1668 Overview
1668 (MDCLXVIII) was a leap year that commenced on a Sunday in the Gregorian calendar and on a Wednesday in the Julian calendar. It marked the 1668th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 668th year of the 2nd millennium, the 68th year of the 17th century, and the 9th year of the 1660s decade. As of the beginning of 1668, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in use in some regions until 1923.
Events
January–March
January 23 – The Triple Alliance of 1668 is established between England, Sweden, and the United Provinces of the Netherlands.
February 13 – A peace accord is signed in Lisbon between Afonso VI of Portugal and Carlos II of Spain, mediated by Charles II of England, recognizing the legitimacy of the Portuguese monarch while Portugal yields Ceuta to Spain.
c. February – The English Parliament seeks to suppress Thomas Hobbes’ treatise Leviathan.
March 8 – In the Cretan War, the navy of the Republic of Venice defeats an Ottoman Empire naval force attempting to seize a Venetian galley.
March 22 – Notable privateer Henry Morgan lands in Cuba to raid the town of Puerto del Príncipe.
March 23 – The Bawdy House Riots occur in London as English Dissenters attack brothels, protesting against harsh religious laws and the lack of enforcement against prostitution.
March 27 – King Charles II of England signs an agreement to lease the Indian city of Bombay to the East India Company.
April–June
April 21 – Henry Brouncker is expelled from the English House of Commons for treason.
April 22 – Tenzin Dalai Khan is proclaimed as the new Protector King of Tibet.
April 24 – The Treaty of Breda goes into effect worldwide.
April 25 – The Swedish Empire signs a treaty joining the Triple Alliance.
May 2 – The first Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle concludes the War of Devolution.
May 18 – The comedy The Mulberry-Garden premieres in London.
June 4 – Tangier is elevated to the status of “free city” by the English crown.
June 12 – An Evening’s Love, or The Mock Astrologer premieres in London.
June 16 – Spanish Jesuit missionaries arrive at the island of Guam to found a mission.
June 18 – Petro Doroshenko is proclaimed hetman of all of Ukraine.
July–September
July 7 – Bishop Isaac Barrow establishes the Bishop Barrow Trust.
July 10 – Henry Morgan raids the city of Portobello.
July 25 – A major earthquake in Shandong province kills at least 43,000 people.
August 17 – A strong earthquake in Northern Anatolia causes significant destruction.
September 9 – The Miser (L’Avare) by Molière is first performed.
September 16 – Jan II Kazimierz Waza abdicates the throne of Poland.
September 21 – The British East India Company formally takes control of Bombay.
September 28 – A coup d’état occurs in the Philippines against Governor-General Diego de Salcedo.
October–December
October 5 – The English blockade of the Moroccan port of Salé begins.
October 7 – French Jesuit missionary Jean Pierron arrives in the Mohawk Nation.
October 31 – The HMS Providence shipwrecks at Tangier.
November 8 – Iliaș Alexandru resigns as voivode of Moldavia.
December 6 – The Order of the Jesuati is abolished by Pope Clement IX.
December 16 – The Great Clearance edict is rescinded by Kangxi Emperor.
December 28 – Fritz Cronman arrives in Moscow as ambassador from the Swedish Empire.
Date unknown
- One of the earliest central banks, Sveriges Riksbank, is founded in Stockholm.
- Yohannes I of Ethiopia convenes a church council to expel all Roman Catholics.
- English scientist Isaac Newton builds the first reflecting telescope.
Births
May 8 – Alain-René Lesage, French writer (d. 1747)
June 23 – Giambattista Vico, Italian philosopher (d. 1744)
July 21 – Frederick Heinrich of Saxe-Zeitz-Pegau-Neustadt (d. 1713)
September 8 – Giorgio Baglivi, Armenian doctor (d. 1707)
October 18 – John George IV, Elector of Saxony (d. 1694)
October 30 – Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, sister of King George I (d. 1705)
November 10 – Louis III, Prince of Condé (d. 1710)
November 10 – François Couperin, French composer (d. 1733)
November 11 – Johann Albert Fabricius, German scholar (d. 1736)
November 27 – Henri François d’Aguesseau, Chancellor of France (d. 1751)
November 30 – William August, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach (d. 1671)
December 11 – Apostolo Zeno, Italian poet (d. 1750)
December 31 – Herman Boerhaave, Dutch humanist (d. 1738)
Date unknown – Stokkseyrar-Dísa, Icelandic Galdrmistress (d. 1728)
Deaths
January 6 – Luis de Benavides Carrillo, Marquis of Caracena (b. 1608)
January 6 – Magdalene Sibylle of Saxony, Crown Princess of Denmark (b. 1617)
January 14 – Arnauld de Oihenart, Basque historian (b. 1592)
January 31 – Hermann Busenbaum, German Jesuit (b. 1600)
February 2 – Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra, Spanish artist (b. 1616)
February 8 – Alessandro Tiarini, Italian painter (b. 1577)
February 21 – John Thurloe, English Puritan spy (b. 1616)
March 16 – Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury (b. 1623)
April 12 – Alexander Daniell, landowner (b. 1599)
April 21 – Jan Boeckhorst, Flemish painter (b. c. 1604)
May 1 – Frans Luycx, Flemish painter (b. 1604)
May 8 – Catherine of St. Augustine, French nun (b. 1632)
May 9 – Otto Christoph von Sparr, German general (b. 1599)
May 21 – Christoph Delphicus zu Dohna, Swedish diplomat (b. 1628)
June 20 – Heinrich Roth, German scholar (b. 1620)
July 26 – Hans Svane, Danish statesman (b. 1606)
August 9 – Jakob Balde, German Latinist (b. 1604)
August 23 – Artus Quellinus the Elder, Flemish sculptor (b. 1609)
August 24 – Tyman Oosdorp, Dutch magistrate (b. 1613)
September 16 – Paolo Emilio Rondinini, Italian Bishop (b. 1617)
September 16 – Jan Miense Molenaer, Dutch painter (b. 1610)
September 19 – Sir William Waller, English Civil War general (b. c. 1635)
October 12 – Zacharias Wagenaer, merchant and administrator (b. 1614)
October 13 – Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexinton (b. 1594)
October 13 – Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland (b. 1602)
November 17 – Joseph Alleine, English preacher (b. 1634)
November 21 – Adolf William, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach (b. 1632)
December 3 – William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury (b. 1591)
December 14 – Charles Berkeley, 2nd Viscount Fitzhardinge (b. 1599)
December 23 – Martin Bauzer, Jesuit priest (b. 1595)
December 24 – Wadham Wyndham, English judge (b. 1609)
Date unknown – Fang Weiyi, Chinese poet and historian (b. 1585)
References
For further details, please consult historical records and archives.