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 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 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