1656 in France

Incumbents

• Monarch: Louis XIV

Events

Births

• April 10 - René Lepage de Sainte-Claire, lord-founder of Rimouski in eastern Quebec, Canada
• April 12 - Benoît de Maillet, French diplomat and natural historian
• May 31 - Marin Marais, French composer and viol player
• June 5 - Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, French botanist
• July 18 - Joachim Bouvet, French Jesuit active in China
• July 20 - Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, Austrian architect
• August 6 - Claude de Forbin, French naval commander
• August 12 - Claude de Visdelou, French missionary
• August 16 - Christian Knaut, German physician
• August 18 - Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian painter
• September 6 - Guillaume Dubois, French cardinal and statesman
• October 20 - Nicolas de Largillière, French painter
• November 18 - Jacques de Tourreil, French lawyer

Deaths

• January 3 - Mathieu Molé, French statesman
• July 2 - François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-born French commander