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Hannah, Isaac Newton’s mother, dies

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek’s discoveries, later sent to the Royal Society, sparked a rush to observe these microscopic “animalcules” (little animals); it turned out that what Leeuwenhoek had observed were protozoa; it was estimated that there were 8,280,000 of them in a single drop of water,

Christian Huygens patents the hairspring of his new marine watch

With the discovery of microorganisms, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek opened humanity’s eyes to the 99.99% of organisms that populate this planet, which had gone completely unnoticed (or at least misinterpreted) until now.

Tsunami in Hila, Tseit, Indonesia, with a 100m high wave

Leibniz, working in almost total isolation, emulated Newton’s work from a decade earlier (but not yet published and therefore unknown) by producing the technique of infinite series and his own version of infinitesimal calculus; a strong disagreement then arose between the English and Europeans regarding

London. The Court of England must choose a second wife for James Stuart, Duke of York, who had been widowed the previous March. His first wife, Catherine of Braganza, was sterile. The English court considered Maria Beatrice d’Este, of the Duchy of Modena. In the

Grand Vizier Fazil Ahmed Pasha returns to Istanbul, crowned with glory, after having taken Candia, in Crete, from the Venetians, after a siege that lasted 22 years.

South Carolina. The ship Carolina reaches the New World. It lands on a beach with the white skeletons of trees eaten away by the sea. On board are humble English farmers and servants, with the prospect of hard work clearing the land. No gold, no

Isaac Newton: his discoveries ushered in a new world, unimaginable even by the most daring thinkers of the time. Buildings with hundreds of stories, millions of horseless carriages capable of traveling at 80 miles per hour while the passenger listened to music from a magical

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, as a teenager, writes “De Arte Combinatoria” considered an early theoretical model of the modern computer

Isaac Newton read “fashionable” authors, such as Descartes and Galileo; during a Cambridge lecture where he was taking notes on Aristotle, he stopped abruptly in the middle of a page; then, after leaving dozens of blank pages, he wrote at the top: “Quaestiones Quaedam Philosophicae”

London. There were already 82 registered cafés. They served a social function, a pillar of the nascent bourgeois society. Coffee brought greater sobriety to the European population. To a certain extent, and for certain customers, it partially replaced wine and beer in bars and pubs.

Englishman John Graunt publishes his analysis of a new discipline to be called statistics (i.e., describing the political structure of modern states). It is titled “Natural and Political Observations on Death Reports.”

Blaise Pascal died at the age of 39 from a cerebral hemorrhage, but the autopsy also revealed lesions to his liver, stomach, and intestines, which explained the illnesses that had plagued him throughout his life.

Blaise Pascal falls seriously ill. Doctors prescribe the usual remedies: bloodletting, purges, and enemas.

Skona is ceded by Denmark to Sweden

Siege of Mortara (Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia). The Duke of Modena, Francis I, is struck by malarial fever and dies in the arms of his son Amerigo. Although Francis I had achieved glory in war, he was also a great builder of peacetime works: the Ducal

The Dutch Golden Age: The Dutch occupy Ceylon and establish a colony there.

Netherlands. The leadership of the Jewish-Iberian congregation in Amsterdam pronounces the herem (social exclusion from the group—but different from Christian excommunication) expelling the philosopher Baruch Spinoza from the community. Born in Amsterdam in 1632 to Portuguese parents, he converted to Judaism in Hamburg and studied

In 1633, in South America, Jesuit Father Antonio de Calaucha noted the surprising properties of the “fever tree” in preventing malaria. These trees belong to the Chinchona genus, which produce quinine, an antimalarial. In the following years, the use of quinine spread among the Jesuits

England, republican regime led by Oliver Cromwell, who established a personal dictatorship in 1853.

The Dutch vessel Sparrow Hawk ran aground on its voyage from Taiwan to Nagasaki, carrying a cargo of pepper, sugar, and 20,000 deer skins. Of the 64 men on board, 36 survived and reached shore on Cheju Island. Nothing more was heard of these men

First Anglo-Dutch War. The English unsuccessfully attempted to gain a foothold in the East Indies (now Indonesia), but they tried to harass the Dutch wherever possible. In one such attack, in 1664, they occupied the colony of New Netherland, whose capital, New Amsterdam, was located

The Dutch arrive in Cape Town, South Africa

A document from Barbados stated that “The principal intoxicant produced in the island is Rumbullion, also called Kill-Divil, made from distilled sugar-cane, a hot, infernal, and terrible liquor.”

The Galilean method of observing Jupiter’s Medicean satellites to determine longitude became popular among cartographers, but was only used on land; however, it allowed a qualitative leap in the accuracy of maps.

The first rifle is used systematically in infantry

The foundations of the modern market economy were laid: corporations. Before the 17th century, if you owned a business, you were responsible for the entire enterprise. Chartered Companies introduced the concept of “limited liability.” The corporate entity was responsible for the debts, not the individuals

Native Americans. In South and North America, they constituted 80% of the population in 1650. By 1825, they still accounted for 59% of Spanish America, 21% of Brazil, and 4% of Anglo-Saxon America. A strong influx of immigrants from Europe began.

Jubilee celebrated by Innocent X

Magdeburg, Germany. Otto von Guericke’s scientific research, which made him famous during his lifetime and for which he is still remembered today, focused on the study of the properties of air and vacuum. He became famous for his invention, in 1650, of the first pneumatic

European armorers (or gunsmiths) learned to make triggers that wouldn’t accidentally fire every time the rifle was hit. With this invention, muskets replaced arquebuses.

Treaty of Westphalia: The principle of non-interference in national sovereignty was established. The Treaty of Westphalia was signed, ending the Thirty Years’ War and radically shifting the balance of power in Europe. The Thirty Years’ War, a series of conflicts fought by various European countries

Present-day Poland and Ukraine. The death of Władysław IV sparked anarchy, including popular uprisings against the Polish magnates, nobles, and Jews. The estimated death toll in Ukraine was 18,000–20,000 out of a population of 40,000. Many communities were destroyed. In Nemirov, for example, in May

Giovan Battista Doni, the man who, in Italy, effectively changed the name of the note UT to the note DO (from DOni), dies; historical note: the Italian notation (do, re, mi, etc.) was born around the year 1000 with Guido d’Arezzo

Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. The Dutch Neuw Haarlem ran aground near the cape, forcing its occupants to remain there for about a year. This was the first Dutch settlement in South Africa. Unlike Portuguese or English settlements, the Dutch ones were, at least

The philosopher and Catholic priest Pierre Gassendi, in a series of philosophical works, defends atomism, defines its indivisibility and impenetrability, and also defines molecules.

In commercial or military vessels, approximately one sailor is needed for every five tons of displacement. In the 14th century, it was one for every 10 tons in Venetian cogs, while in the 13th century, it was one for every 5 tons in lateen-rigged ships.

Johannes Hevelius publishes the first scientific book entirely dedicated to the Moon: Selenographia.

Blaise Pascal suffered from stomach aches, difficulty swallowing and digesting, was frail and sickly, had severe headaches, sweating fits, and suffered from partial paralysis of his legs. Doctors prescribed bloodletting and purges. At 24, in 1647, he returned to live with his sister, and here

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz was born in Leipzig, Germany.

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz was born in Leipzig

Blaise Pascal, at the age of 23, converted to Jansenism, a religious doctrine in contrast with Roman Catholicism, which was declared heretical by Pope Innocent X in 1653.

Hannah, Isaac Newton’s mother, abandoned her son when he was just over three years old to marry Father Barnabas Smith, who died eight years later after having had three children with her; Isaac Newton would forever harbor feelings of hatred towards his stepfather and mother.

Little Ice Age: 1-2 degrees cooler on average worldwide due to decreased solar activity;

Maunder Minimum (“Little Ice Age”): 1-2 degrees cooler on average worldwide due to decreased solar activity; but locally, temperatures went much further, with Greenland inaccessible for three centuries, glaciers advancing several kilometers, summers sometimes lacking altogether, and Iceland surrounded by ice.

During the Maunder Minimum, sunspots become extremely rare or disappear altogether, even during solar maxima.

England: Battle of Naseby: Disastrous military defeat for the Royalists

Cretan War. Venice wins most of the naval battles, but fails to prevent the Turks from conquering the island. Venetian forces are impressive: 60-70 galleys, 4 galleasses, and 36 galleons. During the 24 years of war, the Venetians are always on the offensive at sea,

Qing Dynasty in China

China. Beijing falls to the rebel leader Li Zicheng. The last Ming emperor, Chongzen, hangs himself shortly before the arrival of the Manchus. Since he had Jesuits at court, he had also sent a letter to the Pope asking him to send troops to protect

René Descartes, aka Descartes, publishes The Principles of Philosophy, which also incorporates much of the material from The World, which was never published during his lifetime.

In Cogitata Physica-Mathematica the French monk Marin Mersenne makes a conjecture (Mersenne conjecture): the numbers 2^n – 1 are prime for n=2, 3, 5, 7, 13, 17, 19, 31, 67, 127, 257; it took more than 3 centuries to prove that these numbers were really

Battle of Maston Moore near York, England: Cromwell’s Roundheads defeat King Charles’s Royals

China. Yang Schicong writes “Collective Writing from the Jade Hall,” a valuable account of court life in the final decade of the Ming Dynasty.

China. A terrible epidemic sweeps across Northern China. This will favor the success of the Manchu invasion.

The Pope declares that priests cannot smoke tobacco in church. Smoking tobacco is a habit that has spread rapidly among priests in recent decades, imported from the Americas by the Portuguese and Spanish. Only the Jesuits remain hostile to the new practice.

Gregorian calendar (in the Julian calendar, adopted in England, this is Christmas, December 25, 1642). Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire.

Modena. Construction of the Citadel is completed.

Tibet, affirmation of the Dalai Lama’s theocratic regime

Blaise Pascal builds the Pascaline (calculator)

Julian calendar (in the Gregorian calendar, adopted by much of the rest of Europe, including Italy, this is January 4, 1643). Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire.

England: Battle of Edgehill, won by the Royalists

England. The civil war pitted “knights” against “roundheads” (i.e., those without the heavy curls that were fashionable among the aristocracy). The nobility was almost entirely on the side of the King, while the merchant bourgeoisie, artisans, and small landowners sided with Parliament. Initially, Charles I’s

Hannah Ayscough, Newton’s mother, marries Isaac Newton Sr. in Woolsthorpe

Australia. In the first encounter between Aborigines and Europeans, the former were judged by the latter to be the simplest and most backward culture in the world. In reality, the Aborigines, divided into opposing tribes, were among the most advanced societies in the world by

The English Civil War, the execution of Charles I, and the establishment of the only republic ever to exist on English soil, all had to do (also) with soap. At the time, very few homes had bathrooms, and even then, bathing was done about once

Now blind, Galileo Galilei dies in Arcetri. Galileo dies in Florence, where he is under house arrest imposed by the Holy Office, in the villa Il Gioiello on the Arcetri hill south of Florence, a few steps from the convent where his daughter, Sister Maria

Plague epidemic in England

China. Emperor Yang outlaws the production and consumption of tobacco. For several decades, heavy tobacco consumption had become widespread in China, imported by the Portuguese and then grown by Chinese farmers, who earned ten times the profit from wheat, but jeopardized the emperor’s army’s bread

Russia, Northern Siberia: Cossacks found Yakutsk, in Yacuttia

Venice. A serious plague epidemic decimates a third of the population.

Americas. The Dutch West Indian Company (WIC) began the profitable tobacco cultivation business in Brazil and the Caribbean, using African slaves, as Native Americans refused to do such hard work and fled at the first opportunity. The WIC purchased slaves from African tribes and sold

In England, deforestation (for the fleet, iron working, fuel) forces the transition to the exploitation of coal

Galileo Galilei finishes writing “Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems: Ptolemaic and Copernican”

Francis I is Duke of Modena and Reggio. The city is inhabited by fewer than ten thousand people. The duke faces serious problems, such as the bubonic plague that wipes out 40% of the population. But the duke will make it a small but recognized

Cardinal Barberini, a friend and supporter of Galileo, becomes Pope with the name of Urban VIII; he removes the word “heresy” from the edict regarding the Copernican system; and informs Galileo that he is free to publish as long as he considers the Copernican system

Macau. Calculations of projectile trajectories, performed by the Jesuit mathematician Giacomo Rho, allow the Portuguese to hit the Dutch Santa Barbara, thus saving the Portuguese colony from the Dutch assault.

William Oughtred invents the slide rule which will remain in use until 1970, with the invention of the calculator