The first legal divorce of the American colonies was granted to Anne Clarke.
The first European explorer discovered New Zealand.
Abel Tasman became the first European to discover Tasmania and named it Van Diemen's Land.
The first major battle of the First English Civil War began near Edge Hill, Warwickshire.
The Long Parliament ordered all theaters to close in London, including The Globe Theatre, which was once partly owned by William Shakespeare.
King Charles I and the Queen fled from London to Oxford, Hampton Court.
King Charles I attacked the House of Commons.
Astronomers Jeremiah Horrocks and William Crabtree recorded the first known observation of a transit of Venus across the sun.
The Richard Fairbanks Tavern and Post Office in Massachusetts became the first American colonial post office.
The first printing press was set up in New England, US.
American colonies recorded their first astronomical event after observing a lunar eclipse.
The Great Colonial Hurricane hit the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Jamestown Settlement in New England, USA.
The Catholic Church forces Galileo Galilei to renounce his heliocentric world view.
Cardinal Bellarmine condemned Galileo for stating that the earth revolved around the sun.
Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome for his trial before the Roman Inquisition.
The Holy Roman Empire appointed a new supreme military commander, Albrecht von Wallenstein.
Using Johannes Kepler's predictions, French scientist Pierre Gassendi became the first person to witness Mercury's transit between the Earth and the Sun.
Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan I decided to begin construction of the Taj Mahal.
Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, arrived from England in the Massachusetts Bay Colony to become a minister in a Boston church.
The village of Shawmut in Massachusetts adopted the name Boston.
Boston, Massachusetts, was founded by Governor Winthrop.
Charles I dissolved the Parliament of England, which was the start of the eleven-year period known as the Personal Rule.
The Spanish government became bankrupt.
St. Peter's Basilica in The Vatican City was consecrated, becoming the world's largest Christian basilica.
English parliament was dissolved by King James I of England after a disagreement about his son Charles marrying Princess Maria of Spain.
Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Colony forbade game playing on Christmas.
The Dutch Republic granted a charter for New Netherlands to the Dutch West India Company.
Samoset became the first Native American to make contact with the Plymouth colony.
Thirty Native Americans attacked Myles Standish and a group of eighteen settlers. This became known as the 'First Encounter.'
English military officer Myles Standish lead 16 men to explore Cape Cod.
The Mayflower, filled with Puritan Pilgrims, spotted land at Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
The first merry-go-round debuted at a fair in Philippopolis, Turkey.
Spanish Catholic priest Joseph Calasanz started the first public and free school in Europe.
English poet William Shakespeare died at the age of 52.
Nicolaus Copernicus' revolutionary book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium is banned by the Catholic Church.
The Roman Inquisition ordered Galileo not to teach or defend his theory that Earth and other planets revolve around the sun.
American Indian princess Pocahontas married English tobacco planter, John Rolfe.
A fire destroyed Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London.
The Pendle witch trials begin.
William Shakespeare had his first known performance of 'The Tempest.'
English navigator Henry Hudson, his teenage son, and seven supporters set adrift aboard a tiny boat on the Hudson Bay.
The first official performance of Macbeth by Shakespeare took place at the Globe Theatre in London, England.
Dutch astronomer Johannes Fabricius discovered sunspots.
English sea explorer Henry Hudson reached the Hudson Bay, which was named after him.
Galileo Galilei discovered Callisto, the fourth moon of Jupiter.
Galileo discovered the first three satellites of Jupiter.
Henry Hudson began a journey up the river that would later be named after him – the Hudson River.
British explorer Henry Hudson discovered Delaware Bay.
Astronomer Galileo demonstrated one of his earlier telescopes to Venetian lawmakers.
Shakespeare's Sonnets were first published in London.
