Explore 238 historical events from 1640–1649.
Françoise Louise de La Baume Le Blanc, Duchess of La Vallière and Vaujours was a French noblewoman and the mistress of Louis XIV from 1661 to 1667.
Louise de La Vallière, French mistress of Louis XIV (died 1710)
The transition from Ming to Qing, also known as the Manchu conquest of China or Ming-Qing transition, was a decades-long period of conflict between the Qing dynasty, established by…
Transition from Ming to Qing: The Chongzhen Emperor, the last Emperor of Ming China, commits suicide during a peasant re
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the …
Ming general Wu Sangui forms an alliance with the invading Manchus and opens the gates of the Great Wall of China at Sha
The Restoration War between Portugal and Spain began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a formal end to the Iberian Union.…
Portuguese Restoration War: Portuguese and Spanish forces both claim victory in the Battle of Montijo
The Manchus are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchu…
Manchu regent Dorgon defeats rebel leader Li Zicheng of the Shun dynasty at the Battle of Shanhai Pass, allowing the Man
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber was a Czech-Austrian composer and violinist of the middle Baroque era. Biber worked in Graz and Kroměříž before he illegally left his employer, Princ…
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Bohemian-Austrian violinist and composer (died 1704)
Ole Christensen Rømer was a Danish astronomer who, in 1676, first demonstrated that light travels at a finite speed. Rømer also invented the modern thermometer showing the temperat…
Ole Rømer, Danish astronomer and instrument maker (died 1710)
William Penn was an English writer, theologian, religious thinker, and influential Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania. An advocate of democracy and religious freedom, …
William Penn, English businessman who founded Pennsylvania (died 1718)
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Royalists and Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. P…
English Civil War: Bolton Massacre by Royalist troops under the command of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby
The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, also known as the Qing Empire or Qing China, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia which e…
The Qing dynasty's Manchu forces led by the Shunzhi Emperor take Beijing during the collapse of the Ming dynasty
The Battle of Tippermuir was the first battle James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose, fought for King Charles I in the Scottish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. During the…
Battle of Tippermuir: James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose defeats the Earl of Wemyss's Covenanters, reviving the…
The battle of Fehmarn took place north-west of the island of Fehmarn, now part of Germany, in the Baltic Sea. A combined Swedish fleet, with a large element of hired Dutch ships, d…
A Swedish–Dutch fleet defeats the Danish fleet at Fehmarn and captures about 1,000 prisoners.
The Chongzhen Emperor, temple name Ming Sizong, personal name Zhu Youjian, courtesy name Deyue, was the 17th and last emperor of the Ming dynasty. He reigned from 1627 to 1644. "Ch…
Chongzhen Emperor of China (born 1611)
Brian Twyne was an English antiquary and an academic at the University of Oxford. After being educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and becoming a Fellow of the college in 16…
Brian Twyne, English academic, antiquarian and archivist (born 1581)
Pope Urban VIII, born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded t…
Pope Urban VIII (born 1568)
Guido Bentivoglio d'Aragona was an Italian cardinal, statesman and historian.
Guido Bentivoglio, Italian cardinal and historian (born 1579)
Sir John Coke MP JP PC was an English civil servant and naval administrator, described by one commentator as "the Samuel Pepys of his day". He was MP for various constituencies in …
John Coke, English civil servant and politician (born 1563)
Francis Quarles was an English poet most notable for his emblem book entitled Emblems.
Francis Quarles, English poet and author (born 1592)
Elisabeth of France, also known as Isabel or Elisabeth of Bourbon was Queen of Spain from 1621 to her death and Queen of Portugal from 1621 to 1640, as the first spouse of King Phi…
Elisabeth of France, queen of Spain and Portugal (born 1602)
The transition from Ming to Qing, also known as the Manchu conquest of China or Ming-Qing transition, was a decades-long period of conflict between the Qing dynasty, established by…
Ming–Qing transition: The Ming dynasty of China fell when the Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide during a peasant rebel
The transition from Ming to Qing, also known as the Manchu conquest of China or Ming-Qing transition, was a decades-long period of conflict between the Qing dynasty, established by…
Ming–Qing transition: Ming general Wu Sangui allowed the invading Manchu to cross the Great Wall of China (pictured), en
The Manchus are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchu…
Manchu regent Dorgon (depicted) defeated rebel leader Li Zicheng of the Shun dynasty at the Battle of Shanhai Pass, allo
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Royalists and Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. P…
English Civil War: Royalist troops stormed and captured the Parliamentarian stronghold of Bolton, leading to a massacre
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males…
First English Civil War: Prince Maurice abandoned his siege of Lyme Regis in Dorset after learning of the approach of a