1694

Events

January–March

January 16 – Francesco Morosini, the Doge of Venice since 1688, dies after ruling the Republic for more than five years and a few months after an unsuccessful attempt to capture the island of Negropont from the Ottoman Empire during the Morean War.
January 18 – Sir James Montgomery of Scotland, who had been arrested on January 11 for conspiracy to restore King James to the throne, escapes and flees to France.
January 21 – The Kiev Academy, now the national university of Ukraine, receives official recognition by Tsar Ivan V of Russia.
January 28 – Pirro e Demetrio, an opera by Alessandro Scarlatti, is given its first performance, debuting at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples. The opera is adapted in 1708 in London as Pyrrhus and Demetrius and becomes the second most popular opera in 18th century London.
January 29 – French missionary Jean-Baptiste Labat arrives in the "New World", landing at the Caribbean island of Martinique.
February 5 – The ship Ridderschap van Holland is lost at sea, having departed the Cape of Good Hope with a crew of 300, with a destination of Batavia, normally a voyage of two months. It never arrives and is never seen again.
February 6 – The colony of Quilombo dos Palmares, created by rebel African slaves in Brazil, is destroyed by the bandeirantes, colonial troops under the command of Domingos Jorge Velho. After a successful attack on its capital, Cerca do Macaco, the last King of Dos Palmares, Zumbi, flees after a reign of more than 13 years, but is later captured and executed.
February 26 – Silvestro Valier is elected as the new Doge of Venice to replace the late Francesco Morosini
March 1 – The HMS Sussex treasure fleet of thirteen ships is wrecked in the Mediterranean off Gibraltar, with the loss of approximately 1,200 lives.
March 8 – The Casa da Moeda do Brasil is formed by Peter II of Portugal.

April–June

April 2 – Sheikh Yusuf, exiled by the administrators of the Dutch East Indies, arrives at the Dutch Cape Colony on the ship De Voetboog, at what is now Cape Town, South Africa, along with two wives, two concubines and 12 children. Resettled by the colonial government at a farm in Zandvliet, the Sheikh introduces Islam to South Africa.
April 7 – The English Navy's 40-gun warship, HMS Ruby, captures the French privateer Entreprenant in battle. The confiscated ship is renamed HMS Ruby Prize.
April 12 – The French ship Diligente, commanded by René Duguay-Trouin, covers the escape of a convoy of ships that he is escorting, but then is surrounded and attacked by six Royal Navy ships led by David Mitchell. Most of the Diligente crew is lost in the battle, and Duguay-Trouin is captured.
April 13 – The largest volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius since 1631 takes place, with lava flows towards both San Giorgio a Cremano and Torre del Greco, after explosions in the crater that began April 5. Around April 20, ash falls are experienced as far away as Calabria.
April 27 – Frederick Augustus of Wettin, later known as "Augustus the Strong" and the future King of Poland, becomes the new Elector of Saxony upon the death of his 25-year-old older brother, John George IV
May 27 – Taking advantage of a fog, the French Army, with 24,000 troops, fights the Battle of Torroella against an equally large Spanish Army force on the banks of the Ter in Spain, near the city of Girona during the Nine Years' War. The Spaniards suffer 3,000 casualties, while the French sustain 500.
June 22 – An annular solar eclipse is visible across North America and the Atlantic Ocean.
June 24 – The Tunisian–Algerian War begins as Algerian troops cross into Tunisia.
June 29 – The Battle of [Texel (1694)|Battle of Texel] is fought near the Dutch island of Texel, one of the West Frisian Islands. The French Navy force of 8 ships, commanded by Jean Bart, locates and rescues three French ships that had been captured by the Dutch Republic in late May. Bart fights a larger force commanded by Hidde Sjoerds de Vries, who dies of his wounds after being captured.

July–September

July 27 – The Bank of England is founded through Royal charter by the Whig-dominated Parliament of England, following a proposal by Scottish merchant William Paterson to raise capital, by offering safe and steady returns of interest guaranteed by future taxes. A total of £1.2 million is raised for the war effort against Louis XIV of France by the end of the year, to establish the first-ever government debt.
August 6 – The coronation of Sultan Husayn of the Safavid dynasty as the Shah of Persia takes place in Isfahan, eight days after the death of his father Suleiman I.
August 24 – The Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, the first official dictionary of the French language, is presented by Jacques de Tourreil and Academy members on behalf of the Académie française to King Louis XIV.
September 5 – The Great Fire of Warwick breaks out in England and destroys half the town. Donors raise £110,000 toward disaster relief, with Queen Anne contributing £1,000.
September 8 – The 1694 Irpinia–Basilicata earthquake causes widespread severe damage and over 6,000 deaths in the Kingdom of Naples.
September 27 – A hurricane hits Carlisle Bay, Barbados, sinking 27 British ships and resulting in 3,000 casualties.

October–December

October 19 – A major windstorm begins and continues for several days, spreading the Culbin Sands over a large area of farmland in the Scottish Highlands in the County of Moray and burying the now-abandoned village of Culbin.
October 23 – British/American colonial forces, led by Sir William Phips, fail to seize Quebec from the French.
October 25 – Queen Mary II of England founds the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich.
November 12 – The Army of Algeria captures Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, after a siege of [Tunis (1694)|siege of three months], bringing an end to the Tunisian–Algerian War. Mohamed Bey El Mouradi, the Bey of Tunis, flees southward while Prince Muhammad ben Cheker of Tunisia becomes the new Dey on behalf of the Dey of Algiers, Hadj Ahmed.
December 3 – The Parliament of England passes the Triennial Act, requiring general elections every three years.
December 6 – Thomas Tenison is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
December 16 – A total solar eclipse is visible across South America.

Date unknown

The Lao empire of Lan Xang unofficially ends.
The notorious voyage of the English slave ship Hannibal ends with the death of nearly half of the 692 slaves aboard.
Rascians establish the settlement which will become Novi Sad on the Danube.
The Parker Tavern is built in Reading, Massachusetts.

Births

January–March

January 1 – Abdallah of Morocco, Sultan of Morocco
January 3 – Paul of the Cross, Italian mystic
January 5 – Theophilus Siegfried Bayer, German sinologist
January 6 – Melchor Chyliński, Polish presbyter
January 12
* Oluf Blach, Danish merchant
* Johann Heinrich Callenberg, German theologian
January 25 – Simon Henry Adolph, Count of Lippe-Detmold
January 28 – Peter Collinson, botanist
February 1 – Giuseppe Spinelli, Catholic cardinal
February 4 – Georg Gottlob Richter, German philosopher and physician
February 11 – Henrietta Harley, Countess of Oxford and Countess Mortimer, English noblewoman
February 18 – Johann Christoph Handke, Czech painter
February 21 – Richard Waldron, Colonial New Hampshire businessman and politician
February 24 – Bartolomeo Altomonte, Austrian artist
March 11 – Elizabeth Tollet, British poet
March 15 – Friedrich Michael Ziegenhagen, English clergyman with German connection
March 21 – Daniel Scott, British lexicographer
March 24
* Giuseppe Bernardi, Italian sculptor
* Thomas Bullock, Anglican dean
March 25 – Christian Otto of Limburg, Reigning count of Limburg-Styrum-Styrum

April–June

April 3 – George Edwards, English naturalist and ornithologist
April 14 – Maximilien-Henri de Horion
April 25 – Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, English architect
April 30 – William Pitkin, Governor of the Connecticut Colony
May 7 – Pierre-Jean Mariette, French art historian
May 8 – Étienne Lauréault de Foncemagne, French writer
May 10 – Michael Harvey, British Member of Parliament
May 11
* Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein, Czech noblewoman
* Hieronymus Florentinus Quehl, German composer
May 22 – Daniel Gran, Austrian painter
June 3 – Scawen Kenrick, English clergyman
June 4 – François Quesnay, French economist
June 6 – Francis Wollaston, English scientist
June 9 – Price Devereux, 10th Viscount Hereford, British politician
June 11 – Thomas Willoughby, British politician
June 18 – Karl Heinrich von Hoym, German diplomat, statesman and politician
June 19 – Jean-André Peyssonnel, French physician
June 20 – Hans Adolph Brorson, Danish bishop
June 23 – Stamp Brooksbank, MP and Governor of the Bank of England
June 24 – Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, Genevan legal and political theorist
June 26 – Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and mineralogist
June 27 – John Michael Rysbrack, Flemish sculptor
June 29 – Maria Josepha of Dietrichstein, German noblewoman, member of the House of Dietrichstein; by marriage Countess and later Princess Kinsky of Wchinitz und Tettau

July–September

July 4
* Claudio Francesco Beaumont, Italian painter
* Louis-Claude Daquin, French composer
July 11 – Charles-Antoine Coypel, French painter, art commentator, and playwright
July 12 – Duchess Gustave Caroline of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, German noble
July 16 – Marcus Beresford, 1st Earl of Tyrone, Irish politician
July 18
* Alexander Buturlin, Russian general and courtier
* Margarete von Leiningen-Westerburg-Neuleiningen
August 1 – Michael Davies, priest
August 3 – Marc-Antoine-Nicolas de Croismare, French dilettante
August 4 – Étienne-François Avisse, French playwright
August 5 – Leonardo Leo, Italian composer
August 8 – Francis Hutcheson, Scottish philosopher
August 10 – John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower, British politician
August 11 – Giorgio Baffo, Venetian senator and poet
August 14
* James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Clanbrassil, Member of the Parliament of Great Britain
* Henry Howard, 4th Earl of Carlisle, English noble and politician
August 16 – Réginald Outhier, French astronomer and priest
August 19 – Elizabeth Compton, Countess of Northampton, British noble
August 20
* Stephanus Versluys, Dutch colonial governor
* Christiane Charlotte of Württemberg-Winnental, German noble
August 23 – Johann Georg Schmidt, engraver from Germany
August 25
* Theodore of Corsica, German noble
* Hongxi, prince
August 26 – Elisha Williams, American rector of Yale College
August 27 – Henry Osborn, Royal Navy admiral
August 28 – Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Grand Duchess of Russia
September 6 – Johann Daniel Schöpflin, German historian
September 7 – Johan Ludvig Holstein, Danish politician
September 9 – John Vanderbank, British artist
September 12 – Johan von Mangelsen, Norwegian businessman and general
September 13 – Yeongjo of Joseon, 21st King of Joseon Dynasty in Korean history
September 18 – Jacques-Ignace de La Touche, painter
September 22 – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, British statesman and man of letters
September 25 – Henry Pelham, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
September 26 – Martin Schmid, Swiss composer and architect

October–December

October 4
* George Murray, Scottish Jacobite general
* Tsarevna Praskovya Ivanovna of Russia, daughter of Tsar Ivan V of Russia
October 9 – Marquard Herrgott, German Benedictine historian and diplomat
October 14 – Jacob Bouverie, 1st Viscount Folkestone, British politician
October 15
* Archibald Douglas, 1st Duke of Douglas, Scottish nobleman
* William Knollys, English politician from Oxfordshire
October 18 – René Louis de Voyer de Paulmy d'Argenson, French statesman
October 24 – Humphrey Sydenham, British politician
October 26
* Sir George Oxenden, 5th Baronet, English politician
* Johan Helmich Roman, Swedish Baroque composer
October 27 – Simon Pelloutier, German historian
November 2 – Count Palatine Joseph Charles of Sulzbach, Heir apparent of Neuburg, Sulzbach and the Palatinate
November 3
* John May, English shipwright
* William Mackworth Praed, British politician
November 5 – Ricardo Wall, Irish-born soldier, diplomat and minister in the Spanish service
November 12 – Augustine Washington, British-American planter, slave owner, and the father of George Washington
November 16 – Isabella Simons, banker in the Austrian Netherlands
November 21 – Voltaire, French writer, historian, and philosopher
November 23 – Charlotte Daneau de Muy, Canadian historian
November 26 – Louis de Boissy, French writer
November 29 – Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, German prince and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen
December 2 – William Shirley, British governor of Massachusetts and then of the Bahamas
December 10 – Vittorio Francesco, Marquis of Susa, Prince of Savoy
December 11 – Johann Michael von Loën, German author
December 20 – Andrew Johnston, American politician
December 22 – Hermann Samuel Reimarus, German philosopher and writer
December 24
* Louisa Berkeley, Countess of Berkeley, British noble
* Christfried Kirch, German astronomer

Deaths

January–March

January 2 – Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English politician and Earl
January 7 – Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, English aristocrat and soldier
January 8 – Thomas Strickland, English royalist soldier
January 10 – Andrew Balfour, British doctor and botanist
January 16
* John Lamotte Honywood, English Member of Parliament
* Francesco Morosini, Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694
January 17
* Anselm de Guibours, Augustinian friar and genealogist
* Francis Sandford, English herald
January 19 – François Marie, Prince of Lillebonne, French nobleman and member of the House of Lorraine
January 25 – William Dolben, English judge
January 31 – Henry Northleigh, English Member of Parliament
February 1 – John Louis of Elderen, Bishop of Liege
February 4
* Leonhard Baldner, French naturalist
* Natalya Naryshkina, Tsaritsa of Russia
February 8 – Domenico Santi, Italian painter
February 9 – Anne-Marie Bigot de Cornuel, French salon-holder
February 17 – Antoinette du Ligier de la Garde Deshoulières, French writer, poet
February 19
* Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki, Polish noble
* Gennaro Sanfelice, Roman Catholic archbishop
* Francis Wheler, Royal Navy officer
February 21 – Simon Abeles, Jewish youth in Prague whose father was accused of murdering him “out of hatred for the Christian faith”
February 23 – Sir Thomas Samwell, 1st Baronet, English politician
February 25 – Gilles Hallet, Flemish Baroque painter
February 26 – Charles Scarborough, English physician and natural philosopher
March 5 – Vittoria della Rovere, Italian noble
March 10 – Paul Fréart de Chantelou, art collector
March 11 – Jean-Nicolas Geoffroy, French harpsichordist and composer
March 12 – John Conant, English theologian, clergyman, and academic administrator
March 15 – Cresheld Draper, English politician
March 24 – Peter Colleton, English politician
March 25 – Greenvile Collins, English hydrographer
March 26 – Arthur Stanhope, English politician

April–June

April 5 – Diego Ibáñez de la Madrid y Bustamente, Roman Catholic bishop
April 8 – Nicolás de Villacis, Spanish painter
April 9 – Angelo Berardi, Italian composer and music theorist
April 10 – Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg, Austrian writer and noble
April 12 – John Swinfen, English politician
April 13 – José de Jesús María Fajardo, Spanish Roman Catholic prelate; Bishop of Alghero
April 14 – Magdalena Sibylla of Neidschutz, German countess
April 16 – Claire-Clémence de Maillé-Brézé, French noblewoman
April 17 – François IV de Beauharnais, French nobleman
April 18 – William Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton in the Peerage of Scotland
April 20
* Giovanni Carlo Antonelli, Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Ferentino
* Johann Balthasar Lauterbach, German architect and mathematician
April 27 – John George IV, Elector of Saxony, German noble
May 1 – Maria Elisabeth Lämmerhirt, Mother of Johann Sebastian Bach
May 2 – Martin Desjardins, French sculptor
May 4 – Ludwig Anton von Pfalz-Neuburg, Roman Catholic bishop
May 17 – Johann Michael Bach, German composer
May 20 – Robert Spencer, 1st Viscount Teviot, Member of the Parliament of England
May 24 – Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland, English politician
May 27 – Thomas Hervey, politician of Ickworth, Suffolk
June 2
* Sir Thomas Skipwith, 1st Baronet, Member of the English Parliament
* Gaspar Téllez-Girón, 5th Duke de Osuna, Spanish duke
June 8 – Pieter van der Willigen, Dutch painter
June 17
* Louis Chein, French composer
* Philip Howard, English Catholic Cardinal
June 22 – Thomas Tollemache, English general
June 27 – François Louis, Count of Harcourt, French count
June 28 – Francisco Spinola, Roman Catholic clergyman
June 30 – Pieter Claesen Wyckoff, American farmer and landowner

July–September

July 1
* Philippe Goibaut, French translator
* Justin McCarthy, Viscount Mountcashel, General in the Williamite War in Ireland
* Peter Christoffersen Tønder, Norwegian government official
July 6 – Francesco Beretta, Italian composer
July 11 – Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Swedish count of Brandenburgian extraction and a soldier
July 12 – Juan de Santiago y León Garabito, Spanish Catholic prelate, Bishop of Guadalajara and Bishop of Puerto Rico
July 19 – René Ouvrard, French composer
July 21 – Jacob Jensen Jersin, Danish-Norwegian theologian, priest, bishop of the Diocese of Christianssand
July 25
* Robert Fleming the elder, Scottish Presbyterian Minister, died 1694
* Hishikawa Moronobu, Japanese painter and printmaker
July 27 – George Pitt, English politician
July 28 – William Lowther, English Member of Parliament
July 29 – Suleiman I of Persia, Shah of Persia from 1666 to 1694
August 1
* Jean-Claude Rambot, 17th century French sculptor and architect in Aix-en-Provence
* John Michael Wright, portrait painter
August 5
* Mareen Duvall, American settler
* Mogens Skeel, Danish playwright
August 6 – Gabriel de la Corte, Spanish painter
August 8 – Antoine Arnauld, French theologian, philosopher, mathematician
August 21 – Tommaso Saladini, Roman Catholic bishop
August 22
* Samuel Aboab, rabbi
* Maria Sofia De la Gardie, Swedish countess and industrialist
* Bernard of Offida, Italian saint
August 28 – Francesco Antonio Picchiatti, Italian architect
August 29 – Sir Richard Everard, 2nd Baronet, English politician
August 30 – Louis de Crevant, Duke of Humières, Marshal of France
September 3 – Jean Barbier d'Aucour, French lawyer to the parliament of Paris, ardent Jansenist and satirist
September 6 – Francesco II d'Este, Duke of Modena, Italian noble
September 7 – Andrija Zmajević, Serbian poet
September 10 – Thomas Lloyd, Lieutenant-governor of provincial Pennsylvania and Quaker preacher
September 14
* Princess Sophie Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst
* Jonathan Cope, English politician;
* Thomas Savage, 3rd Earl Rivers, English Earl
September 22 – Henry Neville, English politician
September 24 – Jean Garet, French monk
September 27 – Giuseppe Colombi, musician, composer
September 28 – Gabriel Mouton, French abbot and scientist
September 29
* Leopold Louis, Count Palatine of Veldenz, German noble
* Katarzyna Sobieska, Polish noble

October–December

October 6 – Sugiyama Waichi, Japanese acupuncturist
October 9 – Jean-Louis Bergeret, French lawyer
October 12
* Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan, British politician
* Delphin Strungk, German composer
October 13 – Johann Christoph Pezel, German violinist, trumpeter and composer
October 18 – Pierre Ango, French Catholic priest and scientist
October 19 – Pierre Menault, French composer
October 20 – Christian II, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg
October 26 – Samuel von Pufendorf, German philosopher
October 27 – Gevherhan Sultan, Daughter of Ottoman Sultan Ibrahim I
October 30
* Francis Fenwick, English monk
* Raimondo del Pozzo, Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Vieste
November 7 – Jacques de Claeuw, painter from the Northern Netherlands
November 14 – Christian III Maurice, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg, German duke
November 16 – Jacques-Théodore de Bryas, clergyman from the Low Countries, bishop of Saint-Omer and archbishop of Cambrai
November 22 – John Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury
November 23
* Vicente de Gonzaga y Doria, Viceroy of Valencia, 1663, Viceroy of Catalonia, 1664–1667 and Viceroy of Sicily 1679
* Jean Talon, first Intendant of New France
November 25 – Ismaël Bullialdus, French astronomer
November 28 – Matsuo Bashō, Japanese poet
November 29 – Marcello Malpighi, Italian physician
December 2 – Pierre Puget, French painter, sculptor, architect and engineer
December 4
* Bernardin Gigault de Bellefonds, Marshal of France
* Jean-Baptiste Boisot, French abbot, bibliophile and scholar
December 5 – William Beecher, English politician
December 7 – Tiberio Fiorilli, Italian-born actor
December 9 – Paolo Segneri, Italian Jesuit
December 11 – Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma from 1646 until his death
December 12 – Filippo Lauri, Italian painter
December 20 – Erasmus Finx, German polymath
December 24 – Giovanni Paolo Meniconi, Catholic bishop
December 26 – Francis Cuffe, politician
December 27 – Henrik Span, naval officer in the Dutch
December 28
* Henry Arundell, 3rd Baron Arundell of Wardour, English Baron
* Queen Mary II of England, Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland
date unknown – Hafız Post, Turkish musician