| February 25 | Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria becomes monarch of Palts |
| March 5 | 1st American temperance law enacted, Virginia |
| April 29 | 11 Dutch ships depart for the conquest of Peru |
| June 14 | 1st breach-of-promise lawsuit: Reverend Gerville Pooley, Virginia files against Cicely Jordan, he loses |
| August 6 | Maffeo Barberini elected Pope Urban VIII |
| November 1 | Fire at Plymouth, Massachusetts destroys several buildings |