References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 June 28.

1550 May 25 Birth of Camillus de Lellis Italian soldier/monastery founder/saint. [1] June 27 Birth of Charles IX king of France (1560-74). [1] December 6 Birth of Orazio Tiberio Vecchi composer. [1] December 31 Birth of Henri Guise [le Balafré] French duke/leader (Catholic League). [1] 1551 April 23 Birth of Boris Godunov tsar of Muscovy (1598-1605) in Time of Troubles. [1] May 2 Birth of William Camden English historian (Brittania, Annales). [1] May 17 Birth of Martinus A del Rio Spanish/South Netherlands lawyer/historian/theologist. [1] 1552 February 1 Birth of Sir Edward Coke England, jurist/politician (defended common law). [1] February 8 Birth of Théodore-Agrippa d'Aubigné French/Swiss historian/poet (Tragiques). [1] February 28 Birth of Jobst Bürgi [Justus Byrgius], Swiss/German mathematician. [1] 1553 November 23 Birth of Prospero Alpini Italy, botanist/physician (De Medocoma Aegyptorum). [1] December 13 Birth of Henry IV first Bourbon-king of Navarre/France (1572/89-1610). [1] December 14 Birth of Henri IV the Bourbon king of Navarra (Henri III)/France. [1] 1554 January 9 Birth of Gregory XV [Alessandro Ludovisi], Roman Catholic pope (1621-23). [1] March 27 Birth of Everhardus van Bronchorst Dutch lawyer. [1] May 20 Birth of Paulo Bellasio composer. [1] November 30 Birth of Philip Sidney England, poet/statesman/soldier (Arcadia). [1] December 17 Birth of Ernst of Bayern prince/bishop of Liege/archbishop of Cologne. [1] 1555 March 2 Birth of Ludovico Spontoni composer. [1] December 27 Birth of Johann Arndt German Lutherian theologist. [1] 1556 January 27 Birth of Abbas I "the Great", shah of Persia (1587-1629). [1] February 7 Birth of Maria van Nassau Dutch countess of Buren. [1] February 21 Birth of Sethus Calvisius composer. [1] March 18 Birth of François-Hercule de Valois French duke of Anjou/Brabant. [1] June 19 Birth of James VI of Scotland (1567-1625)/James I of England (1603-25). [1] 1557 February 11 Birth of John Wtenbogaert remonstrants theologist. [1] February 15 Birth of Alfonso Fontanelli composer. [1] February 24 Birth of Matthias C Sarbiewski [Sarbievius], Vienna, Polish Jesuit/poet/Holy Roman emperor (1612-19). [1] May 5 Birth of Emmanuel-Philibert van Lalaing baron of Montigny/marquis of Renty. [1] May 31 Birth of Theodorus I (Fedor Ivanovitsj) czar of Russia (1584-98). [1] December 7 Birth of Girolamo Trombeti composer. [1] 1558 May 16 Birth of Andreas of Austria Bohemia cardinal/Governor of Netherlands (1598-1600). [1] July 11 Birth of Robert Greene Elizabethan dramatist (Friar Bacon). [1] November 6 Birth of Thomas Kyd English dramatist (Spanish Tragedy). [1] 1559 February 18 Birth of Isaac Casaubon naturalized English classical scholar, theologian. [1] 1560 January 5 Birth of William Cobbold composer. [1] December 12 Birth of Maximilien de Béthune duke of Sully/baron of Rosny/Prime Minister of France. [1] 1561 January 22 Birth of Francis Bacon in England; statesman/essayist (Novum Organum). [1] [5] March 29 Birth of Santorio Sanctorius in Trieste, Italy; physician/burned at stake/heretic. [1] December 9 Birth of Edwin Sandys a founder of Virginia colony. [1] 1562 January 12 Birth of Charles Emanuel I the great, Duke of Savoy. [1] November 25 Birth of Lope Felix de Vega Madrid Spain, dramatist/poet (Angelica, Arcadia). [1] December 18 Birth of Philipp Dulichius composer. [1] 1563 January 30 Birth of Franciscus Gomarus [François Gomaer], Dutch theologist/opera singer. [1] June 1 Birth of Robert Cecil Earl of Salisbury, English chief minister (1598-1625). [1] December 29 Birth of Francesco Maria Guaitoli composer. [1] 1564 February 6 Birth of Christopher Marlowe English poet/dramatist (Dr Faustus). [1] February 15 Birth of Galileo Galilei in Pisa, Italy; astronomer/physicist. [1] [5] March 9 Birth of David Fabricius Essen Germany, astronomer (discovered variable star). [1] April 23 Birth of William Shakespeare Stratford-on-Avon England; bard (Hamlet, MacBeth, Julius Cæsar). [1] December 24 Birth of Abraham C Bloemaert painter/cartoonist/engraver. [1] 1565 May 15 Birth of Henrick de Keyser architect/master builder of Amsterdam. [1] 1566 January 14 Birth of Angelo Notari composer. [1] January 30 Birth of Alessandro Piccinini composer. [1] May 26 Birth of Mohammed III sultan of Turkey (1595-1603). [1] December 1 Birth of Philip earl of Nassau-Dillenburg, Governor of Fort Gorinchem/Nijmegen. [1] December 11 Birth of Manuel Cardoso composer. [1] December 30 Birth of Alessandro Piccinini composer. [1] 1567 January 4 Birth of Franciscus Aguilon physicist/mathematician/jesuit/architect. [1] January 15 Birth of Black Box [Catherine Quinol], Guadeloupe, vocalist (Love Sensation). [1] February 12 Birth of Thomas Campion England, composer/poet/physician. [1] April 25 Birth of Aurelio Signoretti composer. [1] April 26 Birth of Nicolas Forme composer. [1] May 1 Birth of Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt Dutch royal painter. [1] May 15 Birth of Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi Cremona Italy, composer (L'Orfeo). [1] July 3 Birth of Samuel de Champlain explorer (Lake Champlain). [1] December 15 Birth of Christoph Demantius composer. [1] 1568 February 11 Birth of Honoré d'Urfé French writer (L'Astrée). [1] March 9 Birth of Aloysius "Luigi" van Gonzaga Italian prince/Jesuit/saint. [1] May 11 Birth of Christian I ruler of Anhalt-Bernburg (Battle of White Mountain). [1] May 17 Birth of Christoph Thomas Walliser composer. [1] 1569 April 3 Birth of Giovanni Battista Massarengo composer. [1] April 10 Birth of Emilia van Nassau daughter of Willem of Orange and Anna of Saxon. [1] December 9 Birth of Martinus de Porres Peru, saint (patron of social justice). [1] December 18 Birth of Jakob Hassler composer. [1] December 30 Birth of Georg Quitschreiber composer. [1] 1570 March 31 Birth of Louise Juliana countess of Nassau. [1] 1571 January 21 Birth of John I Pontanus physicist/historian (Amsterdam). [1] January 22 Birth of Robert Bruce Cotton English antiquary, politician. [1] February 15 Birth of Michael Praetorius Kreuzberg Germany, music theorist/composer (Syntagma music). [1] December 9 Birth of Adrian A Metius Dutch mathematician/fort architect. [1] December 27 Birth of Johann Kepler in Weil der Stradt Germany; mathematician/astronomer (discovers planets have elliptical orbits). [1] [129] 1572 February 14 Birth of Hans Christoph Haiden composer. [1] June 11 Birth of Ben Jonson England, playwright/poet (Volpone, Alchemist). [1] 1573 January 10 Birth of Simon Marius in Gunzenhausen, Germany; astronomer, named the four largest moons of Jupiter, first to report the spiral nebula in Andromeda, one of the first to note sunspots. [37] January 31 Birth of Ambrosius Metzger composer. [1] Birth of Giulio Cesare Monteverdi composer. [1] February 22 Birth of Gemignano Capilupi composer. [1] February 28 Birth of Elias Hill German architect/city builder (Augsburg). [1] April 12 Birth of Jacques Bonfrère Dutch bible expert. [1] April 17 Birth of Maximilian I duke/ruler of Bayern (Catholic League). [1] April 26 Birth of Marie de'Medici Queen of France. [1] July 15 Birth of Inigo Jones London, architect; restored Saint Paul's cathedral. [1] September 28 Birth of Caravaggio Italy, painter. [1] December 1 Birth of Philippus Rovenius [Rouveen] apostile vicar. [1] December 21 Birth of Mathurin Régnier French poet (Macette). [1] December 22 Birth of Ernst Casimir count of Nassau-Dietz/mayor of Frisia/Groningen. [1] 1574 January 9 Birth of Christoph Buel composer. [1] January 17 Birth of Robert Fludd composer. [1] January 23 Birth of Lucas I Franchoys Belgian painter. [1] March 5 Birth of William Oughtred England, mathematician/inventor (slide rule). [1] March 7 Birth of John Wilbye composer. [1] May 7 Birth of Innocent X [Giambattista Pamfili] 236th Roman Catholic pope (1644-55). [1] December 12 Birth of Anne van Denemarken daughter of Danish King Frederik II. [1] December 15 Birth of Samuel Besler composer. [1] 1575 February 4 Birth of Pierre de Bérulle French cardinal. [1] July 25 Birth of Christoph Scheiner Germany, astronomer. [1] 1576 January 12 Birth of Peter Scriverius Dutch lawyer/historian. [1] April 24 Birth of San Vicente de Paúl. [1] May 17 Birth of Ferdinand van Apshoven the Older, Flemish painter, baptized. [1] December 3 Birth of Marsilio Casentini composer. [1] 1577 February 8 Birth of Robert Burton writer, Anglican clergyman (Anatomy of Melancholy). [1] March 26 Birth of Elisabeth of Nassau daughter of Willem I and Charlotte of Bourbon. [1] May 1 Birth of François van Kinschot Dutch treasurer. [1] May 28 Birth of Floris II van Pallandt Dutch earl of Culemborg/politician. [1] June 28 Birth of Peter Paul Rubens Siegen, Flemish Baroque painter (Circumcision). [1] 1578 January 28 Birth of Cornelis Haga Dutch lawyer/ambassador to Constantinople (1611-39). [1] February 9 Birth of Giambattista Andreini Italian playwright/actor (L'adamo). [1] March 5 Birth of Charles d'Albert duke of Luynes premier of France/Governor of Picardië. [1] March 17 Birth of Francesco Albana Italian painter (Mary's Ascension). [1] March 18 Birth of Adam Elsheimer German painter/cartoonist/etcher, baptized. [1] April 1 Birth of William Harvey England, physician (discovered blood circulation). [1] April 14 Birth of Philip III king of Spain and Portugal (1598-1621). [1] May 30 Birth of Valentin Dretzel composer. [1] December 2 Birth of Agostino Agazzari composer. [1] 1579 January 4 Birth of Willem Teellinck Dutch theologist/vicar. [1] February 9 Birth of John Meursius [van Meurs], Dutch historian. [1] April 12 Birth of François de Bassompierre marshal of France. [1] December 12 Birth of Heinrich Steuccius composer. [1] December 20 Birth of John Fletcher Elizabethan dramatist (Phylaster) (baptized). [1] 1580 January 12 Birth of Jean Baptiste van Helmont Belgian chemist, (found boiling point temperature). [1] April 18 Birth of Thomas Middleton English playwright (Game of Chess). [1] 1581 January 4 Birth of Bishop James Ussher Archbishop of Armagh, calculated Earth's beginning (November 23, 4004 BC). [1] February 4 Birth of Daniel Selich composer. [1] May 6 Birth of Frans Francken the Younger, painter. [1] December 9 Birth of Emilia Secunda Antwerpiana daughter of Willem of Orange. [1] 1582 January 23 Birth of John Barclay Scottish satirist/Latin poet (Argenis). [1] January 28 Birth of John Barclay Scottish satirist/poet (Euphormio's Satyricon, Argenis). [1] April 1 Birth of Gaspar de Crayer Flemish painter. [1] Birth of Thomas Simpson composer. [1] April 8 Birth of Phienas Fletcher poet. [1] May 1 Birth of Marco da Gagliano Italian opera composer. [1] December 23 Birth of Severo Bonini composer. [1] 1583 January 8 Birth of Simon Episcopius Dutch bishop/theologist. [1] February 2 Birth of Anna Roemers Visscher Dutch poetess. [1] February 17 Birth of J Henry Alting Dutch theologist. [1] March 3 Birth of Edward Herbert of Cherbury English military/philosopher. [1] April 10 Birth of Hugo Grotius Holland, jurist, father of international law. [1] December 25 Birth of Orlando Gibbons English composer (O Clap Your Hands), baptized. [1] 1584 January 29 Birth of Frederik Hendrik count of Nassau/Prince of Orange. [1] February 12 Birth of Casparus Barleaus Flemish theologist/poet (Muiderkring). [1] April 29 Birth of Melchior Teschner composer. [1] December 4 Birth of John Cotton Puritan clergyman in Massachusetts Bay colony. [1] 1585 January 6 Birth of Claude Favre baron de Perouges seigneur de Vaugelas French grammarian. [1] February 12 Birth of Caspar Bartholin Malmö, physician, theologian, writer on anatomy. [1] March 5 Birth of Johan Georg I elector of Saxon (1611-56) (Peace of Prague). [1] March 16 Birth of Gerbrant A Bredero Holland, poet/playwright (Klucht van de Koe). [1] September 9 Birth of Cardinal A Jean de Plessicide de Richelieu Louis XIII chief minister. [1] October 28 Birth of Cornelius Otto Jansen France, Roman Catholic reform leader. [1] 1586 January 20 Birth of Johann Hermann Schein German composer (Fontana d'Israel). [1] February 8 Birth of Jacob Praetorius composer. [1] April 11 Birth of Pietro Della Valle composer. [1] April 17 Birth of John Ford English dramatist ('Tis Pity She's a Whore). [1] December 29 Birth of Francisco de Moncada Spanish earl of Osuna/marquis of Aytona. [1] 1587 January 6 Birth of Gaspar de Guzmán Count of Olivares, Premier of Spain (1621-43). [1] January 8 Birth of Johannes Fabricius Denmark, astronomer (discovered sunspots). [1] January 16 Birth of Alexander Adriaenssen Flemish painter. [1] April 17 Birth of Marco Ivan Lukacic composer. [1] August 18 First English child born in the New World (Virginia Dare). [1] Birth of Virginia Dare first American born of English parents. [1] November 17 Birth of Joost van den Vondel Cologne Germany, Dutch poet/dramatist (Jephtha). [1] 1588 January 12 Birth of John Winthrop first Governor (Massachusetts Bay Colony). [1] Birth of Jose Ribera [Lo Spagnoletto] Spanish painter. [1] February 12 Birth of John Winthrop English attorney/puritan/first Governor of Massachusetts. [1] February 19 Birth of Pieter de Carpentier Flemish Governor-General of Dutch East-Indies. [1] February 26 Birth of Nicolaus Erich composer. [1] April 5 Birth of Thomas Hobbes England, philosopher (Leviathan). [1] April 15 Birth of Claudius Salmasius [Claude Saumaise] French linguist. [1] September 8 Birth of Marin Mersenne France, mathematician/musician/philospher (Cartesian). [1] 1589 January 8 Birth of Ivan [Dzivo F] Gundulic Dalmatisch writer (Dubravka). [1] February 5 Birth of Honorat de Brueil seigneur de Racan French playwright/poet. [1] February 7 Birth of Jacob de Witt Dutch mayor (Dordrecht)/mathematician. [1] March 3 Birth of Gisbertus Voetius [Gijsbert Voet], Dutch reformed theologist. [1] March 19 Birth of William Bradford Governor of Plymouth colony for 30 years (baptized). [1] 1590 April 18 Birth of Ahmed I 14th sultan of Turkey (1603-17). [1] 1591 May 26 Birth of Dirck Janszoon Sweelinck composer. [1] August 24 Birth of Robert Herrick England, poet (Gather ye rosebuds) (baptized). [1] 1592 January 5 Birth of Shah Jahan Mughal emperor of India (1628-58), built Taj Mahal. [1] January 14 Birth of Sjihab al-Din Sultan Choerram Sjah Djahan leader of India. [1] January 22 Birth of Pierre Gassendi Champtercier Provence, scientist/philosopher. [1] January 27 Birth of Pierre de La Barre composer. [1] March 28 Birth of Jan Amos Komensky [Comenius] Moravian educational reformer. [1] April 14 Birth of Abraham Elsevier book publisher/publisher. [1] April 20 Birth of John Eliot Saint Germans Cornwall, English Member of Parliament/author. [1] April 28 Birth of George Villiers first duke of Buckingham/English Admiral. [1] May 1 Birth of Johann A Schall von Bell German missionaries/astronomer. [1] May 8 Birth of Francis Quarles English poet (Argalus and Parthenia, Emblems). [1] May 13 Birth of John Cloppenburg vicar/theologist. [1] August 28 Birth of George Villiers duke of Buckingham, royal minister to James I. [1] 1593 March 19 Birth of Georges de la Tour French painter. [1] April 3 Birth of George Herbert English metaphysical poet (5 Mystical Songs). [1] April 13 Birth of Thomas Wentworth London, earl of Strafford/Viceroy of Ireland. [1] May 20 Birth of Jacob Jordaens Flemish barok artist. [1] August 9 Birth of Izaak Walton England, biographer/fisherman/writer (Compleat Angler). [1] 1594 March 25 Birth of Maria Tesselschade Roemers Visscher Dutch writer. [1] April 20 Birth of Matthaus Apelles von Lowenstern composer. [1] April 24 Birth of Benedikt Lechler composer. [1] December 9 Birth of Gustavus II Adolphus king who made Sweden a major power (1611-32). [1] December 20 Birth of Giovanni Battista Gagliano composer. [1] 1595 February 2 Birth of Jacob van Campen painter/architect (New Church, Amsterdam). [1] April 5 Birth of John Wilson composer. [1] May 27 Birth of Benedictus Carpzovius [Benedikt Carpzov], German lawyer. [1] 1596 January 5 Birth of Henry Lawes English composer. [1] January 13 Birth of Jan J Goyen Dutch landscape painter. [1] March 11 Birth of Isaac Elsevier book publisher. [1] March 31 Birth of René Descartes France, philosopher (he thought, therefore he was). [1] May 9 Birth of Abraham van Diepenbeeck painter. [1] September 3 Birth of Nicolo Amati Italy, violin maker (Stradivari and Guarneri). [1] 1597 December 23 Birth of Martin Opitz Germany, poet "Father of Modern German Poetry". [1] 1598 April 5 Birth of Laurentius Erhard composer. [1] April 9 Birth of Johann Crüger German organist/composer/music theorist. [1] April 23 Birth of Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp naval commander. [1] May 23 Birth of Claude Mellan French engraver/cartoonist/painter, baptized. [1] August 7 Birth of Georg Stiernhielm "father of Swedish poetry" (Hercules). [1] November 7 Birth of Francisco de Zurbaran Spain, Baroque painter (baptized). [1] December 7 Birth of Giovanni Bernini Italy, baroque sculptor (Saint Teresa in Ecstasy). [1] 1599 January 12 Birth of Adrian van Utrecht Flemish painter. [1] February 13 Birth of Alexander VII [Fabio Chigi], Siena Italy, pope (1655-67). [1] February 22 Birth of Anthony Van Dyck Antwerp Belgium, painter. [1] March 13 Birth of Johannes Berchmans Dutch Jesuit/saint. [1] March 22 Birth of Sir Anthony Van Dyck Flemish painter (Charles I of England). [1] March 23 Birth of Thomas Selle composer. [1] April 25 Birth of Oliver Cromwell; Puritan lord protector of England (1653-58) (dies 1658). [1] [5] June 6 Birth of Diego Velázquez Spain, painter (Rokeby Venus) (baptized). [1]