Explore 51 historical events from 1680–1689.
General James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, Duke of Buccleuch was an English Army officer and courtier. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the …
James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, lands at Lyme in Dorset with loyal followers with the intent to depose king James II of E
The Monmouth Rebellion in June 1685 was an attempt to depose James II, who in February had succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ireland. Dissident Prot…
Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth declares himself King of England at Bridgwater
Bajo Pivljanin, born Dragojlo Nikolić, was a Serbian hajduk commander mostly active in the Ottoman territories of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia. Born in Piva, a Serbian Herzego…
Bajo Pivljanin (born 1630)
Charles II was Elector Palatine from 1680 to 1685. He was the son of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine of the House of Wittelsbach, and Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel.
Charles II, German elector palatine (born 1651)
Charles II was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Succeeding Charles II, his late brother, James II was crowned King of England, becoming last Catholic to hold the title
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one …
The charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is revoked via a scire facias writ issued by an English court
Baroness Françoise Charlotte Amable d'Aubigné-Maintenon, Duchess of Noailles was a French aristocrat, the wife of Adrien Maurice de Noailles, 3rd Duke of Noailles. She was the niec…
Françoise Charlotte d'Aubigné, French wife of Adrien Maurice de Noailles (died 1739)
John Nevison, also known as William Nevison or Nevinson, was one of England's most notorious highwaymen, a gentleman rogue supposedly nicknamed Swift Nick by King Charles II after …
John Nevison, English criminal (born 1639)
Edme Mariotte was a French physicist and priest (abbé). He is particularly well known for formulating Boyle's law independently of Robert Boyle. Mariotte is also credited with desi…
Edme Mariotte, French physicist and priest (born 1620)
Peregrine Palmer was an English politician who sat as MP for Bridgwater on 7 December 1669.
Peregrine Palmer, English politician (born 1605)
Johann David Heinichen was a German Baroque composer and music theorist who brought the musical genius of Venice to the court of Augustus II the Strong in Dresden. After he died, H…
Johann David Heinichen, German composer and theorist (died 1729)
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabine…
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, opens as the world's first university museum
Stjepan Gradić, also known as Stefano Gradi was a polymath, philosopher, scientist and a patrician of the Republic of Ragusa.
Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and mathematician (born 1613)
Nikita Pustosvyat was one of the leaders of the Russian Old Believers during Raskol.
Nikita Pustosvyat, a leader of the Russian Old Believers, beheaded (born unknown)
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-spea…
Oxford University's Ashmolean Museum, the world's first university museum, opened
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 of France moves his court to the Palace of Versailles
John Hadley was an English mathematician, and laid claim to the invention of the octant, two years after Thomas Godfrey claimed the same.
John Hadley, English mathematician, invented the octant (died 1744)
Bartholomew Roberts, born John Roberts, was a Welsh pirate who was, measured by vessels captured, the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy. During his piratical caree…
Bartholomew Roberts, Welsh pirate (died 1722)
Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII or Carolus Rex, was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of Wittelsbach.…
Charles XII, Swedish king (died 1718)
Feodor III or Fyodor III Alekseyevich was Tsar of all Russia from 1676 until his death in 1682. Despite poor health from childhood, he managed to pass reforms on improving meritocr…
Feodor III of Russia (born 1661)
Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño was a Spanish dramatist, poet, and writer. He is known as one of the most distinguished poets and writ…
Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish poet and playwright (born 1600)
Cornelis Saftleven was a Dutch painter who worked in a great variety of genres. Known in particular for his rural genre scenes, his range of subjects was very wide and included por…
Cornelis Saftleven, Dutch genre painter (born 1607)
William Lilly was a seventeenth century English astrologer. He is described as having been a genius at something "that modern mainstream opinion has since decided cannot be done at…
William Lilly, English astrologer (born 1602)
Jean-Baptiste Stuck was an Italian-French composer and cellist of the Baroque era.
Jean-Baptiste Stuck, Italian-French cellist and composer (died 1755)