1661 in England
Events from the year 1661 in England.
Incumbents
Events
- 6 January – the Fifth Monarchists unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London. George Monck's regiment defeats them.
- 30 January – the bodies of Oliver Cromwell, Henry Ireton, John Bradshaw and Thomas Pride are exhumed and subjected to a posthumous execution. Oliver Cromwell's head is placed on a spike above the Palace of Westminster.
- 14 February – George Monck's regiment becomes The Lord General's Regiment of Foot Guards.
- 15 April – the Savoy Conference of bishops and Presbyterians fails to agree on a new revision of the Prayer Book.
- 19 April – the Post Office introduces post marks.
- 23 April – Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland is crowned King in Westminster Abbey. A new St Edward's Crown is made for the occasion.
- 8 May – first meeting of the Cavalier Parliament.
- 5 June – Isaac Newton admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge.
- 23 June – Charles II signs a marriage treaty with Portugal. He will marry Catherine of Braganza; as part of the dowry, Portugal cedes Bombay and Tangier to England and grants free trade with Brazil and the East Indies.
- 28 June – Lisle's Tennis Court in Lincoln's Inn Fields, London is opened as a playhouse.
- 30 July – Acts of Parliament passed:
- * Sedition Act makes it high treason to plot death or injury to, or war against, the king, but requires the evidence of at least two witnesses for a conviction.
- * Tumultuous Petitioning Act restricts the number of people who may present a petition to the king or parliament.
- 1 October – a yacht race from Greenwich to Gravesend between King Charles and James, Duke of York makes the sport fashionable.
- October
- * Collection of a "free and voluntary present" of cash for the King from householders commences.
- * King Charles II appoints Peter Lely as his court painter.
- December – convocations at Canterbury and York complete the new Anglican Prayer Book.
- 20 December – Parliament passes the Corporation Act 1661 restricting public office to members of the Church of England.
Publications
- Robert Boyle publishes The Sceptical Chymist in London, in which he developed the idea of elements and "corpuscles".
- John Evelyn's pamphlet Fumifugium is one of the earliest descriptions of air pollution.
Births
- 21 January – Peter Le Neve, herald and antiquary
- 20 February – William Digby, 5th Baron Digby, politician
- 25 February – Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex, née Palmer or FitzRoy, illegitimate daughter of Charles II
- 16 April – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, poet and statesman
- 7 May – George Clarke, politician and architect
- 11 August – William Churchill, politician
- 31 August – Charles Granville, 2nd Earl of Bath, diplomat
- 1 October – Sir Matthew Dudley, 2nd Baronet, Member of Parliament
- 22 October – Margaret Holles, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, noblewoman
- 28 November – Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon, Governor of New York and New Jersey
- 3 December – Nathaniel Gould, politician
- 5 December – Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, statesman date unknown
- * Samuel Garth, physician and poet
- * Nicholas Hawksmoor, architect
- * Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, supporter of William III of Orange
Deaths
- 19 January – Thomas Venner, Fifth Monarchist
- 1 March – Richard Zouch, jurist
- 7 April – William Brereton, soldier and politician
- 16 August – Thomas Fuller, churchman and historian
- 19 November – Brian Walton, clergyman and scholar