A 17th Century Mill in Castelnaudary, France Photo courtesy Max Pixel As of today, Journeys of Life contains year files for four whole centuries. That is, the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Those plus some of this 21st century we now live in span the years 1601 and 2021. The year files aim to give you a quick look at any of these years with some background information and the most notable persons born at that time. Continue reading

In the year 1601, Valladolid becomes the capital of the Hispanic Monarchy until Madrid takes over in 1606 (Jan 11), William Shakespeare’s Hamlet has possibly its first performance (spring), Jesuit Matteo Ricci becomes the first European to enter the Forbidden City in Beijing, invited by the Ming Dynasty Emperor, a rainy summer causing a bad harvest leads to severe famine in Russia and the Baltic Sea countries - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

One of the many statues of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616). Picture credit Yanajin33 In the year 1603, French explorer Samuel de Champlain sails to Canada (Mar), Queen Elizabeth I dies, having ruled since 1558, and Tokugawa Ieyasu is granted the title of _shōgun, _establishing the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo – thus the 265-year-long Edo period begins (Mar 24), James I is crowned as King of England with limited ceremonies due to plague (Jul 25), Acadia, the French colony in North America, is founded - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

[caption id=“attachment_3118” align=“alignleft” width=“379”]The four Galilean moons compared to Earth and its moon[/caption] In the year 1610, Galileo Galilei first observes the four Galilean moons of Jupiter: Ganymede, Callisto, Europa and Io (Jan 7), Polish troops occupy Moscow (Jul 4), Henry Hudson sails into what is now known as Hudson Bay, believing it was the Pacific Ocean (Aug 2), the Tuscans fight the Turks (Oct 10), the Orion Nebula is discovered, first shipments of tea to Europe by the Dutch East India Company are made around this time - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Osaka Castle (1597), one of Japan’s most famous landmarks In the year 1614, Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe in Jamestown, Virginia (Apr 5), hostilities resulting from an attempt by Toyotomi Hideyori to restore Osaka Castle begin, outraging Tokugawa Ieyasu (Nov 19), the Siege of Osaka begins (Dec 4), Christianity is banned throughout Japan (1614), the Rosicrucian Order is instituted in the Holy Roman Empire - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

[caption id=“attachment_3123” align=“alignright” width=“357”]A merry-go-round at the London Zoo (photo by Elliott Brown)[/caption] In the year 1620, the first merry-go-round is seen at a fair in Philippapolis, Turkey (May 17), the oldest stone church in French North America is begun in Quebec (Jun 3), Johannes Kepler’s mother is arrested for witchcraft (Aug 7), Mayflower departs from Plymouth, England (Sep 16) and arrives with the pilgrims and planters at Cape Cod in Massachusetts (Nov 21), a severe frost freezes the Thames in London, the modern violin is developed, witch hunts begin in Scotland - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1622, in the Gregorian calendar, January 1 is declared as the first day of the year, instead of March 25 (Jan 1), Jamestown massacre in Virginia begins the_ American Indian Wars_ (Mar 22), Portuguese forces successfully defend Macau from the Dutch fleet, keeping a Portuguese foothold in the Far East (Jun 24), Armand Jean du Plessis becomes Cardinal Richelieu (Sep 5), the first Huguenot rebellion ends (Oct 18) – and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

The official flag of New York City. The seal depicts Dexter, a sailor representing the first European settlers, and Sinister, a native Manhatten indian. The shield has sails of a windmill, and flour barrels representing industry, and beavers, taken from the seal of New Netherland. Picture credit Dave Fletcher In the year 1625, Charles Stuart succeeds to the throne on the death of his father, King James I of England (Mar 27), the Dutch settle in Manhattan, founding the town of New Amsterdam, an English colony is established in Barbados, Johann Rudolf Glauber discovers sodium sulfate in Austrian spring water – and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Comparison of the antiquated view and the outcome of Galileo’s experiment In the year 1602, the Dutch East India Company is established with the intention of capturing the spice trade from the Portuguese (Mar 20), the alliance of Persia and Spain declare war on the Ottoman Empire, the Portuguese are expelled from Bahrain, Galileo begins his study of falling bodies around this time - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1630, native American Quadequine of the Wampanoag tribe introduces popcorn to English colonists (Feb 22), Swedish warships depart from Stockholm for Central Europe (Jun 6), and a month later make landfall at Peenemünde in Pomerania (Jul 6), the Treaty of Stettin is signed; Sweden gets full military control over Pomerania (Sep 4), the city of Boston, Massachusetts, is founded (Sep 7), the Deccan Famine begins in India, and it will kill 2 million people during the next two years - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Earth seen from the surface of the Moon In the year 1634, Belgian scientist Jan Baptist van Helmont is interrogated by the Spanish Inquisition and put on house arrest for his experiments into plant growth (Mar), Leonard Calvert arrives in Maryland, establishing St. Mary’s and an institution of higher learning which later becomes Georgetown University (May 25), Curaçao is captured by the Dutch, Johannes Kepler’s Somnium - fictional account of the view from the moon - is published posthumously by his son - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Picture credit Amazon In the year 1605, the first part of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote is published in Madrid, and becomes a global bestseller almost at once (Jan 16), a proclamation declares all people of Ireland to be the direct subjects of the British Crown (Mar 11), Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien, generally recognised as the world’s first newspaper, is published in Strasbourg for the first time (Oct) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1636, King Christian of Denmark gives an order that all beggars able to work must be sent to build ships or to work as galley rowers (Mar 5), the Massachusetts Bay Colony organises militia to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians, later recognized as the founding of the United States National Guard (Dec 23), the shōgun forbids Japanese to travel abroad, and those abroad from returning home, Rhode Island is founded, the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) goes on - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Cape Horn Monument in Chile (1992), paying homage to sailors who perished attempting to round Cape Horn. Picture credit Jens Bludau In the year 1616, English diplomat Sir Thomas Roe presents his credentials to the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, opening the door to the British presence in India (Jan 10), Dutch captain Willem Schouten rounds the southern tip of South America and names it Kaap Hoorn (Jan 29), William Shakespeare dies (Apr 23), Pocahontas arrives in England with her family and the colonial governor of Virginia, never to see home again (Jun 12), the Tokugawa shogunate forbids foreigners other than Chinese from traveling and trading freely in Japan (Aug 8), the Blue Mosque in Istanbul is completed, Dutch traders smuggle the coffee plant out of Mocha - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1631, the Reval Gymnasium is founded in Estonia by the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf (Feb 16), John Winthrop becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts (May 18), William Claiborne sails from England to establish the first English settlement in Maryland (May 28), the first French newspaper, La Gazette, is founded (May 30), the death in childbirth of Mumtaz Mahal causes her husband Shah Jahan to commission the Taj Mahal at Agra, as a mausoleum for her (Jun 17), for the first time in several centuries, Mount Vesuvius at Pompeii erupts (Dec 16) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1606, Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon makes the first confirmed sighting of Australia by a European (Feb 26), the first version of the Union Flag is created, to be worn as a national flag by English and Scottish ships (Apr 12), the trial in the gravedigging scandal of Frankenstein begins (the details of which may have inspired the Frankenstein story (Sep 20), Charles IX of Sweden founds the city of Vaasa on the west coast of Finland (Oct 2) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1639, the first printing press in British North America is started in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by Stephen Daye (Jan), Harvard University is named for clergyman John Harvard (Mar 13), Swedish forces defeat the army of the Holy Roman Empire in Chemnitz, allowing them to advance into Bohemia (Apr 14), Jeremiah Horrocks makes the first successful prediction and observation of a transit of Venus (Dec 4), Sakoku, the isolationist foreign policy of Japan, comes fully into effect - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

A slightly more modern coffeehouse in Venice In the year 1640, John Punch becomes the first official slave in the English colonies as he is sentenced to life in servitude (Jul 9), the first Finnish University opens in Turku/Åbo (Jul 15), 41 Spanish delegates to Japan are beheaded in Nagasaki (Aug 9), the first book to be printed in North America - the Bay Psalm Book - is published, the first known European coffeehouse opens in Venice - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1642, Ville-Marie (the future Montreal) is founded as a permanent settlement (May 17), Abel Tasman discovers the island Van Diemen’s Land, later renamed Tasmania (Nov 24), (), Rembrandt finishes his painting, The Night Watch, some 300,000 people die when the Chinese army breaks the dams of the Yellow River in order to break a siege by rebels, the First English Civil War goes on – and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

A modern barometer. Picture credit Sally Hunter In the year 1643, a couple of months after sighting Tasmania, Abel Tasman sights Tonga (Jan 21) and then the Fiji Islands (Feb 6), Louis XIV becomes King of France, ruling 72 years, the longest reign of any European monarch in recorded history (May 14), the failed Dutch expedition to Chilean Valdivia - the last one undertaken by the Dutch on the west coast of the Americas - arrives back at Recife in Dutch Brazil (Dec 28), Evangelista Torricelli invents the mercury barometer - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading