1590s in England:

Other decades

1570s 1570s in England Events from the 1570s in England.-Events:* 1570** 25 February - Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England with the papal bull Regnans in Excelsis....  | 1580s 1580s in England Events from the 1580s in England.-Events:* 1580** 6 April - Dover Straits earthquake.** June - England signs a commercial treaty with the Ottoman Empire.** 6 July - New building banned within three miles of the City of London....  | 1590s | 1600s 1600s in England Events from the 1600s in England.-Incumbents:Monarch - Queen Elizabeth I , King James I. Elizabeth was the last Tudor Monarch of England.-Events:* 1600...  | 1610s 1610s in England Events from the 1610s in England.-Events:* 1610** 9 February - Parliament assembles and debates the Great Contract proposed by Robert Cecil whereby in return for an annual grant of £200,000, the Crown should give up its feudal rights of Wardship and Purveyance, as well as New Impositions.** 23 May...

Events

• 1590
  • Publication of Edmund Spenser
    Edmund Spenser
    Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
    
    's poetry The Faerie Queene
    The Faerie Queene
    The Faerie Queene is an incomplete English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. The first half was published in 1590, and a second installment was published in 1596. The Faerie Queene is notable for its form: it was the first work written in Spenserian stanza and is one of the longest poems in the English...
    
    and his satire
    Satire
    Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
    
     Mother Hubbard's Tale.
  • First production of William Shakespeare
    William Shakespeare
    William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
    
    's play Henry VI, part 1
    Henry VI, part 1
    Henry VI, Part 1 or The First Part of Henry the Sixt is a history play by William Shakespeare, and possibly Thomas Nashe, believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England...
    
    .
• 1591
  • 10 April - The merchant James Lancaster
    James Lancaster
    Sir James Lancaster was a prominent Elizabethan trader and privateer.Lancaster came from Basingstoke in Hampshire. In his early life, he was a soldier and a trader in Portugal...
    
     sets off on a voyage to the East Indies
    East Indies
    East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
    
    .
  • August - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
    Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
    Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
    
     leads an English army in support of the Protestant Henry IV of France
    Henry IV of France
    Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
    
     at the Siege of Rouen.
  • 1 September - HMS Revenge
    HMS Revenge (1577)
    Revenge was an English race-built galleon of 46 guns, built in 1577 and captured by the Spanish in 1591, sinking soon afterwards. She was the first of thirteen English and Royal Navy ships to bear the name.Since she was built and served prior to the English Restoration of 1660, she did not carry...
    
     captured by the Spanish
    Spain
    Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
    
     following battle near the Azores
    Azores
    The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
    
    .
  • John Harington translates Ludovico Ariosto
    Ludovico Ariosto
    Ludovico Ariosto was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic Orlando Furioso . The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracens with diversions...
    
    's Orlando furioso
    Orlando Furioso
    Orlando Furioso is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532...
    
    into English.
  • Approximate date of the writing of the play Richard III
    Richard III (play)
    Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
    
    by William Shakespeare
    William Shakespeare
    William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
    
    .
  • Posthumous publication of Sir Philip Sidney
    Philip Sidney
    Sir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier and soldier, and is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan Age...
    
    's poetry Astrophel and Stella
    Astrophel and Stella
    Likely composed in the 1580s, Philip Sidney's Astrophel and Stella is an English sonnet sequence containing 108 sonnets and 11 songs. The name derives from the two Greek words, 'aster' and 'phil' , and the Latin word 'stella' meaning star. Thus Astrophel is the star lover, and Stella is his star...
    
    .
  • The Durtnell (Dartnell) family of Brasted
    Brasted
    Brasted is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located to the west of Sevenoaks town. The parish includes the settlements of Brasted Chart and Toys Hill, and had a population of 1321 persons . The single slightly winding street of the village has a...
    
    , Kent
    Kent
    Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
    
    , begin to work as building contractors. They will still be functioning under the twelfth generation of the family in the 21st century.
• 1592
  • December - Outbreak of plague in London; 17,000 deaths over the next twelve months.
  • First performance of Shakespeare's play Richard III
    Richard III (play)
    Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
    
    .
• 1593
  • January - John Norden
    John Norden
    John Norden was an English cartographer, chorographer and antiquary. He planned a series of county maps and accompanying county histories of England, the Speculum Britanniae...
    
     commissioned to make maps of all the counties of England.
  • 23 February - Peter Wentworth
    Peter Wentworth
    Peter Wentworth was a prominent Puritan leader in the Parliament of England. He was the elder brother of Paul Wentworth, and first entered as member for Barnstaple in 1571. He later sat for the Cornish borough of Tregony in 1572, and for the town of Northampton in the parliaments of 1586–7, 1589,...
    
     imprisoned for raising the issue of succession to the throne in Parliament.
  • 6 April - Witches of Warboys
    Witches of Warboys
    The Witches of Warboys is the name used to describe the accusation, trial and execution for witchcraft of Alice Samuel and her family between 1589 and 1593 in the village of Warboys, in the fens of England.- The trial :...
    
    : Alice, John and Agnes Samuel found guilty of witchcraft and hanged.
  • 12 May - Arrest of dramatist Thomas Kyd
    Thomas Kyd
    Thomas Kyd was an English dramatist, the author of The Spanish Tragedy, and one of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama....
    
     over bills posted in London
    London
    London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
    
     threatening Protestant refugees from France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
    
     and the Netherlands
    Netherlands
    The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
    
    .
  • 20 May - Dramatist Christopher Marlowe
    Christopher Marlowe
    Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
    
     appears before the Privy Council
    Privy council
    A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
    
     in connection with the bills.
  • 29 May - Execution of the Welsh
    Wales
    Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
    
     Protestant John Penry
    John Penry
    John Penry is Wales's most famous Protestant martyr.-Early life:He was born in Brecknockshire, Wales; Cefn Brith, a farm near Llangammarch, is traditionally recognised as his birthplace. He matriculated at Peterhouse, Cambridge, in December 1580, being then probably a Roman Catholic; but soon...
    
     suspected of involvement with the Marprelate Controversy
    Marprelate Controversy
    The Marprelate Controversy was a war of pamphlets waged in England and Wales in 1588 and 1589, between a puritan writer who employed the pseudonym Martin Marprelate, and defenders of the Established Church....
    
    .
  • 30 May - Marlowe killed in a brawl in Deptford
    Deptford
    Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
    
    .
  • Theatres in London closed for most of the year due to a Plague outbreak.
  • Publication of Shakespeare's poem Venus and Adonis
    Venus and Adonis (Shakespeare poem)
    Venus and Adonis is a poem by William Shakespeare, written in 1592–1593, with a plot based on passages from Ovid's Metamorphoses. It is a complex, kaleidoscopic work, using constantly shifting tone and perspective to present contrasting views of the nature of love.-Publication:Venus and Adonis was...
    
    .
• 1594
  • May - Nine Years' War
    Nine Years' War (Ireland)
    The Nine Years' War or Tyrone's Rebellion took place in Ireland from 1594 to 1603. It was fought between the forces of Gaelic Irish chieftains Hugh O'Neill of Tír Eoghain, Hugh Roe O'Donnell of Tír Chonaill and their allies, against English rule in Ireland. The war was fought in all parts of the...
    
    : In Ireland
    Ireland
    Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
    
    , Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone and Hugh Roe O'Donnell
    Hugh Roe O'Donnell
    Aodh Rua Ó Dónaill, anglicised as either Hugh Roe O'Donnell or Red Hugh O'Donnell , was An Ó Domhnaill and Rí of Tir Chonaill . He led the Irish forces against the English conquest of Ireland from 1593 and helped to lead the Nine Years' War from 1595 to 1603...
    
     form an alliance to try to overthrow English domination.
  • 7 June - Roderigo Lopez executed for allegedly trying to poison Queen Elizabeth.
  • First known performances of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus
    Titus Andronicus
    Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were...
    
    in London.
  • Publication of Shakespeare's narrative poem The Rape of Lucrece
    The Rape of Lucrece
    The Rape of Lucrece is a narrative poem by William Shakespeare about the legendary Lucretia. In his previous narrative poem, Venus and Adonis , Shakespeare had included a dedicatory letter to his patron, the Earl of Southampton, in which he promised to write a "graver work"...
    
    .
  • Posthumous publication of Marlowe's play Edward II
    Edward II (play)
    Edward II is a Renaissance or Early Modern period play written by Christopher Marlowe. It is one of the earliest English history plays. The full title of the first publication is The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud...
    
    .
  • Thomas Nashe
    Thomas Nashe
    Thomas Nashe was an English Elizabethan pamphleteer, playwright, poet and satirist. He was the son of the minister William Nashe and his wife Margaret .-Early life:...
    
    's picaresque novel
    Picaresque novel
    The picaresque novel is a popular sub-genre of prose fiction which is usually satirical and depicts, in realistic and often humorous detail, the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by his wits in a corrupt society...
    
     The Unfortunate Traveller
    The Unfortunate Traveller
    The Unfortunate Traveller: or, the Life of Jack Wilton by Thomas Nashe is a picaresque novel set during the reign of Henry VIII of England....
    
    published.
  • Richard Hooker
    Richard Hooker
    Richard Hooker was an Anglican priest and an influential theologian. Hooker's emphases on reason, tolerance and the value of tradition came to exert a lasting influence on the development of the Church of England...
    
    's Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie commences publication.
  • Bevis Bulmer sets up a system at Blackfriars to pump water to London.
• 1595
  • 21 February - Catholic martyr Robert Southwell hanged, drawn and quartered
    Hanged, drawn and quartered
    To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
    
     at Tyburn, London
    Tyburn, London
    Tyburn was a village in the county of Middlesex close to the current location of Marble Arch in present-day London. It took its name from the Tyburn or Teo Bourne 'boundary stream', a tributary of the River Thames which is now completely covered over between its source and its outfall into the...
    
    .
  • 23 July - Spanish
    Spain
    Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
    
     raid burns Penzance
    Penzance
    Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
    
     and Mousehole
    Mousehole
    Mousehole is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately 2½ miles south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay.The village is in the civil parish of Penzance...
    
    , Cornwall.
  • 28 August - Sir Francis Drake
    Francis Drake
    Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
    
     and Sir John Hawkins
    John Hawkins
    Admiral Sir John Hawkins was an English shipbuilder, naval administrator and commander, merchant, navigator, and slave trader. As treasurer and controller of the Royal Navy, he rebuilt older ships and helped design the faster ships that withstood the Spanish Armada in 1588...
    
     depart on their final voyage to the Spanish Main
    Spanish Main
    In the days of the Spanish New World Empire, the mainland of the American continent enclosing the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico was referred to as the Spanish Main. It included present-day Florida, the east shore of the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Mexico, Central America and the north coast of...
    
     which ends in both of their deaths.
  • Probable first performance of William Shakespeare
    William Shakespeare
    William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
    
    's plays Richard II
    Richard II (play)
    King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
    
    , A Midsummer Night's Dream
    A Midsummer Night's Dream
    A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
    
    and Romeo and Juliet
    Romeo and Juliet
    Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
    
    .
  • Sir Walter Raleigh
    Walter Raleigh
    Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
    
     travels up the Orinoco
    Orinoco
    The Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes called the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3% of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia...
    
     river in search of the fabled city of El Dorado
    El Dorado
    El Dorado is the name of a Muisca tribal chief who covered himself with gold dust and, as an initiation rite, dived into a highland lake.Later it became the name of a legendary "Lost City of Gold" that has fascinated – and so far eluded – explorers since the days of the Spanish Conquistadors...
    
    .
• 1596
  • 30 June–4 July - An English fleet, commanded by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
    Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
    Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
    
     and Lord Howard of Effingham
    Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham
    Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham , known as Howard of Effingham, was an English statesman and Lord High Admiral under Elizabeth I and James I...
    
    , sacks Cádiz
    Cádiz
    Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
    
    .
  • November 21 - Bartholomew Steer
    Bartholomew Steer
    Bartholomew Steer was an unsuccessful rebellion leader in Oxfordshire, England. He was a carpenter, born in Hampton Poyle, Oxfordshire, brother to a weaver. In 1596, the area was suffering through famine and increasing poverty...
    
     attempts to launch a rebellion on Enslow Hill in Oxfordshire
    Oxfordshire
    Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
    
    .
  • Blackfriars Theatre
    Blackfriars Theatre
    Blackfriars Theatre was the name of a theatre in the Blackfriars district of the City of London during the Renaissance. The theatre began as a venue for child actors associated with the Queen's chapel choirs; in this function, the theatre hosted some of the most innovative drama of Elizabeth and...
    
     opens in London.
  • First production of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.
  • William Slingsby
    William Slingsby
    Sir William Slingsby , was an English soldier, who is noted as the discoverer of the first spa water well in Harrogate, North Yorkshire....
    
     discovers that water from the Tewitt Well mineral spring at Harrogate
    Harrogate
    Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
    
     in North Yorkshire
    North Yorkshire
    North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
    
     possesses similar properties to that from Spa, Belgium
    Spa, Belgium
    Spa is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liège. It is situated in a valley in the Ardennes mountain chain, some southeast of Liège, and southwest of Aachen. As of 1 January 2006, Spa had a total population of 10,543...
    
    .
• 1597
  • Parliament
    Parliament of England
    The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
    
     passes the Vagabonds Act
    Vagabonds Act 1597
    The Vagabonds Act 1597 is an Act of the Parliament of England . It introduced penal transportation as a punishment for the first time. During the reign of Henry VIII, it has been estimated that 72,000 people were executed...
    
     introducing penal transportation
    Penal transportation
    Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
    
     of convicted criminals to England's colonies.
  • Gresham College
    Gresham College
    Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in central London, England. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham and today it hosts over 140 free public lectures every year within the City of London.-History:Sir Thomas Gresham,...
    
     founded in the City of London
    City of London
    The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
    
    .
  • Approximate date of the first performance of the Shakespeare plays Henry IV, Part 1
    Henry IV, Part 1
    Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
    
    , Henry IV, Part 2
    Henry IV, Part 2
    Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V.-Sources:...
    
    and King John.
  • Thomas Nashe
    Thomas Nashe
    Thomas Nashe was an English Elizabethan pamphleteer, playwright, poet and satirist. He was the son of the minister William Nashe and his wife Margaret .-Early life:...
    
     and Ben Jonson
    Ben Jonson
    Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
    
    's satirical comedy The Isle of Dogs
    The Isle of Dogs (play)
    The Isle of Dogs is a play by Thomas Nashe and Ben Jonson which was performed in 1597. It was immediately suppressed, and no copy of it is known to exist.-The Play:...
    
    performed in July or August before being suppressed by the Privy Council
    Privy Council of the United Kingdom
    Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
    
     for its "slanderous matter".
  • Francis Bacon
    Francis Bacon
    Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
    
    's first Essays
    Essays (Francis Bacon)
    Essayes: Religious Meditations. Places of Perswasion and Disswasion. Seene and Allowed was the first published book by the philosopher, statesman and jurist Francis Bacon. The Essays are written in a wide range of styles, from the plain and unadorned to the epigrammatic...
    
    published.
  • Thomas Deloney
    Thomas Deloney
    Thomas Deloney was an English novelist and balladist.He appears to have worked as a silk-weaver in Norwich, but was in London by 1586, and in the course of the next ten years is known to have written about fifty ballads, some of which got him into trouble, and caused him to keep a low profile for...
    
    's Jack of Newbury published.
  • John Gerard
    John Gerard
    John Gerard aka John Gerarde was an English herbalist notable for his herbal garden and botany writing. In 1597 he published a large and heavily illustrated "Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes", which went on to be the most widely circulated botany book in English in the 17th century...
    
    's The Herball, or generall historie of plantes published.
  • John Dowland
    John Dowland
    John Dowland was an English Renaissance composer, singer, and lutenist. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep" , "Come again", "Flow my tears", "I saw my Lady weepe" and "In darkness let me dwell", but his instrumental music has undergone a major revival, and has...
    
    's The Firste Booke of Songes or Ayres published.
• 1598
  • March - Poor Relief Act establishes early workhouse
    Workhouse
    In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
    
    s.
  • 14 August - Nine Years' War: Irish rebel victory over the English at the Battle of the Yellow Ford
    Battle of the Yellow Ford
    The Battle of the Yellow Ford was fought in western County Armagh, Ulster, in Ireland, near the river Blackwater on 14 August 1598, during the Nine Years War ....
    
    .
  • 28 December - In London, The Theatre
    The Theatre
    The Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Shoreditch , just outside the City of London. It was the second permanent theatre ever built in England, after the Red Lion, and the first successful one...
    
     is dismantled and the materials used to begin building the Globe Theatre
    Globe Theatre
    The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
    
    .
  • Thomas Bodley
    Thomas Bodley
    Sir Thomas Bodley was an English diplomat and scholar, founder of the Bodleian Library, Oxford.-Biography:...
    
     refounds the Bodleian Library
    Bodleian Library
    The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
    
     at the University of Oxford
    University of Oxford
    The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
    
    .
  • Montacute House
    Montacute House
    Montacute House is a late Elizabethan country house situated in the South Somerset village of Montacute. This house is a textbook example of English architecture during a period that was moving from the medieval Gothic to the Renaissance Classical; this has resulted in Montacute being regarded as...
    
    , Somerset, built, a notable early example of an unfortified country residence built completely from new.
  • Publication of the poem Hero and Leander
    Hero and Leander
    Hero and Leander is a Byzantine myth, relating the story of Hērō and like "hero" in English), a priestess of Aphrodite who dwelt in a tower in Sestos on the European side of the Dardanelles, and Leander , a young man from Abydos on the opposite side of the strait. Leander fell in love with Hero...
    
    unfinished by Marlowe and completed by George Chapman
    George Chapman
    George Chapman was an English dramatist, translator, and poet. He was a classical scholar, and his work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been identified as the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the Metaphysical Poets...
    
    .
  • Chapman translates Homer
    Homer
    In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
    
    's Iliad
    Iliad
    The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
    
    into English.
  • First performance of Ben Jonson
    Ben Jonson
    Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
    
    's play Every Man in His Humour
    Every Man in His Humour
    Every Man in His Humour is a 1598 play by the English playwright Ben Jonson. The play belongs to the subgenre of the "humours comedy," in which each major character is dominated by an overriding humour or obsession.-Performance and Publication:...
    
    .
  • Publication of Francis Meres
    Francis Meres
    Francis Meres was an English churchman and author.He was born at Kirton in the Holland division of Lincolnshire in 1565. He was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he received a B.A. in 1587 and an M.A. in 1591. Two years later he was incorporated an M.A. of Oxford...
    
    ' Palladis Tamia, Wits Treasury
    Palladis Tamia
    Palladis Tamia, subtitled "Wits Treasury", is a 1598 book written by the minister Francis Meres. Meres calls it "A Comparative Discourse of our English Poets, with the Greek, Latin, and Italian Poets", and is important in English literary history as the first critical account of the poems and early...
    
    , including the first critical discussion of Shakespeare's works.
  • Publication of John Stow
    John Stow
    John Stow was an English historian and antiquarian.-Early life:The son of Thomas Stow, a tallow-chandler, he was born about 1525 in London, in the parish of St Michael, Cornhill. His father's whole rent for his house and garden was only 6s. 6d. a year, and Stow in his youth fetched milk every...
    
    's A Survey of London.
• 1599
  • 1 January - Darcy v. Allein
    Darcy v. Allein
    Edward Darcy Esquire v Thomas Allin of London Haberdasher 74 ER 1131 , was an early landmark case in English law, establishing that the grant of exclusive rights to produce any article was improper...
    
    (The Case of Monopolies): The Court of King’s Bench decides it is improper for any individual to be allowed a state monopoly
    Monopoly
    A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
    
     over a trade.
  • 12 March - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
    Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
    Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
    
     is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
    Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
    The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
    
     by Queen Elizabeth I
    Elizabeth I of England
    Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
    
    .
  • 23 April - Essex in Ireland
    Essex in Ireland
    Essex in Ireland refers to the military campaign pursued in Ireland in 1599 by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, during the Nine Years War and the Anglo-Spanish War....
    
    : Essex arrives in Dublin.
  • 29 May - Nine Years' War: Essex captures Cahir Castle
    Siege of Cahir Castle
    The Siege of Cahir Castle took place in Munster, in southern Ireland in 1599, during the campaign of the Earl of Essex against the rebels in the Nine Years War . Although the castle was considered the strongest fortress in the country, Essex took it after only a few days of artillery bombardment...
    
     in Munster
    Munster
    Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
    
    .
  • 15 August - Nine Years' War: Irish rebel victory at the Battle of Curlew Pass
    Battle of Curlew Pass
    The Battle of Curlew Pass was fought on the 15th of August 1599, during the campaign of the Earl of Essex in the Nine Years' War, between an English force under Sir Conyers Clifford and a rebel Irish force led by Hugh Roe O'Donnell. The English were ambushed and routed while marching through a pass...
    
    .
  • 8 September - Essex in Ireland: Essex signs a truce with Hugh O'Neill. He leaves Ireland against the instructions of Queen Elizabeth.
  • 28 September - Essex returns to England and is arrested.
  • Approximate date of the first performances of the Shakespeare plays Julius Caesar
    Julius Caesar (play)
    The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
    
    , As You Like It
    As You Like It
    As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
    
    , Much Ado About Nothing
    Much Ado About Nothing
    Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
    
    and Henry V
    Henry V (play)
    Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
    
    .
  • Globe Theatre
    Globe Theatre
    The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
    
     built in Southwark
    Southwark
    Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
    
    .
  • The publisher William Jaggard
    William Jaggard
    William Jaggard was an Elizabethan and Jacobean printer and publisher, best known for his connection with the texts of William Shakespeare, most notably the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays...
    
     issues The Passionate Pilgrim
    The Passionate Pilgrim
    The Passionate Pilgrim is an anthology of 20 poems that were attributed to "W. Shakespeare" on the title page, only five of which are accepted by present-day scholars as authentically Shakespearean.-Editions:...
    
    e, poems attributed to "W. Shakespeare".

Births

• 1590
  • 30 January - Lady Anne Clifford
    Lady Anne Clifford
    Lady Anne Clifford, 14th Baroness de Clifford was the only surviving child of George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland by his wife Lady Margaret Russell, daughter of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford...
    
    , noblewoman (died 1676
    1676 in England
    Events from the year 1676 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 18 February - Isaac Newton observes to Robert Hooke that "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants"....
    
    )
  • May - William Cecil, 17th Baron de Ros
    William Cecil, 17th Baron de Ros
    William Cecil, 17th Baron de Ros of Helmsley .He was born at Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire, and baptised on 4 June 1590. In 1591, he inherited the barony of de Ros from his mother, Elizabeth Cecil, 16th Baroness de Ros. On 13 February 1615, he married Ann Lake.He was sent by King James I on a...
    
     (died 1618)
  • 19 August - Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
    Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
    Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland was an English aristocrat, courtier and soldier.-Life:He was the son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and of Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and the younger brother of Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick...
    
    , soldier (died 1649
    1649 in England
    Events from the year 1649 in England.-Incumbents:Monarch - King Charles I of England ; Interregnum-Events:* 3 January - An explosion of several barrels of gunpowder in Tower Street, London kills 67 people and destroys 60 houses....
    
    )
  • William Bradford
    William Bradford (1590-1657)
    William Bradford was an English leader of the settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, and served as governor for over 30 years after John Carver died. His journal was published as Of Plymouth Plantation...
    
    , leader of Plymouth Colony (died 1657
    1657 in England
    Events from the year 1657 in the The Protectorate.-Events:* January - Regional military government in England abolished.* 13 March - Anglo-Spanish War: With the Treaty of Paris, France and England form an alliance against Spain....
    
    )
  • William Browne, poet (died 1645
    1645 in England
    Events from the year 1645 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* January - A group of ministers appointed by the Long Parliament draws up the Directory of Public Worship which replaces the Book of Common Prayer...
    
    )
  • Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester
    Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester
    Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester was an English aristocrat, inheriting the title Earl of Worcester from his father Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester, in 1628. He was a prominent and financially important royalist....
    
     (died 1646
    1646 in England
    Events from the year 1646 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 9 January - Battle of Bovey Heath: Parliament secures a significant victory over the Royalists in Devon.* 13 March - Parliament captures Cornwall after Royalists surrender at Truro....
    
    )
• 1591
  • 11 January - Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
    Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
    Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the seventeenth century. With the start of the English Civil War in 1642 he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads...
    
    , English Civil War general (died 1646
    1646 in England
    Events from the year 1646 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 9 January - Battle of Bovey Heath: Parliament secures a significant victory over the Royalists in Devon.* 13 March - Parliament captures Cornwall after Royalists surrender at Truro....
    
    )
  • July - Anne Hutchinson
    Anne Hutchinson
    Anne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
    
    , puritan preacher (died 1643
    1643 in England
    Events from the year 1643 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 23 January - English Civil War: Leeds falls to Parliamentary forces.* 13 March - English Civil War: The Roundheads routed the Cavaliers at the First Battle of Middlewich....
    
    )
  • 24 August - Robert Herrick
    Robert Herrick (poet)
    Robert Herrick was a 17th-century English poet.-Early life:Born in Cheapside, London, he was the seventh child and fourth son of Julia Stone and Nicholas Herrick, a prosperous goldsmith....
    
    , poet (died 1674
    1674 in England
    Events from the year 1674 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 19 February - England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War...
    
    )
  • Thomas Goffe
    Thomas Goffe
    Thomas Goffe a minor Jacobean dramatist.-Life:Thomas Goffe was born in Essex in 1591. He first studied at Westminster School where he was considered a Queen Scholar. Goffe received a scholarship on 3 November 1609 to attend Christ Church, Oxford...
    
    , dramatist (died 1629)
  • William Lenthall
    William Lenthall
    William Lenthall was an English politician of the Civil War period. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons.-Early life:...
    
    , politician of the Civil War period (died 1662
    1662 in England
    Events from the year 1662 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 17 March - Two old women are hanged after being found guilty of witchcraft at the Bury St. Edmunds witch trial.* 2 May/3 May - Catherine of Braganza marries Charles II of England...
    
    )
  • Frances Howard, Countess of Somerset (died 1632)
• 1592
  • 20 February - Nicholas Ferrar
    Nicholas Ferrar
    Nicholas Ferrar was an English scholar, courtier, businessman and man of religion. Ordained deacon in the Church of England, he retreated with his extended family to the manor of Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire, where he lived the rest of his life.-Early life:Nicholas Ferrar was born in London,...
    
    , trader (died 1637)
  • 11 April - Sir John Eliot
    John Eliot (statesman)
    Sir John Eliot was an English statesman who was serially imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he eventually died, by King Charles I for advocating the rights and privileges of Parliament.-Family and early life:...
    
    , statesman (died 1632)
  • May - Francis Quarles
    Francis Quarles
    Francis Quarles was an English poet most famous for his Emblem book aptly entitled Emblems.-Career:Francis was born in Romford, Essex, , and baptised there on 8 May 1592. He traced his ancestry to a family settled in England before the Norman Conquest with a long history in royal service...
    
    , poet (died 1644
    1644 in England
    Events from the year 1644 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* King Charles I opens a Royalist 'parliament' at Oxford.* 26 January - First English Civil War: At the Battle of Nantwich the Parliamentarians defeat the Royalists....
    
    )
  • 28 August - George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
    George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
    George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...
    
    , statesman (died 1628)
  • 5 November - Charles Chauncy
    Charles Chauncy
    Charles Chauncy was an Anglo-American clergyman and educator.He was born at Yardleybury , Hertfordshire, England and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he later was a lecturer in Greek. After serving as a pastor in England at Marston St. Lawrence, Northamptonshire , he emigrated to...
    
    , English-born president of Harvard College (died 1672
    1672 in England
    Events from the year 1672 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 2 January - Cash payments by the Exchequer suspended for a year, due to fears of imminent bankruptcy....
    
    )
  • 6 December - William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle
    William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle
    William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne KG KB PC was an English polymath and aristocrat, having been a poet, equestrian, playwright, swordsman, politician, architect, diplomat and soldier...
    
     (died 1676
    1676 in England
    Events from the year 1676 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 18 February - Isaac Newton observes to Robert Hooke that "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants"....
    
    )
  • John Hacket
    John Hacket
    John Hacket was an English churchman, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry from 1661 until his death.-Life:He was born in London and educated at Westminster and Trinity College, Cambridge. On taking his degree he was elected a fellow of his college, and soon afterwards wrote the comedy, Loiola , which...
    
    , churchman (died 1670
    1670 in England
    Events from the year 1670 in England.-Events:* 1 June - The secret treaty of Dover is signed between King Charles II of England and France.* 8 July O.S...
    
    )
  • John Jenkins
    John Jenkins (composer)
    John Jenkins , English composer, was born in Maidstone, Kent, and died at Kimberley, Norfolk.Little is known of his early life. The son of Henry Jenkins, a carpenter who occasionally made musical instruments, he may have been the "Jack Jenkins" employed in the household of Anne, Countess of Warwick...
    
    , composer (died 1678
    1678 in England
    Events from the year 1678 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 31 May - The Godiva Procession, a commemoration held in honour of Lady Godiva's legendary naked ride on horseback through the streets of Coventry in protest against her husband's treatment of the citizens, begins.* 6 September - Titus...
    
    )
  • Henry King
    Henry King (poet)
    -Life:The eldest son of John King, Bishop of London, and his wife Joan Freeman, he was baptised at Worminghall, Buckinghamshire, 16 January 1592. He was educated at Lord Williams's School, Westminster School and in 1608 became a student of Christ Church, Oxford...
    
    , poet (died 1669
    1669 in England
    Events from the year 1669 in England.-Events:* 31 May - Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last entry in his diary, one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period....
    
    )
• 1593
  • 3 April - George Herbert
    George Herbert
    George Herbert was a Welsh born English poet, orator and Anglican priest.Being born into an artistic and wealthy family, he received a good education that led to his holding prominent positions at Cambridge University and Parliament. As a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, Herbert excelled in...
    
    , poet and orator (died 1633)
  • 4 April - Edward Nicholas
    Edward Nicholas
    Sir Edward Nicholas was an English statesman.-Life:He was the eldest son of John Nicholas, a member of an old Wiltshire family.He was educated at Salisbury grammar school, Winchester College and Queen's College, Oxford...
    
    , statesman (died 1669
    1669 in England
    Events from the year 1669 in England.-Events:* 31 May - Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last entry in his diary, one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period....
    
    )
  • 13 April - Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
    Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
    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 of King Charles I. From 1632 to 1639 he instituted a harsh rule as Lord Deputy of Ireland...
    
    , statesman (died 1641
    1641 in England
    Events from the year 1641 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 23 January - Edward Littleton, 1st Baron Lyttleton of Mounslow appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.* 29 January - Oliver St John appointed Solicitor General....
    
    )
  • 9 August - Izaak Walton
    Izaak Walton
    Izaak Walton was an English writer. Best known as the author of The Compleat Angler, he also wrote a number of short biographies which have been collected under the title of Walton's Lives.-Biography:...
    
    , writer (died 1683
    1683 in England
    Events from the year 1683 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 9 January - Charles II gives orders establishing the dates on which he will perform the "Touching the King's Evil" ceremony....
    
    )
  • Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford
    Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford
    Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford PC was an English politician. About 1631 he built the square of Covent Garden, with the piazza and church of St. Paul's, employing Inigo Jones as his architect...
    
     (died 1641
    1641 in England
    Events from the year 1641 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 23 January - Edward Littleton, 1st Baron Lyttleton of Mounslow appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal.* 29 January - Oliver St John appointed Solicitor General....
    
    )
  • Mervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven
    Mervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven
    Mervyn Touchet , 2nd Earl of Castlehaven , convicted rapist and sodomite, was the son of George Tuchet, 1st Earl of Castlehaven and his wife, née Lucy Mervyn. He succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Castlehaven and 12th Baron Audley on 20 February 1616/7...
    
     (died 1631)
  • George Radcliffe
    George Radcliffe (politician)
    Sir George Radcliffe was an English politician.Born the son of Nicholas Radcliffe of Overthorpe, West Yorkshire, Radcliffe was educated at Oldham and at University College, Oxford...
    
    , politician (died 1657
    1657 in England
    Events from the year 1657 in the The Protectorate.-Events:* January - Regional military government in England abolished.* 13 March - Anglo-Spanish War: With the Treaty of Paris, France and England form an alliance against Spain....
    
    )
• 1594
  • 30 November - John Cosin
    John Cosin
    John Cosin was an English churchman.-Life:He was born at Norwich, and was educated at Norwich grammar school and at Caius College, Cambridge, where he was scholar and afterwards fellow. On taking orders he was appointed secretary to Bishop Overall of Lichfield, and then domestic chaplain to...
    
    , churchman (died 1672
    1672 in England
    Events from the year 1672 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 2 January - Cash payments by the Exchequer suspended for a year, due to fears of imminent bankruptcy....
    
    )
  • John Bramhall
    John Bramhall
    John Bramhall was an Archbishop of Armagh, and an Anglican theologian and apologist. He was a noted controversialist who doggedly defended the English Church from both Puritan and Roman Catholic accusations, as well as the materialism of Thomas Hobbes.-Early life:Bramhall was born in Pontefract,...
    
    , Anglican clergyman and controversialist (died 1663
    1663 in England
    Events from the year 1663 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 10 January - The Royal African Company is granted a Royal Charter.* February - Parliament pressures King Charles into withdrawing a proposed Declaration of Indulgence....
    
    )
  • Peter Oliver, miniaturist (died 1648
    1648 in England
    Events from the year 1648 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 17 January - The Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Addresses, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the Second English Civil War....
    
    )
• 1595
  • 5 December - Henry Lawes
    Henry Lawes
    Henry Lawes was an English musician and composer.He was born at Dinton in Wiltshire, and received his musical education from John Cooper, better known under his Italian pseudonym Giovanni Coperario, a famous composer of the day...
    
    , musician (died 1662
    1662 in England
    Events from the year 1662 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 17 March - Two old women are hanged after being found guilty of witchcraft at the Bury St. Edmunds witch trial.* 2 May/3 May - Catherine of Braganza marries Charles II of England...
    
    )
  • Thomas Carew
    Thomas Carew
    Thomas Carew was an English poet, among the 'Cavalier' group of Caroline poets.-Biography:He was the son of Sir Matthew Carew, master in chancery, and his wife, Alice daughter of Sir John Rivers, Lord Mayor of the City of London and widow of Ingpen...
    
    , poet (died 1640
    1640 in England
    Events from the year 1640 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 12 January - Thomas Wentworth becomes Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland and Earl of Strafford.* 17 January - John Finch becomes Lord Keeper of the Great Seal....
    
    )
  • Miles Corbet
    Miles Corbet
    Miles Corbet was an English politician, recorder of Yarmouth and Regicide.-Life:He was the son of Sir Thomas Corbet of Sprowston, Norfolk and the younger brother of Sir John Corbet, 1st Baronet, MP for Great Yarmouth from 1625 to 1629...
    
    , Puritan politician (died 1662
    1662 in England
    Events from the year 1662 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 17 March - Two old women are hanged after being found guilty of witchcraft at the Bury St. Edmunds witch trial.* 2 May/3 May - Catherine of Braganza marries Charles II of England...
    
    )
  • Henry Herbert, official (died 1673
    1673 in England
    Events from the year 1673 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 8 March - Under pressure from Parliament, King Charles II withdraws the Royal Declaration of Indulgence.* 29 March - The Test Act is passed, preventing Roman Catholics from holding public office....
    
    )
  • Thomas May
    Thomas May
    Thomas May was an English poet, dramatist and historian of the Renaissance era.- Early life and career until 1630 :...
    
    , poet and historian (died 1650
    1650 in England
    Events from the year 1650 in England.-Events:* 1 May - The future King Charles II of England signs the Treaty of Breda with the Scottish Covenanters.* 23 June - Charles arrives in Scotland where he signs the Covenant....
    
    )
• 1596
  • September - James Shirley
    James Shirley
    James Shirley was an English dramatist.He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly...
    
    , dramatist (died 1666
    1666 in England
    Events from the year 1666 in England. This is the first year to be designated as an Annus mirabilis, in John Dryden's 1667 poem so titled, celebrating England's failure to be beaten either by fire or by the Dutch.-Events:...
    
    )
  • Bevil Grenville
    Bevil Grenville
    Sir Bevil Grenville was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England between 1621 and 1642. He was a Royalist soldier in the English Civil War and was killed in action at the Battle of Lansdowne.-Backgound:...
    
    , royalist soldier (died 1643
    1643 in England
    Events from the year 1643 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 23 January - English Civil War: Leeds falls to Parliamentary forces.* 13 March - English Civil War: The Roundheads routed the Cavaliers at the First Battle of Middlewich....
    
    )
• 1597
  • 21 August - Roger Twysden, antiquarian and royalist (died 1672
    1672 in England
    Events from the year 1672 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 2 January - Cash payments by the Exchequer suspended for a year, due to fears of imminent bankruptcy....
    
    )
• 1598
  • Ralph Hopton, 1st Baron Hopton
    Ralph Hopton, 1st Baron Hopton
    Ralph Hopton, 1st Baron Hopton was a Royalist commander in the English Civil War.-Life:Hopton was the son of Robert Hopton of Witham Somerset. He was apparently educated at Lincoln College, Oxford and served in the army of Frederick V, Elector Palatine in the early campaigns of the Thirty...
    
    , Royalist commander in the English Civil War (died 1652
    1652 in England
    Events from the year 1652 in the Commonwealth of England.-Events:* 19 May - First Anglo-Dutch War: Battle of Goodwin Sands fought off Dover between Lt.-Admiral Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp's 42 Dutch ships and 21 English ships divided into two squadrons, one commanded by Robert Blake and the other...
    
    )
  • Marmaduke Langdale
    Marmaduke Langdale
    Sir Marmaduke Langdale was a Royalist commander in the English Civil War.He married Lenox , daughter of Sir John Rodes of Barlborough, Derbyshire, and his third wife Catherine, daughter of Marmaduke Constable of Holderness on 12 September 1626, at St Michael-le-Belfry in York...
    
    , Royalist in the English Civil War (died 1661
    1661 in England
    Events from the year 1661 which occurred in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 6 January - The Fifth Monarchists unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London...
    
    )
  • Gilbert Sheldon
    Gilbert Sheldon
    Gilbert Sheldon was an English Archbishop of Canterbury.-Early life:He was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 July 1598, the youngest son of Roger Sheldon; his father worked for Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford; he...
    
    , Archbishop of Canterbury
    Archbishop of Canterbury
    The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
    
     (died 1677
    1677 in England
    Events from the year 1677 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 16 February - Politicians the Earl of Shaftesbury, Duke of Buckingham, Lord Wharton and the Earl of Salisbury are arrested and sent to the Tower of London....
    
    )
  • William Strode
    William Strode
    William Strode was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England variously between 1624 and 1645. He was one of the five members impeached by King Charles and fought on the Parliamentarian side in the English Civil War.-Life:...
    
    , parliamentarian (died 1645
    1645 in England
    Events from the year 1645 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* January - A group of ministers appointed by the Long Parliament draws up the Directory of Public Worship which replaces the Book of Common Prayer...
    
    )
• 1599
  • 25 April - Oliver Cromwell
    Oliver Cromwell
    Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
    
    , Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland (died 1658
    1658 in England
    Events from the year 1658 in the The Protectorate.-Events:* 4 February - Oliver Cromwell dissolves the Second Protectorate Parliament.* April - First stage coach services advertised; 4-day trips from London to Exeter, York, and Chester....
    
    )
  • 14 August - Méric Casaubon
    Méric Casaubon
    Méric Casaubon , son of Isaac Casaubon, was a French-English classical scholar...
    
    , classicist (died 1671
    1671 in England
    Events from the year 1671 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 9 May - Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. He is immediately caught because he is too drunk to run with the loot...
    
    )
  • 31 October - Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles
    Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles
    Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles PC was an English statesman and writer, best known as one of the five members of parliament whom King Charles I of England attempted to arrest in 1642.-Early life:...
    
    , statesman and writer (died 1680
    1680 in England
    Events from the year 1680 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 4 November - A second Exclusion Bill is proposed to exclude the Catholic James, Duke of York from inheriting the throne.* 15 November - The Exclusion Bill is defeated in the House of Lords....
    
    )
  • John Alden
    John Alden
    John Alden is said to be the first person from the Mayflower to set foot on Plymouth Rock in 1620. He was a ship-carpenter by trade and a cooper for Mayflower, which was usually docked at Southampton. He was also one of the founders of Plymouth Colony and the seventh signer of the Mayflower Compact...
    
    , settler of Plymouth Colony (died 1687
    1687 in England
    Events from the year 1687 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 2 April - King James II of England issues the Declaration of Indulgence, suspending laws against Catholics and non-conformists....
    
    )
  • Robert Blake
    Robert Blake (admiral)
    Robert Blake was one of the most important military commanders of the Commonwealth of England and one of the most famous English admirals of the 17th century. Blake is recognised as the chief founder of England's naval supremacy, a dominance subsequently inherited by the British Royal Navy into...
    
    , admiral (died 1657
    1657 in England
    Events from the year 1657 in the The Protectorate.-Events:* January - Regional military government in England abolished.* 13 March - Anglo-Spanish War: With the Treaty of Paris, France and England form an alliance against Spain....
    
    )
  • Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle
    Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle
    Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle was an English courtier known for her beauty and wit. She was involved in many political intrigues during the English Civil War.-Life:...
    
    , socialite (died 1660
    1660 in England
    Events from the year 1660 which occurred in the Kingdom of England. This is the year of Restoration.-Events:* 1 January** Colonel George Monck with his regiment crosses from Scotland to England at the village of Coldstream and begins advance towards London in support of English Restoration.**...
    
    )

Deaths

• 1590
  • 1 February - Lawrence Humphrey
    Lawrence Humphrey
    Lawrence Humphrey was an English theologian, who was president of Magdalen College, Oxford, and dean successively of Gloucester and Winchester.-Biography:...
    
    , president of Magdalen College, Oxford (born 1527)
  • 6 April - Francis Walsingham
    Francis Walsingham
    Sir Francis Walsingham was Principal Secretary to Elizabeth I of England from 1573 until 1590, and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Walsingham is frequently cited as one of the earliest practitioners of modern intelligence methods both for espionage and for domestic security...
    
    , principal secretary to Elizabeth I and spymaster (born 1530)
  • 18 November - George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury
    George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury
    George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, 6th Earl of Waterford, 12th Baron Talbot, KG, Earl Marshal was a 16th century English statesman.-Life:...
    
    , statesman (born 1528)
  • Roger Dudley
    Roger Dudley
    Roger Dudley was an English soldier.Dudley was born in London, England, but some say that he was baptised in Yardley Hastings, Northamptonshire. However Dudley's parentage has never been satisfactorily established...
    
    , soldier (born 1535)
• 1591
  • 1 May - Elizabeth Cecil, 16th Baroness de Ros
    Elizabeth Cecil, 16th Baroness de Ros
    Lady Elizabeth Manners, 16th Baroness de Ros of Helmsley was the daughter and heir of Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland...
    
    , noblewoman (born c. 1574)
  • 10 September - Richard Grenville
    Richard Grenville
    Sir Richard Grenville was an English sailor, sea captain and explorer. He took part in the early English attempts to settle the New World, and also participated in the fight against the Spanish Armada...
    
    , soldier and explorer (born 1542)
  • 20 November - Christopher Hatton
    Christopher Hatton
    Sir Christopher Hatton was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England.-Early days:...
    
    , politician (born 1540)
  • John Stubbs
    John Stubbs
    John Stubbs was an English pamphleteer or political commentator during the Elizabethan era.He was born in Norfolk, and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. After studying law at Lincoln's Inn, he lived at Thelveton, Norfolk...
    
    , pamphleteer (born 1543)
• 1592
  • February - Thomas Cavendish
    Thomas Cavendish
    Sir Thomas Cavendish was an English explorer and a privateer known as "The Navigator" because he was the first who deliberately tried to emulate Sir Francis Drake and raid the Spanish towns and ships in the Pacific and return by circumnavigating the globe...
    
    , sailor and explorer (born 1555)
  • 3 September - Robert Greene
    Robert Greene (16th century)
    Robert Greene was an English author best known for a posthumous pamphlet attributed to him, Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit, widely believed to contain a polemic attack on William Shakespeare. He was born in Norwich and attended Cambridge University, receiving a B.A. in 1580, and an M.A...
    
    , writer (born 1558)
• 1593
  • 23 March - Henry Barrowe
    Henry Barrowe
    Henry Barrowe was an English Puritan and Separatist, executed for his views.-Life:He was born about 1550, in Norfolk, of a family related by marriage to Nicholas Bacon, and probably to John Aylmer, Bishop of London. He matriculated at Clare Hall, Cambridge, in November 1566, and graduated B.A. in...
    
    , Puritan and separatist (born 1550)
  • 6 April - John Greenwood, Puritan and separatist (hanged) (year of birth unknown)
  • 30 May - Christopher Marlowe
    Christopher Marlowe
    Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
    
    , poet and playwright (born 1564)
  • 25 September - Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby
    Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby
    Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby KG was a prominent English nobleman who served as Lord High Steward during the trial of Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel....
    
     (born 1531)
  • William Harrison
    William Harrison (clergyman)
    William Harrison was an English clergyman, whose Description of England was produced as part of the publishing venture of a group of London stationers who produced Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles...
    
    , clergyman (born 1534)
• 1594
  • February
    • Barnabe Googe
      Barnabe Googe
      Barnabe Googe or Gooche was a poet and translator, one of the earliest English pastoral poets.-Early life:...
      
      , poet (born 1540)
    • William Painter
      William Painter
      William Painter was an English author and translator.William Painter was a native of Kent. He matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge, in 1554. In 1561 he became clerk of the ordnance in the Tower of London, a position in which he appears to have amassed a fortune out of the public funds...
      
      , translator (born 1540)
  • 29 April - Thomas Cooper
    Thomas Cooper (bishop)
    Thomas Cooper was an English bishop, lexicographer, and writer.-Life:He was born in Oxford, where he was educated at Magdalen College...
    
    , bishop, lexicographer, and writer (born c. 1517)
  • 3 June - John Aylmer
    John Aylmer (English constitutionalist)
    John Aylmer was an English bishop, constitutionalist and a Greek scholar.-Early life and career:He was born at Aylmer Hall, Tilney St. Lawrence, Norfolk...
    
    , divine (born 1521)
  • 16 July - Thomas Kyd
    Thomas Kyd
    Thomas Kyd was an English dramatist, the author of The Spanish Tragedy, and one of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama....
    
    , author of The Spanish Tragedy
    The Spanish Tragedy
    The Spanish Tragedy, or Hieronimo is Mad Again is an Elizabethan tragedy written by Thomas Kyd between 1582 and 1592. Highly popular and influential in its time, The Spanish Tragedy established a new genre in English theatre, the revenge play or revenge tragedy. Its plot contains several violent...
    
    (born 1558)
  • 25 September - Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby
    Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby
    Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby KG was a prominent English nobleman who served as Lord High Steward during the trial of Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel....
    
    , Lord High Steward (born 1531)
  • 16 October - William Allen, cardinal (born 1532)
  • 22 November - Martin Frobisher
    Martin Frobisher
    Sir Martin Frobisher was an English seaman who made three voyages to the New World to look for the Northwest Passage...
    
    , explorer (born 1535)
  • John Johnson
    John Johnson (composer)
    John Johnson was an English lutenist, composer of songs and lute music, attached to the court of Queen Elizabeth I. He was the father of the lutenist and composer Robert Johnson.-Discography:...
    
    , lutenist and composer (born c. 1545)
• 1595
  • 21 February - Robert Southwell, Jesuit priest and poet (born 1561)
  • 24 August - Thomas Digges
    Thomas Digges
    Sir Thomas Digges was an English mathematician and astronomer. He was the first to expound the Copernican system in English but discarded the notion of a fixed shell of immoveable stars to postulate infinitely many stars at varying distances; he was also first to postulate the "dark night sky...
    
    , astronomer (born 1546)
  • 19 October - Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel
    Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel
    Saint Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel was an English nobleman. He was canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970, as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales...
    
    , nobleman (born 1537)
  • 12 November - John Hawkins
    John Hawkins
    Admiral Sir John Hawkins was an English shipbuilder, naval administrator and commander, merchant, navigator, and slave trader. As treasurer and controller of the Royal Navy, he rebuilt older ships and helped design the faster ships that withstood the Spanish Armada in 1588...
    
    , shipbuilder and trader (born 1532)
  • 14 December - Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon
    Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon
    Sir Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, KG KB was the eldest son of Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon and Catherine Pole.-Ancestry:...
    
     (born 1535)
• 1596
  • 27 January - Sir Francis Drake
    Francis Drake
    Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
    
    , explorer and soldier (born 1540)
  • 23 March - Henry Unton
    Henry Unton
    iSir Henry Unton was an Elizabethan English diplomat.Henry was the second son of Sir Edward Unton of Wadley House, near Faringdon, Berkshire , his mother, Anne , being a daughter of Edward Seymour, duke of Somerset, the protector...
    
    , diplomat (born 1557)
  • 23 July - Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon
    Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon
    Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, of Hunsdon was an English nobleman.He was the son of Mary Boleyn, the sister of Anne Boleyn and also the mistress to King Henry VIII of England...
    
     (born 1526)
  • 10 November - Peter Wentworth
    Peter Wentworth
    Peter Wentworth was a prominent Puritan leader in the Parliament of England. He was the elder brother of Paul Wentworth, and first entered as member for Barnstaple in 1571. He later sat for the Cornish borough of Tregony in 1572, and for the town of Northampton in the parliaments of 1586–7, 1589,...
    
    , Puritan politician (born 1530)
  • 29 November
    • William Gibson (martyr)
      William Gibson (martyr)
      Blessed William Gibson was martyred by Anglicans at York for professing the Roman Catholic faith. He was from Ripon, in Yorkshire....
      
      , Catholic martyr (year of birth unknown)
    • William Knight
      William Knight (martyr)
      The Blessed William Knight was an Englishman put to death for his Roman Catholic faith at York, England. With him also suffered the Venerable George Errington of Herst, Northumberland; the Venerable William Gibson of Ripon; and the Venerable William Abbot of Howden, Yorkshire.Knight was the son of...
      
      , Catholic martyr (born 1572)
  • Blanche Parry
    Blanche Parry
    Blanche Parry was a personal attendant of Queen Elizabeth I of England, Chief Gentlewoman of Queen Elizabeth’s most honourable Privy Chamber and Keeper of Her Majesty’s jewels.-Early life:...
    
    , Personal attendant to Elizabeth I (born c. 1508)
  • Henry Willobie
    Henry Willobie
    Henry Willobie is the supposed author of a 1594 poem called Willobie his Avisa , whose main claim to fame is a possible connection with William Shakespeare's personal life....
    
    , poet (born 1575)
• 1597
  • 6 June - William Hunnis
    William Hunnis
    William Hunnis was an English Protestant poet, dramatist, and composer.Hunnis was a gentleman of the Chapel Royal to Edward VI, but was imprisoned during the reign of Mary for plotting against her regime and narrowly escaped execution...
    
    , poet (year of birth unknown)
  • James Burbage
    James Burbage
    James Burbage was an English actor, theatre impresario, and theatre builder in the English Renaissance theatre. He built The Theatre, the facility famous as the first permanent dedicated theatre built in England since Roman times...
    
    , actor (born 1531)
  • Edward Kelley
    Edward Kelley
    Sir Edward Kelley or Kelly, also known as Edward Talbot was an ambiguous figure in English Renaissance occultism and self-declared spirit medium who worked with John Dee in his magical investigations...
    
    , spirit medium (born 1555)
• 1598
  • 9 January - Jasper Heywood
    Jasper Heywood
    Jasper Heywood, SJ , son of John Heywood, translated into English three plays of Seneca, the Troas , the Thyestes and Hercules Furens ....
    
    , classicist and translator (born 1553)
  • 4 August - William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
    William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
    William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...
    
    , statesman (born 1520)
• 1599
  • 13 January - Edmund Spenser
    Edmund Spenser
    Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
    
    , poet (born 1552)
  • 14 April - Henry Wallop
    Henry Wallop
    Sir Henry Wallop was an English statesman.He was the eldest son of Sir Oliver Wallop of Farleigh Wallop in Hampshire. Having inherited the estates of his father and of his uncle, Sir John Wallop, he was knighted in 1569 and was chosen member of parliament for Southampton in 1572...
    
    , statesman (born c. 1540)