Explore 189 historical events from 1640–1649.
Regnier de Graaf, original Dutch spelling Reinier de Graaf, or Latinized Reijnerus de Graeff, was a Dutch physician, physiologist and anatomist who made key discoveries in reproduc…
Regnier de Graaf, Dutch physician and anatomist (died 1673)
Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, was an English nobleman and politician of the Spencer family. An able and gifted statesman, his caustic temper and belief in absolute monarc…
Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, English diplomat (died 1702)
Tokugawa Ietsuna was a Japanese samurai, daimyo and the fourth shōgun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan who was in office from 1651 to 1680. He is considered the eldest son of Toku…
Tokugawa Ietsuna, Japanese shōgun (died 1680)
Johan Banér was a Swedish field marshal in the Thirty Years' War.
Johan Banér, Swedish field marshal (born 1596)
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter …
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (born 1593)
Charles I was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649.
King Charles I of England dissolves the Short Parliament
The Corpus de Sang was a riot which took place in Sant Andreu de Palomar and later in Barcelona on 7–10 June 1640, during Corpus Christi, which marked a turning point in the develo…
Corpus de Sang in Barcelona: Catalan reapers rioted against Spanish Royal soldiers and officers, killing the Viceroy of
The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country still was a part of Sw…
The first university of Finland, the Royal Academy of Turku, is inaugurated in Turku.
The Bishops' Wars were two wars fought in 1639 and 1640 between Charles I and his Covenanter opponents in Scotland. They were the first of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, that also…
Second Bishop's War: King Charles I's English army loses to a Scottish Covenanter force at the Battle of Newburn.
The Reapers' War, also known as the Catalan Revolt or Catalan Revolution, was a conflict that affected the Principality of Catalonia between 1640 and 1659, in the context of the Fr…
Reapers' War: Junta de Braços (Assembly of Estates) of the Principality of Catalonia summoned. It assumes the…
Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, also known as Michał Tomasz Wiśniowiecki, and under a regal name Michael, was the ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as King of Poland and Gra…
Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, King of Poland (died 1673)
Pu Songling was a Chinese writer during the Qing dynasty, best known as the author of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.
Pu Songling, Chinese author (died 1715)
Leopold I was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain…
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1705)
Bernard Lamy was a French Oratorian Catholic priest, mathematician and theologian.
Bernard Lamy, French mathematician and theologian (died 1715)
Countess Amalia Katharina of Waldeck, née Countess of Erbach-Erbach, was a German noblewoman, poet and composer.
Amalia Catharina, German poet and composer (died 1697)
Countess Charlotte Flandrina of Nassau was a French abbess. She was the fourth daughter of William the Silent and his third spouse Charlotte of Bourbon.
Countess Charlotte Flandrina of Nassau (born 1579)
Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, was an English nobleman and politician.
Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (born 1584)
Sir Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens's highly charged compositions referen…
Peter Paul Rubens, German-Belgian painter (born 1577)
Zeynab Begum was the fourth daughter of Safavid king (shah) Tahmasp I, is considered to be one of the most influential and powerful princesses of the Safavid era. She lived during …
Zeynab Begum, Safavid princess (date of birth unknown)
The Governor's Council, also known as the Privy Council and Council of State, was the upper house of the legislature of the Colony of Virginia. It also served as an advisory body t…
The Virginia Governor's Council made John Punch the first legally recognized slave in England's North American colonies.
The Bishops' Wars were two wars fought in 1639 and 1640 between Charles I and his Covenanter opponents in Scotland. They were the first of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, that also…
Bishops' Wars: Scottish Covenanter forces led by Alexander Leslie defeated the English army near Newburn, England.