1655
George St Lo(e), Royal Navy officer and administrator (died 1718)
George St Lo was a British naval officer and politician.
George St Lo(e), Royal Navy officer and administrator (died 1718)
The 1650s
Explore 67 historical events from 1650–1659.
1655
Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the piano (died 1731)
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)
1655
Antonio Cifrondi, Italian painter (died 1730)
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)
1655
Eustache Le Sueur, French painter (born 1617)
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)
1655
Anglo-Spanish War: England invaded Spanish Jamaica, capturing it a week later
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: England invaded Spanish Jamaica, capturing it a week later
1654
Cromwell's Act of Grace, aimed at reconciliation with the Scots, proclaimed in Edinburgh
Cromwell's Act of Grace, or more formally the Act of Pardon and Grace to the People of Scotland, was an Act of the Parliament of England that declared that the people of Scotland w…
Cromwell's Act of Grace, aimed at reconciliation with the Scots, proclaimed in Edinburgh
1654
Swedish Queen Christina abdicated her throne in favour of her cousin Charles Gustav and converted to Catholicism
Christina, a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. Her conversion to Catholicism and refusal to marry led her to relinquish her t…
Swedish Queen Christina abdicated her throne in favour of her cousin Charles Gustav and converted to Catholicism
1654
Louis XIV is crowned King of France
Louis XIV was King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. He is a symbol of the Age of Absolutism in Europe for styling himself as "The Sun King", which portrayed him …
Louis XIV is crowned King of France
1654
Swedish Queen Christina abdicates her throne in favour of her cousin Charles Gustav and converts to Catholicism
Christina, a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. Her conversion to Catholicism and refusal to marry led her to relinquish her t…
Swedish Queen Christina abdicates her throne in favour of her cousin Charles Gustav and converts to Catholicism
1654
A Venetian fleet under Admiral Cort Adeler breaks through a line of galleys and defeats the Turkish navy
Cort Sivertsen Adeler, known in Denmark as Coort Sifvertsen Adelaer, in the Netherlands as Koert Sievertsen Adelaer and in Italy as Curzio Suffrido Adelborst, was the name of honou…
A Venetian fleet under Admiral Cort Adeler breaks through a line of galleys and defeats the Turkish navy
1654
Charles Blount, English deist and philosopher (died 1693)
Charles Blount was an English deist and philosopher who published several anonymous essays critical of the existing English order.
Charles Blount, English deist and philosopher (died 1693)
1654
Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor (born 1598)
Alessandro Algardi was an Italian high-Baroque sculptor active almost exclusively in Rome. In the latter decades of his life, he was, along with Francesco Borromini and Pietro da C…
Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor (born 1598)
1654
Cromwell's Act of Grace, which pardoned the people of Scotland for any crimes committed during the Wars of the Three Kin
Cromwell's Act of Grace, or more formally the Act of Pardon and Grace to the People of Scotland, was an Act of the Parliament of England that declared that the people of Scotland w…
Cromwell's Act of Grace, which pardoned the people of Scotland for any crimes committed during the Wars of the Three Kin
1653
Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament
Oliver Cromwell was an English statesman, farmer and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the …
Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament
1653
Claude Louis Hector de Villars, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (died 1734)
Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Prince of Martigues, Marquis then (1st) Duke of Villars, Viscount of Melun was a French military commander and an illustrious general of Louis XIV. …
Claude Louis Hector de Villars, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (died 1734)
1653
Eleonore of Austria, Queen of Poland (died 1697)
Eleonore Maria Josefa of Austria was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania by marriage to King Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, and subsequently Duchess of Lorraine by her sec…
Eleonore of Austria, Queen of Poland (died 1697)
1653
First Anglo-Dutch War: The Battle of the Gabbard begins, lasting until the following day
The First Anglo-Dutch War, or First Dutch War, was a naval conflict between the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic. Largely caused by disputes over trade, it began with…
First Anglo-Dutch War: The Battle of the Gabbard begins, lasting until the following day
1653
Georg Muffat, French organist and composer (died 1704)
Georg Muffat was a Baroque composer and organist. He is best known for the remarkably articulate and informative performance directions printed along with his collections of string…
Georg Muffat, French organist and composer (died 1704)
1653
Maria Amalia of Courland, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel (died 1711)
Princess Maria Amalia of Courland was a Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel by her marriage to Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. She was a daughter of Jacob Kettler, Duke of Courland a…
Maria Amalia of Courland, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel (died 1711)
1653
James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon, English nobleman (died 1699)
James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon, styled Hon. James Bertie until 1657 and known as the 5th Baron Norreys from 1657 until 1682, was an English nobleman.
James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon, English nobleman (died 1699)
1653
Robert Filmer, English theorist and author (born 1588)
Sir Robert Filmer was an English political theorist who defended the divine right of kings. His best known work, Patriarcha, published posthumously in 1680, was the target of numer…
Robert Filmer, English theorist and author (born 1588)
1652
Slavery in Rhode Island is abolished, although the law is not rigorously enforced
The history of Rhode Island is an overview of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and the state of Rhode Island from pre-colonial times to the present.
Slavery in Rhode Island is abolished, although the law is not rigorously enforced
1652
Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha is appointed Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha was an Ottoman Albanian statesman and Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 20 June 1652 to 21 March 1653, when he was executed because of the economic refor…
Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha is appointed Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
1652
Michel Rolle, French mathematician and academic (died 1719)
Michel Rolle was a French mathematician. He is best known for Rolle's theorem (1691). He is also the co-inventor in Europe of Gaussian elimination (1690).
Michel Rolle, French mathematician and academic (died 1719)