Explore 104 historical events from 1650–1659.
Philipp Heinrich Erlebach was a German Baroque composer, a prolific writer of church music and secular music. Much of his work is lost due to a fire.
Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, German composer (died 1714)
Andrew Bobola, SJ was a Polish missionary and martyr of the Society of Jesus, known as the "Apostle of Lithuania" and the "hunter of souls". He was beaten and tortured to death dur…
Andrew Bobola, Polish missionary and martyr (born 1591)
William Harvey was an English physician who made influential contributions to anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, pulmon…
William Harvey, English physician and academic (born 1578)
William Bradford was an English Pilgrim Separatist originally from the West Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England. He moved to Leiden in the Dutch Republic in order to escape per…
William Bradford, English-American politician, 2nd Governor of Plymouth Colony (born 1590)
The Anglo-Spanish War was fought between England and Spain between 1654 and 1660. It was driven by the economic and religious rivalry between the two countries, with each side atta…
Anglo-Spanish War: The English navy sank much of a Spanish treasure fleet at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife off th
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller, is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of …
A joined Hospitaller-Venetian fleet defeats a numerically superior Ottoman fleet in the battle of the Dardanelles.
The Raid on Malaga was a military action by the English against the Spanish city of Málaga on 21 July 1656 as part of the Anglo–Spanish War (1654–1660).
The Raid on Málaga takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.
The Northern War of 1655–1660 was fought between the Swedish Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, with participation at different times by Russia, Brandenburg-Prussia, th…
Second Northern War: Battle of Warsaw begins.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Leake was a Royal Navy officer and politician who represented Rochester in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1715. He served in the T…
John Leake, Royal Navy admiral (died 1720)
The Battle of Warsaw took place near Warsaw on July 28–July 30 [O.S. July 18–20] 1656, between the armies of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden and Brandenburg. It was a…
The Battle of Warsaw ends with a Swedish-Brandenburger victory over a larger Polish-Lithuanian force.
Thomas Fincke was a Danish mathematician and physicist, and a professor at the University of Copenhagen for more than 60 years.
Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (born 1561)
Jan Josephszoon van Goyen was a Dutch landscape painter. The scope of his landscape subjects was very broad as he painted forest landscapes, marine paintings, river landscapes, bea…
Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter and illustrator (born 1596)
Thomas Tomkins was a Welsh-born composer of the late Tudor and early Stuart period. In addition to being one of the prominent members of the English Madrigal School, he was a skill…
Thomas Tomkins, Welsh-English composer (born 1572)
François-Marie, comte de Broglie and comte de Revel was a prominent soldier and commander in the Thirty Years' War.
François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-French general (born 1611)
Salomo Glassius was a German theologian and biblical critic born at Sondershausen, in the principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.
Salomo Glassius, German theologian and critic (born 1593)
An English expeditionary force captured Spanish Jamaica in May 1655, during the Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660). It was part of an ambitious plan by Oliver Cromwell to undermine or o…
The Invasion of Jamaica begins during the Anglo-Spanish War
George St Lo was a British naval officer and politician.
George St Lo(e), Royal Navy officer and administrator (died 1718)
Bartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco was an Italian maker of musical instruments famous for inventing the piano.
Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the piano (died 1731)
Antonio Cifrondi was an Italian painter of the late Baroque, mainly of genre themes. He was active in Brescia and near Bergamo.
Antonio Cifrondi, Italian painter (died 1730)
The siege of Santo Domingo was fought between April 23, 1655 and April 30, 1655, at the Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo. A force of 2,400 Spanish troops led by Governor Don Bernard…
The Siege of Santo Domingo begins during the Anglo-Spanish War, and fails seven days later
Eustache Le Sueur or Lesueur was a French artist and one of the founders of the French Academy of Painting. He is known primarily for his paintings of religious subjects. He was a …
Eustache Le Sueur, French painter (born 1617)
Eleonora Gonzaga, was born a princess of Mantua as a member of the House of Gonzaga, and by marriage to Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Quee…
Eleonora Gonzaga, Holy Roman Empress (born 1598)
Girolamo Rainaldi was an Italian architect who worked mainly in a conservative Mannerist style, often with collaborating architects. He was a successful competitor of Bernini. His …
Girolamo Rainaldi, Italian architect (born 1570)
Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist.
Cyrano de Bergerac, French poet and playwright (born 1619)