- Jan 10 King Charles I and family flee London for Hampton Court fearing for their lives, not to return for 7 years
- Mar 1 Georgeana (York) in Maine becomes the 1st incorporated American city
- Mar 9 English Queen Henriette Maria arrives in Hellevoetsluis, Netherlands
- Mar 27 The sixth Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Joseph takes office.
Montreal Founded
May 18 Ville-Marie (later Montreal), Canada, founded by the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal led by Paul de Chomedey
Mars' South Polar Cap
Aug 13 Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovers Mars' southern polar cap
London Theatre Closure
Sep 2 English Long Parliament issues Ordinance ordering closure of London theatres including the Globe theatre, once part-owned by William Shakespeare
- Sep 19 Perpignan surrenders to French troops
- Sep 23 Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1st commencement
- Oct 23 Battle of Edgehill (Warwickshire): King Charles I beat English parliamentarian forces
- Nov 2 Second Battle of Breitenfeld, aka First Battle of Leipzig; victory for the Swedish army under Field Marshal Lennart Torstenson over Holy Roman Empire army under Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria
- Nov 13 Battle at Turnham Green outside London: King Charles I vs English parliament
Van Diemen's Land
Nov 24 Dutch explorer Abel Tasman is the first European to discover Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania)
- Dec 13 Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sights the South Island of present day New Zealand; initially he calls it Staten Landt and changes it a year later to Nieuw Zeeland [1]
- Dec 18 Abel Tasman's expedition is the first European voyage to reach New Zealand sailing into Wharewharangi Bay at the top of the South Island, making the first confirmed contact with Maori [1]
- Dec 19 4 of Abel Tasman's crew killed at Wharewharangi (Murderers) Bay by Māori; Tasman's ships depart without landing
- Dec 22 Pope Urbanus VIII publishes decree In eminente
Admirals
Aviators
Gangsters
Generals
Industrialists
Suffragists