps passé ("Mother Goose tales") in Paris, a collection of popular fairy tales, including Cinderella, Puss in Boots, Red Riding Hood, The Sleeping Beauty and BluebeardFrance source
169730 June – earliest known first-class cricket match takes place, in Sussex.England source
1697July 28 – The opera Vénus et Adonis, composed by Henri Desmarets with libretto by Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, receives its first performance, premiering at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris.source
1697October 7 – The opera Issé, composed by André Cardinal Destouches with libretto by Antoine Houdar de la Motte, premieres at the Palace of Fontainebleau in France.source
1697October 24 – The first opéra-ballet, combining elements of both mediums of entertainment, is performed as L'Europe galante makes its debut at the Salle du Palais-Royal in Paris. Composed by André Campra, with libretto by Antoine Houdar de la Motte, the opera and ballet is conducted by Marin Marais.source
1697November 24 – The elaborate burial of the late King Charles XI of Sweden takes place more than seven months after his April 5 death, with interment at the Riddarholmen Church on the island of Riddarholmen near Stockholm.source
1697November 30 – Prince Eugene of Savoy, a field marshal within the Holy Roman Empire, purchases a large tract of land in Vienna for construction of the Belvedere Palace.source
1697December 7 – Louis, Duke of Burgundy, and Marie Adélaïde of Savoy marry in the royal chapel at the Palace of Versailles in France.source
1697December 11 – A ball in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles is held to celebrate the Duke of Burgundy and Marie Adélaïde's wedding.source
1697December 14 – The coronation ceremony takes place for King Charles XII of Sweden.source
1697The use of "litters" (wheelless transports that carried by four servants) increases in Europe.source
1697William Dampier's A New Voyage Round the World is published in England.source
1698January 23 – George Louis becomes Elector of Hanover upon the death of his father, Ernest Augustus. Because the widow of Ernest Augustus, George's mother Sophia, was heiress presumptive as the cousin of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, and Anne's closest eligible heir, George will become King of Great Britain.source
1698March 8 – The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, the oldest Anglican mission organization in the world, is founded by English clergyman Thomas Bray and four other people at Lincoln's Inn in London, along with Sir Humphrey Mackworth, Maynard Colchester, Lord Guilford and John Hooke.source
1698March – Jeremy Collier's pamphlet A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage is published.England source
1698May 4 – At the imperial capital at Inwa, Sanay Min of the Toungoo dynasty becomes the new King of Burma upon the death of his father, Minye Kyawhtin.source
169812 May - Wedding between Hedvig Sophia of Sweden and Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on Karlberg Palace.Sweden source
1698June 21 – John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough is reinstated in the English Army, with readmission to the Privy Council by King William III. On July 26, he is selected as one of the Lords Justice.source
16981 July – Den Københavnske Post-Rytter, a weekly newspaper, is published for the first time.Denmark source
1698Cinderella is made as a folktalesource
1698John Dunton publishes Teague Land: or A Merry Ramble to the Wild Irish.Ireland source
1698John Hopkins publishes the poem The Triumphs of Peace, or the Glories of Nassau ... written at the time of his Grace the Duke of Ormond's entrance into Dublin.Ireland source
1698The Lord Mayor of Dublin's gold chain of office is presented by King William III to Dublin Corporation.Ireland source
1698Dorothe Engelbretsdatter hymn and poetry book, Et kristeligt Valet fra Verden is published for the first time.Norway source
1698Summer - The king and his brother-in-law engage in the Gottorp Fury, which scandalizes the country.Sweden source
1699March 2 – The Edinburgh Gazette is first published in Scotland.source
1699March 26 – The first performance of Amadis de Grèce, an opera by French composer André Cardinal Destouches, takes place at the Académie Royale de Musique, Paris.source
1699May 10 – Billingsgate Fish Market in London is sanctioned as a permanent institution by an Act of Parliament, with the provision "that after the tenth of May, 1699, Billingsgate Market should be, every day in the week except Sunday, a free and open market for all sorts of fish, and that it should be lawful for any person to buy or sell any sort of fish without disturbance."source
1699August - A French theater company, La troupe du Roi de Suede is engaged to perform drama, opera and ballet at the Swedish royal court.Sweden source
1699October 11 – The opera Marthésie, première reine des Amazones (Marthesia, First Queen of the Amazons), composed by André Cardinal Destouches, is performed for the first time, premiering at Fontainebleau near Paris.source
1699December 3 – Baron Jacob Hop is appointed as the treasurer-general of The Hague.source
1699December 20 – Peter the Great orders the Russian New Year changed, from September 1 (the start of the Byzantine year) to January 1.source
1699The Kingo's hymnal is approved by the crown for use in Denmark–Norway.Denmark source
1699John Blow is appointed to the newly created post of Composer to the Chapel Royal.England source
1699The Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture holds the first of a series of salons at the Louvre Palace.France source
1699Publication of The Dublin Scuffle: being a challenge sent by John Dunton, citizen of London, to Patrick Campbel, bookseller in Dublin.Ireland source
1699Painting of the family of farmer Bjørn Frøysåk is made.Norway source