Events from the Year 1680 in England
Incumbents
Monarch – Charles II
Events
24 January – William Harris, one of the four English Puritans who established the Plymouth Colony and later the Providence Plantations in Rhode Island in 1636, is captured by Algerian pirates during a voyage back to England. After being sold into slavery on 23 February, he remains enslaved until a ransom is paid. He dies in 1681, just three days after returning to England.
February – The will of Rev. Ralph Davenant establishes the Davenant Foundation School for poor boys in Whitechapel.
24 March – The Earl of Shaftesbury informs the Privy Council of England that the Roman Catholics of Ireland are planning a rebellion, supported by France. This investigation leads to the wrongful arrest and execution of Oliver Plunkett, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh.
27 March – The London Penny Post delivery service begins operations. Established by Robert Murray and William Dockwra, it allows letters to be delivered anywhere in London or its suburbs for just one penny.
10 June – England and Spain sign a mutual defence treaty.
11 June – Elizabeth Cellier, a Catholic midwife, is tried and acquitted of treason for publishing pamphlets against the government.
21 October – Charles II’s fourth parliament, known as the “Exclusion Bill Parliament”, convenes. The term Whig emerges for those supporting the Exclusion Bill, while Tory refers to those opposing it.
4 November – A second Exclusion Bill is proposed, aiming to prevent James, Duke of York, a Catholic, from inheriting the throne.
15 November – The Exclusion Bill is defeated in the House of Lords.
17 November – The Green Ribbon Club, a precursor to the Whigs, organizes a procession in London to burn an effigy of the Pope for the second consecutive year.
7 December – William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford, is condemned to death based on perjured evidence in the House of Lords for conspiracy related to the alleged “Popish Plot”.
Undated Events
- First fire insurance office established, known as the Phoenix.
- Trinity House erects a lighthouse on St Agnes, Isles of Scilly.
Births
23 January – Joseph Ames, author (died 1759)
14 February – John Sidney, 6th Earl of Leicester, privy councillor (died 1737)
20 June – Sir John Aubrey, 3rd Baronet, politician (died 1743)
12 October – Arthur Collier, philosopher (died 1732)
Blackbeard, pirate (died 1718)
John Colson, mathematician (died 1760)
Barnabas Gunn, organist and composer (died 1753)
John Machin, mathematician (died 1752)
Sarah Derith, politically active salon hostess (died 1745)
Deaths
2 January – John Jolliffe, politician and businessman (born 1613)
14 January (New Style) – George Carteret, statesman (born c. 1610)
18 January – John Hervey, courtier and politician (born 1616)
20 January – Ann, Lady Fanshawe, memoirist (born 1625)
23 January – Capel Luckyn, Member of Parliament (born 1622)
February – Ralph Davenant, rector, founder of Davenant Foundation School
17 February – Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, statesman and writer (born 1599)
16 May – Sir William Blackett, 1st Baronet, of Matfen, Member of Parliament (born 1620)
22 May – Richard Sawkins, pirate (year of birth unknown)
18 June – Samuel Butler, satirical poet (born 1612)
26 July
Sir Hugh Smith, 1st Baronet, Member of Parliament (born 1632)
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, poet (born 1647)
20 August – William Bedloe, informer (born 1650)
24 August – Thomas Blood, thief of the English Crown Jewels (born 1618)
9 September – Henry Marten, regicide (born 1602)
11 September – Roger Crab, Puritan political writer (born 1621)
17 October – Charles FitzCharles, 1st Earl of Plymouth, illegitimate son of Charles II, died at the siege of Tangier (born 1657)
9 November – Hungerford Dunch, politician (born 1639)
30 November – Peter Lely, painter (born 1618)
8 December – Henry Pierrepont, 1st Marquess of Dorchester, politician (born 1606)
29 December – William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford, martyr (born 1614)
December – Elizabeth Killigrew, Viscountess Shannon, courtier and royal mistress (born 1622)
Cornelius Essex, pirate (year of birth unknown)
Sir James Harington, 3rd Baronet, Member of Parliament (born 1607)