1685
*
February 6 -
James Stuart,
Duke of York becomes King
James II of England and
Ireland and King
James VII of Scotland.
*
February 18 -
Fort St. Louis is established by a
Frenchman at
Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for
France's claim to
Texas.
*
June 20 -
Monmouth Rebellion:
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of King
Charles II of England,
Scotland and
Ireland declares himself King and heir to his father's Kingdoms as
James II of
England and
Ireland and
James VII of
Scotland, after already forming his own army and campaigning against his uncle.
*
July 6 -
Monmouth Rebellion: The
Battle of Sedgemoor between the armies of King
James II of
England and rebel forces under
Monmouth.
Monmouth's army is defeated and the
Duke himself is captured shortly after the battle.
*
July 15 - The
Duke of Monmouth is executed at
Tower Hill, London.
*
October 18-
19 -
Louis XIV declares the
Edict of Fontainebleau, which revokes the
Edict of Nantes and declares
Protestantism illegal.
Unknown dates
*
Adam Baldrigde founds a pirate base in
St Mary Island in the
Madagascar.
*
January 7 -
Jonas Alströmer, Swedish industrialist (d.
1761)
*
January 9 -
Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist (d.
1766)
*
February 8 -
Charles-Jean-François Hénault, French historian (d.
1770)
*
February 10 -
Aaron Hill, English writer (d.
1750)
*
February 23 -
George Frideric Handel, German composer (d.
1759)
*
March 12 -
George Berkeley, English philosopher (d.
1753)
*
March 18 -
Ralph Erskine, Scottish minister (d.
1752)
*
March 21 -
Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer (d.
1750)
*
June 30 -
John Gay, English writer (d.
1732)
*
July 3 -
Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, British cavalry officer (d.
1768)
*
August 18 -
Brook Taylor, English mathematician (d.
1731)
*
October 1 -
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (d.
1740)
*
October 26 -
Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer (d.
1757)
*
November 17 -
Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye, French-Canadian trader and explorer (d.
1749)
*
December 17 -
Thomas Tickell, English writer (d.
1740)
*
January 2 -
Harbottle Grimston, English politician (b.
1603)
*
February 6 -
King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland (b.
1630)
*
February 11 -
David Teniers III, Flemish painter (b.
1638)
*
February 24 -
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle, English politician and military leader (b.
1629)
*
March 22 -
Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (b.
1638)
*
May 26 -
Karl II, Elector Palatine (b.
1651)
*
July 15 -
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of
Charles II of England (beheaded) (b.
1649)
*
July 28 -
Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, English statesman (b.
1618)
*
September 1 -
Leoline Jenkins, Welsh lawyer and diplomat (b
1625)
*
October 12 -
Christoph Ignaz Abele, Austrian jurist (b.
1628)
*
October 30 -
Michel le Tellier, French statesman (b.
1603)
*
December 12 -
John Pell, English mathematician (b.
1610)
