1666 in England
Encyclopedia
 1666 in England: |
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| 1664 1664 in England Events from the year 1664 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 12 March - Province of New Jersey becomes an English colony in North America.* 5 April - Passing of the Triennial Act.... | 1665 1665 in England Events from the year 1665 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 4 March - Beginning of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.* 6 March - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society begins publication.... | 1666 | 1667 1667 in England Events from the year 1667 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 27 April - The blind, impoverished John Milton sells the copyright of Paradise Lost for £10.... | 1668 1668 in England Events from the year 1668 which occurred in England.-Events:* 28 January - England signs the Triple Alliance with the United Provinces and Sweden.... |
Events from the year 1666 in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. This is the first year to be designated as an Annus mirabilis
Annus mirabilis
Annus mirabilis is a Latin phrase meaning "wonderful year" or "year of wonders" . It was used originally to refer to the year 1666, but is today also used to refer to different years with events of major importance...
, in John Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
's 1667 poem
Annus Mirabilis (poem)
thumb|right|200px| The Great Fire of London, which took place on September 2, 1666, was one of the major events that affected [[England]] during Dryden's "year of miracles"....
so titled, celebrating England's failure to be beaten either by fire or by the Dutch.
Events
- 1 February - Royal court returns to London after the Great Plague of LondonGreat Plague of LondonThe Great Plague was a massive outbreak of disease in the Kingdom of England that killed an estimated 100,000 people, 20% of London's population. The disease is identified as bubonic plague, an infection by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted through a flea vector...
. - 1 June–4 June Second Anglo-Dutch WarSecond Anglo-Dutch WarThe Second Anglo–Dutch War was part of a series of four Anglo–Dutch Wars fought between the English and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries for control over the seas and trade routes....
: Inconclusive Four Days BattleFour Days BattleThe Four Days Battle was a naval battle of the Second Anglo–Dutch War. Fought from 1 June to 4 June 1666 in the Julian or Old Style calendar then used in England off the Flemish and English coast, it remains one of the longest naval engagements in history.In June 1665 the English had soundly...
, one of the longest naval engagements in history. - 25 July - Second Anglo-Dutch War: English fleet beats DutchNetherlandsThe 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...
under Michiel de RuyterMichiel de RuyterMichiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter is the most famous and one of the most skilled admirals in Dutch history. De Ruyter is most famous for his role in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century. He fought the English and French and scored several major victories against them, the best known probably...
at St. James's Day BattleSt. James's Day BattleThe naval St James' Day Battle , the Battle of the North Foreland and the Battle of Orfordness) took place on 25 July 1666 — St James' day in the Julian calendar then in use in England , during the Second Anglo-Dutch War and was fought between fleets of England, commanded jointly by...
. - 2 September - Great Fire of LondonGreat Fire of LondonThe Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
: A large fire breaks out in LondonLondonLondon 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...
in the house of Charles IICharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
's baker on Pudding LanePudding LanePudding Lane is a street in London, formerly the location of Thomas Farriner's bakehouse where the Great Fire of London began in 1666. It is off Eastcheap in the City of London, near London Bridge. The nearest tube station is Monument, a short distance to the west...
near London BridgeLondon BridgeLondon Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
. The fire burns for three days destroying 10,000 buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral, but only 16 people are known to have died. - 5 September - Great Fire of London ends. Destruction of overcrowded houses ends Great Plague of LondonGreat Plague of LondonThe Great Plague was a massive outbreak of disease in the Kingdom of England that killed an estimated 100,000 people, 20% of London's population. The disease is identified as bubonic plague, an infection by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted through a flea vector...
.
Undated
- Isaac NewtonIsaac NewtonSir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
develops differential calculusCalculusCalculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
. - Newton uses a prism to split sunlight into its spectrum of colours, which leads to a greater understanding of the nature of lightLightLight or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
. - First Burying in Woollen Act.
Births
- 13 August - William WottonWilliam WottonWilliam Wotton was an English scholar, chiefly remembered for his remarkable abilities in learning languages and for his involvement in the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns. In Wales he is remembered as the collector and first translator of the ancient Welsh laws.-Early years:William Wotton...
, scholar (died 17271727 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1727 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George I , King George II*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:* February - Spain besieges Gibraltar in order to recapture the territory....
) - December - Stephen GrayStephen Gray (scientist)Stephen Gray was an English dyer and amateur astronomer, who was the first to systematically experiment with electrical conduction, rather than simple generation of static charges and investigations of the static phenomena....
(died 17361736 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1736 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George II*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:* 14 April - Porteous Riots in Edinburgh...
) - Mary AstellMary AstellMary Astell was an English feminist writer and rhetorician. Her advocacy of equal educational opportunities for women has earned her the title "the first English feminist."-Life and career:...
, writer (died 17311731 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1731 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George II*Prime Minister - Robert Walpole, Whig-Events:* 16 March - Treaty of Vienna signed between the Holy Roman Empire, Great Britain, the Dutch Republic and Spain....
) - Josiah BurchettJosiah BurchettJosiah Burchett was Secretary of the Admiralty in England, a position he held for almost fifty years . He was first a clerk to Samuel Pepys, the English civil servant famous for his diary...
, Secretary of the Admiralty (died 17461746 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1746 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George II*Prime Minister - Henry Pelham, Whig-Events:...
) - John HarrisJohn Harris (writer)John Harris was an English writer, scientist, and Anglican priest. He is best known as the editor of the Lexicon Technicum: Or, A Universal English Dictionary of Arts and Sciences , the earliest of English encyclopaedias, and as the compiler of the Collection of Voyages and Travels which was...
, writer and encyclopaedist (died 17191719 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1719 in Great Britain.-Events:* April - Bank rate set at 5%, at which it will remain for more than a century.* 28 April - A Peerage Bill, proposed by Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, to prevent the creation of peers in the House of Lords is defeated in the House of...
) - John QuelchJohn QuelchJohn Anthony Quelch CBE is a British-born business school academic, administrator, public servant, corporate director and consultant. In 2011, he was appointed Dean, Vice President and Distinguished Professor of International Management at the China Europe International Business School...
, English pirate (died 17041704 in EnglandEvents from the year 1704 in the Kingdom of England.-Events:* 18 May - Robert Harley becomes Secretary of State for the Northern Department....
)
Deaths
- 16 January - Dudley North, 3rd Baron NorthDudley North, 3rd Baron NorthDudley North, 3rd Baron North was an English nobleman.He was the son of Sir John North and of Dorothy, daughter and heiress of Sir Valentine Dale. He succeeded his grandfather, Roger North, 2nd Baron North, at the age of nineteen...
, nobleman (born 1581) - 24 February - Nicholas LanierNicholas LanierNicholas Lanier, sometimes Laniere was an English composer, singer, lutenist and painter....
, composer (born 1588) - 30 June - Alexander BromeAlexander BromeAlexander Brome was an English poet.He was by profession an attorney, and was the author of many drinking songs and of satirical verses in favor of the Royalists and in opposition to the Rump Parliament...
, poet (born 1620) - 10 July - John FellJohn Fell (clergyman)John Fell was an English churchman and influential academic. He served as Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and later concomitantly as Bishop of Oxford.-Education:...
, churchman (born 1625) - 25 July - Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of LindseyMontagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of LindseyMontagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey, 15th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, KG, PC was the eldest son of Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey and his wife Elizabeth Montagu, daughter of Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton.-Early life:...
, noble (born 1608) - 29 October
- Edmund Calamy the ElderEdmund Calamy the ElderEdmund Calamy was an English Presbyterian church leader and divine. Known as "the elder", he was the first of four generations of nonconformist ministers bearing the same name.-Early life:...
, Presbyterian leader (born 1600) - James ShirleyJames ShirleyJames 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 (born 1596)
- Edmund Calamy the Elder
- Sir William ClarkeWilliam Clarke (English politician)Sir William Clarke was an English politician. Born about 1623 in London of obscure parentage, he was admitted as a student to Inner Temple in 1645 and called to the bar in 1653. On 28 Jan. 1661 he was appointed Secretary at War, after having served for at least the previous twelve years as...
, politician - Sir Richard Fanshawe, diplomat and translator (born 1608)
- John Holles, 2nd Earl of ClareJohn Holles, 2nd Earl of Clare-Family:He was born in Haughton, Nottinghamshire, the eldest son of John Holles, 1st Earl of Clare and Anne Stanhope, and the brother of Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles....
, noble (born 1595) - James HowellJames HowellJames Howell was a 17th-century Anglo-Welsh historian and writer who is in many ways a representative figure of his age. The son of a Welsh clergyman, he was for much of his life in the shadow of his elder brother Thomas Howell, who became Lord Bishop of Bristol.-Education:In 1613 he gained his B.A...
, writer (born 1594) - Christopher MyngsChristopher MyngsSir Christopher Myngs , English admiral and pirate, came of a Norfolk family and was a relative of another admiral, Sir Cloudesley Shovell. Pepys' story of his humble birth, in explanation of his popularity, is said to be erroneous. His name is often given as Mings.The date of Myngs's birth is...
, admiral and pirate (born 1625)