The 1620s

1627

Johann Abraham Ihle, German astronomer (died 1699)

Johann Abraham Ihle was a German amateur astronomer from Leipzig.

Johann Abraham Ihle, German astronomer (died 1699)

1627

Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten, Dutch painter (died 1678)

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)

1627

Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer and educator (born 1560)

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)

1627

An earthquake kills about 5,000 people in Gargano, Italy.

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.

1627

Anne, Duchess of Montpensier, French princess (died 1693)

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)

1627

Luis de Góngora, Spanish poet and cleric (born 1561)

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)

1627

John Hayward, English historian, journalist, and politician (born 1564)

Sir John Hayward was an English historian, lawyer and politician.

John Hayward, English historian, journalist, and politician (born 1564)

1627

Jacques Mauduit, French composer and academic (born 1557)

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)

1627

Dutch explorer Pieter Nuyts was appointed governor of Formosa (modern-day Taiwan) by the Dutch East India Company

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

1626 400 years ago

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…

Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw

1626 400 years ago

Peter Minuit buys Manhattan

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

1626 400 years ago

Louis Hennepin, Flemish priest and missionary (died 1705)

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)

1626 400 years ago

William II, Prince of Orange (died 1650)

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)

1626 400 years ago

Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi and theorist (died 1676)

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)

1626 400 years ago

Richard Ottley, English politician (died 1670)

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)

1626 400 years ago

Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian composer (died 1690)

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)

1626 400 years ago

Arthur Lake, English bishop and scholar (born 1569)

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)

1626 400 years ago

Joan Pau Pujol, Catalan organist and composer (born 1570)

Joan Pau Pujol was a Catalan and Spanish composer and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque. While best known for his sacred music, he also wrote popular secular music…

Joan Pau Pujol, Catalan organist and composer (born 1570)

1626 400 years ago

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk (born 1561)

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk,, of Audley End House in the parish of Saffron Walden in Essex, and of Suffolk House near Westminster, a member of the House of Howard, was the s…

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk (born 1561)

1626 400 years ago

Scipione Cobelluzzi, Italian cardinal and archivist (born 1564)

Scipione Cobelluzzi was an Italian cardinal, archivist and librarian. He was chief archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives, from 17 February 1618 until his death on 29 June 1626.

Scipione Cobelluzzi, Italian cardinal and archivist (born 1564)

1626 400 years ago

Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, English politician (born 1563)

Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, was an English courtier, soldier, and landowner. He was chamberlain to Anne of Denmark.

Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, English politician (born 1563)

1626 400 years ago

Christian, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel, German Protestant military leader (born 1599)

Christian the Younger of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, known as der tolle Halberstädter, was a German Protestant military leader during the early years of the Thirty Years' War. Christia…

Christian, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel, German Protestant military leader (born 1599)

1626 400 years ago

Having been appointed the director-general of New Netherland, Peter Minuit arrived in Manhattan

This is a list of directors, appointed by the Dutch West India Company, of the 17th century Dutch province of New Netherland in North America. Only the last, Peter Stuyvesant, held…

Having been appointed the director-general of New Netherland, Peter Minuit arrived in Manhattan

1625

Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa

Father Afonso Mendes was a Portuguese Jesuit theologian, and Patriarch of Ethiopia from 1622 to 1634. While E. A. Wallis Budge has expressed the commonly accepted opinion of this m…

Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa