Explore 189 historical events from 1640–1649.
The battle of Preston was fought on 17 August 1648 during the Second English Civil War. A Parliamentarian army commanded by Lieutenant General Oliver Cromwell attacked a considerab…
The Parliamentarians defeat a English Royalist and Scottish army in the battle of Preston.
The Second English Civil War took place between February and August 1648 in England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639–1653 Wars of …
Second English Civil War: The Siege of Colchester ends when Royalist Forces surrender to the Parliamentary Forces…
Major-General John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee was a Scottish army officer. A Tory and Episcopalian, he was responsible for policing southwest Scotland to suppress r…
John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Scottish general (died 1689)
Johann Michael Bach was a German composer of the Baroque period. He was the brother of Johann Christoph Bach, as well as first cousin, once removed and father-in-law of Johann Seba…
Johann Michael Bach, German composer (died 1694)
Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Sweden and Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince of Poland an…
Władysław IV Vasa, Polish son of Sigismund III Vasa (born 1595)
Vincent Voiture, French Mannerist and Baroque Précieuses poet and writer of prose, was the son of a rich wine merchant of Amiens. He was introduced by a schoolfellow, the count Cla…
Vincent Voiture, French poet and author (born 1597)
Antoine Daniel was a French Jesuit missionary in North America, at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, and one of the eight Canadian Martyrs.
Antoine Daniel, French missionary and saint, one of the eight Canadian Martyrs (born 1601)
Ibrahim was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1640 until 1648.
Ibrahim of the Ottoman Empire (born 1615)
Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury KB was an English soldier, diplomat, historian, poet and religious philosopher.
Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, English soldier and diplomat (born 1583)
Sir George Lisle was a professional soldier from London who briefly served in the later stages of the Eighty and Thirty Years War, then fought for the Royalists during the Wars of …
George Lisle, English general (born 1610)
Sir Charles Lucas was a member of the landed gentry from Essex. A Royalist cavalry leader during the First English Civil War, in March 1646 he swore not to fight against Parliament…
Charles Lucas, English general (born 1613)
Marin Mersenne, OM was a French polymath whose works touched a wide variety of fields. He is perhaps best known today among mathematicians for Mersenne prime numbers, those written…
Marin Mersenne, French mathematician, theologian, and philosopher (born 1588)
The Irish Confederate Wars took place from 1641 to 1653. The conflict began with the Irish rising of 1641 and evolved into a prolonged struggle over Ireland's future, as Irish forc…
The Irish Confederate Wars and Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Dungan's Hill: English Parliamentary forces…
Sir William Ashhurst was a British banker, merchant and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1689 to 1710. He also served as the Lord Mayor of L…
William Ashhurst, English banker, Sheriff of London, Lord Mayor of London and politician (died 1720)
Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, they refer to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gr…
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Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea, was an English Tory politician and peer who supported the Hanoverian Succession in 1714. Known as Lord Nottingham unti…
Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, English politician, Lord President of the Council (died 1730)
Margaret Mary Alacoque was a French Visitation nun and mystic who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in its modern form.
Margaret Mary Alacoque, French nun, mystic and saint (died 1690)
Denis Papin FRS was a French Huguenot physicist, mathematician and inventor, best known for his pioneering invention of the steam digester, the forerunner of the pressure cooker, t…
Denis Papin, French physicist and mathematician, developed pressure cooking (died 1712)
Princess Anna Sophie of Denmark and Norway was the eldest daughter of King Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Electress of Saxony from 1680 to 16…
Princess Anna Sophie of Denmark, daughter of King Frederick III of Denmark (died 1717)
Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft - Knight in the Order of Saint Michael - was a Dutch historian, poet and playwright who lived during the Dutch Golden Age in literature.
Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, Dutch poet and playwright (born 1581)
Canonicus was a chief of the Narragansett people. He was wary of the colonial settlers, but he ultimately befriended Roger Williams and other settlers.
Canonicus, Grand Chief Sachem of the Narragansett (born 1565)
Leonard Calvert was an English-born colonial administrator who served as the first proprietary governor of Maryland from 1634 to 1647. He was the second son of George Calvert, 1st …
Leonard Calvert, Colonial governor of Maryland (born 1606)
Thomas Farnaby was an English schoolmaster and scholar. He operated a successful school in the Cripplegate ward of London and enjoyed great success with his annotations of classic …
Thomas Farnaby, English scholar and educator (born 1575)
Thomas Hooker was a prominent English colonial leader and Congregational minister, who founded the Connecticut Colony after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts. He was…
Thomas Hooker, English minister, founded the Colony of Connecticut (born 1586)