1628
Harvey Publishes De Motu Cordis
Twelve years after his private lectures, William Harvey finally published his slim Latin treatise on the motion of the heart and blood in animals. It proved circulation through meticulous measurement: the heart, he showed, moved more blood in an hour than the body contained. Ancient physiology was finished, and the mechanistic understanding of the human body had its founding document.
Oyo Expansion
In what is now southwestern Nigeria, the Yoruba kingdom of Oyo, with its disciplined cavalry and elaborate royal council, expanded into a regional power dominating much of the lower Niger region. Its kings ruled a ritual empire in which the alaafin held ceremonial supremacy and the Oyo Mesi council checked him in practice.
Petition of Right
Parliament forced Charles I to accept a document prohibiting taxation without consent, arbitrary imprisonment, martial law in peacetime, and the billeting of troops on civilians. Charles signed under duress and soon violated every clause. The Petition would be cited for centuries as a charter of English liberty, standing alongside Magna Carta as a foundation of constitutional government.
Vasa Sinks on Its Maiden Voyage
The Swedish warship Vasa, overdecorated and top-heavy with two gun decks, heeled over in a light breeze twenty minutes after leaving the dockyard in Stockholm Harbor and sank in full view of the crowd. Gustavus Adolphus lost his flagship; three centuries later, divers raised it almost intact from the Baltic mud.
Duke of Buckingham Assassinated
George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, royal favorite and architect of Charles I's failed military adventures, was stabbed to death in a Portsmouth inn by a disgruntled army lieutenant named John Felton. London rejoiced; Charles wept. The king's most trusted and most hated councillor was gone, and Charles was left to govern without the companion who had shielded him from political reality.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1628?
Saeculum lists 5 curated events from 1628. The most significant is Harvey Publishes De Motu Cordis: Twelve years after his private lectures, William Harvey finally published his slim Latin treatise on the motion of the heart and blood in animals.
What era was 1628 part of?
1628 falls within the Renaissance (1501-1650). Reformation, conquest, and the world drawn whole.
Which regions saw notable events in 1628?
The curated events from 1628 span Europe and Africa.