1621

Year 1621 (MDCXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar).

Events of 1621

January - June

* February 9 - Pope Gregory XV succeeds Pope Paul V as the 234th pope.
* February 17 - Miles Standish is appointed as the first commander of Plymouth Colony.
* March 16 - Samoset, a Mohegan, visits the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them, "Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset."
* March 22 - The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony sign a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoags.
* April 1 - The Plymouth, Massachusetts colonists create the first treaty with native Americans.
* April 5 - The "Mayflower" sets sail from Plymouth on a return trip to England.
* May 24 - The Protestant Union is formally dissolved.
* June 21 - Thirty Years' War: Twenty-seven Czech lords are executed on the Old Town Square in Prague as a consequence of the Battle of White Mountain.

July - December

* October - The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony and Wampanoags celebrate a harvest feast (3 days), later regarded as the "First Thanksgiving", noted for peaceful co-existence.
* November 11 - The ship "Fortune" arrives at Plymouth Colony, with 35 more settlers.

Undated

* The Venezuelan city of Petare is founded by Spanish conquistadors as San Jose de Guanarito.
* The Swedish city of Gothenburg is founded by Gustavus Adolphus.
* Riga falls under the rule of Sweden.
* The Swedish king Gustav II Adolf grants city rights to Luleå, Piteå and Torneå (Tornio).
* The Dutch mathematician and astronomer, Willebrord Snel van Royen - Snellius (1580-1626), discovers the famous law of refraction, also known as "Snellius' law".

Births

* January 27 - Thomas Willis, English physician who made important contributions to anatomy, particularly of the brain and nervous system (d. 1675)
* February 2 - Johannes Schefferus, Alsatian-born humanist (d. 1679)
* February 21 - Rebecca Nurse, accused witch (d. 1692)
* March 31 - Andrew Marvell, English poet (d. 1678)
* April 1 - Guru Teg Bahadur, 9th Sikh Guru (d. 1675)
* April 25 - Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, British soldier, statesman, and dramatist (d. 1679)
* July 6 - Jean de La Fontaine, French writer (d. 1695)
* July 22 - Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, British politician (d. 1683)
* August 19 - Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, Dutch painter (d. 1674)
* September 8 - Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, French general (d. 1686)
* December 23 - Edmund Berry Godfrey, English magistrate (d. 1678)
* December 23 - Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham, Lord Chancellor of England (d. 1682)

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Deaths

* January 28 - Pope Paul V (b. 1550)
* February 15 - Michael Praetorius, German composer (b. 1571)
* February 28 - Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1590)
* March 31 - King Philip III of Castile (Philip II of Portugal) (b. 1578)
* April 1 - Cristofano Allori, Italian painter (b. 1577)
* April 15 - John Carver, first governor of Plymouth Colony
* May 15 - Hendrick de Keyser, Dutch architect and sculptor (b. 1565)
* June 8 - Anne de Xainctonge, French saint (b. 1567)
* June 21 - Kryštof Harant z Polžic a Bezdružic, Bohemian composer, soldier, and author (executed) (b. 1564)
* July 2 - Thomas Harriot, English astronomer and mathematician (b. c. 1560)
* July 10 - Karel Bonaventura Buquoy, French soldier (b. 1571)
* July 13 - Archduke Albert of Austria, Governor of the Low Countries (b. 1559)
* August 3 - Guillaume du Vair, French writer (b. 1556)
* August 15 - John Barclay, Scottish writer (b. 1582)
* September 17 - Robert Bellarmine, Italian saint (b. 1542)
* September 24 - Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, Polish military commander (b. 1560)
* September 25 - Mary Sidney, English writer, patroness and translator (b. 1561)
* October 8 - Antoine de Montchrestien, French dramatist and economist (b. c. 1575)
* October 16 - Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Dutch composer (b. 1562)
* November 26 - Ralph Agas, English surveyor (b. c. 1540)
* December 13 - Katarina Stenbock, queen of Gustav I of Sweden (b. 1535)
* December 15 - Charles de Luynes, Constable of France (b. 1578)

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