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
1620s-related categories:	Births – Deaths – By country Establishments – Disestablishments

This is a list of events occurring in the 1620s, ordered by year.

January–June

• February 4 – Prince Bethlen Gabor signs a peace treaty with Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor.
• May 17 – The first merry-go-round is seen at a fair (Philippapolis, Turkey).
• June 3 – The oldest stone church in French North America, Notre-Dame-des-Anges, is begun at Quebec City, Canada.

July–December

• July 3 – Under the terms of the Treaty of Ulm, the Protestant Union declares neutrality and ceases to support Frederick V of Bohemia.
• July 15 – The ship Speedwell departs Delfshaven with the Leiden colonists and Pilgrims.
• August 5 (O.S.) – The Mayflower and Speedwell depart together from Plymouth, England, but the Speedwell starts to leak again and must stop.
• August 7
  • The mother of Johannes Kepler is arrested for witchcraft.
  • Battle of Les Ponts-de-Cé, Poitou: French king Louis XIII defeats his mother Marie de' Medici.
• August 8 – Mysterious rain of frogs in Weil der Stadt.
• September 6 (O.S.) – The Mayflower departs from Plymouth, England, on its 3rd attempt without the Speedwell, arriving on November 11 (Old Style date) at Cape Cod (named from Concord voyage of 1602).
• September 17–October 7 – Battle of Cecora: The Ottoman Empire defeats Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth–Moldavian troops.
• October 6 – The Roman Catholic Ras Sela Kristos, half-brother of the Emperor Susenyos crushes a group of rebels in at Mount Amedamit in Gojjam, Ethiopia, who were opposed to Susenyos' pro-Catholic beliefs.
• November 3 – The Great Patent is granted to Plymouth Colony.
• November 8 – Thirty Years' War – Battle of White Mountain: Catholic forces are victorious in only two hours near Prague.
• November 21 (November 11 O.S.) – The Mayflower arrives inside the tip of Cape Cod at what becomes known as Provincetown Harbor, with the Pilgrims and Planters. 41 Plymouth Colony settlers sign the Mayflower Compact, the first governing document of the colony, onboard the ship.
• November 25 – Wedding of Gustav II Adolf and Maria Eleonora
• December 21 – Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land on what becomes known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Date unknown

• A severe frost in England, with the Thames frozen. 13 continuous days of snow in Scotland. On Eskdale Moor only 35 of a flock of 20,000 sheep survive.
• Francis Bacon publishes the Novum Organum (beyond Aristotle's Organon) on logical thinking.
• Two officers of the British East India Company attempt to claim the Table Mountain region (in present-day South Africa) for England, but fail.
• Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada restores Osaka Castle. Its current appearance dates from this remodeling.
• The modern violin is developed.
• Witch hunts begin in Scotland.
• Cornelis Drebbel, at the Thames, builds an undersea boat (history of submarines).
• Juan Pablo Bonet, teacher of deaf children in the Spanish court, creates the sign alphabet.
• Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) continues (principally on the territory of today's Germany).
• A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolomé de las Casas and Origin and progress of the disturbances in the Netherlands by Johannes Gysius was re-published in the Netherlands.

January–June

• February 9 – Papal Conclave of 1621: Pope Gregory XV succeeds Pope Paul V as the 234th pope.
• February 17 – Myles Standish is appointed as the first commander of Plymouth Colony.
• March 16 – Samoset, a Mohegan, visits the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them, "Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset."
• March 22 – The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony sign a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoags.
• March 31 – King Philip IV of Spain begins his 44-year rule.
• April – The Twelve Years' Truce between the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Empire expires, and both sides prepare to resume the Eighty Years' War.
• April 1 – The Plymouth, Massachusetts colonists create the first treaty with native Americans.
• April 5 – The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth on a return trip to England.
• May 2 – The Panama earthquake affects the Isthmus of Panama with an estimated magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very Strong).
• May 24 – The Protestant Union is formally dissolved.
• June 3 – The Dutch West India Company is founded.
• June 21 – Thirty Years' War: Twenty-seven Czech lords are executed on the Old Town Square in Prague as a consequence of the Battle of White Mountain.
• June 24 – Huguenot rebellions: Saint-Jean-d'Angély is taken after a 26 day siege by Royal forces.

July–December

• July 25 – Thirty Years' War: The Battle of Neu Titschein is fought; remnants of the Bohemian army manage to hold off the Imperial advance in Silesia for the moment.
• September–October – Battle of Khotyn: Polish troops hold off a large Ottoman army for over a month.
• August – Huguenot rebellions: Louis XIII of France besieges the Huguenot city of Montauban in the Siege of Montauban, but is forced to abandon his siege two months later.
• October – The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony and Wampanoags celebrate a harvest feast (3 days), later regarded as the "First Thanksgiving", noted for peaceful co-existence.
• October 9 – The Treaty of Khotyn is signed between the Ottoman Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ending the First Polish-Ottoman War.
• November 11 – The ship Fortune arrives at Plymouth Colony, with 35 more settlers.
• December 31 – Thirty Years' War: The Peace of Nikolsburg is signed between Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and Gabor Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania. Bethlen agreed to renounce his claims to Hungary. In return Bethlen received several counties and lands along the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire, and Moravia was granted religious freedom.

Date unknown

• The Venezuelan city of Petare is founded by Spanish conquistadors as San Jose de Guanarito.
• The Swedish city of Gothenburg is founded by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. The king also grants city rights to Luleå, Piteå and Torneå (Tornio). Riga falls under the rule of Sweden.
• The Dutch mathematician and astronomer, Willebrord Snel van Royen (1580–1626), discovers the famous law of refraction, also known as "Snellius' law".
• Tamblot starts the Tamblot Uprising
• The Dutch East India Company sends 2000 soldiers under the command of Jan Pieterszoon Coen to the Banda Islands in order to force the local inhabitants to accept the Dutch trade monopoly on the lucrative nutmeg, grown almost exclusively on the Banda islands. The soldiers proceed to massacre most of the 15,000 indigenous inhabitants.

January–June

• January 1 – In the Gregorian calendar, January 1 is declared as the first day of the year, instead of March 25.
• January 7 – Germany and Transylvania signs Peace of Nikolsburg.
• February 8 – King James I of England disbands the English Parliament.
• March 12 – Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Ávila, Isidore the Farmer and Philip Neri are beatified by Pope Gregory XV.
• March 22 – Jamestown massacre: Algonquian natives kill 347 English settlers outside Jamestown, Virginia (1/3 of the colony's population) and burn the Henricus settlement. This begins the American Indian Wars.
• April 19 – Richelieu is made Cardinal.
• April 22 – Hormuz is captured from the Portuguese by an Anglo-Persian force.
• April 27 – Thirty Years' War: A Skirmish at Mingolsheim is fought between Protestant forces under Mansfeld and Georg Friedrich of Baden-Durlach, against Imperial forces under Tilly. The Protestants win, but afterwards Tilly links up with a Spanish Army under Gonzalo de Córdoba, greatly increasing his strength.
• May – Huguenot rebellions: The Huguenot city of Royan is taken by royal forces after a short siege.
• May 6 – Thirty Years' War: While waiting for the Protestant forces of Christian of Brunswick to join them, Mansfeld and Georg Friedrich of Baden-Durlach split up their forces as a diversion for the Imperial army of Tilly. Their plan fails, as Tilly manages to cut off Georg Friedrich at Wimpfen. At the ensuing Battle of Wimpfen, Georg Friedrich's army is almost completely destroyed.
• May 13 – The Eendracht, a VOC ship and the second recorded European ship to make landfall on Australian soil, is wrecked off the western coast of Ambon Island, Dutch East Indies.
• May 20 – Ottoman Sultan Osman II is strangled by rebelling Janissaries, who revolted when they heard rumours that Osman II was planning to move against them.
• May 25 – The English ship Tryall, which left Plymouth, England for Batavia (now Jakarta), wrecks on the Tryal Rocks, 9 months later (wreck discovered in 1969).
• June 11 – Huguenot rebellions: The huguenot city of Nègrepelisse is taken after a short siege by royal forces. The entire population of the city is subsequently massacred, and the city is burned to the ground.
• June 20 – Thirty Years' War: Imperial forces under Tilly attempt to prevent Christian of Brunswick from moving his army across the Main river to link up with Mansfeld. At the Battle of Höchst, Tilly manages to inflict considerable casualties on the Protestant forces, as well as seizing Brunswick's baggage train. Nonetheless, the bulk of Brunswick's forces manage to unite with Mansfeld.
• June 24 – Dutch–Portuguese War: The outnumbered Portuguese forces successfully defend Macau from the Dutch fleet in the Battle of Macau, keeping a Portuguese foothold in the Far East.

July–December

• July 13 – Thirty Years' War: After Mansfeld fails to relieve the siege of Heidelberg, Frederick V, Elector Palatine, cancels Mansfeld's contract and disbands his army. The unemployed army of Mansfeld and Christian of Brunswick is subsequently hired by the Dutch.
• July 13 or July 14 – English and Dutch ships defeat the Portuguese near Mozambique.
• July 18 – Eighty Years' War: Bergen-op-Zoom is besieged by a Spanish army under the command of Ambrogio Spinola.
• August 29 – Thirty Years' War: While on their way to relieve the Siege of Bergen-op-Zoom in the Netherlands, the army of Mansfeld and Christian of Brunswick is blocked by a Spanish army led by Gonzalo de Córdoba. In the Battle of Fleurus, Cordoba manages to fight off the Protestant assault. The next day, Cordoba surprises the retreating Protestant army with his cavalry, resulting in the destruction of most of the Protestant army.
• September 6 – Spanish treasure fleet sinks off Marquesas Keys in the straights of Florida. Atocha, Margarita, and Rosario are the most heavily laden treasure ships found in the 20th century.
• September 19 – Thirty Years' War: Heidelberg, the capital of the Electorate of the Palatinate, is taken by the Imperial army of Tilly after a three-month siege.
• October 2 – Eighty Years' War: After a siege of 86 days, Bergen-op-Zoom is relieved by a Dutch army led by Maurice of Nassau and Ernst von Mansfeld.
• October 18 – Huguenot rebellions: The first Huguenot rebellion ends with the signing of the Treaty of Montpellier.
• October 27 – Huguenot rebellions: The inconclusive Naval battle of Saint-Martin-de-Ré is fought between the Huguenot fleet of La Rochelle commanded by Jean Guiton, and a royal fleet under the command of Charles of Guise.

Date unknown

• Dutch ships under Joachim Swartenhondt, while escorting a convoy, repel a Spanish squadron near Gibraltar.
• Étienne Brûlé is the first European to see Lake Superior.
• Portugal loses control of the island of Ormus, after 107 years.
• Albertus Magnus is beatified, and Teresa of Ávila is canonized, by the Roman Catholic Church.
• "Rosicrucianism furor" in Paris.
• War between the Netherlands and Spain recommences after the Twelve Years' Truce (1609–1621).
• The Golden Horn freezes.
• First record of bottled spring water in England at Holy Well, Malvern.

January–June

• February – France, Savoy, and Venice sign the Treaty of Paris, agreeing to cooperate in removing Spanish forces from the strategic Alpine pass of Valtelline.
• February 25 – Thirty Years' War: Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria becomes Elector of the Electorate of the Palatinate.
• March 5 – The first American temperance law is enacted, in Virginia.
• March 9 – Amboyna massacre: Ten men in the service of the British East India Company, nine Japanese and one Portuguese, are executed by the Dutch East India Company.
• March 20 – Richard Frethorne begins writing a letter to his parents from Jamestown, Virginia.
• April 11 – King Gwanghaegun of Joseon is deposed in a coup. He is succeeded by King Injo.
• April 29 – A fleet of 11 Dutch ships depart for the coast of Peru, seeking to seize Spanish treasure.
• June 14 – The first breach-of-promise lawsuit: Rev. Gerville Pooley, in Virginia, files against Cicely Jordan, but loses.
• June 29 – Première of Pedro Calderón de la Barca's first play, Amor, honor y poder, at the Court of Habsburg Spain.

July–December

• July – The ship Anne arrives from England at "New Plymouth" (Plymouth Colony), carrying more settlers, followed a week or two later by the Little James.
• August 6
  • Papal Conclave of 1623: Pope Urban VIII (Maffeo Barberini) succeeds Pope Gregory XV as the 235th pope.
  • Thirty Years' War: Chased by the Count of Tilly's army, Christian of Brunswick's army attempts to flee to the Dutch Republic. Tilly's army catches Brunswick five miles from the border. In the resulting Battle of Stadtlohn, Christian's army is destroyed.
• September 10 – Murat IV (1623–1640) succeeds Mustafa I (1622–1623) as Ottoman Emperor.
• November 1 – Fire at Plymouth Colony destroys several buildings.
• Between November 8 and early November – Publication in London of the "First Folio" (Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies), a collection of 36 of the plays of Shakespeare, half of which have not previously been printed.

Date unknown

• The Safavids recapture Baghdad.
• England first colonizes Saint Kitts and Nevis.
• Wilhelm Schickard invents his "Calculating Clock", an early mechanical calculator.
• Zildjian begins the commercial manufacture of cymbals in Turkey. The company will still be operating, from Massachusetts, in the 21st century.
• 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 Rudbeckianska Gymnasiet, the first gymnasium in Sweden.
• The second Thanksgiving is celebrated at Plymouth Plantation.
• Erotomania is first mentioned in a psychiatric treatise.
• On the coast of Massachusetts Bay, the settlement that will become the City of Gloucester, Massachusetts is first inhabited by men from Dorchester, England.
• On the coast of New Hampshire, the settlement of Hilton's Point that will become Dover is established by men from London, England, the first European settlers in the state.

January–June

• January 14 – After 90 years of Ottoman occupation, the Safavid empire recaptures Baghdad.
• January 24 – Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa from Goa.
• April 29 - Louis XIII of France appoints Cardinal Richelieu chief minister of the Royal Council.
• May 8 – A Dutch fleet captures Bahia, Brazil from the Spanish.
• 24 May - After years of unprofitable operation, Virginia's charter is revoked and it becomes a royal colony.
• June – The first Dutch settlers arrive in New Netherland; they disembark at Governors Island.
• June 10 – Treaty of Compiègne, signed between France and the Netherlands

July–December

• July or August – Portuguese Jesuit priest António de Andrade becomes the first European to enter Tibet.
• August – The Siege of Breda begins, and will continue for 10 months.
• August 5–14 – The King's Men perform Thomas Middleton's satire A Game at Chess at the Globe Theatre, London, until it is suppressed in view of its allusions to the Spanish Match.
• August 13 – Cardinal Richelieu is appointed by Louis XIII of France to be his first minister following the arrest of his predecessor the previous day.
• Early October – Action of October 1624: A Tuscan/Papal/Neapolitan galley fleet defeats the Algerians near Sardinia.

Date unknown

• Martin Luther's German translation of the Bible is publicly burned by order of the Pope.
• The Netherlands establishes a trading colony at Tainan on Taiwan.
• The Virginia Land Company's charter is revoked and Virginia becomes a crown colony.
• The city of Oslo in Norway is destroyed by fire for the fourteenth time; King Christian IV of Denmark–Norway decrees its rebuilding on a new site where it will be renamed Christiania.
• Jakob Bartsch records the constellation Camelopardalis around the North Star.
• The Palace of Versailles is first built by Louis XIII, as a hunting lodge.
• The Japanese Shogun expels the Spanish from the land and severs trade with the Philippines.
• Mail service begins in Denmark.
• The University of Saint Francis Xavier is founded in Bolivia.
• 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.
• The city of Dunfermline is destroyed by fire, but The Abbey, The Palace, the Abbot House and many other buildings survive.
• Frans Hals produces the painting now known as the Laughing Cavalier.

January–June

• January 17 – Led by the Duke of Soubise, the Huguenots launch a second rebellion against king Louis XIII with a surprise naval assault on a French fleet being prepared in Blavet.
• February – Huguenot forces under the Duke of Soubise capture the Island of Ré.
• March 25 – Battle of Martqopi is Safavid defeat in Georgia.
• March 27 – Charles Stuart (Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland) succeeds James I of England.
• April 4 – Frederick Henry of Nassau marries Amalia, Countess von Solms-Braunfels.
• April 7 – Albrecht von Wallenstein is appointed German supreme commander.
• April 23 – Stadtholder Maurice of Nassau of the Dutch Republic dies and is succeeded by his younger brother, Frederick Henry.
• May 1 – A Portuguese-Spanish expedition recaptures Salvador, Bahia (Bahia) from the Dutch.
• May 15–May 16 – Rebellious farmers are hanged in Vocklamarkt, Upper Austria.
• June 2 – Prince Frederick Henry is sworn in as the stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland.
• June 5 – Eighty Years' War: Spanish troops under Ambrogio Spinola conquer Breda after a yearlong siege.
• June 13 – King Charles I of England marries Henrietta Maria, Princess of France and Navarre.
• 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.

July–December

• July – First attack from barbary pirates in south-western England.
• August 6 – Ernest Casimir of Nassau-Dietz is appointed as stadtholder of Groningen.
• August 16 – Ernest Casimir of Nassau-Dietz is appointed stadtholder of Drenthe.
• September 13 – A total of 16 rabbis (including Isaiah Horowitz) are imprisoned in Jerusalem.
• September 15 – After several skirmishes in the preceding days, troops under the Marquis of Toiras successfully recapture the island of Ré, forcing the Duke of Soubise to flee to England and ending the second Huguenot rebellion.
• September 24 – A Dutch fleet attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• October 8 – Admiral George Villiers' fleet sails from Plymouth, England to Cadiz.
• October 25 – A Dutch fleet attacks the Portuguese garrison at Elmina castle at present-day Elmina, Ghana, but is defeated with heavy casualties. This defeat, along with the defeats at Bahia and Puerto Rico caused a 5-year-long lull in Dutch attacks on Spanish and Portuguese colonies.
• November 1–November 7 – George Villiers' fleet is defeated at Cadiz by the Spanish.
• December 9 – Thirty Years' War: The Netherlands and England sign the Treaty of The Hague, a military peace treaty for providing economical aid to king Christian IV of Denmark during his military campaigns in Germany.

Date unknown

• William Oughtred invents the slide rule.
• 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.
• The capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo, is founded by King Andrianjaka.
• The First Savoine War is fought between the Republic of Genoa and the Duchy of Savoy.
• England: a very high tide occurs, described as being the highest ever known in the Thames, and the sea walls in Kent, Essex, and Lincolnshire are overthrown, and great desolation caused to the lands near the sea.
• The first members of the Society of Jesus move to Quebec, Canada.

January–June

• January 7 – Polish-Swedish War: Gustavus II Adolphus defeats a Polish army in the Battle of Wallhof, Latvia.
• January 9 – Peter Minuit sails from Texel Island for America's New Netherland colony, with 2 ships of Dutch emigrants.
• February 2 – King Charles I of England is crowned, but without his wife, Henrietta Maria, who declines to participate in a non-Catholic ceremony.
• February 5 – The Huguenot rebels and the French government sign the Treaty of Paris, ending the second Huguenot rebellion.
• February 11 – Emperor Susenyos of Ethiopia and Patriarch Afonso Mendes declare the primacy of the Roman See over the Ethiopian Church and Roman Catholicism the state religion of Ethiopia.
• April 25 – Thirty Years' War: Albrecht von Wallenstein defeats Ernst von Mansfelds army in the Battle of Dessau Bridge.
• May 4 – Peter Minuit becomes director-general of New Netherland for the Dutch West India Company.
• May 24 – Peter Minuit buys Manhattan from a Native American tribe (Lenape or Shinnecock) for trade goods, valued at 60 guilders ("$24").
• June 15 – King Charles I of England dissolves the English Parliament.

July–December

• July 30 – An earthquake strikes Naples, killing 10,000.
• August 1 – Eighty Years' War: Ernst Casimir of Nassau-Dietz retakes Oldenzaal, forcing Spain to withdraw from Overijssel.
• August 27 – Thirty Years' War: Tilly defeats king Christian IV of Denmark's army in the Battle of Lutter.
• September 30 – Nurhaci, chieftain of the Jurchens and founder of the Qing Dynasty dies and is succeeded by his son Hong Taiji.
• November 6 – (O.S.) The ship Arms of Amsterdam arrives in Europe from New Netherland (left September 23) with the news: "They have purchased the Island Manhattes [Manhattan] from the Indians for the value of 60 guilders." (from P. Schagen letter dated November 7).
• 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 forced out.
• December 20 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and Transylvanian monarch Bethlen Gabor sign the Peace of Pressburg.

Date unknown

• The 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.
• When Quebec was first established its settlers depended on supplies sent from France. However, Champlain wanted the settlement at Quebec to be able to survive on its own. In 1626, Champlain decided to build a farm to raise livestock, or animals to provide food for the people living in the habitation. Champlain described the construction of Cap tourmente (Kap toor-mont) farm in one of his journals.
• The beginning of the Würzburg witch trial, which led to the mass executions of hundreds of people until 1631.

July–December

• January – The Dutch ship 't Gulden Zeepaert, skippered by François Thijssen, makes the first recorded sighting of the coast of South Australia.
• February 17 – England lands the first European settlers on Barbados.
• March 3 – After the First Manchu invasion of Korea, the Joseon dynasty of Korea becomes a tributary state of the Manchus, but still pays respects to the Ming dynasty of China. After rejecting a Manchu alteration to the original diplomatic terms in 1636, the Manchus invade again in 1637.
• July 4–July 19 – Turkish Abductions: Barbary pirates raid Iceland.
• July 20–August 19 – Eighty Years' War: Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, lays siege to Grol, the last Spanish stronghold in the eastern Netherlands, and captures it after a 1-month siege.
• July 22 – The English, under the Duke of Buckingham, invade Ré Island in support of the Huguenots in La Rochelle. The invasion does not go well.
• July 27 – An earthquake destroys the cities of San Severo and Torremaggiore in southern Italy.
• September – The Siege of La Rochelle begins.
• November 20 – Thirty Years' War: Bogislaw XIV, Duke of Pomerania, signs the Capitulation of Franzburg, in which Pomerania is forced to pay for the Imperial army that Wallenstein sent to occupy it. Nonetheless, despite the treaty, Pomerania is devastated by the Imperial troops.
• November 21 – 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 has triggered the ongoing Thirty Years' War in 1618.
• November 28 – Polish-Swedish War: A Polish-Lithuanian fleet defeats a Swedish fleet in the Battle of Oliwa.

Date unknown

• Economic collapse of Habsburg Spain.
• The last recorded aurochs dies in the Jaktorów Forest of Poland.
• Rock blasting invented: black gunpowder is first used in mining, in a mineshaft under Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia.

January–June

• January 25 – Shah Jahan crowned as ruler of the Mughal Empire in Agra.
• March 1 – Writs issued in February by King Charles I required every county in England (not just seaport towns) to pay ship tax by this date.
• March 17 – Oliver Cromwell makes first appearance in the English Parliament as Member for Huntingdon.
• May–August 4 – Thirty Years' War: As a result of its refusal to accept the Capitulation of Franzburg, Stralsund is besieged by Wallenstein's imperial army.
• June 7 – King Charles I reconvenes the English Parliament and accepts the Petition of Right as a concession to gain his subsidies.

July–December

• August 4 – Thirty Years' War: With the help of Danish and Swedish reinforcements, Stralsund is able to resist Wallenstein's siege until the landing of a Danish army, led by Christian IV of Denmark, forces Wallenstein to raise the siege and move his army to confront the new threat.
• August 10 – The Swedish 64 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 2 – Thirty Years' War: Wallenstein defeats Christian IV of Denmark's army in the Battle of Wolgast.
• September 6 – Puritans settle Salem, which will later become part of Massachusetts Bay Colony.
• September 7–September 8 – Eighty Years' War: Dutch admiral Piet Hein captures 16 ships of the Spanish treasure fleet in the Battle in the Bay of Matanzas. The immense booty taken brings in over 11 million guilders, part of which is used to fund the entire army of the Dutch Republic for 8 months long.
• October 22 – Abaza Mehmet Pasha surrenders to Ottoman forces, ending the Abaza rebellion.
• October 28 – The Siege of La Rochelle ends with the surrender of the Huguenots.

Date unknown

• William Harvey publishes Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus in Frankfurt, containing his findings about blood circulation.
• Publication of Sir Edward Coke's Institutes of the Lawes of England begins with A Commentary upon Littleton. This will remain an influential legal text on both sides of the Atlantic for three centuries.
• The Collegiate School, today the oldest educational institution in North America, is established.
• The War of the Mantuan Succession breaks out over Mantua and Montferrat. The war is fought between the Duke of Savoy, who is supported by Spain, and the Duke of Nevers, who is supported by France.

January–June

• February 11–June 19 – Around 350 English Puritans on six ships, led by Francis Higginson in the Lyon's Whelp, sail from Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to Salem to settle in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in America as part of the Puritan migration to New England (1620–1640).
• March 4 – Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal Charter, and the county is the first to be created in the United States. The area covers almost all of the present-day state.
• March 6 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor issues the Edict of Restitution, ordering all Catholic properties lost to Protestantism since 1552 are to be restored. The Edict further provides that Catholics and Lutherans (but not Calvinists, Hussites or members of other sects) are to be allowed to practice their faith.
• March 10 – Charles I of England dissolves Parliament, starting the Eleven Years' Tyranny in which there is no parliament.
• April 30 – Eighty Years' War: Frederick Henry of Orange lays siege to 's-Hertogenbosch, one of Spain's most important fortresses along the Spanish-Dutch border.
• May 14–May 28 – Huguenot rebellions: After a 15-day siege, Louis XIII captures Privas.
• May 22 – Thirty Years' War: Christian IV of Denmark and Wallenstein sign the Treaty of Lübeck, ending Denmark's involvement in the Thirty Years' War.
• May 29 – Thirty Years' War: Prince Frederick of Denmark, the Lutheran administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Verden, is expelled by the Catholic League as a result of the Edict of Restitution. He is replaced by the staunch catholic Francis of Wartenberg.
• June 4 – Dutch East India Company ship Batavia is wrecked on a reef near Beacon Island off Western Australia on her maiden voyage to the Indies. Following mutiny among the survivors, two exiled murderers become the first Europeans to settle in Australia. Their subsequent fate is unknown.
• June 7 – The Dutch States-General ratifies the Dutch West India Company's Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, making it more attractive to invest in the colony of New Netherland in North America.
• June 17 – Huguenot rebellions: Alès surrenders after an intense siege. As a result, the leader of the Huguenot Rebellions, the Duke of Rohan, surrenders.
• June 17 – Anglo-Spanish War (1625): A Spanish expedition led by Fadrique de Toledo wipes out the English colony on Nevis.
• June 28 – Huguenot rebellions: Louis XIII, King of France, signs in his camp at Lédignan the Peace of Alès, ending the Huguenot rebellions. The Huguenots are allowed religious freedom, but lose their political, territorial and military rights.

July–December

• August 19 – Eighty Years' War: The Spanish garrison of Wesel is surprised by a small Dutch army, and the city is taken by the Dutch Republic. As Wesel functioned as principal supply base of Hendrik van den Bergh's army, the loss of supply forces him to retreat to the Spanish Netherlands, leaving him unable to intervene in the ongoing siege of 's-Hertogenbosch.
• August 21 – Huguenot rebellions: Montauban, one of the last Huguenot strongholds, surrenders without a fight to Richelieu's troops.
• August 29 – As a result of the Cambridge Agreement, the Massachusetts Bay Colony becomes a self-governing entity.
• September 7 – Anglo-Spanish War (1625): A Spanish expedition led by Fadrique de Toledo wipes out the English colony on St. Kitts.
• September 14 – Eighty Years' War: After a 5 month long siege, 's-Hertogenbosch surrenders to Frederick Henry. As a result of the capture of this key fortress, Spain's situation along the Spanish-Dutch border worsens greatly.
• September 25 – Polish–Swedish War (1625–1629): Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth sign the Truce of Altmark, ending the war in highly favourable terms for Sweden.
• October – Italian Plague of 1629-1631: the plague arrives in Milan.
• November 8 – Emperor Go-Mizunoo of Japan abdicates the throne in favour of his daughter, who becomes Empress Meishō.

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 rule of Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba ends.
• Actresses are banned in Japan.
• William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling briefly establishes a Scottish colony at Port Royal, Nova Scotia.

Significant people

• 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
• Manuel de Almeida of Portugal (1580–1646), Jesuit Missionary and ambassador to the Emperor of Ethiopia
• Emilio Bonaventura Altieri of Rome (1590–1676), Catholic bishop and future Pope
• 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
• Sir Thomas Aylesbury, 1st Baronet of England (1576–1657), Baronet and Surveyor of the English Royal Navy
• 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 general
• Pierre de Bérulle of France (1575–1629), Cardinal and diplomat
• Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully of France (1560–1641), Favourite 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
• Juan Pablo Bonet of Spain (c.1573-1633), Catholic priest and inventor of the Sign Language alphabet
• 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, 1st Baronet of England (1595–1671), 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
• 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
• Date Masamune of Japan (1567–1636), Daiymo of Sendai
• 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
• Kenelm Digby of England (1603–1665), courtier, diplomat, privateer, and philosopher
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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 statesman
• 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
• John Hampden of England (1595–1643), Member of Parliament and future Parliamentarian commander 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
• 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
• Johannes Junius of Bamberg (1573–1628), Mayor of Bamberg and Bamberg witch trial suspect and victim
• Madam Ke of China (?–1627), adviser to the Tianqi Emperor
• 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
• Christopher Levett of England (1586–1630), explorer and naval captain
• Johann Liss (1590?-1629), German painter
• Jerónimo Lobo of Portugal (1593–1678), Jesuit missionary
• 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 and main commander of the Chinese army following the death of Yuan Chonghuan
• 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
• Afonso Mendes, 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
• 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
• Kiliaen van Rensselaer of the Netherlands (1596?–1642), merchant, member of the Dutch West India Company, and Patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck
• 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
• Johann Schein (1586–1630), German composer
• 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
• Shahaji of Bijapur (1594–1664), Bijapurtan army chieftain
• 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
• 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
• Hendrick ter Brugghen of the Netherlands (1588–1629), painter
• 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 investor
• 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

In fiction

• 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."
• 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.
• The Doctor Who audio drama The Church and the Crown takes place during the year 1626.