1644
Ming Dynasty Falls
Rebel armies under Li Zicheng broke into Beijing; the last Ming emperor, Chongzhen, hanged himself on a tree in the palace garden with a scrap of paper pinned…
Battle of Marston Moor
On a wet moor in Yorkshire, Parliamentarian and Scottish forces crushed the royalist army of Prince Rupert.
Qing Dynasty Takes Beijing
Manchu cavalry under Prince Dorgon, invited through the Shanhai Pass by the Ming general Wu Sangui, rode into Beijing and installed the five-year-old Shunzhi…
Milton Publishes Areopagitica
The Puritan poet John Milton published a pamphlet addressed to parliament attacking prepublication censorship, arguing that truth prevails in open contest…
Dutch Whaling Peaks off Spitsbergen
Dutch whaling fleets processing bowhead whales on the icy shores of Spitsbergen reached a peak of two hundred ships and eighteen thousand men.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1644?
Saeculum lists 5 events from 1644. The most significant is Ming Dynasty Falls.
What era was 1644 part of?
1644 falls within the Renaissance (1501-1650). Reformation, conquest, and the world drawn whole.
Which regions saw notable events in 1644?
The events from 1644 span East Asia and Europe.