1620s

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	16th century – 17th century – 18th century
Decades:	1590s 1600s 1610s – 1620s – 1630s 1640s 1650s
Years:	1620 1621 1622 1623 1624 1625 1626 1627 1628 1629
Categories:	Births – Deaths – Architecture Establishments – Disestablishments

The 1620s decade ran from January 1, 1620, to December 31, 1629.

Contents 1 Events and trends 1.1 Major ongoing events 1.2 1620 1.3 1621 1.4 1622 1.5 1623 1.6 1624 1.7 1625 1.8 1626 1.9 1627 1.10 1628 1.11 1629 2 1620s in fiction and popular culture 3 Significant people 3.1 World leaders 3.2 Important personalities 3.3 Contemporaries yet to gain fame 4 References

Events and trends

Major ongoing events

• Age of Exploration (1419 – c.Early 17th Century): Though mankind's cartographical knowledge of the world was still imperfect, it had come a long way since Christopher Columbus re-discovered the Americas in 1492 (about 500 years after the Vikings, the first Europeans to discover the Continent of North America). It was during this Decade in which European Explorers such as John Smith, François Thijssen, Étienne Brûlé, Willem Janszoon, David Kirke, and William Baffin thrived. Important discoveries made during this decade included the discovery of the southern coast of Australia by François Thijssen of Holland and French explorer Étienne Brûlé's discovery (or then at least the first sighting of it by a European) of Lake Superior.

Another figure, though not an explorer per se, who explored an area unknown to Europeans was Portuguese Jesuit missionary Estêvão Cacella. He recorded his travel through and stay at the Himalayan country of Bhutan during his mission to Tibet.

However even in this increasingly globalizing age, most of Australia and the Pacific Islands would remain isolated from the rest of the world for the next century and a half.

• European colonization of the Americas (1492 – c.1800)
• Protestant Reformation (1517–1648) and Counter-Reformation (1545–1648)
• Scientific Revolution (1543 – c.1700)
• The Little Ice Age (c.1550-mid-19th Century)
• English Renaissance (c.1588 – c.1660)
• Baroque Movement (c. 1600 – c.1730)
• "Flowering Period of the Barbary Pirates" (Early 17th Century): Though piracy has existed for centuries back to antiquity, it was during this decade that with the introduction of innovations in sailing (most notably advancements in sailing rigs) that made it possible for pirates in the Mediterranean to go beyond and traverse the Atlantic Ocean and bring about terror to more places around the world (albeit that it was limited to Europe and Northern Africa, but still an area larger than any previous generations of pirates in the past had ever travelled). It was this age that preceded the Golden Age of Piracy (1650 – c.1730).
• Edo period (1603–1868)
• Age of Absolutism (1610 – c.1786): During the decade, Many monarchies across Europe and to a lesser extent the Middle-East began to trend towards absolutism, which gave monarchs the right to rule unrestrained by any other institutions, such as churches, legislatures, or social elites. Rulers who were and if not that then at least advocated for absolute monarchy during this decade were Louis XIII of France, Sigismund III Vasa of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Abbas I of Persia, Murad IV of the Ottoman Empire, James I of England/VI of Scotland, and Charles I of England and Scotland. The latter two rulers however were unsuccessful in their efforts to assert absolute rule in England-Wales as can be indicated by the English Parliament's resistance to each of its Stuart Monarchs' claim of "Divine Right". This resistance to absolute monarchy culminated in the passing of the Monumental Petition of Right, the most important document in British history since the Magna Carta. However, it would take a civil war and more years of political turmoil before the passage of the English Bill of Rights to stamp out absolute monarchy in England-Wales and allow democracy to take hold in England–Wales and later around the world.
• Armed Conflicts of the 1620s
  • Dutch-Spanish wars (see Eighty Years War and Dutch Revolt for details) (1568–1648)
  • Dutch-Portuguese War (1602–1654)
  • Beaver Wars (1609–1701)
  • The Manchu Invasions of China (1616–1644) and Korea (1627)
  • Thirty Years' War (1618–1648)
  • First Polish-Ottoman War (1620–1621)
  • Third Polish-Swedish War (1621–1625)
  • Huguenot rebellions (1621–1628)
  • Khurram's Rebellion (1622–1626)
  • Intermediary Anglo-Powhatan conflict (1622–1632)
  • Fifth Ottoman-Safavid War (1623–1639)
  • Fourth Polish-Swedish War (1626–1629)
  • Anglo-French War (1627–1629)
  • Trịnh–Nguyễn War (1627–1673)
  • War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–1631)

1620

• January 1 – An envoy from England (including James Hay, then Viscount of Doncaster, and John Donne) sent to the Holy Roman Empire during the preceding year, which was unsuccessful in settling disputes at the Eve of the Thirty Years' War, returns to London.^[1]
• February 4 – Prince Bethlen Gabor signs a peace treaty with Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II.
• April 27 – Treaty with Spain arranges marriage between the Prince of Wales and Infanta Maria Anna of Spain in return for relaxation of laws concerning Roman Catholics.^[2]
• July 3 – Under the terms of the Treaty of Ulm, the Protestant Union declares neutrality and ceases to support Frederick V of Bohemia.
• July 3 – Two officers of the British East India Company attempt to claim the Table Mountain region (in present-day South Africa) for England, but fail.
• August 7 – Louis XIII defeats the rebellion of the Nobles of France, lead by Marie de Médicis, at the Battle of Les Ponts-de-Cé.
• August 7 – The mother of Johannes Kepler is arrested for witchcraft.
• September 16 – The Mayflower departs from England to transverse the Atlantic to North America.
• September 17 – October 7 – Battle of Ţuţora during the First Polish-Ottoman War.
• September 20 – Norwegian explorer Jens Munk, after an disastrously unsuccessful effort to find the Northwest Passage, returns and lands at Bergen in modern day Norway.
• September 26 – "Case of the Red Pills" occurs in which Emperor Taichang dies shortly after taking two pills from Li Kezhuo, a minor court official, to help cure his ailment.
• October 10 – The Dutch pirate Salomo de Veenboer engaged five ships of the navies of England, France, and Holland (respectively two, two, and one) in a long battle near the harbour of Amsterdam, resulting in his death.
• October 20 – The Kingdom of Navarre is merged into the kingdom of France by King Louis XIII of France, who was also Louis II of Navarre.
• November 3 – The Great Patent is granted to Plymouth Colony.
• November 8 – Battle of White Mountain during Thirty Years' War.
• November 21 – The Mayflower arrives at Cape Cod in the modern-day state of Massachusetts. The settlers of the Plymouth Colony shortly after sign the Mayflower Compact, the first ever document written and signed in the British North American Colonies.
• Undated
  • Francis Bacon publishes the Novum Organum during this year.
  • Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada restores Osaka Castle.
  • The modern violin is developed.
  • Witch hunts begin in Scotland.
  • Cornelius Drebbel builds an "undersea boat", the first ever navigable Submarine.
  • J.P. Donnet invents the Sign language alphabet.
  • Emperor Jahangir of India captures the Fort of Kangra, a feet that his predecessor failed to achieve, after laying a fourteen month siege.
  • Standard Welsh Bible, translated by Bishop William Morgan, Richard Parry and John Davies (Mallwyd) is published. This translation holds a similar place in the Welsh speaking world, as far as religious matters go, as the King James Version does in the English Speaking world. This translation was also important due to its stabilizing influence on the language, thus the modern Welsh language spoken today owes its origins to the Standard Welsh Bible, albeit that there have been minor changes since its publishing.
  • The Kasanje Kingdom, named after its founder, is established on the upper Kwango River in modern-day Angola. It will continue to exist until 1910.
  • Viceroy of New Spain Diego Fernández de Córdoba founded Guadalcázar in the modern day State of San Luis Potosí in Mexico. This would remain an important city until the early Twentieth century.
  • The City of Veracruz, in modern-day Mexico, was devastated by a fire.
  • An aqueduct spanning from Chapultepec to Mexico City was completed by Viceroy Diego Fernández de Córdoba, thus improving the sanitation and water supply of Mexico City.
  • The English Navy and merchant ships began to use the Red Ensign at about this time, though unofficially. The Red Ensign would not become an official flag until King Charles II of England and Scotland proclaimed it as such in 1674.
  • During the coarse of the Little Ice Age, in Great Britain, England experienced freezing weather so severe that the Thames river froze over, and Scotland experienced thirteen days of continuous snowfall. One contemporary document in regard to the effects that the freezing weather had on livestock stated that atEskdale Moor in Scotland, of a flock of 20,000 sheep, only thirty-five survived.^[3]

1621

• January 16 – The Parliament of England sits for the first time since 1614.
• February 9 – Pope Gregory XV succeeds Pope Paul V as the 234th pope.
• February 17 – Miles Standish is appointed as the first commander of Plymouth Colony.
• March 16 – Samoset, a Mohegan sagamore, becomes the first Native American to encounter the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony.
• March 22 – The Pilgrims sign the first ever treaty with Native Americans, specifically the Wampanoag.
• March–April – Francis Bacon was charged with twenty-three counts of corruption (which some historians believe he may have been innocent of) and was declared by the Parliament to be incapable of holding future office.
• April – War between the Netherlands and Spain recommences after the Twelve Years' Truce (1609–1621).
• May 3 – Francis Bacon is imprisoned in the Tower of London on charges of corruption; he is pardoned by King James I later in the year.^[4]
• May 24 – Protestant Union dissolved.
• June 21 – Twenty-seven Lords who participated in the Battle of White Mountain are executed.
• July – Hamburg, in modern-day Germany, acknowledges Danish overlordship in accordance to the Compact of Steinburg.
• September 2 – October 9 – Battle of Khotyn during the First Polish–Ottoman War.
• September 29 – King James I of England/VI of Scotland granted William Alexander of Scotland a royal charter to colonize Acadia, a region that includes the whole or parts of the modern-day Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and the U.S. state of Maine. Alexander named the colony Nova Scotia (New Scotland), which today is the name of one of Canada's aforementioned Provinces. However, the Kingdom of Scotland would later have to reliquish its colony to France as a result of the terms of the Treaty of Suza.
• October – The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony and Wampanoags celebrate a harvest feast (three days), later regarded as the "First Thanksgiving", noted for peaceful co-existence.
• November 11 – The ship Fortune arrives at Plymouth Colony, with thirty-five more settlers.
• November 15 – Aeterni Patris, issued by Pope Gregory XV via a Papal bull, regulated papal elections which were to be secret and in writing.
• Undated
  • The cities of Petare, in Venezuela, and Gothenburg, in Sweden, founded.
  • Sweden gains control of the city of Riga.
  • Willebrord Snellius discovers the Law of refraction.
  • The Dutch capture the Portuguese colonies of Arguin and Goree, Mauritania.^[5]
  • King Philip III of Spain/II of Portugal divided the Colony of Brazil into two states (Estado do Brasil and Estado do Maranhão). The reason was that the territory was too large to be managed effectively as a single territory.
  • Tamblot, a Pagan priest from Bohol in the modern-day Republic of the Philippines, shortly after a "Challenge of Miracles", incites a rebellion against Spanish rule.
  • King James I of England/VI of Scotland seized the whole of Upper Ossory in County Laois including the manor of Offerlane. James claimed royal inheritance from the de Clare family at an inquisition held at Maryborough. A plantation was established at the area in 1626.
  • The Parliament of Scotland ratified the Five Articles of Perth, which was meant to integrate the Church in Scotland with the Anglican Church. This unpopular move by James I of England/VI of Scotland would eventually lead to the rise of the Covenanters in Scotland in the future.

1622

• January 1 – January 1 declared the beginning of a year instead of March 25.
• January 6 – Pope Gregory XV established the Congregatio de propaganda fide, the missionary arm of the Roman Curia.
• January 7- The Tamblot Uprising in the Philippines is subdued by Spanish Forces. The rebellion's leader dies at some unknown time later.
• February 8 – King James I of England/VI of Scotland disbands the English parliament.
• March 12 – Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila, Isidore the Farmer and Philip Neri are canonized as saints by Pope Gregory XV.
• March 22 – Jamestown massacre occurs resulting in the killing of 347 settlers (roughly a third of Jamestown's population) and razing of the Henricus settlement in an effort to expel the English colonists. Chief Opchanacanough of the Powhatan Confederacy, however, miscalculated how the colonists would respond, thus leading to a ten year conflict between the colonists of Virginia and the Powhatans.
• June 16 – Scottish Lord Chancellor of Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline died.^[6] During the earlier months prior to his death, he was in the process of making alterations to Fyvie Castle and the Pinkie House, which today are famous Landmarks in Scotland.
• August 10 – The Plymouth Council for New England provided Ferdinando Gorges and John Mason a grant to colonize the New England region. The colony they would found, the Province of Maine, would be the predecessor entity of the modern-day states of Maine and New Hampshire. The Province of Maine would seven years later be split in two in which each aforementioned founders establishing the Province of New Somersetshire and Province of New Hampshire.
• Undated
  • The French explorer Étienne Brûlé is the first European to discover Lake Superior.
  • Albertus Magnus is beatified by the Roman Catholic Church.
  • Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha sinks off the Florida Keys, while carrying copper, 35 tons of silver, 161 pieces of gold, tobacco, and indigo (Wreck discovered 1985).
  • First record of Bottled Spring Water in UK at Holy Well Spring, Malvern.
  • Emperor Malak Sagad III of Ethiopia converts to Roman Catholicism.
  • After being inflicted by several defeats, Chinese armies were forced to retreat to Shanhaiguan, abandoning all of Liaoning Province to the Manchus.
  • Prince Khurram, the future Emperor Shah Jahan, defeats the combined forces of Ahmednagar, Bijapur, and Golconda. However acting upon fears that Nur Jahan, his stepmother, was plotting against him, the Prince waged a four year rebellion against his father, thereby leaving Kandahar, a city that was captured during the campaign against the aforementioned States, to the opportunistic Persians.
  • Joao Correia de Sousa, Governor of Angola, invades the Kingdom of Kongo
  • An allied force of Safavid Persia and the British East India Company captured the Portuguese held possession of Hormuz Island.
  • Venetian Senator and ambassador to England Antonio Foscarini is put on trial with charges that he was acting for foreign powers during his time as ambassador and of spying for Spain after his return. He was tried, acquitted of the first charge, found guilty of the second and hanged from a gallows between the columns of the Piazzetta in 1622. However shortly after his execution, evidence was discovered showing that Antonio Foscarini was innocent. The news of this event circulated around all the chancelleries of Europe.
  • Historian William Camden established what is today known as the Camden Chair in Ancient History at the University of Oxford

1623

• February – France, Savoy, and Venice sign the Treaty of Paris of 1623
• February 25 – Duke Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, becomes monarch of Palatinate, a state within the then Holy Roman Empire.
• March 5 – The first American temperance law is enacted, in Virginia.
• March 9 – Amboyna massacre occurs resulting in the execution of twenty people (ten in service of the British East India Company, nine Japanese, and one Portuguese) at the hands of the Dutch East India Company.
• March 20 – Pope Gregory XV issued the Omnipotentis Dei, the last papal ordinance against witchcraft. Under the Omnipotentis Dei, former punishments were lessened, and the death penalty was limited to those who were "proved to have entered into a compact with the devil, and to have committed homicide with his assistance" (CE).
• June 14 – The first breach-of-promise lawsuit: Rev. Gerville Pooley, in Virginia, files against Cicely Jordan, but he loses.
• July – The ships Anne and Little James arrive from England, weeks apart from each other, bringing more settlers to the Plymouth Colony.
• August 6 – Pope Urban VIII (Maffeo Barberini) succeeds Pope Gregory XV as the 235th pope.
• August 30 – Negotiations of the planned Spanish Match, marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales to Maria Anna of Spain, break down.^[4]
• November 1 – Fire at Plymouth Colony destroys several buildings.
• Undated
  • England first colonizes Saint Kitts and Nevis.
  • Wilhelm Schickard invents his "Calculating Clock", an early mechanical calculator.
  • Procopius' long-lost Secret History is rediscovered in the Vatican Library.
  • Giambattista Marini publishes his long poem Adone.
  • Tommaso Campanella publishes The City of the Sun.
  • Johannes Rudbeck founds the first gymnasium in Sweden.
  • Erotomania is first mentioned in a psychiatric treatise.
  • The modern day cities of Gloucester, Massachusetts and Dover, New Hampshire are founded.
  • Joao Correia de Sousa, Governor of Angola, is recalled shortly after the Protests of King Pedro II of Kongo and Portuguese Merchants.
  • Publication of First Folio, a collection of 36 of the plays of William Shakespeare.^[4]
  • King Gwanghaegun of Korea is overthrown in a coup.
  • Governor William Bradford of the Plymouth Colony ends the policy of collective ownership of land, food, and tools. Bradford then implemented a plan in which resources were divided among individual families.^[7]
  • The final rebellion by the Tungus of Siberia for their independence from the Russians is subdued.
  • King Chey Chettha II of Cambodia allowed Vietnamese refugees fleeing from the chaos in Vietnam that would eventually escalate into the Trịnh–Nguyễn War, to establish a settlement in the Prey Nokor region. This settlement eventually became Saigon (now modern Ho Chi Minh City).

1624

• January 1 – German mystic Jakob Böhme publishes his book Weg zu Christo (The Way to Christ), which contained some of his (what were then at the time) controversial beliefs.^[8]
• January 14 – The Safavid Persians capture Baghdad from the Ottomans during the Fifth Ottoman-Safavid War.
• January 22 – February 15 – Korean general Yi Gwal launches a brief rebellion against the King Injo.
• January 24 – Alfonso Mendez, the Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa in what is now modern day Eritrea to enforce Catholic doctrines. As a result, strife and civil war between Ethiopian Orthodox traditionalists and the Catholic Emperor Malak Sagad III ravage Ethiopia.
• March 26 – Jakob Böhme was summoned to appear at the Council of Görlitz (now in modern day Germany) in response to publishing his controversial work Weg zu Christo. He was banished from the city shortly after.
• April 29 – Cardinal Richelieu is appointed by Louis XIII to be his advisor.^[9]
• August – The Siege of Breda, during the Thirty Years War, begins.
• October – An alliance of Tuscan, Papal, and Neapolitan forces defeat the Algerians near Sardinia. This naval battle is known as the Action of October 1624
• Undated
  • The Sunni inhabitants of Baghdad are massacred by order of Shah Abbas I.
  • Martin Luther's German translation of the Bible is publicly burned by order of Pope Urban VIII.
  • The Netherlands establishes a trading colony at Tainan on Taiwan.
  • Thirty Walloon families settle in the New Netherland colony.
  • The Virginia Land Company's charter is revoked and Virginia becomes a crown colony.
  • Oslo, in modern day Norway, Ommen, Holland, and Dunfermline, Scotland are destroyed by fires.
  • Jakob Bartsch records the constellation Camelopardalis around the north star.
  • The Palace of Versailles is first built, as a hunting lodge.
  • The Japanese Shogun expels the Spanish from the land and severs trade with the Philippines.
  • Mail service begins in Denmark.
  • A university is founded in Bolivia.
  • Cornelius Drebbel first discovers gases.
  • Henry Briggs publishes Arithmetica Logarithmica.
  • The French Parliament passes a decree forbidding criticism of Aristotle on pain of death.
  • Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba starts to rule.
  • The Latymer School and Latymer Upper School in London are founded by the bequest of Edward Latymer.
  • Pope Urban VIII issued a papal bull that made smoking tobacco punishable by excommunication.^[10] This bull was later repealed by Pope Benedict XIII.
  • The Pirate Jan Janszoon is appointed governor of Salé by Sultan Zidan Abu Maali.
  • Captain John Smith's The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles, which recounts his time in the New World, is published.
  • The Lord of Satsuma (a domain of Japan) annexed the Amami Islands, which earlier belonged to the Ryūkyū Kingdom.
  • The Codex Alexandrinus is presented to King James I and VI of England and Scotland by diplomat Thomas Roe on the behalf of Ecumenical Patriarch Cyril I.

1625

• March 13 – Pope Urban VIII issues the Sanctissimus Dominus Noster, a papal bull intended to regulate the veneration of deceased individuals.
• March 25- Battle of Martqopi (occurring in modern day Georgia) occurs in which Simon II of Kartli is dethroned by the forces of Giorgi Saakadze.
• March 27 – Charles I succeeds to the thrones of England-Wales and Scotland.
• April 4 – Frederick Henry marries Amalia, Countess von Solms-Braunfels.
• April 7 – Albrecht von Wallenstein is appointed supreme commander of the forces of the Holy Roman Empire.
• May 1 – A Portuguese-Spanish expedition recaptures Salvador (Bahia).
• May 1 – Prince Frederick Henry is appointed stadtholder of Holland.
• May 9- Denmark begins to intervene during the Thirty Years' War
• May 15 – Rebellious farmers are hanged in Vocklamarkt, Upper Austria.
• June 5 – Spanish troops under the command of Ambrogio Spinola capture Breda after besieging the city for eleven months.
• June 13 – King Charles I of England marries Princess Henrietta Maria of France.
• June 18 – The English Parliament refuses to vote Charles I the right to collect customs duties for his entire reign, restricting him to one year instead.
• June 19 – Jesuit missionary Jean de Brébeuf arrives at New France. He begins his mission there which in the process of doing so learns valuable information as he studied the customs and language of the Huron.
• July 1- Simon II is restored to his throne with Persian support shortly after the Battle of Marabda.
• July – First attack from barbary pirates in south-western England.^[11]
• September 13 – Sixteen rabbis (including Isaiah Horowitz) are kidnapped, imprisoned, and ransomed by local Pasha in Jerusalem.
• September 24 – The Dutch attack San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• October 8 – Admiral George Villiers' fleet sails from Plymouth, England to Cadiz.
• December 9 – The Netherlands and England sign a military peace treaty.
• Undated
  • William Oughtred invents the slide ruler.
  • James Ussher becomes Archbishop of Armagh.
  • The Dutch settle Manhattan, founding the town of New Amsterdam. The town would transform into a piece of what is now New York City.[1]
  • The First Savoine War is fought between the Republic of Genoa and the Duchy of Savoy.
  • The Bohemian Revolt ends.
  • A Huguenot revolt in France is suppressed.
  • Samoset sells 12,000 acres (49 km²) of land to a Colonist named John Brown in what is believed to be the first transfer of Native American Land to any English Colonist.^[12]
  • Ligdan Khan, the ruler of Mongolia, lead an unsuccessful punitive expedition to punish Mongolian Princes who had aligned with the Manchurians.
  • A Miskito Chief, known as Oldman, was installed as the King of the Miskito Kingdom, an English (later British) protectorate in parts of modern-day Honduras and Nicaragua, by the current Governor of Jamaica.
  • St. Olaf's church (which was then 159 m (522 ft) tall) in Tallinn (in modern day Estonia) was struck by lightning and severely damaged, though it would be rebuilt later. In the process it lost the status as the tallest building in the World, which now belonged to the 151 m (495 ft) tall St. Mary's church in Stralsund (in modern-day Germany) until 1647.
  • In Xi'an, China, the then lost Nestorian Stele, a Tang dynasty era stele that records the deeds of Christian missionaries in China from 635-781, was uncovered after having been buried since the mid-ninth century.

1626

• February 6 – The Huguenot rebels and French government sign the Peace of La Rochelle.
• February 27 – Yuan Chonghuan was appointed governor of Liaodong.
• March 7 – King Garcia I of Kongo is overthrown by Manuel Jordão, the Duke of Nsundi, after he marches on the Capital of the Kingdom of Kongo. As a result, the House of Kwilu is restored to the throne.
• April 9 – Francis Bacon dies of pneumonia
• April 25 – Battle of Dessauer Bridge: Monarch Albrecht von Wallenstein defeats Earl of Mansfeld.
• May 4 – Peter Minuit becomes director-general of New Netherland for the Dutch West India Company.
• May – August 4 – Siege of Stralsund during the Thirty Years War
• May 24 – Peter Minuit buys Manhattan from a Native American tribe (Lenape or Shinnecock or Canarsie) for trade goods, valued at 60 guilders ("$24").
• June 15 – King Charles I of England disbands the English Parliament.
• July 4 – The Ottomans, after besieging Baghdad for almost a year, are forced to lift their siege after the Persians cut off their supply line.
• July 5- Battle of Stralsund occurs (at the same time that the siege of that city continued) in which Holy Roman Commander Albrecht von Wallenstein is defeated by a joint Swedo-Danish Force (with Scottish assistance as well) which eventually leads to the siege against Stralsund being lifted later.
• July 30 – An earthquake strikes Naples, killing 10,000.
• August 1 – Ernest Casimir of Nassau-Dietz conquers Oldenzaal.
• August 27 – Battle of Lutter: The Catholic League defeats king Christian IV of Denmark.
• September 28 – Battle of Ningyuan in Xingcheng, Liaoning, China: With a much smaller force, the Ming Dynasty commander Yuan Chonghuan defeats the Manchu tribal leader Nurhaci, who dies soon after and is succeeded by Huang Taiji.
• November 18 – The new St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is consecrated, the anniversary of that of the previous church in 326.
• December 1 – Pasha Muhammad ibn Farukh, tyrannical Governor of Jerusalem, is removed from power.
• December 20 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and Transylvanian monarch Bethlen Gabor sign the Peace of Pressburg.
• Undated
  • France founds its first colony on Madagascar.
  • Prince Khurram's rebellion against his Father (instigated upon fears of Nur Jahan's, his stepmother, support for Shahryar's claim to the Thorne), Emperor Jahangir, is subdued. However Prince Khurram would succeed his father the following year.
  • The Duchy of Urbino was incorporated into the papal dominions.
  • Ivan Tarasievich Gramotin, head of foreign affairs office (Posolsky Prikaz), was exiled after falling into disfavor with Patriarch Filaret regarding his decision to prepare for war against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
  • Owaneco, Sachem (chief) of the Mohegans, arranged for his son, Uncas, to marry the daughter of the principal Pequot sachem Tatobem to secure an alliance with the Pequots. However when Owaneco died, shortly after this marriage, Uncas had to submit himself to Tatobem's authority.
  • William Alexander was appointed Secretary for Scotland.
  • William Vaughan publishes his fantastic prose allegory The Golden Fleece.
  • In the Autumn of this year, the Battle of Bazaleti was fought between King Teimuraz I of Kakheti and Giorgi Saakadze of Georgia, ending in defeat for the latter. Saakadze later went into exile fleeing to the Ottoman Empire.

1627

• January – The office of Constable of France was abolished by the Edict of January by Cardinal Richelieu and also ordered all fortified castles razed, except only those needed to defend against invaders.
• January 26 – April 10 – François Thijssen, whom originally was trying to reach Batavia, explores the southern coast of the continent of Australia. In the process of doing so, he debunks contemporary theories that Australia was adjacent to Antarctica.
• May 10 – Pieter Nuyts, a month after completing the voyage across southern Australia, which he participated in, was appointed Governor of Formosa and Dutch Ambassador to Japan.
• July 4 – 19 – The Barbary pirates raid Iceland.
• July 22 – Duke George Villiers of Buckingham leads an unsuccessful invasion of Île de Ré.
• July 27 – An earthquake destroys the cities of San Severo and Torremaggiore in southern Italy.
• August – The Siege of La Rochelle begins.
• September 14 – Pope Urban VIII beatified the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan whom had been executed three decades earlier. They would be canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1862.
• Undated
  • Reconstruction of Muchalls Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland completed by Thomas Burnett.
  • The aurochs are hunted to extinction, the last being killed by poachers in Poland.
  • England places the first European settlers on Barbados.
  • After the First Manchu invasion of Korea, the Joseon Dynasty of Korea becomes a tributary state of the Manchus.
  • Black gun powder is first used in mining, in a mineshaft under Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia.
  • Archduke Ferdinand III of Austria, heir apparent of the Habsburg Monarchy and a future Holy Roman Emperor, already King of Hungary ascends to be king of the religiously troubled Bohemia where his (still living) father's repression of Protestantism had triggered the ongoing Thirty Years' War in 1618.
  • The "Purple Clothes Incident" occurs in Japan in which Emperor Go-Mizunoo bestows to ten priests honorific purple garments against the edict of the Shogun which required a two year waiting period.
  • William Bradford and seven other Pilgrims sold some of their property to settle the debt of Pilgrims who could not pay off for the cost of their passage.^[13]
  • Prime Minister Cardinal Richelieu organizes the Company of New France to establish a French colonial empire across North America.
  • The Spanish Economy collapsed as a result of massive inflation brought on by the debasement of the country's currency via spending to fund the war against the Netherlands.

1628

• January 1 – Christian IV of Denmark forms an alliance with Denmark's rival Sweden in an effort to expel the Forces of the Holy Roman Empire from the Jutland.
• February – Writs are issued by Charles I that every county in England-Wales (not just seaport towns) pay ship taxes by March 1.
• March – Oliver Cromwell is elected to the English Parliament.
• May – The English Parliament passes the Petition of Right, one of the most monumental documents in history, especially in the history of the United Kingdom and the United States.
• June 7 – Charles I reconvenes the English Parliament and accepts the Petition of Right as a concession to gain his subsidies.
• July – The Jesuit missionary Estêvão Cacella of Portugal, after an eight month stay in Bhutan, wrote a report,The Relacao, concerning his travels and stay in Bhutan to his superior in Cochin. Estêvão Cacella was the first European to enter Bhutan, travel through the Himalayas during the winter, and describe Shambhala (a mythological place in Tibetan Buddhism) to European civilization. Cacella's Relacao is also unique as it is the only contemporary account of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the unifier and first ruler of Bhutan.
• August 10 – The Swedish sixty-four gun sailing ship Vasa sinks on her maiden voyage in the Stockholm harbor.
• August 23 – George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham, is assassinated by John Felton.
• September 6 – Puritans settle Salem, which will later become part of Massachusetts Bay Colony.
• October 28 – The Siege of La Rochelle ends with the surrender of the Huguenots.
• Undated
  • Dutch East India Company vessel the Batavia is shipwrecked on its maiden voyage to the Indies.
  • William Harvey publishes Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus, containing his findings about blood circulation.
  • The Collegiate School, today the oldest educational institution in North America, is established.
  • Cardinal Richelieu becomes prime minister.
  • War begins between France and Spain over Mantua.
  • The Mutapan leader Kapararidze Unites the Shonans in an effort to expel the Portuguese.^[5]
  • Thomas Hobbes completes his translation of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, the first ever translation from the manuscript's original language, Greek, into English. It would be published the following year.
  • Ogosho (retired Shogun) Tokugawa Hidetada executed fifty-five Christians for their refusal to renounce Christ in Nagasaki.
  • The Mohawk, a member tribe of the Iroquois, defeated the Mahicans in modern-day New York in an effort to gain a monopoly on the fur trade during the Beaver Wars.
  • The government of the Dutch colony of Formosa changes its policy of business taxes shortly after a hostage situation in which Hamada Yahei, a Japanese merchant, held Pieter Nuyts hostage at knifepoint in his own office.
  • A Russian exploration expedition reaches the Lena River in Siberia, marking the greatest point eastward reached by Russia into the region up until the point in time.
  • Rembrandt, then 22 years of age, paints a cheerful self-portrait, which will be sold 380 years later, in 2008, for 4 and a half million dollars.
  • A series of proposed reforms regarding the administration of Ireland, the Graces, are introduced from this year until 1634.

1629

• March 4 – Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal Charter.
• March 6 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor issues the Edict of Restitution. The Edict restores properties lost by the Catholic Church to Protestants to their former owners and grants religious freedom to Catholics and Lutherans, but not to other non-Lutheran Protestants.
• March 9 – In an agreement between Imam Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad of Yemen and the Ottomans, the Turks withdrew from Sana'a and moved their forces to the coast with the Imam's protection. This first period of Ottoman rule would subsequently end in 1635.
• March 10 – Charles I dissolves the English Parliament, beginning the Eleven Years' Tyranny.
• May- Christian IV of Denmark and Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II sign the Treaty of Lübeck. After this moment Danish intervention ends.
• June 4 – The Batavia runs aground west of Australia.
• July 19 – Quebec City is captured by an English fleet led by the adventurer David Kirke. However, England-Wales would be forced to return the city to French control in 1632 in accordance to an agreement between Charles I of England and Scotland and Louis XIII of France.
• September 25 – Sir Thomas Roe arranges a peace treaty, that being the Truce of Altmark, between Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, thus ending the last of the Polish–Swedish wars.
• November 8 – Emperor Go-Mizunoo of Japan abdicates the throne in favour of his daughter, who becomes Empress Meishō.
• December 31 – The English government acts to remove Sir Sackville Crowe, because of his mismanagement of the treasury of the Navy, from his position as Treasurer of the Navy setting the end of his administration in that position effective January 21 of the following year.^[14]
• December 31 – The English government issues a statements regarding the business of the British East India Company in Amboyna in response to claims made by the Dutch government in its justification regarding the Amboyna massacre.^[15]
• Undated
  • Fort Santo Domingo is built in Formosa by the Spanish settlers.
  • Chongzhen, the Chinese emperor of the Ming Dynasty, reiterates the state prohibition against female infanticide, while the empire and the Chinese economy begins to crumble. In the same year, a third of the courier stations are closed down due to lack of government funds to sustain them.
  • The Queen Nzinga makes an unsuccessful attempt to reclaim the throne of Ndongo after being ousted by the Portuguese in 1626.
  • Actresses are banned in Japan.
  • Two exiled Dutch murderers from the Batavia become the first Europeans to settle in Australia, on the west coast. Their subsequent fate is unknown.^[16]
  • Cardinal Richelieu allies with Swedish Protestant forces in the Thirty Years' War to counter Ferdinand II's expansion. This act is considered by some historians to signal the end of the Protestant Reformation.
  • Charles I created a colonial land grant to colonize what is now part of the State of Georgia. However due to the presence of the Spanish in parts of Georgia and near by Spanish Florida discouraged any effort to colonize the region, especially due to the fact that the English were not interest in going to war with Spain. As a result, any effort to establish an English (later British) colony would not occur until more that a century later.^[17]
  • Starting in Summer of this year, a plague began to take its toll on the City of Venice. The plague would not end until sixteen months later.
  • Ecumenical Patriarch Cyril I publishes Confessio, in which he proposed reforms for the Eastern Orthodox Church along Calvinistic lines.
  • Emperor Chongzhen of China issues an edict in this year at to reform the Chinese calendar at the suggestion of Xu Guangqi. Xu Guangqi was shortly after appointed to work on the commission to reform the calendar.

1620s in fiction and popular culture

• The voyage of the Pilgrims, their first years of inhabitance in the New World, and the First Thanksgiving are often the subject of Thanksgiving themed Specials and short films. One of the most notable examples is the episode "The Mayflower voyagers" of the 1988 mini-series This is America, Charlie Brown, which ABC has often aired on Thanksgiving Day (except in 2006 and 2007) along with A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. However Thanksgiving would not become established as a national holiday until 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that it would be celebrated on the final Thursday in November. However, even then it did not become a federal holiday until 1941 by an act of legislation by the U.S. Congress.
• The voyage and struggles of the Pilgrims have also been the subject of some pieces of literature including Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, who himself was an important figure of the 1620s, and Felicia Hemans' classic poem, "The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers."^[18]
• The classic novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, père takes place in 1628. The story includes fictionalized versions of actual historical events of this year, such as the siege of La Rochelle and the assassination of the Duke of Buckingham.
• The Angel's Command, a children's adventure novel by British writer Brian Jacques, is set in the year 1628.
• The 1632 series, though set during the succeeding decade, features many characters, such as Louis XIII and Prime Minister Cardinal Richelieu of France, Gustavus II of Sweden, and Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II, who were active during the 1620s and uses events from the 1620s and Early 1630s as a backdrop, most notably the Thirty Year's War.

Significant people

World leaders

• Iskandar Muda (1583?–1636), Sultan of Aceh, r. 1607–1636
• Burhan Shah III, Sultan of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, r. 1610-1631
• Malik Ambar (1549–1626), Prime Minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, in office 1607-1626
• Ubasi Khong Tayiji (?–1623), Khan of the Altan Khanate, r. c.1590–1623
• Badma Erdeni Khong Tayiji, Khan of the Altan Khanate, r. 1623–1652
• Bernat de Salbà i de Salbà, Co-Prince of Andorra (with the King of France), r. 1610–1620
• Luís Díes Aux de Armendáriz, Co-Prince of Andorra (with the King of France), r. 1621–1627
• Antoni Pérez, Co-Prince of Andorra (with the King of France), r. 1627–1633
• Songtham (?–1628), King of Ayutthaya (modern-day Thailand), r. 1611–1628
• Chetthathirat (1613–1629), King of Ayutthaya, r. 1628–1629
• Athittayawong (1618–?), King of Ayutthaya, r. 1629
• Prasat Thong (?–1656), Defense Minister under the previous kings and King of Ayutthaya, r. 1629–1656
• Pangeran Ratu (?-1651), Sultan of Banten, r. 1596-1651
• Ohuan, King of the Benin Empire, r. 1602–1656
• Ngawang Namgyal (1594–1651), Shabdrung of Bhutan, r. 1616–1651
• Ibrahim Adil Shah II, Sultan of Bijapur, r. 1580-1627
• Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur, r. 1627-1656
• Ibrahim III, King of the Bornu Empire, r. 1618–1625^[19]
• Hadj Omar, King of the Bornu Empire, r. 1619–1639^[20]
• Abdul Jailul Akbar, Sultan of Brunei, r. 1619-1649
• Imomqulikhan, Khan of Bukhara, r. 1611-1642^[21]
• Anaukpetlun (1578–1628), Taungoo Dynasty King of Burma, r. 1605–1628
• Minyedaikpa (?-1629), Taungoo Dynasty King of Burma, r. 1628–1629
• Thalun (1583–1648), Taungoo Dynasty King of Burma, r. 1629–1648
• Chey Chattha II, King of Cambodia, r. 1618–1628
• Thommaracha II, King of Cambodia, r. 1628–1634
• Wanli (1563–1620), Emperor of China, r. 1572–1620
• Taichang (1582–1620), Emperor of China, r. 1620
• Tianqi (1605–1627), Emperor of China, r. 1620–1627
• Chongzhen (1611–1644), Emperor of China, r. 1627–1644
• Canibek Giray, Khan of the Crimean Khanate, r. 1610-1623, 1628–1635
• Mehmed III, Khan of the Crimean Khanate, r. 1623-1628
• Gangnihessou (?-1620), King of Dahomey, r. c.1600–1620
• Dakodonou (?-1645), King of Dahomey, r. 1620–1645
• Askia Dawud I, King of the Dendi Kingdom, r. 1618–1639
• Christian IV (1577–1648), King of Denmark–Norway, r. 1588–1648
• James I of England/VI of Scotland (1566–1625), King of England-Wales and Scotland, r. 1567–1625 (Scotland), 1603–1625 (England-Wales)
• Charles I (1600–1649), King of England-Wales and Scotland, r. 1625–1649
• Malak Sagad III (1572–1632), Emperor of Ethiopia, r. 1606–1632
• Louis XIII (1601–1643), King of France, r. 1610–1643
• Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642), nobleman, cardinal, statesman, and first Prime Minister of France, m. 1624–1642
• Pietro Durazzo, Doge of Genoa, in office 1619–1621
• Ambrogio Doria, Doge of Genoa, in office 1621
• Giorgio Centurione, Doge of Genoa, in office 1621–1623
• Federico De Franchi, Doge of Genoa, in office 1623–1625
• Giacomo Lomellini, Doge of Genoa, in office 1625–1627
• Giovanni Luca Chiavari, Doge of Genoa, in office 1627–1629
• Andrea Spinola, Doge of Genoa, in office 1629–1631
• Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah, Sultan of Golkonda, 1611–1626
• Abdullah Qutb Shah, Sultan of Golkonda, 1626–1672
• Keakealanikane (1575–1635), Alii Aimoku of Hawaii, r. 1605–1635
• Ferdinand II (1578–1637), Holy Roman Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, r. 1619–1637
• George III (?–1639), King of Imereti, r. 1605–1639
• Jahangir (1569–1627), Mughal dynasty Emperor of India, r. 1605–1627
• Shah Jahan (1592–1666), Mughal dynasty Emperor of India, r. 1627–1658
• Go-Mizunoo (1596–1680), Emperor of Japan, r. 1611–1629
• Meishō (1624–1696), Empress of Japan, r. 1629–1643
• Tokugawa Hidetada (1579–1632), Shogun of Japan, s. 1605–1623
• Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604–1651), Shogun of Japan, s. 1623–1651
• Abdullah Ma'ayat Shah, Sultan of Johor, r. 1615-1623
• Abdul Jalil Shah III, Sultan of Johor, r. 1623-1677
• Teimuraz I (1589–1663), King of Kakheti, r. 1605–1614, 1623–1633, 1636–1648
• Senarat, King of Kandy, r. 1604-1635
• Simon II (1610?–1630), King of Kartli, r. 1619–1630
• Giorgi Saakadze (c.1570–1629), regent and vizier of Kartli, in office 1619–1625 (as vizier)
• Esim Khan(?–1628), Khan of the Kazakh Khanate, r. 1598–1628
• Salqam-Jangir Khan (?–1680), Khan of the Kazakh Khanate, r. 1628–1680
• Sulaiman Shah II, Sultan of Kedah, r. 1602-1625
• Rijaluddin Shah, Sultan of Kedah, r. 1625-1651
• Álvaro III (?–1622), King of Kongo, r. 1615–1622
• Pedro II (?–1624), King of Kongo, r. 1622–1624
• Garcia I, King of Kongo, r. 1624–1626
• Ambrósio I (?–1631), King of Kongo, r. 1626–1631
• Gwanghaegun (1574–1641), Joseon Dynasty King of Korea, r. 1608–1623
• Injo (1595–1649), Joseon Dynasty King of Korea, r. 1623–1649
• Cibind Yirung, King of Lunda, r c.1600 – c.1630
• Muhammad Kudarat (1581–1671), Sultan of Maguindanao, r. 1619-1671
• Nurhaci (1558–1626), King of Manchuria and founder of the Qing dynasty, r. 1616–1626
• Huang Taiji (1592–1643), King of Manchuria, r. 1626–1643
• Mwongo Matamba, Queen of Matamba, r. c.1600–1631
• Agung (?-1646), Sultan of the Mataram Sultanate, r. 1613-1645
• Honoré II (1597–1662), Prince of Monaco, r. 1604–1662
• Ligdan Khan (1588–1634), Great Khan of Northern Yuan Dynasty Mongolia, r. 1603–1634
• Zidan Abu Maali (?–1627), Sultan of Morroco, r.1603–1627
• Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik II, Sultan of Morroco, r.1627–1631
• Gatsi Rusere, King of Mutapa, r. 1589–1623
• Nyambu Kapararidze, King of Mutapa, r. 1623–1629
• Mavura Mhande Felipe, King of Mutapa, r. 1629–1652
• Ngola Nzinga Mbandi (?–1624), King of Ndongo, r. 1617–1624
• Nzinga (AKA Ana de Sousa Nzinga) (1583–1663), Queen of Ndongo and Matamba, r. 1624–1626, 1657–1663 (as Queen of Ndongo) and r. 1631–1663 (as Queen of Matamba)
• Hari a Kiluanje, King of Ndongo, r. 1626
• Felipe I, King of Ndongo, r. 1626–1657
• Abdulla bin Muhammad, Imam of Oman, r. 1560-1624
• Nasir bin Murshid, Imam of Oman, r. 1624-1649
• Osman II (1604–1622), Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, r. 1618–1622
• Mustafa I (1591?–1639), Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, r. 1617–1618, 1622–1623
• Murad IV (1612–1640), Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, r. 1623–1640
• Kösem Sultan (1589–1651), Valide Sultan (regent) of the Ottoman Empire, r. 1623–1632
• Paul V (1552–1621), Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States, p. 1605–1621
• Gregory XV (1554–1623), Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States, p. 1621–1623
• Urban VIII (1568–1644), Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States, p. 1623–1644
• Raja Biru, Queen of Pattani, r. 1616-1624
• Raja Ungu, Queen of Pattani, r. 1624-1635
• Abbas I (the Great) (1571–1629), Shah of Persia, r. 1587–1629
• Safi (?-1642), Shah of Persia, r. 1629–1642
• Sigismund III (1566–1632), King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, r. 1587–1632
• Michael (1596–1645), Czar of Russia, r. 1613–1645
• Shō Nei (1564–1620), King of Ryukyu, r. 1587–1620
• Shō Hō (1590–1640), King of Ryukyu, r. 1620–1640
• Rabat I, Sultan of Sennar, r. 1616-1644
• Philip III of Spain/II of Portugal (1578–1621), King of Spain and Portugal (annexed by Spain in 1580), r. 1598–1621
• Philip IV of Spain/III of Portugal (1605–1665), King of Spain and Portugal, r. 1621 (both) – 1640 (Portugal), 1665 (Spain)
• Sultan Muwallil Wasit I, Sultan of Sulu, r. 1610-1650
• Gustavus II (the Great) (1594–1632), King of Sweden, r. 1611–1632
• Gabriel Bethlen (1580–1629), Prince of the semi-Independent Principality of Transylvania, r. 1613–1629
• Catherine of Brandenburg, Princess of the semi-Independent Principality of Transylvania, r. 1629–1630
• Cosimo II (1590–1621), Grand Duke of Tuscany, r. 1609–1621
• Ferdinando II (1610–1670), Grand Duke of Tuscany, r. 1621–1670
• Maria Magdalena I (1589–1631), Regent of Tuscany and Austrian Archduchess, r. 1621–1628 (as regent)
• Maurice of Nassau (1567–1625), Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, in office 1585–1625
• Frederick Henry (1584–1647), Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, in office 1625–1647
• Antonio Priuli (1548–1623), Doge of the Republic of Venice, in office 1618–1623
• Francesco Contarini (1556–1624), Doge of the Republic of Venice, in office 1623–1624
• Giovanni I Cornaro (1551–1629), Doge of the Republic of Venice, in office 1624–1629 (office vacant Dec. 23 1629-Jan. 18 1630)
• Lê Thần Tông (1606–1662), Emperor of Vietnam, r. 1619–1643, 1649–1662
• Rama Deva Raya, King of the Vijayanagara Empire, r. 1617–1632
• Gabriel Movilă, Prince of Wallachia, r. 1616, 1618–1620
• Radu Mihnea (1586–1626), Prince of Wallachia, r. 1601–1602, 1611, 1611–1616, 1620–1623
• Alexandru Coconul (?–1632), Prince of Wallachia, r. 1623–1627
• Alexandru Iliaş, Prince of Wallachia, r. 1616–1618, 1627–1629
• Leon Tomşa, Prince of Wallachia, r. 1629–1632
• Birayma Penda, King of the Wolof Empire, r. 1605-1649
• Al-Mansur al-Qasim (1559–1620), Imam of Yemen, r. 1597-1620
• Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad (1582–1644), Imam of Yemen, r. 1620-1644
• Khara Khula (?–1634), Khan of the Zunghar Khanate, r. c.1619–1634

Important personalities

• Antonio Maria Abbatini of Rome (c.1595–1680), composer
• George Abbot of England (1562–1633), Archbishop of Canterbury, held position 1611–1633
• Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, conde de Gondomar of Spain (1567–1626), Spanish ambassador to England-Wales
• Thomas Adams of England (1566–1620), publisher
• Niccolò Alamanni of Rome (1583–1626), Catholic priest, antiquarian, and custodian of the Vatican Library
• Albert VII (1559–1621), Archduke of Austria and governor (1596–1598) and Co-sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands (modern-day Belgium and Luxembourg) with Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, held position (as Co-sovereign) 1598–1621
• William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling of Scotland (1570–1640), Scottish colonial organizer of Nova Scotia and Secretary for Scotland
• Alexander of Imereti (1609–1660), Imeretian Prince and future King of Imereti
• Emilio Bonaventura Altieri of Rome (1590–1676), Catholic bishop and future Pope
• Amin of Manchuria, general
• Giambattista Andreini of Tuscany (1576–1654), actor and playwright
• Giovanni Andrea Ansaldo of Genoa (1584–1638), painter
• Sir Samuel Argall (1580–1626), former deputy governor of Virginia and current naval officer in the English navy
• Abdul Hasan Asaf-Khan of Persia (?-1641), Grand Vizer of the Mughal Empire (and brother of Nur Jahan), in office c.1611–1632
• Francis Bacon of England (1561–1626), philosopher, jurist, scientist, writer, and politician; specifically Member of Parliament, Attorney General for England and Wales (1613–1617), and Lord Chancellor (1617–1621)
• Nathaniel Bacon of England (1585–1627), painter (not to be confused with the leader of the same name of Bacon's Rebellion)
• William Baffin of England (?–1622), navigator and explorer
• Francesco Barberini, seniore of Florence (1597–1679), Cardinal and diplomat
• Jakob Bartsch of Lusatia (1600–1633), astronomer
• François de Bassompierre of France (1579–1646), courtier and Marshal of France
• Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621), Italian Jesuit and Cardinal
• Bernard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), nobleman and soldier
• Pierre de Bérulle of France (1575–1629), Cardinal and diplomat
• Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully of France (1560–1641), soldier and minister under Henry IV and Louis XIII
• Andries Bicker of the Netherlands (1586–1652), administrator of the Dutch East India Company, Mayor of Amsterdam, and diplomat
• Willem Blaeu of the Netherlands (1571–1638), cartographer and publisher
• Abraham Bloemaert of the Netherlands (1566–1651), painter and printmaker
• Jakob Böhme of Görlitz (1575–1624), Christian mystic
• François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières of France (1543–1626), Constable of France
• Sidonia von Borcke of Pomerania (1548–1620), noblewoman and Witch-hunt victim (as well as a figure of later legends)
• Federico Borromeo of Milan (1564–1631), Cardinal and Archbishop of Milan
• Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork (1566–1643), Anglo-Irish politician
• William Bradford (1590–1657), Prominent Leader and Governor of the Plymouth colony, in office 1621–1633, 1635–1636, 1637–1638, 1639–1644, 1645–1657
• Jean de Brébeuf of France (1593–1649), Jesuit missionary
• William Brewster (c.1566-1644), Puritan preacher and Plymouth leader
• Henry Briggs of England (1561–1630), mathematician
• Étienne Brûlé of France (1592?–1633), explorer
• John Bull of England (1562?-1628), composer and musician
• Karel Bonaventura Buquoy of France (1571–1621), general in the service of the Holy Roman Empire
• Robert Burton of England (1577–1640), scholar
• Estêvão Cacella of Portugal (1585–1630), Jesuit missionary
• Pedro Calderón de la Barca of Spain (1600–1681), playwright and poet
• George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore of England (1579–1632), nobleman, Member of Parliament, Secretary of State, and English colonizer of the North America (most notably the founder of the Province of Avalon in Newfoundland and future founder of Maryland)
• William Camden of England (1551–1623), historian and topographer
• Tommaso Campanella (1568–1639), Italian philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet
• John Carver (1576?-1621), Leader and First Governor of the Plymouth Colony, in office 1620–1621
• Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland of England (1575–1633), military officer, colonizer, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
• Ernst Casimir of the Netherlands (1573–1632), nobleman and military commander
• Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil of Ireland (1571–1626), Catholic theologian and Archbishop of Armagh
• Samuel de Champlain (1570?–1635), French explorer, administrator of New France, and founder of Quebec City
• Charles I of Gonzaga-Nevers (1580–1637), Duke of Nevers and Mantua (claim for the later supported by France)
• Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy (1562–1630), Duke of Savoy and Papal backed candidate to the throne of the Duchy of Mantua
• Ivan Cherkassky of Russia (1580?-1642), boyar and head of the Treasury, Streletsky Prikaz and Aptekarsky Prikaz, in office 1621–1622 (as Treasurer), 1622–23 (as head of the Streletsky Prikaz and Aptekarsky Prikaz)
• Jan Karol Chodkiewicz of Poland (1560–1621), Military commander
• Christian the Younger of Brunswick (1599–1626), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Protestant Commander
• Antonio Cifra of Rome (1584–1629), composer
• Jan Pieterszoon Coen of the Netherlands (1587–1629), Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
• Sir Edward Coke of England (1552–1634), Jurist and Member of Parliament
• Sir John Coke of England (1563–1644), Member of Parliament and Secretary of State
• Nicolò Contarini of Venice (1553–1631), politician and future Doge of Venice
• Diego Fernández de Córdoba, Marquis of Guadalcázar of Spain (1578–1630), nobleman and Viceroy of New Spain and Peru, in office 1612–1621 (New Spain), 1622–1629 (Peru)
• Gregorio Nuñez Coronel of Portugal (1548–1620), Augustinian theologian, writer, and preacher.
• Adam de Coster of Flanders (1586–1643), painter
• Nathaniel Courthope of England (1585–1620), merchant navy officer
• Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry of England (1578–1640), Judge, Member of Parliament, and politician (Specifically Soliticar General (1617–1621), Attorney General (1621–1625), and Lord Chancellor(1625–1640))
• Oliver Cromwell of England (1599–1658), Member of Parliament, general, and future ruler of England-Wales, Scotland, and Ireland
• Sir Sackville Crowe of England (1611?–1683?), baronet, Treasurer of the Navy, Member of Parliament, and future ambassador
• Alfonso de la Cueva, marqués de Bedmar of Spain (1572–1655), diplomat and Catholic theologian
• Robert Cushman of England (1578–1625), Plymouth colony organizer
• Cyril I (1572–1638), Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, held position in 1612, 1620–1623, 1623–1633, 1633–1634, 1634–1635, 1637–1638
• Date Masamune of Japan (1567–1636), Daiymo of Sendai
• Daišan of Manchuria (1583–1648), Manchurian prince (brother of Huang Taiji) and military commander
• Mir Damad of Persia (?–1631), philosopher
• John Danvers of England (1588–1655), courtier and politician
• John Davies of England (1569–1626), lawyer, poet, and politician (specifically Attorney General of Ireland, Member of Parliament, and Judge)
• John Davies (AKA Mallwyd) of Wales (1567–1644), scholar, translator, and Anglican priest
• Dawar of India (?–1628), Mughal Prince
• Thomas Dekker of England (1572–1632), playwright and poet
• Joseph Solomon Delmedigo (1591–1655), Italian rabbi, author, physician, mathematician, and music theorist
• Thomas Dempster of Scotland (1579–1625), scholar and historian
• Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex of England (1591–1646), nobleman and military commander
• John Donne of England (1571?–1631), Anglican priest, poet, and philosopher
• Michael Drayton of England (1563–1631), poet
• Cornelius Drebbel of the Netherlands (1572–1633), inventor
• Jeremias Drexel of Bavaria (1581–1638), Catholic theologian and Court Preacher at the court of Prince-Elector Maximilian I
• Robert Dudley of England (1574–1649), explorer and geographer
• Pierre Dupuy of France (1582–1651), scholar
• Mar Elia Shimun X, Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church (Patriarchate then based in Salamas, in modern-day Iran. However a later Patriarch, Mar Shimun XIII Dinkha, broke the union with the Catholic Church, thus he and other Patriarchs of the Shimun line are sometimes list as Patriarchs of the Assyrian Church of the East), held position 1600–1653^[22]
• Sir John Eliot of England (1592–1632), Vice-Admiral of Devon and Member of Parliament
• Mar Eliyya IX, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East (Patriarchate then based in Alqosh, in modern day Iraq), held position in 1617–1660^[22]
• John Endecott (1588?–1665), founder and first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
• Alonso Fajardo de Entenza of Spain (?-1624), governor-general of the Philippines, in office 1618–1624
• Francesco Erizzo of Venice (1566–1646), diplomat and future Doge of Venice
• Thomas van Erpe of the Netherlands (1584–1624), Orientalist Scholar
• Fakhr-al-Din II (1572–1635), Lebanese prince and governor of the Ottoman province of Syria, in office (as governor) 1624–1632
• Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland of England (1580–1629), nobleman and statesman
• Muhammad ibn Farukh, governor of Jerusalem (then part of the Ottoman Empire)
• John Felton of England (1595–1628), soldier and assassin of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
• Nicholas Felton of England (1556–1626), academic and Anglican cleric
• Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria (1609–1641), nobleman, Spanish Prince (Infante), and Cardinal
• Ferdinand IV, Archduke of Austria (1608–1657), Habsburg Prince and future Holy Roman Emperor
• Domenico Fetti of Rome (1589–1623), painter
• Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1578–1622), Capuchin friar and Martyr
• William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele of England (1582–1662), nobleman and
• Filaret (AKA Feodor Romanov) of Russia (1553–1633), Patriarch of Moscow and statesman, held position (as Patriarch) 1612–1629
• John Fletcher of England (1579–1625), playwright
• John Ford of England (1586-1640?), playwright and poet
• Frederick of Denmark (1609–1670), Danish Prince and future King of Denmark and Norway
• Frederick V of Electoral Palatinate/I of Bohemia (1596–1632), Prince-Elector of Electoral Palatinate and King of Bohemia (a sub-state of the Holy Roman Empire), r. 1610–1623 (as Prince-Elector of Electoral Palatinate) and r. 1619–1620 (as King of Bohemia)
• Frederick Ulrich (1591–1634), Duke of Brunswick-Calenberg, held position 1613–1634
• Galileo Galilei of Tuscany (1564–1642), astronomer and physicist
• Gang Hong-rip of Korea, treasonous general who aided the Manchus
• Gaston, Duke of Orléans of France (1608–1660), French Prince (brother of Louis XIII) and commander of the aristocratic revolt at Les Ponts-de-Cé
• Artemisia Gentileschi of Rome (1593–1656), painter
• George William (1595–1640), Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia
• Johann Gerhard (1582–1637), German Lutheran theologian
• Hessel Gerritsz of the Netherlands (1581–1632), cartographer
• Orlando Gibbons of England (1583–1625), composer and organist
• Thomas Goffe of England (1591–1629), playwright
• Luis de Góngora of Spain (1561–1627), poet, playwright, and writer
• Roque González (1576–1628), Spanish-American Jesuit missionary and martyr
• Sir Ferdinando Gorges of England (1565–1647), colonial entrepreneur in North America and founder of Maine
• Ivan Tarasievich Gramotin of Russia (?–1638), diplomat and head of the Posolsky Prikaz, held position 1619–1626
• Orazio Grassi (1583–1654), Italian mathematician, astronomer, and architect
• Richard Grenville of England (1600–1658), Anglo-Cornish soldier, Member of Parliament, and future Baronet and Royalist Commander
• Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke of England (1554–1628), nobleman, statesman, and writer
• Hugo Grotius of the Netherlands (1583–1645), philosopher and writer
• Jan Gruter of the Netherlands (1560–1627), scholar
• Mario Guiducci of Tuscany (1585–1646), lawyer and associate of Galileo Galilei during the dispute with Orazio Grassi
• Jean Guiton of France (1585–1654), Huguenot rebel and Admiral
• Edmund Gunter of England (1581–1626), mathematician
• John Guy (?-1629), former governor of Newfoundland and current Member of the Parliament of England
• Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares of Spain (1587–1645), nobleman and Chief Minister under Philip III and Philip IV, held position 1618–1643
• Hamada Yahei of Japan, prominent Japanese merchant on Formosa
• John Hampden of England (1595–1643), Member of Parliament and future soldier during the English Civil War
• Kryštof Harant of Bohemia (1564–1621), nobleman, traveller, humanist, soldier, writer and composer.
• William Harvey of England (1578–1657), physician who discovered the systematic circulation of blood
• Hasekura Tsunenaga of Japan (1571–1622), diplomat
• Richard Hawkins of England (1562–1622), explorer and privateer
• George Hay, 1st Earl of Kinnoull of Scotland (1572–1634), nobleman, judge and Lord Chancellor of Scotland, held position (as chancellor) 1622–1634
• James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle of Scotland (c.1590–1636), nobleman and diplomat
• Piet Pieterszoon Hein of the Netherlands (1577–1629), Vice-Admiral of the Dutch West India Company
• Henrietta Maria of France (1609–1669), French princess and Queen Consort of England-Wales and Scotland
• Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury of Wales (1583–1648), diplomat, poet, and philosopher
• George Herbert of Wales (1593–1633), poet, orator and Anglican priest
• Philip Herbert of England (1584–1649), nobleman (future Earl of Pembroke) and politician
• William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke of England (1580–1630), nobleman, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall County and Chancellor of the University of Oxford, held position 1601-1630 (as Earl), 1604-1630 (as Lord Lietuent) and 1616-1630 (as Chancellor)
• Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas of Spain (1559–1625), historian
• Thomas Heywood of England (1570?-1641), playwright, actor, and author
• Thomas Hobbes of England (1588–1679), philosopher
• Heinrich Holk (1599–1633) Danish-German mercenary and commander
• Henricus Hondius II of the Netherlands (1597–1651), cartographer and publisher
• Isaiah Horowitz (1565–1630), Rabbi and Jewish mystic
• Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire of England (1587–1669), nobleman
• Constantijn Huygens of the Netherlands (1596–1687), poet, composer, and secretary under Stadtholders Frederick Henry and William II
• Im Gyeong Eop of Korea (1594–1646), general
• Sigismondo d'India (1582–1629), Italian composer
• Nicholas Iquan (AKA Zheng Zhilong) of China (1604–1661), pirate and Ming Dynasty admiral
• Menasseh Ben Israel of Portugal (1604–1657), rabbi, kabbalist, scholar, writer, diplomat, printer, and publisher
• William Jaggard of England (1568–1623), printer and publisher
• Jang Man of Korea, general
• Jan Janszoon of the Netherlands (1570? – c.1641), Barbary Pirate
• Willem Janszoon of the Netherlands (1570–1630), explorer and colonial governor
• Juan Martínez de Jáuregui y Aguilar of Spain (1583–1641), poet, scholar, and painter
• Jörg Jenatsch of Switzerland (1596–1639), politician and military commander
• Jirgalang of Manchuria (1599–1655), nobleman, general, and statesman
• Johann Ernst I (1594–1626), Duke of Saxe-Weimar, r. 1605–1620
• Inigo Jones of England (1573–1652), architect
• Ben Jonson of England (1572–1637), playwright, poet, and Poet Laureate, held post in 1619–1637
• Manuel Jordão, Duke of Nsundi, Kongolese nobleman
• Johannes Junius of Bamberg (1573–1628), Mayor of Bamberg and Bamberg witch trial suspect and victim
• Madam Ke of China (?–1627), former nanny and adviser to Emperor Tianqi
• Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), German mathematician and astronomer
• Hendrick de Keyser of the Netherlands (1565–1621), sculptor and architect
• Thomas de Keyser of the Netherlands (1596–1667), painter and architect
• Khosro Mirza of Kartli (1565–1658), Georgian Prince, general in the Persian army, and future King of Kartli
• Robert Killigrew of England (1580–1633), Member of Parliament and English Ambassador to the Netherlands
• Athanasius Kircher (1601?–1680), German Catholic theologian and scholar
• David Kirke of England (1597–1654), adventurer and English colonizer of Canada
• Stanisław Koniecpolski of Poland (1594?-1646), nobleman and military commander
• Thomas Lake of England (1567–1630), Member of Parliament and former Secretary of State
• Giovanni Lanfranco of Parma (1582–1647), painter
• William Laud of England (1573–1645), Anglican theologian and future Archbishop of Canterbury
• François Leclerc du Tremblay of France (1577–1638), friar and agent and adviser of Cardinal Richelieu.
• Marc Lescarbot of France (1570–1641), author and lawyer
• Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven of Scotland (1582–1661), nobleman and general in the service of Sweden
• Levan II of Imereti, Georgian prince and Anti-Imeretian rebel
• Christopher Levett of England (1586–1630), explorer and naval captain
• Li Kezhuo of China, Ming dynasty court official and unwitting poisoner of Emperor Taichang
• Johann Liss (1590?-1629), German painter
• Lobsang Gyatso of Tibet (1617–1682), Dalai Lama and future ruler of Tibet, r. 1618–1682 (as Dalai Lama), 1642–1682 (as ruler of Tibet)
• Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus of Ireland (1568–1643), Lord Chancellor of Ireland, in office 1619-1639
• Christen Sørensen Longomontanus of Denmark (1562–1647), astronomer
• Hendrick Lucifer (1583–1627), Dutch Buccaneer
• Charles de Luynes of France (1578–1621), Constable of France and first Duke of Luynes
• Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim of Ireland (?-1636), nobleman and Scots-Irish politician
• Sir Henry Mainwaring of England (1587?–1653), pirate and English naval officer
• François de Malherbe of France (1555–1628), poet and literary critic
• Man Gui of China (?–1629), general
• George Manners, 7th Earl of Rutland of England (1580–1641), Member of Parliament and nobleman
• Ernst von Mansfeld (1580–1626), German soldier
• Mao Wenlong of China (1579–1629), military commander
• Juan de Mariana of Spain (1536–1624), Catholic priest, historian, and Monarchomach political theorist
• Maria Anna of Spain (1606–1646), Infanta and future Empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire
• Marie de' Medici (1575–1642), Queen dowager of France and former regent with her son Louis XIII
• Michel de Marillac of France (1563–1632), Minister of Justice under Louis XIII
• Giambattista Marino of Naples (1569–1625), poet
• Gervase Markham of England (1568–1637), poet and writer
• Tristano Martinelli of Mantua (1555–1630), actor
• Enrico Martínez of Spain (?–1632), hydraulic engineer
• John Mason of England (1586–1635), sailor, explorer, cartographer, colonizer, and founder of New Hampshire
• Isaac Massa of the Netherlands (1586–1643), merchant, traveller, and diplomat
• Massasoit (1580?–1661), Chief of the Wampanoag
• Philip Massinger of England (1583–1640), playwright
• Tobie Matthew of England (1577–1655), Member of Parliament
• Maximilian I of Bavaria (1573–1651), Prince-Elector of Bavaria
• Cornelis Jacobszoon May of the Netherlands, explorer and first Director-general of New Netherland
• Cardinal Mazarin of Sicily (1602–1661), Cardinal, diplomat, and future Prime Minister of France
• Domenico Mazzocchi (1592–1665), Italian composer
• Alfonso Mendez, Prelate of Ethiopia and Catholic Patriarch of Ethiopia, held position (as Catholic Patriarch) 1622–1632
• Diego Carrillo de Mendoza, 1st Marquis of Gelves of Spain (1570?-1631), nobleman and Viceroy of New Spain, in office 1621–1624
• Adriaan Metius of the Netherlands (1571–1635), mathematician and astronomer
• Thomas Middleton of England (1580–1627), playwright and poet
• Daniël Mijtens of the Netherlands (1590–1648), painter
• Peter Minuit of the Netherlands (1589–1638), Director-General of New Netherland, in office 1626–1632
• Francis Mitchell of England, Knight and Extortionist
• Miyamoto Musashi of Japan (1584?–1645), prominent samurai
• Francesco Molin of Venice (1575–1655), Naval commander and future Doge of Venice
• Giles Mompesson of England (1584–1663), corrupt politician
• Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester of England (1602–1671), Royalist Member of parliament and future Royalist commander during the English Civil War
• Richard Montagu of England (1577–1641), controversial Cleric and prelate
• Antoine de Montchrestien of France (1575–1621), soldier, dramatist, poet, and economist
• Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643), Italian composer
• Mumtaz Mahal of India (1593–1631), Empress Consort of India (Wife of Shah Jahan)
• Jens Munk of Norway (1579–1628), navigator, explorer, and naval captain
• Bartolomé Esteban Murillo of Spain (1617–1682), painter
• Hugh Myddelton of Wales (1560–1631), entrepreneur, Engineer, Baronet, and Member of Parliament
• Thomas Myddelton the Younger of Wales (1586–1666), Member of Parliament and future Parliamentary officer during the English Civil War
• Nemattanew (?–1622), Powhatan military commander and architect of the Jamestown Massacre
• Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên of Vietnam (1563–1635), Nguyễn Lord (subnational ruler of southern Vietnam), held position 1613–1635
• Nheçu, Chief of the Guaraní
• Nur Jahan of Persia (1577–1645), Empress Consort of India (Wife of Jahangir and Stepmother of Shah Jahan)
• John Nutt of England, pirate
• Pieter Nuyts of the Netherlands (1598–1655), Governor of the Dutch colony on Formosa (modern-day Taiwan) and ambassador to Japan, held position (as governor) 1627–1629
• Oldman of the Misquito Coast (?-1687), first King of the Miskito Kingdom (a British Protectorate on the eastern coasts of modern-day Nicaragua and Honduras), r. 1625–1687
• Opchanacanough (1554?-1644), Chief of the Powhatan Confederacy, held position 1618–1644
• Martin Opitz of Silesia (1597–1639), poet
• William Oughtred of England (1575–1660), mathematician
• Owaneco (?–1626), Chief of the Mohegans
• John Owen of Wales (1564–1622), Epigrammatist
• Axel Oxenstierna of Sweden (1583–1654), Lord High Chancellor of Sweden
• Rodrigo Pacheco, 3rd Marquis of Cerralvo of Spain (1565?-1652), nobleman, Inquisitor, and Viceroy of New Spain, in office 1624–1635 (as Viceroy)
• Pedro Páez of Portugal (1564–1622), Jesuit missionary who converted Malak Sagad III
• Cardinal Pamphili of Rome (1574–1655), Cardinal, Nuncio, and future Pope
• Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim (1594–1632), German field marshal
• Hortensio Félix Paravicino of Spain (1580–1633), Court Preacher and poet
• Richard Parry of Wales (1560–1623), Bishop of St Asaph and translator of the Bible into Welsh Language
• Mustafa Pasha, governor of the Ottoman province of Syria
• Vincent de Paul of France (1581–1660), Catholic Priest
• Pecksuot (?–1624), Massachusett Chief
• Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc of France (1580–1637), astronomer and antiquarian
• Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland of England (1602–1668), Member of Parliament and future soldier during the English Civil War
• George Percy of England (1580–1632?), explorer, author, soldier, and former governor of Virginia
• Richard Perkins of England (1585?-1650), actor
• Peter Philips of England (1560–1628), composer
• Michael Praetorius (1571–1621), German composer and Organist
• Samuel Purchas of England (1575?–1626), travel writer
• John Pym of England (1584–1643), Member of Parliament and future Roundhead supporter during the English Civil War
• Francisco de Quevedo of Spain (1580–1645), nobleman, politician, and writer
• Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł of Lithuania (1595–1656), Grand Chancellor of Lithuania (part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), in office 1623–1656
• Rembrandt of the Netherlands (1606–1669), painter and etcher
• Sir Thomas Roe of England (c.1581–1644), diplomat
• Henri de Rohan of France (1579–1638), nobleman, soldier, writer, and leader of the Huguenots.
• William Rowley of England (1585?-1626), playwright
• Peter Paul Rubens of Flanders (1577–1640), painter
• Johannes Rudbeckius of Sweden (1581–1646), Lutheran bishop
• Mulla Sadra of Persia (1571–1636), philosopher and Shiite Islamic theologian
• Samoset (1590?–1655), Mohegan Sagamore and first Native American to encounter with the Settlers of the Plymouth Colony.
• Sir Edwin Sandys (1561–1629), Colonial organizer of Virginia
• George Sandys (1577–1644), English traveller, colonist, and poet
• Lew Sapieha of Lithuania (1557–1633), Grand Chancellor of Lithuania (part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), in office 1589–1623
• Christoph Scheiner (1573?-1650), German Jesuit priest, physicist and astronomer
• Wilhelm Schickard (1592–1635), German inventor and mathematician
• Julius Schiller of Bavaria (1580–1627), astronomer
• Heinrich Schütz of Köstritz (1585–1672), composer and organist
• Adam von Schwarzenberg (1583–1641), nobleman and Chancellor of Brandenburg-Prussia
• Alexander Seaton of Scotland (?–1649?), Mercenary in the Service of Denmark
• Pierre Séguier of France (1588–1672), president and mortier in the parlement of Paris and future chancellor of France
• Alvaro Semedo of Portugal (1585?-1658), Jesuit missionary in China
• Juan Pérez de la Serna (1573–1631), Archbishop of Mexico, held position 1613–1627
• Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline of Scotland (1555–1622), lawyer, judge, and Lord Chancellor of Scotland
• Shahryar of India (1605–1638), Mughal Prince and Nur Jahan's (his stepmother) candidate to the throne of India
• Shimazu Tadatsune (1576–1638), Daimyo of Satsuma
• Robert Shirley of England (1581–1628), traveller, adventurer, and diplomat
• García de Silva Figueroa of Spain (1550–1624), Spanish ambassador to Persia
• John Smith (1580?–1631), English soldier, adventurer, and leader of the colonists of Jamestown in the Virginia Colony.
• Willebrord Snellius of the Netherlands (1580–1626), astronomer and mathematician
• Jakub Sobieski of Poland (1590–1646), nobleman, parliamentarian, and military leader
• Luis Sotelo of Spain (1574–1624), Franciscan friar and martyr
• Henri de Sourdis of France (1593–1645), Archbishop of Bordeaux and military commander
• Joao Correia de Sousa, Governor of the Angola Colony, in office 1621–1623
• John Speed of England (1552–1627), historian and cartographer
• Ambrogio Spinola of Genoa (1569–1630), general in the service of Spain
• John Spottiswoode of Scotland (1565–1639), Archbishop of St. Andrews, historian, and future Lord Chancellor of Scotland
• Squanto (1585?–1622), assist to and interpreter for the Pilgrims of the Plymouth colony who helped them stamp out the treaty between them and the Wampanoag.
• Myles Standish (1584–1656), English military advisor at the Plymouth Colony
• James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby of England (1607–1651), nobleman and future Royalist commander during the English Civil War
• Oliver St John, 5th Baron St John of Bletso (1603–1642), English politician and future Parliamentarian Army officer
• Nicholas Stone of England (1587–1647), sculptor and architect
• Sir John Suckling of England (1569–1627), Member of Parliament
• Sun Chengzong of China, Grand Secretary and Commander-in-chief of Chinese Forces
• Joachim Swartenhondt of the Netherlands (c.1566–1627), admiral
• Tamblot of the Philippines (?–1622), Pagan priest and leader of the Tamblot Uprising
• Alessandro Tassoni of Modena (1565–1635), Poet and writer
• Tatobem (?–1632), Chief of the Pequot
• Hendrick ter Brugghen of the Netherlands (1588–1629)
• François Thijssen of the Netherlands (?–1638), explorer
• Thomas Tomkins of Wales (1572–1656), Cornish-Welsh composer
• Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne of France (1611–1675), soldier and future Marshal of France
• Sir John Trevor Jr. of Wales (1596–1673), Puritan Member of Parliament and future member of the Council of State during the Commonwealth of England
• Sir Richard Trevor of Wales (1558–1638), landowner, soldier and politician.
• Sir Sackville Trevor of Wales (1565–1633), Sea Captain and Member of Parliament
• Thomas Trevor of England (1586–1656), Anglo-Welsh lawyer, Member of Parliament, and judge
• Nicolas Trigault of France (1577–1628), Jesuit missionary in China
• Trịnh Tùng of Vietnam (1549–1623), Trinh Lord (subnational ruler of Northern Vietnam), held position 1570–1623
• Trịnh Tráng of Vietnam (1571–1654), Trinh Lord (subnational ruler of Northern Vietnam), held position 1623–1654
• Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly (1559–1632), German nobleman and co-Supreme commander of the forces of the Holy Roman Empire
• Uncas (c.1588–1683), Chief of the Mohegans, held position 1626–1683
• Honoré d'Urfé of France (1568–1625), writer
• James Ussher of Ireland (1581–1656), Anglican theologian, Archbishop of Armagh, and Primate of All Ireland
• Bernard de Nogaret de La Valette d'Épernon of France (1592–1661), nobleman and military commander
• Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette of France (1554–1642), nobleman
• Pietro Della Valle of Rome (1586–1652), traveller
• Anthony van Dyck of Flanders (1599–1641), painter
• Władysław Vasa of Poland (1595–1648), Polish Prince, self-proclaimed Grand Duke of Moscow, and future King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
• Sir Henry Vaughan the Elder of Derwydd, Wales (1587?–1659?), Royalist Member of Parliament
• William Vaughan of Wales (1575–1641), colonial investor and writer
• Salomo de Veenboer of the Netherlands (?–1620), Barbary pirate
• Lope de Vega of Spain (1562–1635), playwright and poet
• Diego Velázquez of Spain (1599–1660), painter
• Horace Vere, 1st Baron Vere of Tilbury of England (1565–1635), Military leader
• Cornelius Vermuyden of the Netherlands (1590–1677), engineer
• George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham of England (1592–1628), nobleman, statesman, and military commander
• Mutio Vitelleschi of Rome (1563–1645), Superior General of the Society of Jesus, held post 1615-1645
• Joost van den Vondel of the Netherlands (1587–1679), writer and playwright
• Luke Wadding of Ireland (1588–1657), Franciscan friar, historian, and founder of the Pontifical Irish College
• Albrecht von Wallenstein of Bohemia (1583–1634), co-Supreme commander of the forces of the Holy Roman Empire
• Edmund Waller of England (1606–1687), Member of Parliament and poet
• Sir James Ware of Ireland (1594–1666), historian and politician
• John Webster of England (1580–1634), playwright
• Wei Zhongxian of China (1568–1627), Eunuch
• Thomas Wentworth Sr., 1st Earl of Strafford of England (1593–1641), statesman (specifically Member of Parliament and future Lord deputy and lieutenant of Ireland)
• John White of England (1575–1648), Anglican priest and colonial organizer of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (not to be confused with John White the governor of the Roanoke Colony)
• Wilhelm (1598–1662), Duke of Saxe-Weimar, r. 1620–1662
• John Williams of England (1582–1650), Lord Chancellor and future Archbishop of York
• John Winthrop (1588–1649), Founder and future Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (governor-elect in 1629)
• Sir Henry Wotton of England (1568–1639), author and diplomat
• Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton of England (1573–1624), nobleman, patron of the theater, and colonial invester
• Sir Richard Wynn of Wales (1588–1649), Baronet, courtier, and Member of Parliament
• Xu Guangqi of China (1562–1633), Ming Dynasty bureaucrat, agricultural scientist, astronomer, and mathematician
• Yamada Nagamasa of Japan (1590–1630), adventurer, pirate, and military commander
• George Yeardley (1587–1627), Plantation owner and Governor of the Virginia Colony, held office in 1616–1617, 1619–1621, 1626–1627
• Sir Henry Yelverton of England (1566–1629), Attorney General for England and Wales, in office 1617-1621
• Yi Gwal of Korea (1587–1624), general
• Yuan Chonghuan of China (1584–1630), military commander
• Jakub Zadzik of Poland (1582–1642), Grand Chancellor of Poland
• Krzysztof Zbaraski of Poland (1580–1627), nobleman and Polish-Lithuanian ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
• Stanisław Żółkiewski of Poland (1547–1620), nobleman, military commander, and Grand Chancellor of Poland
• Zu Dashou of China (?–1656), general
• Zurab, Duke of Aragvi, Georgian nobleman and future assassin of Simon II of Kartli

Contemporaries yet to gain fame

Asterisks indicate that the individual became well known posthumously.

• Henry Adams* of England, future Massachusetts Bay Colonist and ancestor of Samuel Adams, John Adams, and John Q. Adams (American political figures)
• Alexis of Russia (1629–1676), Russian Prince and future Czar of Russia
• Álvaro of Kongo (?–1641), Kongolese prince and future King of Kongo
• Aurangzeb of India (1618–1707), Mughal Prince and future Emperor of India
• Thomas Blood of Ireland (1618–1680), future soldier and unsuccessful of thief of the English Crown Jewels
• Ferdinand Bol of the Netherlands (1616–1680), future artist
• Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet of France (1627–1704), future Catholic bishop and writer
• Robert Boyle of England (1627–1691), son of Richard Boyle and future chemist and physicist
• John Bradshaw of England (1602–1659), lawyer, and future Mayor of Congleton, Judge, and Lord President of the English Council of State
• Anne Bradstreet (1612?–1672), future American poet
• John Bunyan of England (1628–1688), future Puritan preacher and writer
• Carl Gustav of Sweden (1622–1660), Swedish Prince and future King of Sweden
• Margaret Cavendish of England (1623–1673), noblewoman and future writer
• Evliya Çelebi of Turkey (1611–1682), traveller and writer (most notably the author of Seyahatname)
• Fabio Chigi of Siena (1599–1667), Cardinal and future Cardinal Secretary of State and Pope
• Christina of Sweden (1626–1689), Crown Princess (Heiress presumptive) and future Queen of Sweden
• John Clarke of England (1609–1676), Baptist minister and future co-founder of Rhode Island
• Jean-Baptiste Colbert of France (1619–1683), future Finance minister of France
• John Cooke of England (1608–1660), prosecutor
• John Coolidge* of England, future Massachusetts Bay Colonist and ancestor of Calvin Coolidge (a President of the United States)
• Henry Cromwell of England (1628–1674), son of Oliver Cromwell, brother of Richard Cromwell, and future Parliamentarian soldier and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
• Richard Cromwell of England (1626–1712), son of Oliver Cromwell and future Lord Protector of England-Wales
• Aelbert Cuyp of the Netherlands (1620–1691), painter
• William Davenant of England (1606–1668), poet and playwright
• Renes Descartes of France (1596–1650), philosopher, mathematician, and scientist
• Illiam Dhone (AKA William Christian) of Mann (1608–1663), future Manx rebel leader
• Mareen Duvall of France (1625–1699), future prominent Maryland colonist (see link regarding descendants)
• Jonathan Fairbanks* (1594–1668), Plymouth colonist (see link for details regarding ancestors)
• Thomas Fairfax of England (1612–1671), nobleman and future Parliamentary commander during the English Civil War
• Fasilides of Ethiopia (1603–1667), Ethiopian Prince and future Emperor of Ethiopia
• Pierre de Fermat of France (1601?–1665), mathematician
• George Fox of England (1624–1691), future founder of the Society of Friends (AKA "Quakers")
• Luke Fox of England (1586–1635), explorer
• Garcia of Kongo (?–1660), Kongolese prince and future King of Kongo
• Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen (1621–1676), future German writer (most notably the author of Simplicius Simplicissimus)
• Otto von Guericke of Magdeburg (1602–1686), scientist and inventor
• James Harrington of England (1611–1677), future Republican Political theorist
• Benjamin Harrison I* of England, future Virginian colonist and ancestor of Benjamin Harrison V, William Henry Harrison, John Scott Harrison, and Benjamin Harrison (American political figures)
• Robert Herrick of England (1591–1674), Anglican priest and poet
• Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau* of Silesia (1616–1679), poet
• Thomas Hooker (1586–1647), Congregationalist minister and future founder of Connecticut
• Matthew Hopkins of England (c.1620-1647), future self-proclaimed "Witch-Finder General"
• Anne Hutchinson (1591–1643), Puritan Preacher
• Christiaan Huygens of the Netherlands (1629–1695), future mathematician, astronomer, physicist, and horologist.
• Hyojong of Korea (1619–1659), Korean Prince (son of King Injo and brother of Crown Prince Sohyeon) and future King of Korea
• Ibrahim of Turkey (1615–1648), Ottoman Prince and future Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
• Iskandar Thani of Aceh (?–1641), Acehnese Prince (son-in-law of Iskandar Muda) and future Sultan of Aceh
• Cornelius Jansen* of the Netherlands (1585–1638), heretical Catholic theologian and founder of Jansenism
• Isaac Jogues of France (1607–1646), Jesuit missionary and future martyr
• John II, Duke of Braganza of Portugal (1603–1656), Clamant to the Portuguese Throne and future King of Portugal
• Inayat Allah Kamboh of India (1608–1671), scholar, writer and historian
• Muhammad Saleh Kamboh of India (?–1675), soldier and future historian, poet, and administrator
• Keakamahana of Hawaii (1615–1665), future Aliʻi Aimoku (Monarch/Chief) of Hawaii
• John Kemény of Transylvania (1607–1662), nobleman, politician, and future Prince of Transylvania
• Koxinga of Japan (1624–1662), son of Nicholas Iquan of China and future Sino-Japanese Anti-Qing military commander
• Jean de La Fontaine of France (1621–1696), future writer
• Ustad Ahmad Lahauri of Persia, Architect (one of whom would work on the Taj Mahal in the future)
• Philippe de Lannoy* of Flanders (1602–1681), Plymouth colonist (see Delano family for details regarding descendants)
• Li Zicheng of China (1606–1645), future Usurper Emperor of the short-lived Shun Dynasty
• Samuel Lincoln* of England (1622–1690), future Massachusetts Bay Colonist and ancestor of Abraham Lincoln (a President of the United States)
• Morgan Llwyd of Wales (1619–1659), Puritan preacher, writer, and poet
• Richard Lovelace of England (1618–1657), poet
• John Jones Maesygarnedd of Wales (1597–1660), Future soldier and politician during the English Commonwealth
• Louise de Marillac of France (1591–1660), Nun and future co-founder of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul
• Andrew Marvell of England (1621–1678), future protege of John Milton and poet
• John Milton of England (1608–1674), Puritan philosopher and writer (most notably the author of Paradise Lost)
• Narai of Ayutthaya (1629–1688), prince and future King of Ayutthaya
• Benedetto Odescalchi of Como (1611–1689), future Pope
• Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh of Ireland (1629–1718), future chieftain of the O'Flaherty Clan and historian
• Pietro Vito Ottoboni of Venice (1610–1691), future Pope
• Blaise Pascal of France (1623–1662), future philosopher, mathematician, and scientist
• Sir William Penn of England (1621–1670), future Admiral and father of William Penn (the founder of Pennsylvania)
• Hugh Peters of England (1598–1660), Anglican preacher
• Hallgrímur Pétursson of Iceland (1614–1674), Lutheran minister and poet
• Thomas Pierce* of England (1623–1683), future Massachusetss Bay colonist and ancestor of Franklin Pierce (a President of the United States)
• Antonio Pignatelli of Sicily (1615–1700), future Pope
• Gwilym Puw of Wales (c.1618 – c.1689), Poet and future Royalist officer during the English Civil War
• George Rákóczi I of Transylvania (1591–1648), nobleman and future Prince of Transylvania
• George Rákóczi II of Transylvania (1621–1660), son of George Rákóczi I and future Prince of Transylvania
• Richard Randolph* of England (1620–1671), ancestor of Peyton Randolph, Thomas Jefferson, and John Marshall (American political figures)
• Edmund Rice (1594–1663), future prominent member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
• Thomas Rolfe of Virginia (1615–1675), son of John Rolfe and Pocahontas and future prominent leader of the colonists of Virginia
• Claes Martenzsen van Rosenvelt* of the Netherlands (?-1659), future New Netherland colonist and ancestor of Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Eleanor Roosevelt (American political figures)
• Giulio Rospigliosi of Tuscany (1600–1669), future Catholic theologian and Pope
• Heinrich Roth (1620–1668), German Jesuit missionary and Sanskirt scholar
• Rupert of the Rhine (1619–1682), English/Scottish/Bohemian Prince (son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine and Elizabeth Stuart, grandson of James I and VI of England and Scotland, and nephew of Charles I of England and Scotland) and future soldier, naval commander, inventor, artist, and Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company
• Johann Adam Schall von Bell of Cologne (1591–1666), Jesuit missionary and astronomer
• Shō Shitsu of Ryūkyū (1629–1668), Ryukyuan Prince and future King of Ryukyu
• Shō Shōken of Ryūkyū (1617–1675), future scholar and Sessei ("Prime Minister") of Ryukyu
• John Sobieski of Poland (1629–1696), son of Jakub Sobieski and future King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
• Sohyeon of Korea (1612–1645), Korean Crown Prince
• Oliver St John of England (1598–1673), statesman and judge (distant cousin of Oliver St John, 5th Baron St John of Bletso)
• Peter Stuyvesant of the Netherlands (1610?–1672), future Director-General of New Netherland
• Taj ul-Alam of Aceh (?–1675), Acehnese Princess (daughter of Iskandar Muda and wife of Iskandar Thani) and future Sultana of Aceh
• Abel Tasman of the Netherlands (1603–1659), merchant and future explorer
• Sir John Trevor III of Wales (1626–1672), future Member of Parliament and Secretary of State (son of Sir John Trevor Jr., nephew of Sirs Richard and Sackville Trevor(s), and grandson of Sir John Trevor Sr.)
• Turhan Hatice of Turkey (1628?–1683), future Sultana Consort of Ibrahim I and Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
• Samuel Twardowski of Poland (c.1600-1661), poet, diarist, and essayist
• Simon Ushakov of Russia (1626?-1686), artist
• Vakhtang of Kartli (1618–1675), prince and future king of Kartli
• John Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672), Polish Prince and future King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
• Henry Vaughan of Newton,Wales (1622–1695), future metaphysical poet (unrelated to Sir Henry Vaughan the Elder nor William Vaughan)
• Izaak Walton of England (1593–1683), writer
• Lawrence Washington (1602–1655), rector and ancestor of George Washington (commander of the Continental Army and first President of the United States)
• William of Orange (1626–1650), son of Frederick Henry and future Stadtholder of the Netherlands
• Roger Williams (1603–1683), Puritan (later Baptist) clergymen and future co-founder of Rhode Island
• Wu Sangui of China (1612–1678), future controversial military leader
• Zhu Youlang of China (1623–1662), Chinese Prince and future Southern Ming Dynasty pretender
• Zhu Yousong of China (1607–1645), Chinese Prince and future Southern Ming Dynasty pretender
• Zhu Yujian of China (1602–1646), Chinese Prince and future Southern Ming Dynasty pretender
• Zhu Yuyuè of China (1620?–1647), Chinese Prince and future Southern Ming Dynasty pretender

References