1626
Events
January–March
- January 7 - Polish-Swedish War: Battle of Wallhof in Latvia - Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, defeats a Polish army.
- January 9 - Peter Minuit sails from Texel Island for America's New Netherland colony, with two ships of Dutch emigrants.
- February 2 - King Charles I of England is crowned, but without his wife, Henrietta Maria, who declines to participate in a non-Catholic ceremony.
- February 5 - The Huguenot rebels and the French government sign the Treaty of Paris, ending the second Huguenot rebellion.
- February 10 - Battle of Ningyuan: In Xingcheng in China, after an 8-day battle, Ming dynasty commander Yuan Chonghuan defeats the much larger force of Manchu leader Nurhaci, who dies soon after and is succeeded by Huang Taiji.
- February 11 - Emperor Susenyos of Ethiopia and Patriarch Afonso Mendes declare the primacy of the Roman See over the Ethiopian Church, and Roman Catholicism the state religion of Ethiopia.
- March 5 - The Treaty of Monzón is signed between France and Spain to end the Valtellina War and the First Genoese-Savoyard War.
- March 7 - Ambrósio I Nimi a Nkanga becomes the new monarch of Kongo after the overthrow of Garcia I Mvemba a Nkanga, restoring the Kwilu dynasty to power.
- March 15 - Portugal declares war on Queen Nzinga of the Kingdom of Ndongo, located in what is now Angola.
- A dam failure causes the sudden flooding of the mining city of Potosí in present-day Bolivia leading to the death of thousands and the massive release of toxic mercury into the environment.
April–June
- April 25 - Thirty Years' War: Battle of Dessau Bridge - Albrecht von Wallenstein defeats Ernst von Mansfelds army.
- May 4 - Peter Minuit becomes director-general of New Netherland, for the Dutch West India Company.
- May 24 - Peter Minuit buys Manhattan from a Native American tribe for trade goods, valued at 60 guilders.
- May 30 - Wanggongchang Explosion in Beijing, China: a gunpowder factory explosion destroys part of the city and kills 20,000 people.
- June 15 - King Charles I of England dissolves the English Parliament.
- June 20 - Nine Jesuit Christian missionaries, six of them Japanese and three from Spain, are executed in Japan, followed by eight Japanese converts to Christianity on July 12.
- June 28 - A 7.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Lingqiu County, in China, killing 5,200 residents.
July–September
- July 4 - The Ottoman Army halts its attempt to retake Baghdad from the Persians, after having lost it in 1624.
- July 27 - George II becomes the new Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt upon the death of his father, Louis V.
- August 1 - Eighty Years' War: Ernst Casimir of Nassau-Dietz retakes Oldenzaal, forcing Spain to withdraw from Overijssel.
- August 27 - Thirty Years' War: Battle of Lutter - Tilly defeats King Christian IV of Denmark's army.
- September 30 - Nurhaci, chief of the Jurchens and founder of the Qing dynasty, dies and is succeeded by his son Hong Taiji.
October–December
- November 6 - The ship Arms of Amsterdam arrives in Europe from New Netherland with the news: "They have purchased the Island Manhattes from the Indians for the value of 60 guilders."
- November 18 - The new St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is consecrated, on the 1,300th anniversary of the previous church in 326.
- December 1 - Pasha Muhammad ibn Farukh, tyrannical Governor of Jerusalem, is forced out.
- December 20 - Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and Transylvanian monarch Bethlen Gabor sign the Peace of Pressburg.
Date unknown
- 1626 influenza pandemic begins in Asia, then spreads into Europe, Africa, North America, and South America.
- The Würzburg and Bamberg witch trials, which will lead to the mass executions of hundreds of people until 1630/31, begin.
- Samuel de Champlain decides to build Cap tourmente Farm to raise livestock to provide food for settlers in Quebec, rather than depending on supplies sent from France.
- Establishment of the coastal settlement of Salem, Massachusetts.
Births
January–March
- January 9 - Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé, French founder of the Trappist Order
- January 13 - Johann Philipp of Hanau-Lichtenberg, German nobleman
- January 25 - Edward Evelyn, British politician
- February 5 - Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French aristocrat and writer
- February 7 - Fabian von Fersen, Swedish soldier and statesman
- February 18 - Francesco Redi, Italian physician
- March 3 - John Hele, English politician
- March 9 - Lorentz Mortensen Angell, Norwegian merchant and landowner
- March 10 - Cornelis Van Caukercken, Flemish engraver, printseller
- March 12 - John Aubrey, English antiquary and writer
- March 16 - Cornelius Van Steenwyk, American politician
- March 21 - Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, Spanish Catholic saint, missionary to Guatemala
- March 30 - Atto Melani, Italian opera singer
April–June
- April 16 - Robert Harley, English politician
- April 10 - Franz Egon of Fürstenberg, German count in the Holy Roman Empire
- April 23 - Maurice Henry, Prince of Nassau-Hadamar
- April 25 - Sigmund von Birken, German Baroque poet
- May 10 - Jan Jacobszoon Hinlopen, Dutch art collector and merchant
- May 12 - Louis Hennepin, Roman Catholic priest, missionary of the Franciscan Recollet Order
- May 14 - Willem Joseph van Ghent, Dutch admiral
- May 16 - Andrea Carlone, Italian painter
- May 17 - Countess Palatine Eleonora Catherine of Zweibrücken, sister of King Charles X of Sweden
- May 21 - Wolfgang Carl Briegel, German organist and composer
- May 27 - William II, Prince of Orange
- June 8 - William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford, member of England's House of Lords
- June 9 - Sir John Newton, 2nd Baronet, English Member of Parliament
- June 18 - John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt, English politician
- June 29 - Jeffrey Daniel, English politician
July–September
- July 15
- * Christiane Sehested, daughter of King Christian IV of Denmark, and his morganatic spouse Kirsten Munk
- * Hedevig Ulfeldt, daughter of King Christian IV of Denmark and Kirsten Munk
- July 17 - Henriette Marie of the Palatinate, German noble
- August 1
- * Charles le Moyne de Longueuil et de Châteauguay, French colonist, interpreter
- * Sabbatai Zevi, Sephardic Rabbi
- August 5 - Richard Ottley, English politician
- August 12 - Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian composer
- September 7 - Maria Klara of Dietrichstein, German noblewoman
- September 16 - Leopold Wilhelm of Baden-Baden, Imperial Field Marshal
- September 27 - William Douglas, 2nd Lord Mordington, eldest son and heir of Sir James Douglas
- September 28 - Elizabeth Maitland, Duchess of Lauderdale, influential British noblewoman
October–December
- October 4 - Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland
- October 5 - George II, Duke of Württemberg-Montbéliard
- October 17 - Samuel Danforth, American Puritan minister, preacher, poet, astronomer, missionary
- October 23 - Francis Marsh, Irish bishop
- November 8
- * Matthew Marvin, Jr., Connecticut settler
- * César-Pierre Richelet, French grammarian and lexicographer
- November 30 - Cesare Pronti, Italian painter
- December 8 - Queen Christina of Sweden
- December 10 - George Christian, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
- December 12 - Giovanni Francesco Ginetti, nephew of Cardinal Marzio Ginetti
- December 18 - William Stanhope, English politician
- December 20 - Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff, German statesman
- December 21 - Francis Scott, 2nd Earl of Buccleuch, son of Walter Scott
- December 31 - Ladislaus, Count Esterházy, Hungarian noble
Deaths
- January 2 - Maria Buynosova-Rostovskaya
- January 19 - Ruqaiya Sultan Begum
- January 23 - Decio Carafa, Archbishop of Naples who had previously served as papal nuncio to the Spanish Netherlands and to Habsburg Spain
- January 24 - Samuel Argall, English adventurer and naval officer
- c. January? - Patrick Galloway, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
- February 7 - William V, Duke of Bavaria
- February 11 - Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician
- February 20 - John Dowland, English composer and lutenist
- February 21 - Odoardo Farnese, Italian Catholic cardinal
- March 3 - William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire, England
- March 10 - John Dormer, English Member of Parliament
- March 19 - Pierre Coton, French Jesuit and royal confessor
- April 5 - Anna Koltovskaya
- April 9 - Francis Bacon, English scientist and statesman
- April 11 - Marino Ghetaldi, Croatian mathematician and physicist
- May 4 - Arthur Lake, Bishop of Bath and Wells, English bishop, Bible translator
- May 17 - Joan Pau Pujol, Catalan composer
- May 28 - Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
- June 7 - Anne of Saint Bartholomew, Spanish Discalced Carmelite nun
- June 16
- * Albert, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, joint ruler of Nassau-Dillenburg 1623–1626
- * Christian, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel, German Protestant military leader
- June 29 - Scipione Cobelluzzi, Italian cardinal and archivist
- June 30 - Honda Tadatoki
- July 13 - Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, English statesman
- July 15 - Isabella Brant, Flemish artists' model, first wife of painter Peter Paul Rubens
- July 19 - Elizabeth of Denmark, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, German regent
- July 27 - Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
- August 13 - Maria of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Duchess Consort of Saxe-Lauenburg
- August 15 - Girolamo Asteo, Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Veroli
- August 23 - Francesco Cereo de Mayda, Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Lavello
- August 25 - Alfonso Pozzi, Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Borgo San Donnino
- August 28 - Isabella of Savoy, Italian noble
- September 2 - Antonio Franco, Italian Catholic bishop, prelate of Santa Lucia del Mela
- September 16 - Denis-Simon de Marquemont, French cardinal and archbishop
- September 17 - Johann Schweikhard von Kronberg, Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1604 to 1626
- September 21 - François de Bonne, Duke of Lesdiguières, Constable of France
- September 22 - Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil, Irish Franciscan theologian and Archbishop of Armagh
- September 25 - Lancelot Andrewes, English scholar
- September 26 - Wakisaka Yasuharu, Japanese warrior
- September 30 - Nurhaci, Chinese chieftain
- October 1 - Lady Abahai
- October 2 - Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, 1st Count of Gondomar, Spanish diplomat
- October 10
- * William Hockmere, English politician
- * Abraham Schadaeus, German music editor
- October 13 - Domingo de Oña, Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Gaeta
- October 28 - Muhammad Parviz, Mughal emperor
- October 29 - Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Italian Catholic cardinal
- October 30 - Willebrord Snell, Dutch astronomer and mathematician
- November 21 - Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel, countess consort of Nassau-Saarbrücke
- November 25 - Edward Alleyn, English actor
- November 29 - Ernst von Mansfeld, German soldier
- December 6 - John Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, German duke
- December 8 - John Davies, English poet and politician
- December 10 - Edmund Gunter, English mathematician
- December 28
- * Gábor Esterházy, Hungarian noble
- * Juraj V Zrinski, Ban of Croatia