24th January » King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament.
1st June » The Scottish Covenanters defeat John Graham of Claverhouse at the Battle of Drumclog.
2nd July » Europeans first visit Minnesota and see headwaters of Mississippi River called Mississippi in an expedition led by Daniel Greysolon de Du Luth.
7th August » The brigantine 'Le Griffon', commissioned by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is towed to the south-eastern end of the Niagara River, to become the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes of North America.
18th September » New Hampshire becomes a county of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Famous Birthdays in 1679
5th January » Pietro Filippo Scarlatti, Italian organist and composer (d. 1750)
24th January » Christian Wolff (philosopher) known as Christian Wolff, German philosopher (d. 1754)
14th February » Georg Friedrich Kauffmann, German organist and composer (d. 1735)
14th May » Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer and mathematician (d. 1764)
22nd August » Pierre Guérin de Tencin, French cardinal (d. 1758)
11th October » Christian Vater, German organ builder (d. 1756)
16th October » Jan Dismas Zelenka, Czech composer (d. 1745)
18th October » Ann Putnam, Jr., American witness in the Salem witch trials (d. 1716)
24th December » Domenico Sarro, Italian composer (d. 1744)
Famous Deaths in History for 1679
14th January » Jacques de Billy, French mathematician (b. 1602)
16th March » John Leverett, English-American general and politician, 19th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1616)
26th March » Johannes Schefferus, Swedish historian and author (b. 1621)
27th March » Abraham Minjon, Dutch painter (b. 1640)
3rd May » James Sharp (bishop) called James Sharp, Scottish archbishop (b. 1613)
26th May » Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1636)
15th June » Guillaume Courtois, French painter (b. 1628)
6th August » John Snell, Scottish-English soldier and philanthropist, founded the Snell Exhibition (b. 1629)
24th August » Jean François Paul de Gondi, French cardinal (b. 1614)
17th September » John of Austria the Younger, Spanish general and politician, List of governors of the Habsburg Netherlands e.g Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands (b. 1629)
12th October » William Gurnall, English clergyman and author (b. 1617)
4th December » Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher and author (b. 1588)
31st December » Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (b. 1608)