1620s
The 1620s decade ran from January 1, 1620, to December 31, 1629.
Significant people
- Antonio Maria Abbatini of Rome, composer
- George Abbot of England, Archbishop of Canterbury, held position 1611–1633
- Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, conde de Gondomar of Spain, Spanish ambassador to England-Wales
- Thomas Adams of England, publisher
- Niccolò Alamanni of Rome, Catholic priest, antiquarian, and custodian of the Vatican Library
- Albert VII, Archduke of Austria and governor and Co-sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands with Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, held position 1598–1621
- William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling of Scotland, Scottish colonial organizer of Nova Scotia and Secretary for Scotland
- Alexander of Imereti, Imeretian Prince and future King of Imereti
- Manuel de Almeida of Portugal, Jesuit Missionary and ambassador to the Emperor of Ethiopia
- Emilio Bonaventura Altieri of Rome, Catholic bishop and future Pope
- Giambattista Andreini of Tuscany, actor and playwright
- Giovanni Andrea Ansaldo of Genoa, painter
- Sir Samuel Argall, former deputy governor of Virginia and current naval officer in the English navy
- Abdul Hasan Asaf-Khan of Persia, Grand Vizer of the Mughal Empire, in office c.1611–1632
- Sir Thomas Aylesbury, 1st Baronet of England, Baronet and Surveyor of the English Royal Navy
- Francis Bacon of England, philosopher, jurist, scientist, writer, and politician; specifically Member of Parliament, Attorney General for England and Wales, and Lord Chancellor
- Nathaniel Bacon of England, painter
- William Baffin of England, navigator and explorer
- Francesco Barberini, seniore of Florence, Cardinal and diplomat
- Jakob Bartsch of Lusatia, astronomer
- François de Bassompierre of France, courtier and Marshal of France
- Robert Bellarmine, Italian Jesuit and Cardinal
- Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, nobleman and general
- Pierre de Bérulle of France, Cardinal and diplomat
- Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully of France, Favourite and minister under Henry IV and Louis XIII
- Andries Bicker of the Netherlands, administrator of the Dutch East India Company, Mayor of Amsterdam, and diplomat
- Willem Blaeu of the Netherlands, cartographer and publisher
- Abraham Bloemaert of the Netherlands, painter and printmaker
- Jakob Böhme of Görlitz, Christian mystic
- Juan Pablo Bonet of Spain, Catholic priest and inventor of the sign language alphabet
- François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières of France, Constable of France
- Sidonia von Borcke of Pomerania, noblewoman and Witch-hunt victim
- Federico Borromeo of Milan, Cardinal and Archbishop of Milan
- Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, Anglo-Irish politician
- William Bradford, Prominent Leader and Governor of the Plymouth colony, in office 1621–1633, 1635–1636, 1637–1638, 1639–1644, 1645–1657
- Jean de Brébeuf of France, Jesuit missionary
- William Brewster, Puritan preacher and Plymouth leader
- Henry Briggs of England, mathematician
- Étienne Brûlé of France, explorer
- John Bull of England, composer and musician
- Karel Bonaventura Buquoy of France, general in the service of the Holy Roman Empire
- Robert Burton of England, scholar
- Estêvão Cacella of Portugal, Jesuit missionary
- Pedro Calderón de la Barca of Spain, playwright and poet
- George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore of England, nobleman, Member of Parliament, Secretary of State, and English colonizer of the North America
- William Camden of England, historian and topographer
- Tommaso Campanella, Italian philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet
- John Carver, Leader and First Governor of the Plymouth Colony, in office 1620–1621
- Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland of England, military officer, colonizer, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
- Ernst Casimir of the Netherlands, nobleman and military commander
- Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil of Ireland, Catholic theologian and Archbishop of Armagh
- Samuel de Champlain, French explorer, administrator of New France, and founder of Quebec City
- Charles I of Gonzaga-Nevers, Duke of Nevers and Mantua
- Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy, Duke of Savoy and Papal backed candidate to the throne of the Duchy of Mantua
- Ivan Cherkassky of Russia, boyar and head of the Treasury, Streletsky Prikaz and Aptekarsky Prikaz, in office 1621–1622, 1622–23
- Jan Karol Chodkiewicz of Poland, military commander
- Christian the Younger of Brunswick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Protestant Commander
- Antonio Cifra of Rome, composer
- Jan Pieterszoon Coen of the Netherlands, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
- Sir Edward Coke of England, Jurist and Member of Parliament
- Sir John Coke of England, Member of Parliament and Secretary of State
- Nicolò Contarini of Venice, politician and future Doge of Venice
- Diego Fernández de Córdoba, Marquis of Guadalcázar of Spain, nobleman and Viceroy of New Spain and Peru, in office 1612–1621, 1622–1629
- Gregorio Nuñez Coronel of Portugal, Augustinian theologian, writer, and preacher
- Adam de Coster of Flanders, painter
- Nathaniel Courthope of England, merchant navy officer
- Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry of England, Judge, Member of Parliament, and politician, Attorney General, and Lord Chancellor )
- Oliver Cromwell of England, Member of Parliament, general, and future ruler of England-Wales, Scotland, and Ireland
- Sir Sackville Crowe, 1st Baronet of England, baronet, Treasurer of the Navy, Member of Parliament, and future ambassador
- Alfonso de la Cueva, marqués de Bedmar of Spain, diplomat and Catholic theologian
- Robert Cushman of England, Plymouth colony organizer
- Cyril I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, held position in 1612, 1620–1623, 1623–1633, 1633–1634, 1634–1635, 1637–1638
- Daišan of Manchuria, Manchurian prince and military commander
- Mir Damad of Persia, philosopher
- John Danvers of England, courtier and politician
- Date Masamune of Japan, Daimyō of Sendai
- John Davies of England, lawyer, poet, and politician
- John Davies of Wales, scholar, translator, and Anglican priest
- Dawar of India, Mughal Prince
- Thomas Dekker of England, playwright and poet
- Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, Italian rabbi, author, physician, mathematician, and music theorist
- Thomas Dempster of Scotland, scholar and historian
- Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex of England, nobleman and military commander
- Kenelm Digby of England, courtier, diplomat, privateer, and philosopher
- John Donne of England, Anglican priest, poet, and philosopher
- Michael Drayton of England, poet
- Cornelius Drebbel of the Netherlands, inventor
- Jeremias Drexel of Bavaria, Catholic theologian and Court Preacher at the court of Prince-Elector Maximilian I
- Robert Dudley of England, explorer and geographer
- Pierre Dupuy of France, scholar
- Mar Elia Shimun X, Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, held position 1600–1653
- Sir John Eliot of England, Vice-Admiral of Devon and Member of Parliament
- Mar Eliyya IX, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, held position in 1617–1660
- John Endecott, founder and first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
- Alonso Fajardo de Entenza of Spain, governor-general of the Philippines, in office 1618–1624
- Francesco Erizzo of Venice, diplomat and future Doge of Venice
- Thomas van Erpe of the Netherlands, Orientalist Scholar
- Fakhr-al-Din II, Lebanese prince and governor of the Ottoman province of Syria, in office 1624–1632
- Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland of England, nobleman and statesman
- John Felton of England, soldier and assassin of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
- Nicholas Felton of England, academic and Anglican cleric
- Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria, nobleman, Spanish Prince, and Cardinal
- Ferdinand IV, Archduke of Austria, Habsburg Prince and future Holy Roman Emperor
- Domenico Fetti of Rome, painter
- Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Capuchin friar and Martyr
- William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele of England, nobleman and statesman
- Filaret of Russia, Patriarch of Moscow and statesman, held position 1612–1629
- John Fletcher of England, playwright
- John Ford of England, playwright and poet
- Frederick of Denmark, Danish Prince and future King of Denmark and Norway
- Frederick V of the Palatinate/I of Bohemia, Prince-Elector of the Palatinate and King of Bohemia, r. 1610–1623 and r. 1619–1620
- Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Calenberg, held position 1613–1634
- Galileo Galilei of Tuscany, astronomer and physicist
- Gang Hong-rip of Korea, treasonous general who aided the Manchus
- Gaston, Duke of Orléans of France, French Prince and commander of the aristocratic revolt at Les Ponts-de-Cé
- Artemisia Gentileschi of Rome, painter
- George William, Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia
- Johann Gerhard, German Lutheran theologian
- Hessel Gerritsz of the Netherlands, cartographer
- Orlando Gibbons of England, composer and organist
- Thomas Goffe of England, playwright
- Luis de Góngora of Spain, poet, playwright, and writer
- Roque González, Spanish-American Jesuit missionary and martyr
- Sir Ferdinando Gorges of England, colonial entrepreneur in North America and founder of Maine
- Ivan Tarasievich Gramotin of Russia, diplomat and head of the Posolsky Prikaz, held position 1619–1626
- Orazio Grassi, Italian mathematician, astronomer, and architect
- Richard Grenville of England, Anglo-Cornish soldier, Member of Parliament, and future Baronet and Royalist Commander
- Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke of England, nobleman, statesman, and writer
- Hugo Grotius of the Netherlands, philosopher and writer
- Jan Gruter of the Netherlands, scholar
- Mario Guiducci of Tuscany, lawyer and associate of Galileo Galilei during the dispute with Orazio Grassi
- Jean Guiton of France, Huguenot rebel and Admiral
- Edmund Gunter of England, mathematician
- John Guy, former governor of Newfoundland and current Member of the Parliament of England
- Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares of Spain, nobleman and Chief Minister under Philip III and Philip IV, held position 1618–1643
- John Hampden of England, Member of Parliament and future Parliamentarian commander during the English Civil War
- Kryštof Harant of Bohemia, nobleman, traveller, humanist, soldier, writer and composer
- William Harvey of England, physician who discovered the systematic circulation of blood
- Hasekura Tsunenaga of Japan, diplomat
- Richard Hawkins of England, explorer and privateer
- George Hay, 1st Earl of Kinnoull of Scotland, nobleman, judge and Lord Chancellor of Scotland, held position 1622–1634
- James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle of Scotland, nobleman and diplomat
- Piet Pieterszoon Hein of the Netherlands, Vice-Admiral of the Dutch West India Company
- Henrietta Maria of France, French princess and Queen Consort of England-Wales and Scotland
- Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury of Wales, diplomat, poet, and philosopher
- George Herbert of Wales, poet, orator and Anglican priest
- Philip Herbert of England, nobleman and politician
- William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke of England, nobleman, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall County and Chancellor of the University of Oxford, held position 1601-1630, 1604-1630 and 1616-1630
- Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas of Spain, historian
- Thomas Heywood of England, playwright, actor, and author
- Thomas Hobbes of England, philosopher
- Heinrich Holk Danish-German mercenary and commander
- Henricus Hondius II of the Netherlands, cartographer and publisher
- Isaiah Horowitz, Rabbi and Jewish mystic
- Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire of England, nobleman
- Constantijn Huygens of the Netherlands, poet, composer, and secretary under Stadtholders Frederick Henry and William II
- Im Gyeong Eop of Korea, general
- Sigismondo d'India, Italian composer
- Nicholas Iquan of China, pirate and Ming Dynasty admiral
- Menasseh Ben Israel of Portugal, rabbi, kabbalist, scholar, writer, diplomat, printer, and publisher
- William Jaggard of England, printer and publisher
- Jan Janszoon of the Netherlands, Barbary Pirate
- Willem Janszoon of the Netherlands, explorer and colonial governor
- Juan Martínez de Jáuregui y Aguilar of Spain, poet, scholar, and painter
- Jörg Jenatsch of Switzerland, politician and military commander
- Jirgalang of Manchuria, nobleman, general, and statesman
- Johann Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, r. 1605–1620
- Inigo Jones of England, architect
- Ben Jonson of England, playwright, poet, and Poet Laureate, held post in 1619–1637
- Johannes Junius of Bamberg, Mayor of Bamberg and Bamberg witch trial suspect and victim
- Madam Ke of China, adviser to the Tianqi Emperor
- Johannes Kepler, German mathematician and astronomer
- Hendrick de Keyser of the Netherlands, sculptor and architect
- Thomas de Keyser of the Netherlands, painter and architect
- Khosro Mirza of Kartli, Georgian Prince, general in the Persian army, and future King of Kartli
- Robert Killigrew of England, Member of Parliament and English Ambassador to the Netherlands
- Athanasius Kircher, German Catholic theologian and scholar
- David Kirke of England, adventurer and English colonizer of Canada
- Stanisław Koniecpolski of Poland, nobleman and military commander
- Thomas Lake of England, Member of Parliament and former Secretary of State
- Giovanni Lanfranco of Parma, painter
- William Laud of England, Anglican theologian and future Archbishop of Canterbury
- François Leclerc du Tremblay of France, friar and agent and adviser of Cardinal Richelieu.
- Marc Lescarbot of France, author and lawyer
- Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven of Scotland, nobleman and general in the service of Sweden
- Christopher Levett of England, explorer and naval captain
- Johann Liss, German painter
- Jerónimo Lobo of Portugal, Jesuit missionary
- Lobsang Gyatso of Tibet, Dalai Lama and future ruler of Tibet, r. 1618–1682, 1642–1682
- Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus of Ireland, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, in office 1619–1639
- Christen Sørensen Longomontanus of Denmark, astronomer
- Hendrick Lucifer, Dutch Buccaneer
- Charles de Luynes of France, Constable of France and first Duke of Luynes
- Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim of Ireland, nobleman and Scots-Irish politician
- Sir Henry Mainwaring of England, pirate and English naval officer
- François de Malherbe of France, poet and literary critic
- Man Gui of China, general and main commander of the Chinese army following the death of Yuan Chonghuan
- George Manners, 7th Earl of Rutland of England, Member of Parliament and nobleman
- Ernst von Mansfeld, German soldier
- Mao Wenlong of China, military commander
- Juan de Mariana of Spain, Catholic priest, historian, and Monarchomach political theorist
- Maria Anna of Spain, Infanta and future Empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire
- Marie de' Medici, Queen dowager of France and former regent with her son Louis XIII
- Michel de Marillac of France, Minister of Justice under Louis XIII
- Giambattista Marino of Naples, poet
- Gervase Markham of England, poet and writer
- Tristano Martinelli of Mantua, actor
- Enrico Martínez of Spain, hydraulic engineer
- John Mason of England, sailor, explorer, cartographer, colonizer, and founder of New Hampshire
- Isaac Massa of the Netherlands, merchant, traveller, and diplomat
- Massasoit, Chief of the Wampanoag
- Philip Massinger of England, playwright
- Tobie Matthew of England, Member of Parliament
- Maximilian I of Bavaria, Prince-Elector of Bavaria
- Cornelis Jacobszoon May of the Netherlands, explorer and first Director-general of New Netherland
- Cardinal Mazarin of Sicily, Cardinal, diplomat, and future Prime Minister of France
- Domenico Mazzocchi, Italian composer
- Afonso Mendes, Prelate of Ethiopia and Catholic Patriarch of Ethiopia, held position 1622–1632
- Diego Carrillo de Mendoza, 1st Marquis of Gelves of Spain, nobleman and Viceroy of New Spain, in office 1621–1624
- Adriaan Metius of the Netherlands, mathematician and astronomer
- Thomas Middleton of England, playwright and poet
- Daniël Mijtens of the Netherlands, painter
- Peter Minuit of the Netherlands, Director-General of New Netherland, in office 1626–1632
- Francis Mitchell of England, Knight and Extortionist
- Miyamoto Musashi of Japan, prominent samurai
- Francesco Molin of Venice, Naval commander and future Doge of Venice
- Giles Mompesson of England, corrupt politician
- Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester of England, Royalist Member of parliament and future Royalist commander during the English Civil War
- Richard Montagu of England, controversial Cleric and prelate
- Antoine de Montchrestien of France, soldier, dramatist, poet, and economist
- Claudio Monteverdi, Italian composer
- Mumtaz Mahal of India, Empress Consort of India
- Jens Munk of Norway, navigator, explorer, and naval captain
- Bartolomé Esteban Murillo of Spain, painter
- Hugh Myddelton of Wales, entrepreneur, engineer, Baronet, and Member of Parliament
- Thomas Myddelton the Younger of Wales, Member of Parliament and future Parliamentary officer during the English Civil War
- Nemattanew, Powhatan military commander and architect of the Jamestown Massacre
- Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên of Vietnam, Nguyễn Lord, held position 1613–1635
- Nheçu, Chief of the Guaraní
- Nur Jahan of Persia, Empress Consort of India
- John Nutt of England, pirate
- Pieter Nuyts of the Netherlands, Governor of the Dutch colony on Formosa and ambassador to Japan, held position 1627–1629
- Oldman of the Misquito Coast, first King of the Miskito Kingdom, r. 1625–1687
- Opchanacanough, Chief of the Powhatan Confederacy, held position 1618–1644
- Martin Opitz of Silesia, poet
- William Oughtred of England, mathematician
- Owaneco, Chief of the Mohegans
- John Owen of Wales, Epigrammatist
- Axel Oxenstierna of Sweden, Lord High Chancellor of Sweden
- Rodrigo Pacheco, 3rd Marquis of Cerralvo of Spain, nobleman, Inquisitor, and Viceroy of New Spain, in office 1624–1635
- Pedro Páez of Portugal, Jesuit missionary who converted Malak Sagad III
- Cardinal Pamphili of Rome, Cardinal, Nuncio, and future Pope
- Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, German field marshal
- Hortensio Félix Paravicino of Spain, Court Preacher and poet
- Richard Parry of Wales, Bishop of St Asaph and translator of the Bible into Welsh Language
- Vincent de Paul of France, Catholic Priest
- Pecksuot, Massachusett Chief
- Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc of France, astronomer and antiquarian
- Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland of England, Member of Parliament and future soldier during the English Civil War
- George Percy of England, explorer, author, soldier, and former governor of Virginia
- Richard Perkins of England, actor
- Peter Philips of England, composer
- Michael Praetorius, German composer and organist
- Samuel Purchas of England, travel writer
- John Pym of England, Member of Parliament and future Roundhead supporter during the English Civil War
- Francisco de Quevedo of Spain, nobleman, politician, and writer
- Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł of Lithuania, Grand Chancellor of Lithuania, in office 1623–1656
- Rembrandt of the Netherlands, painter and etcher
- Kiliaen van Rensselaer of the Netherlands, merchant, member of the Dutch West India Company, and Patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck
- Sir Thomas Roe of England, diplomat
- Henri de Rohan of France, nobleman, soldier, writer, and leader of the Huguenots.
- William Rowley of England, playwright
- Peter Paul Rubens of Flanders, painter
- Johannes Rudbeckius of Sweden, Lutheran bishop
- Mulla Sadra of Persia, philosopher and Shiite Islamic theologian
- Samoset, Mohegan Sagamore and first Native American to encounter with the Settlers of the Plymouth Colony.
- Sir Edwin Sandys, Colonial organizer of Virginia
- George Sandys, English traveller, colonist, and poet
- Lew Sapieha of Lithuania, Grand Chancellor of Lithuania, in office 1589–1623
- Johann Hermann Schein, German composer
- Christoph Scheiner, German Jesuit priest, physicist and astronomer
- Wilhelm Schickard, German inventor and mathematician
- Julius Schiller of Bavaria, astronomer
- Heinrich Schütz of Köstritz, composer and organist
- Adam von Schwarzenberg, nobleman and Chancellor of Brandenburg-Prussia
- Alexander Seaton of Scotland, Mercenary in the Service of Denmark
- Pierre Séguier of France, president and mortier in the parlement of Paris and future chancellor of France
- Alvaro Semedo of Portugal, Jesuit missionary in China
- Juan Pérez de la Serna, Archbishop of Mexico, held position 1613–1627
- Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline of Scotland, lawyer, judge, and Lord Chancellor of Scotland
- Shahaji of Bijapur, Bijapurtan army chieftain
- Shahryar of India, Mughal Prince and Nur Jahan's candidate to the throne of India
- Shimazu Tadatsune, Daimyō of Satsuma
- Robert Shirley of England, traveller, adventurer, and diplomat
- García de Silva Figueroa of Spain, Spanish ambassador to Persia
- John Smith, English soldier, adventurer, and leader of the colonists of Jamestown in the Virginia Colony.
- Willebrord Snellius of the Netherlands, astronomer and mathematician
- Jakub Sobieski of Poland, nobleman, parliamentarian, and military leader
- Luis Sotelo of Spain, Franciscan friar and martyr
- Henri de Sourdis of France, Archbishop of Bordeaux and military commander
- John Speed of England, historian and cartographer
- Ambrogio Spinola of Genoa, general in the service of Spain
- John Spottiswoode of Scotland, Archbishop of St. Andrews, historian, and future Lord Chancellor of Scotland
- Squanto, assist to and interpreter for the Pilgrims of the Plymouth colony who helped them stamp out the treaty between them and the Wampanoag.
- Myles Standish, English military advisor at the Plymouth Colony
- James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby of England, nobleman and future Royalist commander during the English Civil War
- Oliver St John, 5th Baron St John of Bletso, English politician and future Parliamentarian Army officer
- Nicholas Stone of England, sculptor and architect
- Sir John Suckling of England, Member of Parliament
- Sun Chengzong of China, Grand Secretary and Commander-in-chief of Chinese Forces
- Joachim Swartenhondt of the Netherlands, admiral
- Tamblot of the Philippines, indigenous Boholano babaylan and inciter of a religiously motivated uprising in Bohol
- Alessandro Tassoni of Modena, poet and writer
- Hendrick ter Brugghen of the Netherlands, painter
- François Thijssen of the Netherlands, explorer
- Thomas Tomkins of Wales, Cornish-Welsh composer
- Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne of France, soldier and future Marshal of France
- Sir John Trevor Jr. of Wales, Puritan Member of Parliament and future member of the Council of State during the Commonwealth of England
- Sir Richard Trevor of Wales, landowner, soldier and politician.
- Sir Sackville Trevor of Wales, Sea Captain and Member of Parliament
- Thomas Trevor of England, Anglo-Welsh lawyer, Member of Parliament, and judge
- Nicolas Trigault of France, Jesuit missionary in China
- Trịnh Tùng of Vietnam, Trinh Lord, held position 1570–1623
- Trịnh Tráng of Vietnam, Trinh Lord, held position 1623–1654
- Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, German nobleman and co-Supreme commander of the forces of the Holy Roman Empire
- Uncas, Chief of the Mohegans, held position 1626–1683
- Honoré d'Urfé of France, writer
- James Ussher of Ireland, Anglican theologian, Archbishop of Armagh, and Primate of All Ireland
- Bernard de Nogaret de La Valette d'Épernon of France, nobleman and military commander
- Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette of France, nobleman
- Pietro Della Valle of Rome, traveller
- Anthony van Dyck of Flanders, painter
- Władysław Vasa of Poland, Polish Prince, self-proclaimed Grand Duke of Moscow, and future King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
- Sir Henry Vaughan the Elder of Derwydd, Wales, Royalist Member of Parliament
- William Vaughan of Wales, colonial investor and writer
- Salomo de Veenboer of the Netherlands, Barbary pirate
- Lope de Vega of Spain, playwright and poet
- Diego Velázquez of Spain, painter
- Horace Vere, 1st Baron Vere of Tilbury of England, military leader
- Cornelius Vermuyden of the Netherlands, engineer
- George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham of England, nobleman, statesman, and military commander
- Mutio Vitelleschi of Rome, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, held post 1615–1645
- Joost van den Vondel of the Netherlands, writer and playwright
- Luke Wadding of Ireland, Franciscan friar, historian, and founder of the Pontifical Irish College
- Albrecht von Wallenstein of Bohemia, co-Supreme commander of the forces of the Holy Roman Empire
- Edmund Waller of England, Member of Parliament and poet
- Sir James Ware of Ireland, historian and politician
- John Webster of England, playwright
- Wei Zhongxian of China, Eunuch
- Thomas Wentworth Sr., 1st Earl of Strafford of England, statesman
- John White of England, Anglican priest and colonial organizer of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
- Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, r. 1620–1662
- John Williams of England, Lord Chancellor and future Archbishop of York
- John Winthrop, Founder and future Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
- Sir Henry Wotton of England, author and diplomat
- Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton of England, nobleman, patron of the theater, and colonial investor
- Sir Richard Wynn of Wales, Baronet, courtier, and Member of Parliament
- Xu Guangqi of China, Ming Dynasty bureaucrat, agricultural scientist, astronomer, and mathematician
- Yamada Nagamasa of Japan, adventurer, pirate, and military commander
- George Yeardley, Plantation owner and Governor of the Virginia Colony, held office in 1616–1617, 1619–1621, 1626–1627
- Sir Henry Yelverton of England, Attorney General for England and Wales, in office 1617–1621
- Yi Gwal of Korea, general
- Yuan Chonghuan of China, military commander
- Jakub Zadzik of Poland, Grand Chancellor of Poland
- Krzysztof Zbaraski of Poland, nobleman and Polish-Lithuanian ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
- Stanisław Żółkiewski of Poland, nobleman, military commander, and Grand Chancellor of Poland
- Zu Dashou of China, general