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William Byrd
(1539 - 1623)

1539

M : William Byrd born
RP : Calvin: Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans
RP : Erasmus: Proverbs or Adagies, trans. by Richard Taverner
RP : Melanchthon: De officio principum
ST : Olaus Magnus: map of the world
DL : First Christmas tree, at Strasbourg Cathedral
DL : A public lottery held in France

1540

PH : Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves; marriage annulled by the convocation of Canterbury and York; Henry marries Catherine Howard, his fifth wife
PH : Treaty between Venice and Turkey signed at Constantinople
PH : Afghan rebel Sher Shah becomes Emperor of Delhi
RP : Order of the Jesuits confirmed by Pope Paul III
ED : Henry VIII founds regius professorships of Greek, Hebrew, divinity, civil law, and physics ast Oxford and Cambridge
RP : Augustinus Steuchus: De perenni philosophia
ST : Ether produced from alcohol and sulfuric acid
ST : Michael Servetus discovers pulmonary circulation of the blood
VA : Parmigianino dies

1541

PH : Henry VIII assumes titles of King of Ireland and Head of the Irish Church
PH : Queen Catherine Howard sent to the Tower on suspicion of immoral conduct
RP : John Knox leads Calvinist Reformation in Scotland
RP : Loyola elected General of the Jesuits

1542

PH : Queen Catherine Howard executed
PH : Mary, Queen of Scots, ascends the throne
RP : Pope Paul III establishes Inquisition in Rome
ED : Magdalen College, Cambridge, founded
ED : University of Pisa refounded by Cosimo I de'Medici
ST : Antonio da Mota enters Japan as the first European
ST : Andreas Vesalius: De fabrica corporis humani, modern anatomy
DL : Heavy taxes on drinks in Bavaria

1543

PH : Henry VIII marries Catherine Parr, his sixth queen, who survives him
RP : Index librorum prohibitiorum issued by Pope Paul III
RP : First Protestants burned at the stake by Span. Inquisition
ST : Span. navigator and mechanician Blasco da Baray submits to Charles V the design for a steamboat
VA : Hans Holbein the Younger dies

1544

PH : Act of hereditary settlement fixes Swed. succession in male line
ED : University of Königsberg founded
ST : Georg Agricola initiates the study of physical geology
ST : Luca Ghini publishes the first herbarium
ST : Sebastian Münster: Cosmographia generalis
ST : Michael Stifel: Aritmetica integra
ST : St Bartholomew's Hospital in London re-founded
ST : Silver mines of Potosi, Peru, discovered

1545

PH : Truce of Adrianople between Charles V, Ferdinand of Austria, and Suleiman I
LT : Stage comedians create a new type of improvised theatrical entertainment in northern Italy
RP : Council of Trent meets to discuss Reformation and Counter Reformation
ST : Gernoimo Cardano works out Scipione del Ferro's equations of the third and fourth degree
ST : Claude Garamond designs his antique typography
ST : First European botanical garden in Padua
M : John Taverner dies 15 October

1546

ST : Civil war in Germany (Schmalkaldic War) between Emperor Charles V and the Schmalkldic League
ED : Cardinal College, Oxford, refounded as Christ Church
RP : Etienne de La Boétie: Le Discours de la servitude volontaire
ST : First Welsh book printed: Yny Lhyvyr Mwnn
ST : Ital. physician Girolamo Fracastoro states his view on infections and epidemic diseases
ST : Fl. geographer Gerardus Mercator states that the earth has a magnetic pole
ST : First pharmacopoia by Valerius Cordus
ST : Abortive efforts to find the legendary Dorado in Venezuela

1547

PH : Ivan IV crowned Czar of Russia in Moscow
PH : Henry VIII of England dies; succeeded by his and Jane Seymour's son Edward VI
PH : Francis I of France dies; succeeded by his son Henry II
PH : Crown of Bohemia proclaimed hereditary in the House of Hapsburg
RP : William Baldwin: A Treatise of Morall Phylosophie
RP : La chambre ardente created in France for the trial of heretics
M : Swiss musical theorist Henricus Glareanus publishes his work on the 12 church modes, Dodekachordon
DL : First predictions of the Fr. astrologer Nostradamus
DL : French instead of Latin declared the official language of the Fr. authorities
DL : Moscow destroyed by fire
DL : Poor rate levied in London

1548

PH : Sigusmund I of Poland dies; succeeded by his son Sigismund II Augustus
LT : Hôtel de Bourgogne, first roofed theatre, opened in Paris
LT : Royal edict forbids performance of "mystères" in Paris
RP : Ignatius Loyola: Spiritual Exercises published
ED : University of Messina founded
RP : Francis Zavier founds a Jesuit mission in Japan
ED : Sir Thomas Gresham founds seven professorships in London

1549

PH : Ivan IV calls first national assembly in Russia
LT : Joachim du Bellay, leader of the poetic Pléiade group, states the program of Fr. Classicism: Défense et illustration dela langue francaise
RP : Only the new Book of Prayer may be used in England
RP : Consensus Tigurinus agreement between Calvin and Zwinglians on Holy Communion
ST : Melanchthon objects to the theories of Copernicus
RP : Pope Paul III dies
ED : Siegmund von Herberstein: Rerum Moscovitarum commentarii, report on Russia
ED : Konrad von Gesner: Biblioteca universalis
ST : Thomé de Souza founds Sao Salvador
DL : Court jesters (dwarfs, cripples) appear in Europe

1550

RP : Thomas Cranmer: A Defence of the Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament
RP : Cardinal Giovanni Maria del Monte becomes Pope Julius III
RP : Siegmund von Herberstein: De natura fossilium
VA : Beginning of early Baroque in art
VA : Beginnings of Jap. "Ukiyoe" painting
VA : Giorgio Vasari: Lives of the Artists
M : John Marbeck: The Booke of Common Praier noted, first musical setting of Eng. liturgy
DL : Game of billiards played for the first time in Italy
DL : Sealing wax used for first time
DL : First written reference to game of cricket (creag) in young Edward VI's wardrobe accounts

1551

ED : Jesuits found Collegio Romano in Rome as papal university
RP : Jews persecuted in Bavaria
ED : University of Lima founded
ST : Pierre Belon: Histoire naturelle des estranges poissons
ST : Konrad von Gesner: Historia animalium, modern zoology
DL : First licensing of alehouses and taverns in England and Wales

1552

LT : Sir Walter Raleigh born
ED : Collegium Germanicum, Rome, founded by Jesuits
ED : Francesco López de Gómera, private secretary to Cortes, publishes his Historia general de las Indias
RP : Second Prayer Book of Edward VI
ST : Bartolommeo Eustachio: Tabulae anatomicae, Eustachian tube and valve
ST : Christ's Hospital, London, founded by King Edward VI
DL : St. Andrew's Golf Club, Scotland, founded; Mary, Queen of Scots, probably first female golfer

1553

PH : Lady Jane Grey proclaimed Queen of England; deposed nine days later
PH : Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, becomes Queen of England
PH : Sultan Suleiman I makes peace with Persia
RP : Domingo de Soto: De justicia et jure
RP : Sir Thomas More: A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation (posth.)
RP : Thomas Wilson: The Arte of Rhetorique
M : The violin in its present form begins to develop
DL : Pedro de Cieza de Leon describes the potato in his Chronicle of Peru
VA : Lucas Cranach the Elder dies

1554

PH : Lady Jane Grey executed
PH : Princess Elizabeth sent to the Tower for suspected participation in rebellion against Mary I
RP : Catholic restoration in England
ED : Trinity College, Oxford, founded
ST : Ulisse Aldrovandi: Herbarium

1555

PH : Peace of Augsburg: Lutheran states to enjoy equal rights with Catholic
PH : Charles V turns over government of Netherlands to his son Philip
ED : An Aztec dictionary published
RP : Pope Julius III dies 23 March; Cardinal Marcello Cervino elected Pope Marcellus II (dies 30 April); Cardinal Giovanni Pietro Caraffa elected Pope Paul IV
ST : Pierre Belon: L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux
ST : Tobacco brought for the first time to Spain from America

1556

PH : Charles V abdicates, assigning Spain to his son Philip II, and the Holy Roman Empire to his brother Ferdinand I, and retires into the monastery of Yuste
PH : Akbar the Great, Mogul Emperor of India
RP : Juan de Ávila: Audi filia, ascetic Christian text
RP : Jesuit Order established in Prague
ST : George Agricola: De re metallica, a study of mineralogy (posth.)
DL : Stationer's Company of London granted monopoly of printing in England

1557

M : Thomas Morley born
PH : John III, King of Portugal dies; succeeded by his grandson Sebastian I
DL : State bankruptcy in Spain and France
LT : The Sack-Full of Newes, first English play to be censored
ED : Gonville College, Cambridge, refounded as Gonville and Caius College
ST : Robert Recorde: Whetstone of Wit, first Eng. treatise on algebra
ED : Repton School, Derbyshire, founded
ED : Accademia di San Luca, Rome
ST : Thomas Tusser: A Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandrie
DL : Influenza epidemic throughout Europe

1558

PH : Ferdinand I assumes the title of Holy Roman Emperor
PH : Ex-Emperor Charles V dies
PH : Queen Mary I of England dies; succeeded by Elizabeth I
DL : John Knox: The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women
RP : Zohar, cabbalistic work of Jewish mysticism (13th-century), printed
ED : University of Jena founded
M : Gioseffo Zarlino: Institutioni harmoniche, definitions of modern major and minor scales
DL : Thomas Gresham suggests reform of Eng. currency (Gresham's Law)
DL : Hamburg Exchange founded
DL : Portuguese introduce Europeans to the habit of taking snuff
PH : French retake Calais

1559

PH : King Christian III of Denmark and Norway dies; succeeded by Frederick II
PH : Coronation of Queen Elizabeth I
PH : King Henry II of France killed in a tournament; succeeded by his son Francis II, whose wife Mary, Queen of Scots, assumes title Queen of England
PH : Margaret of Parma, sister of Philip II, Regent in the Netherlands
LT : Thomas Sackville: Induction, introducing the new age of Elizabethan literature
RP : Elizabethan Prayer Book
RP : Mattias Flacius: Ecclesiastica historica
RP : Pope Paul IV dies; Giovanni Angelo de'Medici elected Pope Pius IV
ED : University of Geneva founded
ST : Realdo Colombo describes position and posture of human embryo

1560

RP : Huguenot conspiracy at Amboise; liberty of worship promised in France
PH : King Francis II of France dies; succeeded by Charles IX with Catherine de'Medici, his mother, as regent
RP : Church of Scotland founded
RP : Francesco Patrizi: Della historia, on the philosophy of history
RP : Beginnings of Puritanism in England
ED : Westminster School, London, founded
VA : The Uffizi at Florence founded
ST : First scientific society founded at Naples by Giambattista della Porta
PH : Madrid becomes capital of Spain
DL : Tobacco plant imported to Western Europe by Jean Nicot
DL : Visiting cards used for the first time by Germ. students in Italy

1561

PH : Edict of Orleans suspends persecution of Huguenots
PH : Baltic states of the Order of the Teutonic Knights secularised
RP : First Calvinist refugees from Flanders settle in England
ST : Gabriele Fallopius: Observations anatomicae
DL : Ruy López develops in Spain the modern technique of chess playing
ST : Forerunners of hand grenades made for the first time
ED : Merchant Taylors' School, London, founded
VA : St. Paul's Cathedral, London, badly damaged by fire
DL : Tulips from the Near East first come to Western Europe

1562

M : John Dowland born
PH : Shane O'Neill rebels in Ireland
PH : Emperor Ferdinand I signs eight-year truce with Suleiman I of Turkey
PH : Maximilian, son of Ferdinand I, becomes King of Bohemia
RP : Third session of Council of Trent convenes
RP : 1,200 Fr. Huguenots slain at Massacre of Vassy; first War of Religion begins
RP : Eng. Articles of Religion of 1552 reduced to the Thirty-Nine Articles
M : Gasparo Bertolotti da Salò moves to Brescia to become first great Ital. violin maker
ST : French attempt to colonise Florida
ST : John Hawkins makes his first journey to the New World; begins slave trade between Guinea and West Indies
DL : Milled coins introduced in England
DL : Plague in Paris
M : Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck born in April

1563

LT : Michael Drayton born
RP : Peace of Amboise ends first War of Religion in France; the Huguenots are granted limited toleration
PH : Charles IX of France (at 13) is declared of age
PH : Maximilian II elected King of Hungary
ST : First printing presses in Russia
LT : Blossoming of Span. mystic poetry
RP : John Foxe's Book of Martyrs, first Eng. edition
RP : Council of Trent ends
RP : Counter Reformation begins in Bavaria
RP : Term "Puritan" first used in England
VA : John Shute: First and Chief Grounds of Architecture
ST : Gerardus Mercator draws the first accurate map of Lorraine
ST : Ambroise Pare: Cinq livres de chirugie
DL : Eng. Parliament passes acts for relief of the poor and for regulating apprentices
DL : General outbreak of plague in Europe kills 20,000 people in London

1564

PH : Peace of Troyes ends war between England and France
PH : Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor since 1556 dies; succeeded by his son Maximilian II
RP : Council of Trent's Professio Fidei confirmed by Pope Pius IV
RP : Counter Reformation begins in Poland
RP : Index librorum prohibitorum published after receiving papal approval
RP : Philip Neri founds the Congregation of the Oratory in Rome
RP : Scots' Psalter
ST : Bartolommeo Eustachio: Opuscula anatomica
DL : Horse-drawn coach introduced in England from Holland
VA : Artist Michelangelo de Buonarotti dies in Rome
LT : William Shakespeare born 23 April

1565

RP : Jacobus Anconcio: Stratagemata Satanae, advocating religious toleration
ED : Thomas Cooper: Thesaurus linguae Romanae et Britannicae
RP : Pierre de la Place: Histoire de nostre temps
RP : Pope Pius IV dies
ST : Royal College of Physicians, London, empowered to carry out human dissections
ST : Bernardino Telesio: De rerum natura, foreshadowing empirical methods of science
DL : Sir Thomas Gresham founds the Royal Exchange, London
DL : Pencils manufactured in England
DL : Sir John Hawkins introduces sweet potatoes and tobacco into England

1566

PH : Suleiman I dies; succeeded by Selim II as Sultan of Turkey
RP : Calvinist riots in the Netherlands; Regent Margaret of Palma abolishes Inquisition
PH : Sigismund III, King of Poland
PH : Turko-Hungarian war renewed in spite of truce of 1562
RP : Jean Bodin: Methodus ad facilem historiarum cognitionem, on the philosophy of history
RP : Heinrich Bullinger unites Calvinism with Zwinglianism in Second Helvetian Confession
RP : Cardinal Michaele Ghislieri becomes Pope Pius V
DL : Notizie Scritte, one of first newspapers, appears in Venice

1567

PH : Queen Mary forced to abdicate; makes her stepbrother, the Earl of Moray, regent
PH : Duke of Alba arrives as military governor in the Netherlands and begins reign of terror; Margaret of Parma resigns regency
PH : In Japan Nobunaga deposes shogunate and centralises government
ED : Francesco Guicciardini: Storia d'Italia (posth.)
RP : Maximilian II establishes monastery council to superintend clergy
ED : University of Helmstedt, Brunswick, founded
ST : Alvaro Mendana de Neyra discovers Solomon Islands in Pacific Ocean
PH : Rio de Janeiro founded
DL : Two million Indians die in S. America of typhoid fever
M : Claudio Monteverdi born 15 May

1568

PH : Peace between Selim II and Maximilian II
PH : Treaty of Longjumeau ends second War of Religion in France
PH : Swedes declare Eric XIV unfit to reign and proclaim John III king
DL : First modern eisteddfod for Welsh music and literature held at Caerwys
RP : First translation of the Bible into Czech
RP : Archbishop Parker's Bishop's Bible
ED : English College founded at Douai by William Allen to train Jesuit missionaries for work in England
RP : Jesuit missionaries welcomed in Japan
RP : Pope Pius V issues revised Brevarium Romanun
ST : Gerardus Mercator devises cylindrical projection for charts
ST : Costanzo Varolio studies the anatomy of the human brain
DL : Alexander Nowell, Dean of St. Paul's, London, invents bottled beer
VA : Jan Brueghel the Elder born

1569

PH : Sigismund II of Poland unites Poland with Lithuania; Union of Lublin
ST : Tycho Brahe begins at Augsburg construction of a 19-foot quandrant and a celestial glove, five feet in diameter
ST : Mercator: Cosmographia, and map of the world for navigational use
DL : 40,000 inhabitants of Lisbon die in carbuncular fever epidemic
DL : Public lottery held in London to finance repairs to the port
VA : Pieter Bruegel the Elder dies

1570

PH : Peace of St. Germain-en-Laye ends third civil war in France; Huguenots gain amnesty
PH : Peace of Stettin: Denmark recognises independence of Sweden
PH : Imperial Diet meets at Speyer
DL : Japan opens port of Nagasaki to overseas trade
PH : Turks declare war on Venice
LT : Lodovico Castelvetro demands introduction of Aristotelian principles to contemporary drama
M : Jean Antoine de Baïf founds Académie de Poésie et de Musique, Paris
ED : Roger Ascham: The Scholemaster, manual on education
RP : Consensus of Sendomir: Calvinists, Lutherans and Moravian Brothers of Poland ally against Jesuits
RP : Blaise de Monluc: Commentaires on Fr. politics
RP : Pope Pius V issues bull, Regnans in Excelsis, excommunicating Elizabeth I
RP : Missale Romanum issued by Pius V
M : Earliest known music festival to honour St. Cecilia, in Normandy
M : Culminating point of vocal polyphonic a cappella style (Palestrina, Orlando di Lasso)
ST : Abraham Ortelius (Antwerp): Theatrum orbis terrarum, first modern atlas, with 53 maps
DL : Nuremberg postal services begin

1571

PH : Sigismund II of Poland dies; end of Jagellon dynasty
PH : Reconciliation between Charles IX of France and Huguenots
DL : Act of Parliament forbids export of wool from England
RP : Act of Parliament enforces subscription to the Thirty-Nine Articles among clergy
ED : Bibliotheca Laurenziana in Florence opened to the public
RP : Hugh Latimer: Frutefull Sermons
RP : Francesco Patrizi: Discussiones peripateticae, anti-Aristotelian arguments
ED : Harrow School founded by John Lyon
ED : Jesus College, Oxford, founded by Hugh Price

1572

LT : John Donne born
PH : Dutch War of Independence begins
PH : Estates of Poland declare the monarchy elective
RP : Massacre on St. Bartholomew's Day in Paris: 2,000 Huguenots murdered there
PH : Fourth War of Religion begins in France
ED : Annibale Caro: Lettere Familiari, history of Tuscan literary language in Italy
ED : Jean de Serres: Commentaqrii de statu religionis et reipublicae, survey of Fr. Wars of Religion
ED : Henri Estienne: Thesaurus linguae Graecae
RP : Mathew Parker: De antiquitate Britannicae ecclesiae
RP : Pope Pius V dies; Cardinal Ugo Buoncompagni elected Pope Gregory XIII
M : "Il Re", one of the earliest cellos by Andrea Amati of Cremona
ST : Artis auriferae quam chemium vocant, one of the earliest books on alchemy, published in Basel
ST : Tycho Brahe discovers the "New Star" in the Milky Way
ST : Society of Antiquaries founded in London
DL : Pigeons carrying letters used by Dutch during Span. siege of Haarlem
VA : Bronzino dies
LT : Ben Jonson born 11 June

1573

PH : Peace of Constantinople ends war between Turks and Venice
PH : Henry, Duke of Anjou, elected King of Poland; returns to France to succeed his brother Charles IX
PH : Fourth Fr. War of Religion ends; Huguenots granted an amnesty
PH : Wan-Li begins reign as 13th emperor of the Ming dynasty in China
ED : Collegium Germanicum established in Rome
RP : François Hofman: Francogallia, a treatise on election and deposition of kings
M : Orlando di Lasso: Patrocinium musices
ST : Francis Drake sees Pacific Ocean for first time
VA : Michelangelo Merisi (Caravaggio) born

1574

PH : Charles IX of France dies; succeeded by his brother Henry III, King of Poland
PH : Selim II, Sultan of Turkey dies; succeeded by Murad III
PH : Fifth French War of Religion
RP : First auto-da-fé in Mexico
RP : Jean Bodin: Discours sur les causes de l'extrême cherté en France, on luxury
RP : Hubert Languet: Vindiciae contra tyrannos, political theories of the Huguenots
ED : University of Berlin founded
ST : Ulissi Aldovrandi: Antidotarii Bononiensis epitome, a treatise on drugs
ST : Conrad Dasypodius builds the famous Strasbourg clock
VA : Giorgio Vasari dies

1575

M : Thomas Tallis : Motets, Cantiones sacrae published jointly with William Byrd
M : William Byrd : Cantiones Sacrae (joint collection with Thomas Tallis
PH : King Henry III of France crowned at Rheims
PH : Stephen Báthory of Transylvania becomes King of Poland
PH : Freedom from arrest granted by Eng. Parliament for its members and their servants
DL : State bankruptcy in Spain
ED : University of Leiden founded by William of Orange
ST : Tycho Brahe constructs an observatory at Uraniborg for Frederick II of Denmark
ST : George Turberville: Book of Falconrie
DL : Outbreaks of plague in Sicily, spreading through Italy up to Milan

1576

PH : Act of Federation between Holland and Zeeland signed in Delft
RP : Edict of Beaulieu tolerating Reformed religion in France
PH : Emperor Maximilian II dies; succeeded by his brother Rudolf II
ED : Académy du Palais founded in Paris by Henry III, associated with Baïf's Académie of 1570
RP : Jean Bodin: La république, advocating constitutional change
RP : League of Torgau, supporting opinions of the Lutherans, draws up Articles of Faith
ED : University of Warsaw, Poland, founded
ST : Clusius publishes his treatise on flowers of Spain and Portugal; beginning of modern botany
ST : Robert Norman, English hydrographer, discovers magnetic 'dip', or inclination
ST : François Viète introduces decimal fractions
VA : Titian dies

1577

PH : Henry of Navarre recognised head of Huguenot party
PH : Perpetual Edict to settle civil war in the Netherlands issued by Don John of Austria; rejected by William of Orange
PH : Sixth Fr. War of Religion breaks out
PH : Peace of Bergerac ends sixth War of Religion
RP : William Allot: Thesaurus Bibliorum
ED : Richard Eden: History of Travel in East and West Indies
RP : Lutheran Book of Concord drafted
ED : William Harrison: Description of England
VA : Peter Paul Rubens born

1578

PH : Sebastian, King of Portugal, killed at Alcazar during invasion of Morocco
PH : John III of Sweden secretly converted to Catholicism
PH : Mohammed Khudabanda becomes Shah of Persia
PH : Otomo Yoshishige, one of chief rulers of Japan, converted to Christianity
ED : Jacques Cujas: Commentaries on Roman Law
ED : Eng. College of Douai removed to Rheims
ST : Catacombs of Rome discovered
DL : Work begun on Pont Neuf, oldest bridge over Seine River, Paris

1579

PH : Signing of Union of Utrecht marks foundation of Dutch Republic
LT : Stephen Gosson: The Schools of Abuse, against the theatre
LT : Thomas Lodge: A Defense of Poetry, Music and Stage Plays, answer to Gosson
RP : St. John of the Cross: Dark Night of the Soul

1580

PH : Seventh Fr. War of Religion breaks out
PH : Ivan IV, The Terrible, kills his son and heir with his own hands
RP : Last performance of a miracle play in Coventry
RP : Jean Bodin: Démonomanie des sorciers, against witchcraft
RP : Jesuits Edmund Campion and Robert Parson land in England, begin Jesuit mission
ED : François de la Noue: 24 Discours politiques et militaires, Huguenot point of view on Fr. Wars of Religion
RP : Michel de Montaigne: Essais
ST : Francis Drake returns to England from voyage of circumnavigation
DL : Venice imports coffee from Turkey to Italy
DL : Earthquake in London
DL : New building banned in London to restrict growth of city
VA : Frans Hals born (year approximate)

1581

RP : Edmund Campion, Eng. Jesuit, tried for treason and executed
RP : Pope Gregory XIII attempts to reconcile Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches
PH : James VI of Scotland signs Second Confession of Faith
ED : Lancelot Popelinière: Premier Livre de l'idée de l'histoire accomplieé, contemporary history
M : Vincenzo Galiglei: Dialogo della musica antica e moderna
ST : William Borough: A Discourse on the Variation of the Compass or Magneticall Needle
ST : Elizabeth I knights Francis Drake at Deptford
ST : Galileo Galilei discovers isochronous property of the pendulum
DL : Sedan chairs in general use in England

1582

PH : Raid of Ruthven: James VI kidnapped by Protestant nobles
DL : Gregorian Calendar adopted in Papal States, Spain, and Portugal, France and the Netherlands and Scandinavia
PH : Nobunaga, ruler of Japan, assassinated
PH : Venetian Constitution amended; authority of Council of Ten restricted
ED : George Buchanan: Rerum Scoticarum historiae
RP : Jesuit mission founded in China
ED : Utrecht Library founded
ED : University of Edinburgh founded
ED : Richard Hakluyt: Divers Voyages Touching the Discovery of America
ST : Urbain Hémand investigates the anatomy of the teeth
DL : Royal Navy gets graduated pay according to rank
DL : London's first waterworks founded; water wheels installed on London Bridge

1583

DL : England adopts Gregorian Calendar
PH : James VI of Scotland escapes from hands of Ruthven raiders after 10 months
LT : Queen's Company of Players formed in London by Sir Edmund Tilney
RP : Francesco Sansovino: Del Governo et ammistrazione di diversi regni et republiche
ED : Joseph Justus Scaliger: Opus de emendatione temporum, foundation of modern chronology
RP : Sir Thomas Smith: De repubica Anglorum, on government machinery in England
DL : First known life insurance in England, on life of William Gibbons
M : Girolamo Frescobaldi born in September

1584

PH : Ivan IV, The Terrible, dies; succeeded as Czar of Russia by his son Fyodor, who relinquishes most of his powers to his brother-in-law Boris Godunov
ED : Foundation of Accademia dei Scienze, Lettere ed Arti in Lucca
RP : Giordano Bruno: Spaccio della bestia trionfante
RP : Nicholas Sanders: De origine ac progressu schismatis Anglicani
RP : Reginald Scot: The Discoverie of Witchcraft, attacking superstition
ED : Emmanuel College, Cambridge, founded by Sir Walter Mildmay
ED : Uppingham School founded
DL : Dutch trading post founded at Archangel, Russia
ST : Sir Walter Raleigh discovers and annexes Virginia
DL : Banco di Rialto founded in Venice
ST : Oldest extant wave-swept lighthouse erected at Cordouan, at the mouth of the Gironde River

1585

PH : Henry III of France and Elizabeth I of England decline sovereignty of the Netherlands; but Elizabeth takes the Netherlands under her protection
PH : Hideyoshi sets up dictatorship in Japan
LT : Teatro Olimpico, in Vicenza, opened
RP : Pope Gregory XIII dies; Cardinal Felice Peretti becomes Pope Sixtus V
ED : Jesuit University founded in Graz, Austria
ST : Simon Stevin formulates the law of equilibrium
ST : Lucas Janszoon Waghearen: Spiegel der Zeevaart, a book of sailing directions
ST : Bartholomew Newsam constructs first Eng. travelling and standing clocks
M : Heinrich Schütz born 9 October
M : Thomas Tallis dies 23 November

1586

PH : Mary, Queen of Scots, tried for treason at Fotheringay; sentence is pronounced against her; Elizabeth confirms it
PH : Abbas I becomes Shah of Persia
PH : Stephen Báthory, King of Poland, dies
LT : Beginning of Kabuki theatre, Japan
LT : William Webbe: Discourse of English Poetrie
RP : Caesar Baronius: Annales ecclesiastici, history of the Roman Catholic Church
PH : Ludwig Pfyffer forms League of the Seven Swiss Catholic Cantons
ED : William Camden: Britannia, guide to the counties of Britain
RP : Pope Sixtus V fixes number of cardinals at 70; issues bull, "Detestablilis", forbidding usury
DL : Corn severely short in England

1587

M : Samuel Scheidt born
M : Claudio Monteverdi : Book I of Madrigals
PH : Mary, Queen of Scots, executed at Fotheringay
PH : A son of King John of Sweden succeeds Stephen Báthory as Sigismund III of Poland
RP : Pope Sixtus V proclaims Catholic crusade for invasion of England
LT : First company of Eng. players in Germany
RP : Antonio Agustino: Dialogo de medallas y inscriciones, on numismatics (posth.)
RP : John Knox: Hystory of the Reformation in Scotland (posth.)
RP : Rederijckkunst, Dutch manual on rhetoric
M : Zeminoth Israel publishes early collection of Jewish songs
DL : Construction of Rialto Bridge, Venice, by Antonio da Ponte

1588

M : William Byrd : Psalmes, Sonets & Songs
PH : Frederick II of Denmark dies; succeeded by Christian IV
PH : Henry, Duke of Guise, and his brother Louis, Cardinal of Guise, assassinated by order of Henry III; another brother, the Duke of Mayenne, becomes leader of Catholic League
RP : William Morgan's translation of the Bible into Welsh
RP : Jan Blahoslav's Czech translation of New Testament incorporated in Kralice Bible
RP : Thomas Stapleton: Tres Thomae, controversial Roman Catholic tract
ED : Vatican Library opened in Rome
ST : Joachim Camerarius: Hortus medicus
ST : Timothy Bright: An Arte of Shorte, Swifte, and Secrete Writing by Character, manual of shorthand
VA : Paolo Caliari (Veronese) dies

1589

M : William Byrd : Songs of Sundrie Natures
M : William Byrd : Cantiones Sacrae
PH : Henry III, King of France, last of the house of Valois, assassinated; on his deathbed he recognises Henry, King of Navarre, as his successor, who, as Henry IV, is the first Burbon to become King of France
PH : House of Commons first appoints a Standing Committee for Privileges
LT : Thomas Nashe: Anatomie of Absurdities, criticism of contemporary literature
LT : George Puttenham: The Arte of English Poesie
RP : Amador Arrais: Dialogues de Dom Frei Amador Arraiz, Port. conversations on moral and religious themes
PH : Boris Godunov asserts Moscow's religious independence of Constantinople
RP : Justus Lipsius: Politicorum sive Civilis Doctrinae
ED : Kiev Academy founded
ED : Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, founded
M : Thoinot Arbeau: Orchésographie, early treatise on dancing, with several dance tunes
ST : Richard Hakluyt: The Principall Navigations and Discoveries of the English Nation
DL : Forks used for the first time at Fr. court
DL : The Reverend William Lee (Cambridge) invents the stocking frame, first knitting machine

1590

LT : William Shakespeare: Henry VI
PH : Catholic League proclaims Cardinal de Bourbon King Charles X of France in Jan; he dies in May
PH : Shah Abbas I of Persia makes peace with Turkey
LT : Ital. Commedia dell' arte company, "I Accesi", begins activities
RP : Pope Sixtus V dies; Cardinal Giambattista Castagna succeeds him as Pope Urban VII and dies 12 days later; Cardinal Niccolò Sfondrato becomes Pope Gregory XIV
RP : José de Acosta: Historia natural y moral de las Indias
ST : Galileo: De Motu, description of experiments on dropping of various bodies
ST : Coal mining begins in the Ruhr

1591

LT : Michael Drayton: Harmonie of the Church
M : William Byrd : My Ladye Nevells Book collection of keyboard pieces
M : William Byrd : Cantiones Sacrae
PH : Henry IV of France excommunicated by Pope Gregory XIV
PH : Christian I of Saxony dies; succeeded by his eight-year-old son Christian II
RP : Giordano Bruno: De immenso et innumerabilis seu de universo et mundis
RP : Pope Gregory XIV dies; Cardinal Antonio Facchinetti becomes Pope Innocent IX
ED : Trinity College, Dublin, founded by Elizabeth I
ST : François Viète: In Artem analyticam isagoge, on using letters for algebraic quantities
DL : Skittle alleys, in use since the end of the 12th century, become popular in Germany
LT : Robert Herrick born in August

1592

LT : William Shakespeare: Richard III and The Comedy of Errors
LT : John III of Sweden dies; succeeded by Sigismund III of Poland
LT : Emperor Rudolf II makes peace with Poland
LT : Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini elected Pope Clement VIII
LT : Thomas Sanchez: De sacramento matrimonii, on religious and legal aspects of marriage
LT : Lodovico Zacconi: Prattica di musica, original edition
LT : Galileo: Della scienza mechanica, problems of raising weights
ST : Ruined Roman city of Pompeii discovered
DL : Plague kills 15,000 people in London
DL : Windmills used in Holland to drive mechanical saws

1593

LT : William Shakespeare: Titus Andronicus and The Taming of the Shrew
LT : Michael Drayton: Idea, the Shepherd's Garland and Peirs Gaveston
M : Thomas Morley : Canzonets
PH : Rudolf II renews war against Turkey
PH : Henry IV becomes a Roman Catholic, hearing Mass at St. Denis: "Paris is well worth a mass"
LT : London theatres closed because of the plague
RP : Pierre Charron: Les Trois Vérités, Fr. theological treatise
ST : First Fr. botanical gardens established by University of Montpellier
ST : Giambattista della Porta: De refractione, optices parte, with an account of binocular vision
DL : Sant' Ambrogio Bank founded in Milan
LT : George Herbert born 3 April
VA : Artemisia Gentileschi born

1594

LT : William Shakespeare: The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Love's Labor's Lost, King John
LT : Michael Drayton: Matilda and Idea's Mirror
M : Thomas Morley : Madrigals to Four Voyces
PH : Henry IV, having been crowned King of France at Chartres, enters Paris
RP : Edict of St. Germain-en-Laye grants Huguenots freedom of worship
LT : London theatres open again in May
ST : Giordano Bruno seized by the Vatican for supporting Copernican theory of the universe
RP : Richard Hooker: Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity (vols 1-4)
ED : Piere Matthieu: Histoire des derniers troubles de France
M : Elizabeth I sends a Thomas Dallam organ to Sultan of Turkey
M : Dafne, by Jacopo Peri, first opera
ST : Galileo's Golden Rule
VA : Tintoretto dies
M : Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina dies 2 February
VA : Nicolas Poussin born
M : Orlande de Lassus dies 14 June

1595

LT : William Shakespeare: Richard II, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream
LT : Michael Drayton: Endymion and Phoebe
M : Thomas Morley : First Book of Canzonets to Two Voyces
M : Thomas Morley : First Book of Balletts
PH : Henry IV declares war on Spain
PH : Dutch begin to colonise E. Indies
PH : Sultan Murad III of Turkey dies; succeeded by Mohammed III
PH : Peasant revolt in Upper Austria
PH : Pope Clement VIII absolves Henry IV, recognising him as King of France
ED : Andrew Maunsell: The Catalogue of English Printed Books
ST : Andreas Libavius: Opera omnia medicochymica
ST : Mercator's atlas published (posth.)
ST : English army abandons bow as weapon of war
DL : First appearance of heels on shoes
DL : Warsaw, capital of Poland

1596

LT : William Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice
LT : Michael Drayton: Robert, Duke of Normandy and Mortimeriados
PH : Decrees of Folembray end war of Catholic League in France
PH : Pacification of Ireland
PH : Peace between Japan and China after Japanese fail to invade Korea
RP : Caesar Baronius: Martyrologum Romanum
ED : Gresham College, London, founded
ST : Galileo invents thermometer
ST : J.Kepler: Di admirabili proportione coelestium orbium
ST : G.D. Rheticus: Trigonometric Tables (posth.)
ST : Ludolph van Ceulen's "Van den Circkel" gives ration of the diameter to the circumference of a circle to twenty places
DL : Tomatoes introduced in England
DL : First water closets installed at the Queen's Palace, Richmond

1597

LT : William Shakespeare: The Merry Wives of Windsor
LT : Michael Drayton: England's Heroical Epistles
M : Thomas Morley : Canzonets or Little Short Airs to Five and Six Voices
M : John Dowland : First Booke of Songes or Ayres
PH : Second Span. Armada leaves for England; scattered by storms
PH : Philip II opens peace talks with Henry IV
PH : Re-Catholicisation of Upper Austria effected by force
PH : William V, Duke of Bavaria, abdicates in favour of his son Maximilian I, then retires to a monastery
ED : Aldine Press, Venice, founded 1494, ceases after publication of 908 works.
RP : Sir Francis Bacon: Essays, Civil and Moral
ED : Jean de Serres: Inventaire général de l'histoire de France
RP : James VI of Scotland: Demonologie, on witchcraft
M : John Dowland: First Book of Songes
M : Thomas Morley: A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musick
DL : Engl. Act of Parliament prescribes sentences of transportation to colonies for convicted criminals
DL : Eng. merchants expelled from Holy Roman Empire in retaliation for treatment of the Hanseatic League in London
ST : First field hospitals and field dispensaries

1598

LT : William Shakespeare: Henry IV, Much Ado About Nothing
LT : Ben Jonson: Every Man in His Humour
PH : Fyodor I of Russia dies; Boris Godunov, seizing throne, formally elected Czar of Russia by national assembly
PH : Treaty of Ponts de Cé ends civil war in France
PH : Peace of Vervins: Philip II resigns claim to Fr. crown; country united under Henry IV as single sovereign
PH : King Philip II of Spain dies; succeeded by Philip III
PH : Hideyoshi of Japan dies; his successor, Ieyasu Tokugawa, restores shogunate which endures until the revolution of 1867-68
RP : Juan de Mariana: De rege et regis institutione, on kingship
RP : Edict of Nantes grants Fr. Huguenots freedom of worship (revoked, 1685)
ED : John Florio: A World of Wordes, Eng.-Ital. dictionary
RP : John Manwood: Treatise on the Laws of the Forest
RP : Philibert Mareschal: Le Guide des arts et sciences
ED : Francis Meres: Palladis Tamia, anthology of quotations for 125 Eng. writers
ED : Sir Thomas Bodley begins rebuilding of library at Oxford
ED : Reorganisation of the University of Paris by Henry IV
ST : Carlo Ruini: Dell' anatomia e dell' infirmità de cavallo, e suoi remedii, manual of veterinary science
ST : Korean Admiral Visunsin invents iron-clad warship
ST : Tycho Brahe: Astronomicae Instauratae Mechanica, account of his discoveries and description of his instruments
VA : Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini born

1599

LT : William Shakespeare: Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It
LT : William Shakespeare: Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It
LT : Ben Jonson: Every Man Out of His Humour
PH : Duke of Sully, Fr. superintendent of finances, reforms taxation, economic policy, overseas trade and agriculture
PH : Swedish Diet, deposing Sigismund III, proclaims Charles of Södermanland ruler as Charles IX
LT : Building of the Glove Theatre, Southwark, London, where Shakespeare's plays are performed
RP : James VI of Scotland: Basilikon doron, on divine right of kings
ST : Ulissi Aldrovandi, Ital. naturalist, publishes his studies in ornithology
ST : In Marseilles first chamber of commerce founded
DL : Outbreak of plague in Spain
DL : First postal rates fixed in Germany
VA : Anthony van Dyck born
VA : Diego Velázquez born

1600

LT : William Shakespeare: Hamlet
LT : Ben Jonson: Cynthia's Revels
LT : Michael Drayton: The First Part of Sir John Oldcastle
M : Thomas Morley : First Book of Ayres
M : John Dowland : Ayres Vol.II
PH : Henry IV marries Maria de'Medici
PH : Ieyasu, defeating his rivals at Sekigahara, sets himself up as unquestioned ruler in Japan; he moves capital from Kyoto to Ydo (Tokyo)
LT : Fortune Theatre, London, opened
RP : Giordano Bruno burned as heretic in Rome
RP : Persecution of Catholics in Sweden under Charles IX
ED : Scottish College founded in Rome
M : Harps used in orchestras
M : Recorder becomes popular in England
ST : William Gilbert: De Magnete, treatise on magnetism and electricity
ST : Ger. Athanasius Kircher invents magic lantern
ST : Dutch opticians invent the telescope
DL : Amsterdam Bank founded
DL : Wigs and dress trains become fashionable

1601

LT : William Shakespeare: Twelfth Night, Troilus and Cressida
LT : Ben Jonson: The Poetaster
M : Thomas Morley : Triumphs of Oriana
PH : Earl of Essex leads revolt against Elizabeth I; is tried for treason and executed
PH : Michael, Prince of Moldavia, assassinated by Hungarians
PH : Elizabeth I, in her "Golden Speech" to Parliament, surveys achievements of her reign
DL : Abolition of monopolies in England
PH : The "False Dmitri", claiming to be a son of Czar Ivan IV, appears in Poland, winning support for an invasion of Russia
RP : Pierre Charron: De la sagesse, a system of Stoic philosophy
ED : University of Parma founded
M : Caccini's new vocal style: "Nuove musiche"
ST : Kepler becomes astronomer and astrologer to Emperor Rudolf II
ST : John Lancaster leads first East India Company voyage from Torbay to Sumatra
RP : Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci admitted to Peking
DL : Postal agreement between Germany and France
DL : Many Ger. "Badestuben" (type of brothel) closed by authorities, owing to spread of venereal disease

1602

LT : William Shakespeare: All's Well that Ends Well
PH : War between Persia and Turkey
LT : Thomas Campion Observations in the Art of English Poesie
RP : Conrad Kircher: A Concordance to the Septuagint
RP : Emperor Rudolf II, continues persecution of Protestants in Hapsburg lands, Moravian Brethren meetings suppressed
ED : Ambrosian Library, Milan, founded
ED : Bodleian Library, Oxford, opened
ST : Thomas Blondeville: Theoriques of the Planets
ST : Tycho Brahe: Astronomia Instaurate progymnasmata gives plans of 777 fixed stars (posth.)
DL : Dutch East India Company founded (first modern public company)
ST : Galileo investigates laws of gravitation and oscillation
DL : Paris Charité founded
M : Thomas Morley dies in October

1603

LT : Ben Jonson: Sejanus, His Fall
M : John Dowland : Ayres Vol.III
PH : Queen Elizabeth I of England dies; suceeded by her cousin James VI of Scotland as James I of England and Ireland
PH : Amnesty in Ireland
PH : Mohammed III, Sultan of Turkey, dies; succeeded by Ahmad I
PH : Revolts in Transylvania against Emperor Rudolf II
PH : Tokugawa family obtains shogunate in Japan and keeps it
LT : Samuel Daniel: A Defence of Rhyme, in reply to Campion's Observations in the Art of English Poesie
ED : The Standard Grammer by Nudozersky leads to development of modern Czech language
RP : Johannes Althusias: Politica methodice digesta a grammar of politics
RP : Richard Knolles: General Historie of the Turkes
M : Jean-Baptiste Besard: Thesaurus harmonicus collection of lute music
M : Thomas Robinson: School of Musicke
ST : Founding of Accademia dei Lincei, Rome
ST : Benedito de Goes, a lay Jesuit, sets out for India in search of Cathay
ST : Fabricio di Acquapendente discovers the valves in vein
DL : Heavy outbreak of plague in England
LT : Elizabeth I dies 24 March

1604

LT : William Shakespeare: Measure for Measure, Othello
M : Orlande de Lassus : Magnum opus musicum Volume of 516 motets that his sons published after his death
M : John Dowland : Lachrimae (Seaven Teares Figured in Seven Passionate Pavans for lutes, viols, or violins in five parts)
PH : "False Dmitri", claimant to Russ. throne, defeated by Czar Boris Godunov
PH : Sigismund III of Sweden finally deposed, his uncle Charles IX assuming title of king
PH : Peace between England and Spain
PH : England and France sign commercial treaty
RP : Richard Bancroft, Bishop of London, elected Archbishop of Canterbury
RP : Robert Cawdrey: A Table Alphabetical
ED : University of Oxford and University of Cambridge granted privilege of Parliamentary representation (withdrawn 1948)
VA : Karel van Mander: Het Schilderboek, history of art
M : Company of Musicians incorporated in London
M : Negri: Inventioni di balli, on dance technique
ST : Voyages of Engl. East India Company to Java, the Moluccas, and Agra
ST : King James I: Counterblast to Tobacco
ST : Johann Kepler: Optics
DL : Tomsk founded by Russ. Cossacks

1605

LT : William Shakespeare: King Lear
LT : Ben Jonson: Masque of Blacknesse
LT : Ben Jonson: Volpone, or The Fox
M : William Byrd : Gradualia Vol.I
PH : Czar Boris Godunov dies; succeeded by his son Fyodor II; on entry of "False Dmitri" into Moscow Fyodor is assassinated, Dmitri being crowned Czar of Russia
PH : Akbar, Mogul Emperor of India dies; succeeded by his son Jahangir
PH : Guy Fawkes arrested in cellars of Parliament, accused of trying to blow up House of Lords during James I's state opening of Parliament (The Gunpowder Plot)
PH : Ieyasu retires; his son Hidetada succeeds him as ruler of Japan
LT : First permanent Ger. theatre in Cassel
RP : Sir Francis Bacon: The Advancement of Learning
RP : Pope Clement VIII dies; Alessandro de'Medici elected Pope Leo XI
RP : Pope Leo XI dies; Camillo Borghese elected Pope Paul V
RP : Justus Lipsius: Monita et exemplá politica, on organization of the state
ST : Gaspard Bauhin: Theatrum anatomicum, modern anatomy
DL : Eng. government farms all customs revenue to a London consortium of merchants for an annual rent
DL : Newspaper Nieuwe Tijdenghen issued in Antwerp
DL : Bibliotteca Anglica, first public library in Rome, founded

1606

LT : William Shakespeare: Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra
LT : Michael Drayton: Poems Lyric and Pastoral
PH : King James I's proclamation for a national flag
PH : "False Dmitri" assassinated by the boyar Vasili Shuisky; Shhisky is elected Czar
PH : Peace treaty between Turks and Austrians signed at Zsitva-Torok
RP : Johann Arndt: Wahres Christentum
RP : Joseph Justus Scaliger:Thesaurus temporum, chronology of ancient times
M : First open-air opera in Rome
ST : Galileo Galilei invents proportional compass
ST : Founding of Society of Apothecaries and Grocers, and of Fruiterer's Company in London
VA : Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn born

1607

LT : William Shakespeare: Coriolanus, Timon of Athens, Pericles
LT : John Donne: Divine Poems
M : William Byrd : Gradualia Vol.II
M : John Dowland : Ayres Vol.IV
M : Claudio Monteverdi : Opera, La Favola d'Orfeo ('The Fable of Orpheus')
PH : Charles IX crowned King of Sweden
PH : Union of England and Scotland rejected by Eng. Parliament
RP : Joseph Calasanza organises in Rome the Brotherhood of Piarists
ED : John Cowell: The Interpreter, a law dictionary
ST : Founding of Jamestown, Virginia, first Engl. settlement on American mainland
ST : John Norden, Eng. topographer: The Surveyors' Dialogue, manual of surveying
DL : Bank of Genoa fails after announcement of national bankruptcy in Spain

1608

LT : Ben Jonson: Masque of Beauty
M : Girolamo Frescobaldi : Set of open-score fantasias
M : Girolamo Frescobaldi : Book of madrigals
PH : Protestant States of Rhineland form Protestant Union under Christian of Anhalt and Frederick IV of the Palatinate
PH : Jesuit State of Paraguay established
RP : St.Francis de Sales: Introduction à la vie dévote
ED : Edward Grimestone: A General History of the Netherlands
RP : William Perkins: A Discourse of the Damned Art of Witchecraft (posth.)
ST : Dutch scientist Johann Lippershey invents the telescope
ST : Samuel de Champlain founds a Fr. settlement at Quebec
ST : Galileo constructs astronomical telescope
DL : First checks "cash letters" in use in Netherlands
DL : Royal Blackheath Golf Club, London, founded

1609

LT : William Shakespeare: Cymbeline; unauthorized publication of Sonnets
LT : Ben Jonson: Masque of Queens and Epicoene: or, The Silent Woman
M : Orlande de Lassus : Jubilus B. Mariae Virginis 100 settings of the Magnificat, published by his sons after his death
PH : Twelve years truce between Spain and Holland
RP : Bacon: De sapienta veterum
RP : Catholic League of Ger. princes formed at Munich against Protestant Union of May 1608
ED : Garcilaso de la Vaga: History of the Conquest of Peru
RP : Congregation of Female Jesuits founded (dissolved by Pope Urban VIII)
RP : Hugo Grotius: Mare Librum , advocating freedom of the sea
RP : The Emperor Rudolf II permits freedom of religion in Bohemia
M : Orlando Gibbons: Fantazies of Three Parts., first example of engraved music in England
ST : Charles Butler: De fiminine monarchie, or a Treatise concerning Bees
ST : Henry Hudson explores Delaware Bay and Hudson River
ST : Johann Kepler: De motibus stellae Maris
DL : Founding of Bank of Amsterdam
DL : Founding of Charterhouse public school
DL : Tea from China shipped for first time to Europe by Dutch East India Company
DL : Tin-enameled ware made at Delft

1610

LT : William Shakespeare: The Winter's Tale
LT : Ben Jonson: The Alchemist
LT : John Donne: Pseudo-Martyr and A Funerall Elegie
M : Claudio Monteverdi : Vespers
PH : Henry IV of France assassinated; succeeded by his son Louis XIII (age 9), with Maria de'Medici as Regent
PH : Prince Henry, eldest son of King James I, created Prince of Wales
PH : Czar Vasili Shisky deposed; Russ throne offered to Vladislva, son of Sigismund III of Poland
PH : Elector Palatine Frederick IV dies; succeeded by his son Frederick V
LT : Academy of Poetry founded at Padua
RP : John Cowell's Interpreter burned by the common hangman for enhancing authority of the crown
RP : St. Francis de Sales founds, with Mme. de Chantal, Order of the Visitation nuns
ED : Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham found Wadham College, Oxford
ST : Jean Beguin: Tyrocinium chymicum, first textbook on chemistry
ST : Galileo observes Jupiter's satellites, naming them "sideria Medicea"
ST : Thomas Harriott discovers sunspots
ST : Nicolas Pieresc discovers Orion nebula
ST : John Speed: Theatrum of Great Britain, collection of maps
DL : Dutch East India Company introduces the term "share"
ED : The Stationers' Company begins to send a copy of every book printed in England to Bodleian Library, Oxford
VA : Michelangelo Merisi (Caravaggio) dies

1611

LT : William Shakespeare: The Tempest
LT : John Donne: An Anatomy of the World and Ignatius his Conclave
M : William Byrd : Psalmes, Songs & Sonnets
PH : Dissolution of Parliament by James I
PH : War of Calmar declared by Denmark on Sweden
PH : Archduke Matthias crowned King of Bohemia; the Emperor Rudolf II resigns Bohemian crown
PH : Charles IX of Sweden dies , Gustavus II elected King
LT : George Chapman completes his translation of Homer's Iliad
RP : Authorized version of the Holy Bible "King James Bible" published
RP : Etienne Pasquier: Les Recherches de la France
ED : John Speed: A History of Great Britain
ED : University of Rome founded
ST : Marco de Dominis published scientific explanation of rainbow
DL : Dutch merchants permitted to trade in Japan
DL : James I institutes the baronetage as a means of raising money

1612

LT : Anne Bradstreet born
LT : William Shakespeare: Henry VIII
LT : George Herbert publishes first verses (two memorial poems in Latin on the death of Prince Henry, the heir apparent)
LT : Michael Drayton: Poly-Olbion
LT : John Donne: Of the Progress of the Soul
PH : The Emperor Rudolf II dies; succeeded by Matthias, King of Bohemia
PH : Treaty between the Dutch and the King of Kandy in Ceylon
ED : Accademia della Crusca publishes the Ital. Vocabolario
RP : Jakob Böhme: Aurora, oder Morgenröte im Aufgant, mystical philosophy
RP : Last recorded burning of heretics in England
RP : Sir John Davies: Discoverie of the True Causes Why Ireland Was Not Entirely Subdued
RP : Roger Fenton: Treatie of Usurie
ST : Simon Marius rediscovers Andromeda nebula
ST : Antonio Neri: L'Arte vetraria, manual on glassmaking
ST : Bartholomew Pitiscus, Ger. Mathematician, uses decimal point in his trigonometrical tables
ST : John Smith: A Map of Virginia
ST : Earliest colonisation of the Bermudas from Virginia
DL : Tobacco planted in Virginia

1613

PH : Peace of Knärod ends Dan.-Swed. War of Calmar
PH : Protestant Union of Germany signs treaty of alliance with Holland
PH : Eng. colonists in Virginia destroy Fr. settlement at Port Royal, Nova Scotia; prevent Fr. colonisation of Maryland
PH : Michael Romanov, son of the patriarch of Moscow, elected Czar of Russia, founding the House of Romanov
PH : Turks invade Hungary
LT : Fire destroys Globe Theatre, London
RP : Oliver de Serra: The Causes of Wealth
RP : Francisco Suarez: Defensio catholicae fidei contra anglicanae sectae errores
M : Pietro Cerone: El Malopeo y maestro, musical history and theory
ST : Samuel de Champlain explores Ottawa River to Alumette Island
DL : Amsterdam Exchange built
DL : Belfast granted charter of incorporation
DL : Copper coins come into use
DL : John Dennys: The Secrets of Angling

1614

LT : Ben Jonson: Bartholomew Fair
M : Claudio Monteverdi : Book VI of Madrigals (including 'Arianna's Lament')
PH : James I's second Parliament - "The Addled Parliament" - meets and refuses to discuss finance; dissolved
PH : Maria, Queen Regent of France, summons the States General of France to counteract power of nobility
PH : Treaty of Xanten: Jülich-Cleves divided between Brandenburg and Neuburg
PH : Virginian colonists prevent Fr. settlements in Maine and Nova Scotia
ED : Sir Walter Raleigh: The History of the World
DL : Danish East India Company founded
ED : University of Groningen, Holland, founded
RP : John Napier: Mirifici logarithmorum canonis descriptio
ST : Santorio Santorio: De medicina statica, study of metabolism and perspiration
DL : Founders' Company, London, incorporated
DL : The North American Pocahontas, an Indian princess, marries John Rolfe; from their son descend many celebrated persons

1615

M : Girolamo Frescobaldi : First Book of Toccatas
M : Girolamo Frescobaldi : Book of ricercari
PH : Peace of Tyrnau: the Emperor Matthias recognises Bethlen Gabor as Prince of Transylvania; confirms treaty with Turks
LT : George Chapman completes his translation of Homer's Odyssey
RP : William Camden: Annales rerum Anglicarum, of the reign of Elizabeth I
ED : Theodore Agrippa d'Aubigné's Histoire Universelle, a Huguenot-inspired survey from 1553 to 1602, officially burnt in Paris
RP : Jesuits count 13,112 members in 32 provinces
RP : Antoine de Montchrétien: Traité de l'économie politique, mercantilistic tendencies
ST : Galileo Galilei faces the inquisition for the first time
DL : Frankfurter Oberpostamts-Zeitung founded by Egenolph Emmel
DL : Merchant Adventurers granted monopoly for export of Eng. cloth

1616

LT : Ben Jonson: The Devil is an Ass and Works, in folio
PH : Sir Walter Raleigh released from Tower to lead expedition to Guiana in search of El Dorado
PH : Ieyasu of Japan dies; succeeded by Hidetada, a militant enemy of Christianity
PH : James I begins to sell peerages to improve serious financial position
PH : War between Venice and Austria
RP : Johann Valentin Andrea: Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosenkreutz, beginning of formation of the Rosicrucians
RP : Paulus Bolduanus: Bibliotheca philosophica
RP : Catholic oppression intensified in Bohemia
RP : St.Francis de Sales: Traité de l'amour de Dieu
RP : Notre Dame Cathedral, Antwerp, finished
M : Collegium Musicum founded at Prague
ST : William Baffin discovers Baffin Bay while searching for a Northwest Passage
ST : First rounding of Cape Horn by Willem Schouter and Jacob Lemaire
ST : Galileo prohibited by Catholic Church from further scientific work
ST : John Smith: A Description of New England    GO !
ST : Dutch astronomer and mathematician Willebrord Snellius discovers the law of refraction
DL : Gustavus Selenus: Chess, or the Game of Kings
LT : William Shakespeare dies 23 April

1617

PH : Peace of Stolbovo ends war between Russia and Sweden; Gustavus Adolphus recognises Czar Michael, returns to Novgorod, and obtains Karelia
LT : James I makes Ben Jonson poet laureate
ED : Duytsche Academie founded in Amsterdam
RP : Papal bull of Leo X: Epistolae obscurorum virorum
M : J.H.Schein: Banchetto musicale, first dance suite
ST : Willebrord Snellius established technique of trigonometrical triangulation for cartography
DL : "Stuart collars" become a fashion for men and women
VA : Gerard Ter Borch born

1618

LT : John Donne: Holy Sonnets
PH : Peace of Madrid ratified, ending war between Venice and Austria
PH : Prince Philip William of Orange dies; succeeded by his brother Maurice of Nassau
PH : Count Matthias von Thurn leads Bohemians to revolt against Catholic policy of the Regents in Prague
PH : Defenestration in Prague, when the Regents Jaroslav von Martinitz and William Slawata are thrown down from windows in Hradcany Palace by the rebels; beginning of Thirty Years' War
PH : Ferdinand of Styria crowned King of Hungary
PH : Duke Alber of Prussia dies; his possessions pass to the Electorate of Brandenburg
PH : Sir Walter Raleigh returns to England and is executed
PH : Poland signs two-year truce with Sweden, 14-years truce with Turkey
LT : Marquise de Rambouillet starts her literary salon in Paris
LT : Teatro Farnese opened at Parma
RP : Robert Balfour: Commentarii in organum logicum Aristotelis
RP : John Stow and E.Howes: Summarie of Englyshe Chronicles
ST : Martin Böhme: Ein neu Buch von bewehrten Rosz-Arzteneyen, veterinary science
DL : Founding of Dutch West African Company
ST : Kepler: Harmonices mundi, stating the third law of planetary motion
ST : Royal College of Physicians, London, issues Pharmacopoia Londinensis
ST : Johann Jakob Scheuchzer: Natural History of the Swiss Landscape
DL : James I: Book of Sports, the Puritans object to playing of popular sports
LT : Sir Walter Raleigh dies 29 October
LT : Richard Lovelace born 6 December

1619

M : Heinrich Schütz : Psalmen Davids
PH : Maria de'Medici challenges power of her son Louis XIII of France; Treaty of Angoulém ends conflict
PH : The Emperor Matthias dies; Archduke Ferdinand, who assumes crown of Bohemia, is elected Holy Roman Emperor
PH : Bohemian Diet deposes Ferdinand, and elects Frederick V, Elector Palatine, son-in-law of James I of England, King of Bohemia; Frederick, "The Winter King", crowned in Prague
PH : First representative colonial assembly in America held at Jamestown, VA
RP : Johann Valentin Andreae: Chritianopolis
RP : Jakob Böhmne: On the Principles of Christianity
RP : Hugo Grotius: De veritate religionis Christianae
RP : Pietro Sarpi: Istoria del Concilio Tridentino published in London
RP : Luciló Vanini, Ital. Catholic philosopher, burned as a heretic
ED : Dulwich College, London, founded
ST : John Bainbridge: An Astronomical Description of the Late Comet
ST : Jan Pieters Coen, Dutch explorer founds Batavia
ST : William Harvey announces his discovery of the circulation of the blood
DL : Giro-Bank, Hamburg, founded to improve "desolate state of currency"
DL : A Dutch ship brings the first permanent African settlers to Jamestown

1620

M : Samuel Scheidt : Cantiones sacrae
PH : Revolt of Fr. nobles against Louis XIII; Richelieu makes peace
PH : War between Sweden and Poland
PH : Massacre of Protestants in the Valtelline
PH : Agreement of Ulm between Ger. Catholic League and Protestant Union
PH : Pilgrim Fathers, leave Plymouth, England, in "Mayflower" and found Plymouth Colony in Mass.    GO !
RP : Battle of the White Mountain near Prague: Protestant clergy expelled
RP : Johan Heinrich Alsted: Encyclopaedia septem tomis distincta
RP : Francis Bacon: Instauratio magna: novum organum scientiarum
M : Michael Praetorius: Syntagma musicum, musical encyclopedia
ST : Edmund Gunter: Canon triangulorum, treatise on logarithms
ED : Uppsala University Library founded
ST : J.P. Bonet: The Art to Teach Dumb People to Speak, Span. manual
DL : Oliver Cromwell denounced because he participates in the "disreputable game of cricket"
VA : Aelbert Cuyp born

1621

PH : Frederick V, Elector Palatine, placed under the ban of the Holy Roman Empire; war moves from Bohemia to the Palatinate
PH : Francis Bacon, charged in Parliament with corruption, is fined £40,000, imprisoned, and declared incapable of holding office; pardoned by the King
PH : Philip III of Spain dies; succeeded by his son Philip IV
PH : Huguenot rebellion against Louis XIII
PH : Twelve years truce between Holland and Spain ends; war resumed
LT : Fortune Theatre, London, burnt down
RP : Robert Burton: The Anatomy of Melancholy
RP : Pope Paul V dies; Alexander Ludovisi becomes Pope Gregory XV
ST : English attempt to colonise Newfoundland and Nova Scotia
ST : Dutch West India Company chartered
ST : Johann Kepler: The Epitome of the Copernican Astronomer banned by the Roman Catholic Church
ED : University of Strasbourg opened
DL : Corante, or newes from Italy, Germany, Hungarie, Spaine, and France, first periodical published with news issued in London
DL : Potatoes planted in Germany for first time
LT : Andrew Marvell born 31 March
LT : Henry Vaughan born 17 April
M : Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck dies 16 October

1622

PH : Ferdinand II and Bethlen Gabor sign peace treaty
PH : Treaty of Montpellier ends rebellion of the Huguenots
PH : James I dissolves Eng. Parliament
ED : Francis Bacon: History of the Regin of Henry VII
RP : Jaboc Böhme: De signatura rerum
RP : Pope Gregory XV canonises Philip Neri and grants Piarists a constitution
RP : Bacon: Historia naturalis et experiementalis
ED : Benedictine University of Salzburg founded
RP : Camillio Baldo: Treatise of How to Perceive from a Letter the Nature and Character of the Person Who Wrote It
DL : Papal chancellery adopts 1 January as beginning of the year - up to then, 25 March
DL : Weekeley Newes issued in London for the first time

1623

PH : Commercial treaty between Holland and Persia
PH : Gustavus Adolphus reforms central administration of Sweden
LT : Maciej Sarbiewski, the "Polish Horace", crowned laureate in Rome by the Pope
RP : William Drummond: A Cypresse Grove philosophical thoughts on death
RP : Pope Gregor XV dies; Maffeo Barberini becomes Pope Urban VIII
ED : Bibliotheca Palatina removed from Heidelberg to Rome
ST : New Netherlands in America formally organised as a province
ST : First Eng. settlement in New Hampshire
DL : Patents law in England, to protect inventors
M : William Byrd dies 4 July
Personae

Terms Defined

Referenced Works