1666 in England
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Events from the year 1666 which occurred in England.
[edit] Events
- 11 June–14 June Second Anglo-Dutch War : Four Days Battle, one of the longest naval engagements in history
- August 5 - Second Anglo-Dutch War: English fleet beats Dutch under Michiel de Ruyter at St. James's Day Battle.
- September 2 - Great Fire of London: A large fire breaks out in London in the house of Charles II's baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge. The fire burns for three days destroying 10,000 buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral, but only 16 people are known to have died.
- September 5 - Great Fire of London ends. Destruction of overcrowded houses ends Great Plague of London.
- Sir Isaac Newton develops differential calculus.
- Sir Isaac Newton uses a prism to split sunlight into its component colours, which led to a greater understanding of the nature of light. (See optical spectrum).
- Thomas Hobbes' work De principiis et ratiocinatione geometrarum published
[edit] Births
- August 13 - William Wotton, scholar (died 1727)
- December - Stephen Gray (died 1736)
- Mary Astell, writer (died 1731)
- Josiah Burchett, Secretary of the Admiralty (died 1746)
- John Harris, writer and encyclopaedist (died 1719)
- John Quelch, English pirate (died 1704)
[edit] Deaths
- January 16 - Dudley North, 3rd Baron North, nobleman (born 1581)
- February 24 - Nicholas Lanier, composer (born 1588)
- June 30 - Alexander Brome, poet (born 1620)
- July 10 - John Fell, churchman (born 1625)
- July 25 - Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey, noble (born 1608)
- October 29
- - Edmund Calamy the Elder, Presbyterian leader (born 1600)
- - James Shirley, dramatist (born 1596)
- Sir William Clarke, politician
- Sir Richard Fanshawe, diplomat and translator (born 1608)
- John Holles, 2nd Earl of Clare, noble (born 1595)
- James Howell, writer (born 1594)
- Christopher Myngs, admiral and pirate (born 1625)