1640 in England
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 1640 in England: |
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| 1638 | 1639 | 1640 | 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.... | 1642 1642 in England Events from the year 1642 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 4 January - Charles I attempts to arrest five leading members of the Long Parliament, but they escape... |
Events from the year 1640 in the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
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Events
- 12 January - Thomas WentworthThomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of StraffordThomas 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...
becomes Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland and Earl of StraffordEarl of StraffordEarl of Strafford is a title that has been created three times in English and British history.The first creation was in the Peerage of England in 1640 for Thomas Wentworth, 1st Baron Wentworth, the close advisor of King Charles I...
. - 17 January - John FinchJohn FinchJohn Finch, 1st Baron Finch was an English judge, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1629. He was Speaker of the House of Commons.-Early life:...
becomes Lord Keeper of the Great SealLord Keeper of the Great SealThe Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great Seal of England. This evolved into one of the Great Officers of State....
. - 13 April - King Charles ICharles I of EnglandCharles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
summons the Short ParliamentShort ParliamentThe Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....
in an attempt to fund the second of the Bishops Wars. - 17 April - John PymJohn PymJohn Pym was an English parliamentarian, leader of the Long Parliament and a prominent critic of James I and then Charles I.- Early life and education :...
makes a speech attacking the King in Parliament. - 4 May - Oliver St JohnOliver St JohnSir Oliver St John , was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1653. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War.- Early life :...
calls on Parliament to outlaw ship moneyShip moneyShip money refers to a tax that Charles I of England tried to levy without the consent of Parliament. This tax, which was only applied to coastal towns during a time of war, was intended to offset the cost of defending that part of the coast, and could be paid in actual ships or the equivalent value...
. - 5 May - The King dismisses the Short Parliament and prepares to attack ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. - 6 May - The Earl of WarwickRobert Rich, 2nd Earl of WarwickRobert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick was an English colonial administrator, admiral, and puritan.Rich was the eldest son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and his wife Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and succeeded to his father's title in 1619...
, Lord BrookeRobert Greville, 2nd Baron BrookeRobert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke was an English Civil War Roundhead General.Greville was the cousin and adopted son of Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, and thus became 2nd Lord Brooke, and owner of Warwick Castle. He was born in 1607, and entered parliament for Warwickshire in 1628...
, Lord SayeWilliam Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and SeleWilliam Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele was born at the family home of Broughton Castle near Banbury, in Oxfordshire. He was the only son of Richard Fiennes, seventh Baron Saye and Sele...
, John Pym, John HampdenJohn HampdenJohn Hampden was an English politician, the eldest son of William Hampden, of Hampden House, Great Hampden in Buckinghamshire, John Hampden (ca. 15951643) was an English politician, the eldest son of William Hampden, of Hampden House, Great Hampden in Buckinghamshire, John Hampden (ca. 15951643)...
, and Sir Walter Earle arrested. - 20 August - An Army of ScottishScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
CovenanterCovenanterThe Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
s invades England. - 28 August - Battle of NewburnBattle of NewburnThe Battle of Newburn was fought on 28 August 1640 during the Second Bishops' War between a Scottish Covenanter army led by General Alexander Leslie and English royalist forces commanded by Edward, Lord Conway. Conway, heavily outnumbered, was defeated, and the Scots went on to occupy the town of...
: The Covenanter army defeats the English army. - 26 October - Treaty of RiponTreaty of RiponThe Treaty of Ripon was an agreement signed by Charles I, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Scottish Covenanters on 26 October 1640, in the aftermath of the Second Bishops' War...
signed between the King and the Covenanters. - 3 November - The Long ParliamentLong ParliamentThe Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
is summoned. - 25 November - The Earl of Strafford imprisoned in the Tower of LondonTower of LondonHer Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. - 18 December - Archbishop LaudWilliam LaudWilliam Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism...
impeached for treason. - undated - Habeas Corpus ActHabeas Corpus Act 1640The Habeas Corpus Act 1640 is an Act of the Parliament of England with the long title "An Act for the Regulating the Privie Councell and for taking away the Court commonly called the Star Chamber." The Act was passed by the Long Parliament shortly after the impeachment and execution of Thomas...
("An Act for the Regulating the Privie Councell and for taking away the Court commonly called the Star Chamber") passed, abolishing the Star ChamberStar ChamberThe Star Chamber was an English court of law that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster until 1641. It was made up of Privy Counsellors, as well as common-law judges and supplemented the activities of the common-law and equity courts in both civil and criminal matters...
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Births
- 25 January - William Cavendish, 1st Duke of DevonshireWilliam Cavendish, 1st Duke of DevonshireWilliam Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire KG PC was a soldier and Whig statesman, the son of William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire and Lady Elizabeth Cecil.-Life:...
, soldier and statesman (died 17071707 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1707 in Great Britain, created in this year as a result of the 1706 Treaty of Union and its ratification by the 1707 Acts of Union.-Events:...
) - 30 March - John TrenchardJohn Trenchard (Secretary of State)Sir John Trenchard was an English politician belonging to an old Dorset family. His father was Thomas Trenchard of Wolverton , and his grandfather was Sir Thomas Trenchard of Wolverton...
, statesman (died 16951695 in EnglandEvents from the year 1695 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 13 January - Princess Anne returns to court to act as royal hostess.* April - Parliament decides not to renew the statutes requiring press censorship....
) - 10 July - Aphra BehnAphra BehnAphra Behn was a prolific dramatist of the English Restoration and was one of the first English professional female writers. Her writing contributed to the amatory fiction genre of British literature.-Early life:...
, author (died 16891689 in EnglandEvents from the year 1689 in the Kingdom of England.-Incumbents:*Co-monarchs - King William III and Queen Mary.-Events:...
) - 13 December - Robert PlotRobert PlotRobert Plot was an English naturalist, first Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford, and the first keeper of the Ashmolean Museum....
, naturalist (died 16961696 in EnglandEvents from the year 1696 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 27 January - The ship HMS Royal Sovereign catches fire and burns at Chatham, after 57 years of service....
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Deaths
- 14 January - Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron CoventryThomas Coventry, 1st Baron CoventryThomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry was a prominent English lawyer, politician and judge during the early 17th century.-Education and early legal career:...
, lawyer and judge (born 1578) - 25 January - Robert BurtonRobert Burton (scholar)Robert Burton was an English scholar at Oxford University, best known for the classic The Anatomy of Melancholy. He was also the incumbent of St Thomas the Martyr, Oxford, and of Segrave in Leicestershire.-Life:...
, scholar (born 1577) - 17 March - Philip MassingerPhilip MassingerPhilip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
, dramatist (born 1583) - 3 June
- John AylmerJohn 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...
, political theorist (born 1521) - Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of SuffolkTheophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of SuffolkTheophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, KG was an English nobleman and politician.Born at the family estate of Saffron Walden, he was the son of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, by his second wife Catherine Knyvet of Charlton, and succeeded his father in 1626.Sir Theophilus Howard was named in...
, politician (born 1584)
- John Aylmer
- 20 October - John BallJohn Ball (Puritan)John Ball was an English puritan divine.-Life:He was born in Cassington, Oxfordshire.After taking his BA degree from St Mary Hall, Oxford, in 1608, he went into Cheshire to act as tutor to the children of Lady Cholmondeley...
, Puritan clergyman (born 1585) - 8 December - Princess Anne of EnglandPrincess Anne of EnglandPrincess Anne of England was the daughter of Charles I and his queen, Henrietta Maria of France. She was born in St. James's Palace and died of natural causes in the Richmond Palace at the age of three. She was buried in Westminster Abbey.-External links:*...
(born 1637) - probable - John FordJohn Ford (dramatist)John Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
, dramatist (born 1586)