1626 - Definition and Overview

Events

• September 30 - Nurhaci , chieftain of the Jurchens and founder of the Qing Dynasty dies and is succeeded by his son Hong Taiji.
• Spanish establish a trading colony on Taiwan.
• Peter Minuit, director of the New Netherland colony, begins a policy of "purchasing" Manhattan from the Lenape.
• Work begins on building the sailing ship HMS Wasa.
• The Duchy of Urbino is incorporated into the Papal States.
• The English Parliament impeach George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, favorite of Charles I of England.
• Charles I dissolves Parliament.
• The Dutch settle Manhattan, founding the town of New Amsterdam. The town would transform into a piece of what is now New York City.

Births

• February 18/19 - Francesco Redi, physician, refuted abiogenesis (d. 1697)
• October 4 - Richard Cromwell, later Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
• December 18 - Princess Christina Alexandra Vasa, later Queen Christina of Sweden.

Deaths

• February 20 - John Dowland, composer and lutenist
• April 9 - Francis Bacon, English scientist and statesman
• September 30 - Nurhaci, chieftain of the Jurchens and founder of the Qing Dynasty