Explore 163 historical events from 1620–1629.
Rudolph Goclenius the Elder was a German scholastic philosopher. He is sometimes credited with coining the term psychology in 1590, though the term had been used by Pier Nicola Cas…
Rudolph Goclenius, German lexicographer and philosopher (born 1547)
Robert Shirley was an English traveller and adventurer, younger brother of Anthony Shirley and Thomas Shirley. He is notable for his role in modernizing and improving the Military …
Robert Shirley, English soldier and diplomat (born 1581)
Johannes Junius was the mayor of Bamberg, and a victim of the Bamberg witch trials, who wrote a letter to his daughter from jail while he awaited execution for witchcraft.
Johannes Junius, German lawyer and politician (born 1573)
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, was an English courtier and statesman who was a notable patron of the arts. He was a favourite and self-described "lover" of King James VI …
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (born 1592)
Vasa is a Swedish warship built between 1626 and 1628. The ship sank after sailing roughly 1,300 m (1,400 yd) into her maiden voyage on 10 August 1628. She fell into obscurity afte…
The Swedish warship Vasa sank shortly after departing Stockholm on her maiden voyage to take part in the Thirty Years'…
Johann Abraham Ihle was a German amateur astronomer from Leipzig.
Johann Abraham Ihle, German astronomer (died 1699)
Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten was a Dutch Golden Age painter, who was also a poet and author on art theory.
Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten, Dutch painter (died 1678)
Itō Jinsai , who also went by the pen name Keisai, was a Japanese Confucian philosopher. He is considered to be one of the most influential Confucian scholars of seventeenth centur…
Itō Jinsai, Japanese philosopher (died 1705)
The 1627 Gargano earthquake struck Gargano and part of Tavoliere, southern Italy, at about mid-day on 30 July 1627. A "very large earthquake" caused a major tsunami, the largest se…
An earthquake kills about 5,000 people in Gargano, Italy.
Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier, known as La Grande Mademoiselle, was the only daughter of Gaston d'Orléans with his first wife, Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Mo…
Anne, Duchess of Montpensier, French princess (died 1693)
Lodovico Grossi da Viadana was an Italian composer, teacher, and Franciscan friar of the Order of Friars Minor Observants. He was the first significant figure to make use of the n…
Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer and educator (born 1560)
Luis de Góngora y Argote was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet and a Catholic priest at Córdoba Cathedral. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, are widely considered th…
Luis de Góngora, Spanish poet and cleric (born 1561)
Sir John Hayward was an English historian, lawyer and politician.
John Hayward, English historian, journalist, and politician (born 1564)
Jacques Mauduit was a French composer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most innovative French composers of the late 16th century, combining voices and instruments in new …
Jacques Mauduit, French composer and academic (born 1557)
Jan Gruter or Gruytère, Latinized as Janus Gruterus, was a Flemish-born philologist, scholar, and librarian.
Jan Gruter, Dutch scholar and critic (born 1560)
Pieter Nuyts or Nuijts was a Dutch explorer, diplomat and politician.
Dutch explorer Pieter Nuyts was appointed governor of Formosa (modern-day Taiwan) by the Dutch East India Company
Peter Minuit was a Walloon merchant and politician who was the 3rd director of the Dutch North American colony of New Netherland from 1626 until 1631, and 3rd Governor of New Nethe…
Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw
Peter Minuit was a Walloon merchant and politician who was the 3rd director of the Dutch North American colony of New Netherland from 1626 until 1631, and 3rd Governor of New Nethe…
Peter Minuit buys Manhattan
Louis Hennepin, OFM was a Belgian Catholic priest and missionary best known for his activities in North America. A member of the Recollects, a minor branch of the Franciscans, he t…
Louis Hennepin, Flemish priest and missionary (died 1705)
William II was sovereign Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel and Groningen in the United Provinces of the Netherlands from 14 March …
William II, Prince of Orange (died 1650)
Sabbatai Zevi or Shabtai Tzvi was a former Jewish mystic and rabbi from Smyrna who converted to Islam. His family were Romaniote Jews from Patras.
Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi and theorist (died 1676)
Sir Richard Ottley was an English Royalist politician and soldier who served as a youth in the English Civil War in Shropshire. After the Restoration he played a prominent part in …
Richard Ottley, English politician (died 1670)
Giovanni Legrenzi was an Italian composer of opera, vocal and instrumental music, and organist, of the Baroque era. He was one of the most prominent composers in Venice in the late…
Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian composer (died 1690)
Arthur Lake was Bishop of Bath and Wells and a translator of the King James Version of The Bible.
Arthur Lake, English bishop and scholar (born 1569)