1620
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Events
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January–March
[edit]- January 7 – Ben Jonson's play News from the New World Discovered in the Moon is given its first performance, a presentation to King James I of England. In addition to dialogue about actual observations made by telescope of the Moon, the play includes a fanciful discussion of a lunar civilization a dance by the "Volatees", the lunar race. <ref>Julie Sanders, Ben Jonson's Theatrical Republics (Palgrave Macmillan, 1998)</ref>
- January 22 – In France, Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes, and his wife, the Duchess Marie de Rohan, sign a marriage contract on behalf of their one-year-old daughter to be engaged to the year-old son of Charles, Duke of Guise. <ref>Sharon Kettering, Power and Reputation at the Court of Louis XIII: The Career of Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes (1578–1621) (Manchester University Press, 2008) pp. 91–92</ref>
- January 26 – Karan Singh II becomes the new ruler of the Kingdom of Mewar (in the modern-day state of Rajasthan in India) upon the death of his father, the Maharana Amar Singh I.
- February 4 – Prince Bethlen Gabor secures a peace treaty with Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor.
- March 22 – King Karma Phuntsok Namgyal of Tibet dies of smallpox after a reign of less than two years, after Ngawang Namgyal of Bhutan casts a tantric spell over him. <ref>Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa, One Hundred Thousand Moons (Leiden 2010) p. 333</ref>
- March 24 – English sailor Owen Fitzpen is captured by Turkish pirates while on a trading voyage in the Mediterranean Sea and sold into slavery. He remains a slave in North Africa for seven years until he and 10 other slaves are able to take over a Turkish ship and sail back to Europe.
April–June
[edit]- April 1 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and former King of Bohemia, sends a two-month ultimatum directing King Frederick of Bohemia (who has usurped the throne in the modern-day Czech Republic) to leave Bohemia by June 1. Frederick refuses to depart his capital at Prague.
- April 7 – The earliest recorded earthquake in South Africa occurs at Robben Island.
- April 20 – Mian Shahul Mouhammed Kalhoro begins his reign at Karachi as the king of Sindh, in modern-day Pakistan, and rules until 1657.
- May 17 – The first merry-go-round is seen at a fair in Philippapolis, Turkey.
- June 3 – The oldest stone church in French North America, Notre-Dame-des-Anges, is begun at Quebec City in modern-day Canada.
July–September
[edit]- July 3
- Under the terms of the Treaty of Ulm, the Protestant Union declares neutrality and ceases to support Frederick V of Bohemia.
- Captain Andrew Shilling, on behalf of the English Honourable East India Company, lays claim to Table Bay in Africa.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- July 25 (July 15 OS) – The armed merchant ship Mayflower embarks about 65 emigrants for New England at or near her home port of Rotherhithe on the Thames east of London; about July 29 (July 19 OS) she anchors in Southampton Water.<ref name=Ames>Template:Cite book</ref>
- August 1 (July 22 OS) – The ship Speedwell departs Delfshaven with English separatist Puritans from Leiden bound to rendezvous with the Mayflower; on August 5 (July 26 OS) she anchors in Southampton Water.<ref name=Ames/>
- August 15 (probable date; August 5 OS) – Mayflower and Speedwell depart together from Southampton,<ref name=Ames/> but are forced to put back into Dartmouth, Devon, for repairs to a leak in the latter ship on August 22 or 23 (August 12 or 13 OS).
- August 7
- The mother of astronomer Johannes Kepler is arrested for witchcraft.
- In a battle at Les Ponts-de-Cé in France, King Louis XIII defeats troops led by his mother, Marie de' Medici.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- September 2 (August 23 OS) – Mayflower and Speedwell depart together from Dartmouth; they are well out into the Atlantic when the Speedwell is again found to be leaking.<ref name=Ames/>
- September 7 (August 28 OS)
- Mayflower and Speedwell return again to England, anchoring at Plymouth; the latter ship is given up as a participant in the voyage and on September 12 (September 2 OS) departs for London, most of her passengers and stores having been transferred to the Mayflower.<ref name=Ames/>
- The Finnish town of Kokkola (Template:Langx) is founded by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.<ref>YLE: Kokkolan perustajasta puuveistos Suntin varteen (in Finnish)</ref><ref>Historia - Kokkola (in Finnish)</ref>
- September 16 (September 6 OS) – Mayflower departs from Plymouth in England on her third attempt to cross the Atlantic.<ref name="Cassell's Chronology">Template:Cite book</ref> The Pilgrims on board comprise 41 "saints" (English separatists largely from Holland), 40 "strangers" (largely secular planters from London), 23 servants and hired workers, together with c. 30 crew.
- September 17–October 7 – Battle of Cecora: The Ottoman Empire defeats Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth–Moldavian troops.
October–December
[edit]- October 6 – Battle of Amedamit in Gojjam, Ethiopia: The Roman Catholic Ras Sela Kristos, half-brother of Emperor Susenyos, crushes a group of rebels, who are opposed to Susenyos' pro-Catholic beliefs.
- November 3 – The Great Patent is granted to Plymouth Colony.
- November 8 – Thirty Years' War: Battle of White Mountain – Catholic Habsburg forces are victorious over Bohemian rebels two hours from Prague.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- November 21 (November 11 OS) – The Mayflower arrives inside the tip of Cape Cod (named from the Concord voyage of 1602), at what becomes known as Provincetown Harbor, with the Pilgrims and Planters; 41 Plymouth Colony settlers sign the Mayflower Compact, the first governing document of the colony, on board the ship.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- November 25 – The wedding of Gustav II Adolf and Maria Eleonora takes place in Sweden.
- December 21 – Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land near what becomes known as Plymouth Rock, in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Date unknown
[edit]- "A Dutch Ship, putting in this Year [of 1620, before June], sold 20 Negroes to the Colony [as slaves], which were the first of that Generation, that were ever brought to Virginia."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- A severe frost in England freezes the River Thames; 13 continuous days of snow blanket Scotland. On Eskdale Moor, only 35 of a flock of 20,000 sheep survive.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Witch-hunts begin in Scotland.Template:Citation needed
- History of submarines: Cornelis Drebbel demonstrates the first navigable undersea boat in the Thames in England.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=acott>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- The modern violin is developed.Template:Citation needed
- Juan Pablo Bonet, teacher of deaf children in the Spanish court, creates a sign alphabet.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Francis Bacon publishes the Novum Organum (beyond Aristotle's Organon) on logical thinking.Template:Citation needed<ref>1.
Donaldson I. Francis Bacon’s comments on the power of negative observations in his Novum Organum, first published in 1620. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 2016;109(12):459-460. doi:10.1177/0141076816675805</ref>
- A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolomé de las Casas and Origin and progress of the disturbances in the Netherlands by Johannes Gysius are re-published in the Netherlands.<ref name="WDL515">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada begins restoring Osaka Castle in Japan. Its modern-day appearance dates from this remodeling.<ref name="archaeology">Template:Cite web</ref>
Ongoing
[edit]- The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) continues (principally on the territory of modern-day Germany).
Births
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January–March
[edit]- January 1
- William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker of England (d. 1684)
- Robert Morison, Scottish botanist and taxonomist (d. 1683)
- January 5 – Miklós Zrínyi, Croatian military commander (d. 1664)
- January 9 – Anton Günther I, Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (d. 1666)
- January 17 – Anton Janson, Dutch type founder and printer (d. 1687)
- January 31 – Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck, Dutch general and German field marshal (d. 1692)
- February 1 – Gustaf Bonde, Swedish politician (d. 1667)
- February 3 – Sir James Clavering, 1st Baronet, English landowner (d. 1702)
- February 5 – Paul Barbette, Dutch physician (d. 1666)
- February 13 – Girolamo Casanata, Italian cardinal (d. 1700)
- February 15 – François Charpentier, French archaeologist and man of letters (d. 1702)
- February 16 – Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1688)
- February 23 – Francis Newport, 1st Earl of Bradford, English politician (d. 1708)
- March 10 – Johann Heinrich Hottinger, Swiss philologist and theologian (d. 1667)
- March 13 – Alexander Seton, 1st Viscount of Kingston (d. 1691)
- March 29 – Edward Digges, English barrister and colonist, Colonial Governor of Virginia (d. 1674)
April–June
[edit]- April 4 – Bernardino León de la Rocha, Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Coria and of Tui (1669–1673) (d. 1675)
- April 15 – Edward Villiers, English politician and military officer (d. 1689)
- April 17 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, French Catholic nun, founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame (d. 1700)
- April 18 – Winston Churchill (1620–1688), English noble, soldier (d. 1688)
- April 21 – Salvatore Castiglione, Italian painter (d. 1676)
- April 24 – John Graunt, English demographer (d. 1674)
- May 3 – Bogusław Radziwiłł, Polish-Lithuanian noble (d. 1669)
- May 21 – Krsto Zmajević, Montenegrin-born Venetian merchant (d. 1688)
- May 23 – Pieter Neefs the Younger, Flemish painter (d. 1675)
- May 25 – Warwick Mohun, 2nd Baron Mohun of Okehampton, English Member of Parliament (d. 1665)
- June 6 – Sir John Covert, 1st Baronet, English politician (d. 1679)
- June 11 – John Moore (Lord Mayor), Member of Parliament for the City of London (d. 1702)
July–September
[edit]- July 20
- Nikolaes Heinsius the Elder, Dutch scholar (d. 1681)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Camillo Massimo, Italian cardinal, patron of the arts (d. 1677)
- July 21 – Jean Picard, French astronomer and priest (d. 1682)
- July 31 – Juan Ignacio de la Carrera Yturgoyen, Chilean politician (d. 1682)
- August 6 – William Hiseland, English (later British) soldier, reputed supercentenarian (d. 1732)
- August 19 – Johann Just Winckelmann, German writer and historian (d. 1699)
- August 22 – Alexander Rigby (died 1694), English politician (d. 1694)
- August 24 – Thomas Stucley (MP), English politician (d. 1663)
- August 26 – Ernst Bogislaw von Croÿ, German Lutheran administrator (d. 1684)
- September 4 – Ernest Gottlieb, Prince of Anhalt-Plötzkau (d. 1654)
- September 6 – Isabella Leonarda, Italian composer (d. 1704)
- September 18 – Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, German prince (d. 1667)
- September 25 – François Bernier, French physician and traveller (d. 1688)
- September 29 – John Louis of Elderen, Bishop of Liege (d. 1694)
October–December
[edit]- October 1 – Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, Dutch Golden Age painter of pastoral landscapes (d. 1683)
- October 4 – François-Henri Salomon de Virelade, French lawyer (d. 1670)
- October 15 – William Borlase (died 1665), English politician (d. 1665)
- October 16 – Pierre Paul Puget, French painter (d. 1694)
- October 20 – Aelbert Cuyp, Dutch painter (d. 1691)
- October 27 – Philip Louis, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg (d. 1689)
- October 31 – John Evelyn, English diarist and writer (d. 1706)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- November 10
- Ninon de l'Enclos, French author (d. 1705)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Theodoor Boeyermans, Flemish Baroque painter (d. 1678)
- Template:Circa November 20 – Peregrine White, first child born to English settlers at Plymouth Colony (d. 1704)
- December 17
- Henri Charles de La Trémoille, son of Henry de La Trémoille (d. 1672)
- Maurice of the Palatinate, 4th son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine (d. 1652)
- December 18 – Heinrich Roth, German Jesuit missionary, pioneering Sanskrit scholar (d. 1668)
- December 23 – Johann Jakob Wepfer, Swiss pathologist (d. 1695)
- probable – Ecaterina Cercheza, princess consort of Moldavia (d. 1666)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Deaths
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January–March
[edit]- January 20 – John Croke, English politician and judge (b. 1553)
- January 26 – Amar Singh I, ruler of Mewar (b. 1559)
- January 28 – Archduchess Eleanor of Austria (b. 1582)
- February 15 – James Archer, Irish Jesuit; played a controversial role in the Nine Years' War (b. 1550)
- February 19
- Al-Mansur al-Qasim, Imam of Yemen (b. 1559)
- Roemer Visscher, Dutch writer (b. 1547)
- February 23 – Nicholas Fuller, English politician (b. 1543)
- March 1 – Thomas Campion, English poet and composer (b. 1567)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- March 5 – Giovanni Francesco Sagredo, Italian mathematician (b. 1571)
- March 17 – St. John Sarkander, Moravian priest (injuries caused by torturing) (b. 1576)
- March 25 – Johannes Nucius, German composer (b. c. 1556)
- March 29 – Hachisuka Yoshishige, Japanese daimyō of the Edo period (b. 1586)
April–June
[edit]- April 8 – Angelo Rocca, Italian humanist (b. 1545)
- April 23 – Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, Palestinian-born Kabbalist (b. 1543)
- April 14 – Rascas de Bagarris, French scholar (b. 1562)
- May 16 – William Adams, English navigator and samurai (b. 1564)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- May 30 – Mathias Hovius, Roman Catholic archbishop (b. 1542)
- June 17 – Mikołaj Zebrzydowski (b. 1553)
July–September
[edit]- July 13 – William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg (b. 1560)
- August 2 – Carolus Luython, Belgian composer (b. 1557)
- August 14 – Katherine Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, wife of Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon (b. 1540)
- August 18 – Wanli Emperor, of China (b. 1563)
- September 13 – Wolfgang Hirschbach, German legal scholar (b. 1570)
- September 26 – Taichang Emperor, fourteenth emperor of the Ming dynasty of China (b. 1582)
- September – Sidonia von Borcke, German noble and alleged witch (b. 1548)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
October–December
[edit]- October 7 – Stanisław Żółkiewski, Polish nobleman of the Lubicz coat of arms (b. 1547)
- November 6 – Philip III, Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern (1588–1620) (b. 1567)
- William Butten, Mayflower passenger (b. unknown)
- November 7 – Robert Hesketh, English politician (b. 1560)
- November 9 – Louise de Coligny, daughter of Gaspard II de Coligny; fourth and last spouse of William the Silent (b. 1555)
- November 11 – Isaac and Josias Habrecht, Swiss watchmaking brothers (b. 1544)
- November 27 – Francis, Duke of Pomerania-Stettin, Bishop of Cammin (b. 1577)
- December 3 – Janusz Radziwiłł, Polish noble (b. 1579)
- December 21 – George Fleetwood, English politician (b. 1564)
Date unknown
[edit]- Rose of Turaida, legendary Latvian murder victim (b. 1601)
- John Flower, English politician (b. 1535)
Approximate date
[edit]- Brianda Pereira, Azorean Portuguese heroine (b. 1550)
- Isabella Parasole, Italian engraver (b. ca. 1570)