January–June

• January 1 – Jean Racine's tragedy Phèdre is first performed, in Paris.
• January 21 – The first medical publication in America (a pamphlet on smallpox) is produced in Boston.
• February – The first arrest is made in the case that will develop into the "Affair of the Poisons" in France.
• March 17 – Franco-Dutch War: Siege of Valenciennes (1676–77) in the Spanish Netherlands ends with surrender of the town to the French.
• April 6 – Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor visits the University of Innsbruck.
• April 11 – Franco-Dutch War: Battle of Cassel – A French force under Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, defeats a combined Dutch-Spanish force under William of Orange in French Flanders.
• April 16 – The Statute of Frauds is passed into English law.
• May 29 – The Treaty of Middle Plantation establishes peace between the Virginia colonists and the local Indians.
• May 31 – Scanian War: Battle of Møn – Danish ships clash with a Swedish fleet under Niels Juel, between Fehmarn and Warnemünde; the Danish defeat the Swedish and capture a number of ships.
• June 25–26 – Scanian War: Siege of Malmö – Danish attackers fail to take the town from the Swedish.

July–December

• July 14 – Sweden defeats the Danes in the Battle of Landskrona.
• August – The French guild of the Maitresses bouquetieres is founded in Paris.
• October 29 – Michel le Tellier becomes Chancellor of France.
• November 4 – The future Mary II of England marries William of Orange.
• November 16 – French troops occupy Freiburg.

Date unknown

• The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith is written (published in 1689).
• Spinoza's Ethics (Ethica, ordine geometrico demonstrata) is published as part of his Opera Posthuma in Amsterdam.
• Elias Ashmole gifts the collection that begins the Ashmolean Museum to the University of Oxford in England.
• Charles II of England makes Henry Purcell his court musician.
• Jules Hardouin Mansart begins la place Vendôme in Paris (it is completed in 1698).
• Francis Aungier, 3rd Baron Aungier of Longford, is created 1st Earl of Longford in the Peerage of Ireland.
• The John Roan School is established in Greenwich, London.
• Belgian missionary Louis Hennepin observes and describes the Niagara Falls, thus bringing them to the attention of Europeans.
• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz gives a complete solution to the tangent problem.^[1]
• Antonie van Leeuwenhoek observes spermatozoa under the microscope.
• The use of male impotence is ended as a factor in French divorce proceedings.
• Ice cream becomes popular in Paris.^[2]
• The population of Paris first exceeds 500,000.

Births

• February 3 – Jan Santini Aichel, Czech architect (d. 1723)
• February 4 – Johann Ludwig Bach, German composer (d. 1731)
• February 8 – Jacques Cassini, French astronomer (d. 1756)
• May 4 – Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, youngest daughter of Louis XIV (d. 1749)
• August 27 – Otto Ferdinand von Abensperg und Traun, Austrian field marshal (d. 1748)
• September 17 – Stephen Hales, English physiologist, chemist, and inventor (d. 1761)
• October 20 – Stanisław Leszczyński, King of Poland (d. 1766)
• date unknown
  • William Dummer, acting Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (d. 1761)
  • Li Ching-Yuen, Chinese herbalist, martial artist and tactical advisor (d.1933) (claimed)

Deaths

• January 8 – Sir John Fowell, 2nd Baronet, English politician (b. 1623)
• January 18 – Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch founder of Cape Town (b. 1619)
• January 31 – Frederick VI, Margrave of Baden-Durlach (b. 1617)
• February 9 – George Horner, English politician (b. 1605)
• February 21 – Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher (b. 1632)
• March 18 – Marie Luise von Degenfeld, morganatic second wife of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine of Germany (b. 1634)
• March 28 – Václav Hollar, Czech-born actor (b. 1607)
• April 22 – Václav Eusebius František, Prince of Lobkowicz, Austrian field marshal and prince (b. 1609)
• May 4 – Isaac Barrow, English mathematician (b. 1630)
• May 20 – George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol, English statesman (b. 1612)
• May 22 – William, Margrave of Baden-Baden (b. 1593)
• May 23 – John, Count of Nassau-Idstein (1629–1677) (b. 1603)
• May 24 – Anders Bording, Danish writer (b. 1619)
• June 11 – Jacques Esprit, French writer (b. 1611)
• June 23 – Wilhelm Ludwig, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1647)
• June 18 – Johann Franck, German poet and hymnist (b. 1618)
• July 30 – Fabian von Fersen, Swedish soldier (b. 1626)
• July 11 – Timothy Turner, English judge, actor (b. 1585)
• July 27 – Johannes Loccenius, German historian (b. 1598)
• August
  • Matthew Locke (composer), English composer (b. 1621)
  • Joseph Pardo, English-Jewish hazzan (b. c. 1624)
• August 1 – George Christian, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (1669–1671) (b. 1626)
• August 20 – Pierre Petit, French astronomer, military engineer, and physicist (b. 1594)
• August 28 – Wallerant Vaillant, painter of the Dutch Golden Age (b. 1623)
• September 11 – James Harrington, English political philosopher (b. 1611)
• September 12
  • Tønne Huitfeldt, Norwegian landowner and military officer (b. 1625)
  • Camillo Massimo, Italian cardinal, patron of the arts (b. 1620)
• October 9 – Gustav Adolph, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken and general sergeant of the Holy Roman Empire at the Rhine (b. 1632)
• October 14 – Józef Bartłomiej Zimorowic, Polish poet (b. 1597)
• November 2 – Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester, English politician (b. 1595)
• November 9 – Aernout van der Neer, Dutch painter (b. 1603)
• November 11
  • Johann Weikhard of Auersperg, Austrian prime minister (b. 1615)
  • Barbara Strozzi, Italian singer and composer (d. 1619)
• November 14 – Matthias Abele, Austrian jurist, mine official (b. 1618)
• December 13 – Thomas Howard, 5th Duke of Norfolk, English noble (b. 1627)
• December 14 – Christian Albert, Burgrave and Count of Dohna, German nobleman and general in the army of Brandenburg (b. 1621)
• December 26 – Bernhard Gustav of Baden-Durlach, Swedish general, Prince-Abbot and cardinal (b. 1631)
• date unknown – Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1598)

References