1679
Events
January–June
- January 24 - King Charles II of England dissolves the "Cavalier Parliament", after nearly 18 years.
- March 6-May 27 - In England, the "Habeas Corpus Parliament" meets. It is dissolved on July 12, while in recess, by royal prerogative, to prevent it from passing a bill excluding the king's brother, the Catholic James, Duke of York, from the succession to the English throne, as part of the Exclusion Crisis.
- May 27 - The Parliament of England passes the Habeas Corpus Act, "for the better securing the liberty of the subject".
- June 1 - Battle of Drumclog: Scottish Covenanters defeat a small government force.
- June 4 - Armenia earthquake: A tremor with an estimated surface wave magnitude of 6.4 takes place, in the Yerevan region of the Persian Empire.
- June 22 - Battle of Bothwell Bridge, Scotland: Royal forces led by James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and John Graham of Claverhouse subdue the Scottish Covenanters.
July–December
- August 7 - The brigantine Le Griffon, commissioned by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is towed to the southern end of the Niagara River, to become the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes.
- September 2 - The 8.0 Sanhe-Pinggu earthquake devastates Beijing and Hebei in China with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X.
- September 18 - New Hampshire becomes a county of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- November 27 - A fire in Boston, Massachusetts, burns all of the warehouses, 80 houses, and all of the ships in the dockyards.
Date unknown
- The Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal War begins with the Tibetan invasion of Ladakh.
- French explorer Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, explores the Saint Louis River; the city of Duluth, Minnesota, will take its name from him.
- Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb reimposes jizya.
- Malpas Tunnel on the Canal du Midi in Hérault, France, Europe's first navigable canal tunnel, is excavated by Pierre-Paul Riquet.
Births
January 24 - Christian Wolff, German philosopher March 18 - Matthew Decker, English merchant and writer March 29 - Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore, colonial governor of Maryland May 29 - Antonio Farnese, Duke of Parma August 16 - Catharine Trotter Cockburn, English novelist, dramatist, philosopher August 22 - Pierre Guérin de Tencin, French cardinal October 13 - Princess Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst, Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg October 16 - Jan Dismas Zelenka, Bohemian composer October 18 - Ann Putnam, Jr., American accuser in the Salem witch trials November 11 - Firmin Abauzit, French scientist date unknown * James Erskine, Lord Grange, Scottish judge * Francesco Zerafa, Maltese architectDeaths
January 1 - Jan Steen, Dutch painter January 8 - Raymond Breton, French missionary January 14 - Jacques de Billy, French Jesuit mathematician January 15 - Pierre Lambert de la Motte, French bishop January 24 * Ulderico Carpegna, Italian Catholic cardinal * Maurice Henry, Prince of Nassau-Hadamar January 29 - Carlo Ceresa, Italian painter February 5 - Joost van den Vondel, Dutch dramatist and poet February 6 - Margherita de' Medici, Italian duchess regent of Parma February 18 - Lady Anne Finch Conway, English philosopher February 19 - Henricus Regius, Dutch philosopher February 19 - Thomas Hales, Connecticut settler February 22 - Henrik Rysensteen, Dutch military engineer March 11 * Sir John Covert, 1st Baronet, English politician * Luise Marie of the Palatinate, German princess March 16 * John Leverett, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony * Johan Frederik von Marschalck, German-born landowner, Chancellor of Norway * Johannes Schefferus, Alsatian-born humanist March 27 - Abraham Mignon, Dutch golden age painter April - Thomas Notley, Colonial governor of Maryland April 5 - Anne Geneviève de Bourbon, French princess and political activist May 3 - James Sharp, Scottish archbishop May 5 - Magnus Celsius, Swedish astronomer and mathematician May 6 - Peregrine Hoby, English politician May 10 - Dorothy, Lady Pakington, English religious writer May 14 - August of Legnica, Silesian nobleman May 26 - Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria June 3 - Francisque Millet, Flemish-French painter June 7 - Princess Christine Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, German noblewoman June 15 - Guillaume Courtois, French painter June 27 - Pablo Bruna, blind Spanish composer and organist July 4 - Antoine Garaby de La Luzerne, French poet July 11 - William Chamberlayne, English poet July 19 - Francis Anderson, English politician July 26 - Edward Bayntun, English politician August - Catherine Lepère, French midwife August 6 - John Snell, English royalist August 12 - Marie de Rohan, French courtier and political activist August 20 - Jacob Alting, Dutch linguist August 24 - Jean François Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz, French churchman and agitator August 28 - Alfonso Litta, Cardinal, Archbishop of Milan August 29 - Margaret Mostyn, English Carmelite nun September 9 - John Gurdon, English politician September 11 - Nicolaes Visscher I, Dutch engraver, cartographer and publisher September 17 - John of Austria the Younger, Spanish general September 25 - Philips Augustijn Immenraet, Flemish painter September 29 - John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland, English politician when he inherited the peerage October 1 - Antonia of Württemberg, princess, literary figure, patron, and Christian Kabbalist October 2 - Sir William Bowyer, 1st Baronet, English politician October 3 - Hugh Bethell, English Member of Parliament and High Sheriff October 12 - William Gurnall, English writer October 26 - Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, British soldier, statesman, and dramatist November 11 - Rosina Schnorr, German businessperson November 19 - Roger Conant Massachusetts governor, founder of Salem, Massachusetts November 27 - Archibald Primrose, Lord Carrington, Scottish judge December 4 - Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher December 10 - Francesco Barberini, Italian Catholic cardinal December 20 - John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen December 18 - John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Duke of Brunswick-Calenberg December 21 - Claude Lamoral, 3rd Prince of Ligne, Spanish general and prince December 28* Peder Winstrup, Bishop of Lund * Andrzej Trzebicki, nobleman and priest in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth December 31 - Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist
