1681 in England

Events from the year 1681 in the Kingdom of England.

Incumbents

18 January - 'Exclusion Bill Parliament' dissolved.^[1]
14 March - William Penn receives a royal charter to establish a sectarian colony in the Americas.^[2]
21 March–28 March - The Oxford Parliament meets and debates the Exclusion Bill.^[3] The Bill is rejected by the House of Lords.
1 July - Oliver Plunkett, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, falsely convicted of treason, is hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, London, the last Catholic martyr to die in England.^[4]
2 July - Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury charged with treason, and imprisoned in the Tower of London, but subsequently acquitted.^[1]^[2]
22 December - King Charles II issues a warrant for the building of the Royal Hospital Chelsea for wounded and retired soldiers.^[3]

John Dryden's political satire Absalom and Achitophel.^[3]
Nahum Tate's play The History of King Lear, adapted from Shakespeare's King Lear with a happy ending (first performed this year at the Duke's Theatre, London).

28 January - Richard Allestree, royalist churchman (born 1619)
5 March - Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 2nd Baronet, Member of Parliament (born c.1623)
14 April - Sir Thomas Littleton, 2nd Baronet, Member of Parliament (born c.1621)
18 April - John Loosemore, pipe organ builder (born 1616)
9 June - William Lilly, astrologer and occultist (born 1602)
15 December - James Compton, 3rd Earl of Northampton, soldier and politician (born 1622)
22 December - Richard Alleine, Puritan clergyman (born 1611)
Hezekiah Burton, theologian (born 1632)
Elizabeth Knepp, actress (year of birth unknown)
William Walwyn, Leveller (born c. 1600)
John Watling, buccaneer (year of birth unknown)

^ ^a ^b Harris, Tim (2004). "Cooper, Anthony Ashley, first earl of Shaftesbury (1621–1683)’". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/6208. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/6208. Retrieved 2011-03-22. Subscription or UK public library membership required
^ ^a ^b Palmer, Alan; Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 194–196. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
^ ^a ^b ^c Williams, Hywel (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 280. ISBN 0-304-35730-8.
^ "Blessed Oliver Plunket". Catholic Encyclopedia. 1913. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12169b.htm. Retrieved 2011-03-22.

Years in the Kingdom of England (927–1706)

Centuries	10th century

Decades	1000s 1010s 1020s 1030s 1040s 1050s 1060s 1070s 1080s 1090s 1100s 1110s 1120s 1130s 1140s 1150s 1160s 1170s 1180s 1190s 1200s 1210s 1220s 1230s 1240s 1250s 1260s 1270s 1280s 1290s 1300s 1310s 1320s 1330s 1340s 1350s 1360s 1370s 1380s 1390s 1400s 1410s 1420s 1430s 1440s 1450s 1460s 1470s 1480s 1490s 1500s 1510s 1520s 1530s 1540s 1550s 1560s 1570s 1580s 1590s 1600s 1610s 1620s 1630s

Years	1640 1641 1642 1643 1644 1645 1646 1647 1648 1649 1650 1651 1652 1653 1654 1655 1656 1657 1658 1659 1660 1661 1662 1663 1664 1665 1666 1667 1668 1669 1670 1671 1672 1673 1674 1675 1676 1677 1678 1679 1680 1681 1682 1683 1684 1685 1686 1687 1688 1689 1690 1691 1692 1693 1694 1695 1696 1697 1698 1699 1700 1701 1702 1703 1704 1705 1706