1666 in England

Events from the year 1666 in England.

Incumbents

*Monarch - Charles II of England

Events

* 1 February - Royal court returns to London after the Great Plague of London.cite book |last=Palmer |first=Alan & Veronica |year=1992 |title= The Chronology of British History|publisher= Century Ltd|location=London|pages= 190-191|isbn= 0-7126-5616-2]
* 1 June–4 June Second Anglo-Dutch War : Inconclusive Four Days Battle, one of the longest naval engagements in history.
* 25 July - Second Anglo-Dutch War: English fleet beats Dutch under Michiel de Ruyter at St. James's Day Battle.
* 2 September - Great Fire of London:cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-141-02715-0|year=2006] A large fire breaks out in London in the house of Charles II's baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge. The fire burns for three days destroying 10,000 buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral, but only 16 people are known to have died.
* 5 September - Great Fire of London ends. Destruction of overcrowded houses ends Great Plague of London.

Undated

* Isaac Newton develops differential calculus.
* Newton uses a prism to split sunlight into its component colours, which led to a greater understanding of the nature of light. (See optical spectrum).

Publications

* Thomas Hobbes' work "De principiis et ratiocinatione geometrarum".

Births

* 13 August - William Wotton, scholar (died 1727)
* December - Stephen Gray (died 1736)
* Mary Astell, writer (died 1731)
* Josiah Burchett, Secretary of the Admiralty (died 1746)
* John Harris, writer and encyclopaedist (died 1719)
* John Quelch, English pirate (died 1704)

Deaths

* 16 January - Dudley North, 3rd Baron North, nobleman (born 1581)
* 24 February - Nicholas Lanier, composer (born 1588)
* 30 June - Alexander Brome, poet (born 1620)
* 10 July - John Fell, churchman (born 1625)
* 25 July - Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey, noble (born 1608)
* 29 October
** Edmund Calamy the Elder, Presbyterian leader (born 1600)
** James Shirley, dramatist (born 1596)
* Sir William Clarke, politician
* Sir Richard Fanshawe, diplomat and translator (born 1608)
* John Holles, 2nd Earl of Clare, noble (born 1595)
* James Howell, writer (born 1594)
* Christopher Myngs, admiral and pirate (born 1625)

References

ee also