This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1686.

Events

*January –

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

is recorded as having converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

New books

Prose

Pierre Bayle Pierre Bayle (; 18 November 1647 – 28 December 1706) was a French philosopher, author, and lexicographer. A Huguenot, Bayle fled to the Dutch Republic in 1681 because of religious persecution in France. He is best known for his '' Historica ...

– ''Philosophical Commentary'' (on religious freedom) * Bernard de Fontenelle **''Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes (

Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds ''Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds'' (french: Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes) is a popular science book by French author Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, published in 1686. Content The work consists of six lessons popularizin ...

)'' **''L'Histoire des oracles'' *

Gottfried Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathem ...

**''Brevis Demonstratio Erroris Memorabilis Cartesii et Aliorum Circa Legem Naturae'' (A Brief Demonstration of the Memorable Error of Descartes and Others About the Law of Nature) **''Discours de Métaphysique'' *

Ihara Saikaku was a Japanese poet and creator of the " floating world" genre of Japanese prose (''ukiyo-zōshi''). Born as Hirayama Tōgo (平山藤五), the son of a wealthy merchant in Osaka, he first studied haikai poetry under Matsunaga Teitoku and later ...

(井原西鶴) **''Twenty Cases of Unfilial Children (本朝二十不孝 Honchō Nijū Fukō)'' **''The Life of an Amorous Woman (好色一代女 Kōshoku Ichidai Onna)'' *

Thomas Sydenham Thomas Sydenham (10 September 1624 – 29 December 1689) was an English physician. He was the author of ''Observationes Medicae'' which became a standard textbook of medicine for two centuries so that he became known as 'The English Hippocrate ...

– ''Schedula monitoria de novae febris ingressu (Schedule of Symptoms of Newly Arrived Fever)''

Children

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...

– ''A Book for Boys and Girls, or, Country Rhymes for Children''

Drama

Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...

and

John Blow John Blow (baptised 23 February 1649 – 1 October 1708) was an English composer and organist of the Baroque music, Baroque period. Appointed organist of Westminster Abbey in late 1668,The Lucky Chance ''The Luckey Chance, or an Alderman's Bargain'' by Aphra Behn is a 17th-century comedy in five acts. The play was first staged in the Spring of 1686. Its main theme is romance and it includes devices such as impersonation and disguise, and a masq ...

'' *

Thomas d'Urfey Thomas d'Urfey (a.k.a. Tom Durfey; 165326 February 1723) was an English writer and wit. He wrote plays, songs, jokes, and poems. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the ballad opera. Life D'Urfey was born in Devonshi ...

– '' The Banditti'' *

Thomas Jevon Thomas Jevon (1652–1688) was an English playwright, and one of the first English Harlequins. He began his career as a dancing master, but worked his way onto the stage, and played leading low-comedy parts in London between 1673 and 1688. His br ...

– ''

The Devil of a Wife ''The Devil of a Wife, or A Comical Transformation'' is a 1686 comedy play by the English writer and actor Thomas Jevon. It was first performed by the United Company at the Dorset Garden Theatre in London. The original Dorset Garden cast include ...

Poetry

Anne Killigrew Anne Killigrew (1660–1685) was an English poet and painter, described by contemporaries as "A Grace for beauty, and a Muse for wit." Born in London, she and her family were active in literary and court circles. Killigrew's poems were ci ...

(posthumously) – ''Poems''

Births

January 17 Events Pre-1600 * 38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey. * 1362 – Saint Marcellus' flood kills at least 25,000 people on ...

–

Archibald Bower Archibald Bower (17 January 1686 – 3 September 1766) was a Scottish historian, now noted for his complicated and varying religious faith, and the accounts he gave of it, now considered by scholars to lack credibility. Educated at the Scots Co ...

, Scottish historian (died

1766 Events January–March * January 1 – Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain, as King Charles III, and figurehead for Jacobitism. * January 14 – Chr ...

) *

August 12 Events Pre-1600 * 1099 – First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid forces led by Al-Afdal Shahanshah. This is considered the last engagement of the First Crusade. * 1121 – Ba ...

–

John Balguy John Balguy (12 August 1686 – 21 September 1748) was an English divine and philosopher. Early years He was born at Sheffield and educated at the Sheffield Grammar School (where his father Thomas Balguy was headmaster until his death in 1696) ...

, English philosopher (died

1748 Events January–March * January 12 – Ahmad Shah Durrani captures Lahore. * January 27 – A fire at the prison and barracks at Kinsale, in Ireland, kills 54 of the prisoners of war housed there. An estimated 500 prison ...

) *

September 5 Events Pre-1600 * 917 – Liu Yan declares himself emperor, establishing the Southern Han state in southern China, at his capital of Panyu. * 1367 – Swa Saw Ke becomes king of Ava * 1590 – Alexander Farnese's army forces Hen ...

–

Antoine Touron Antoine Touron (5 September 1686 – 2 September 1775) was a French Dominican biographer and historian. He was born at Graulhet, Tarn, France, the son of a merchant, and seems to have joined the Dominicans at an early age. After the completion o ...

, French historian and biographer (died

1775 Events Summary The American Revolutionary War began this year, with the first military engagement being the April 19 Battles of Lexington and Concord on the day after Paul Revere's now-legendary ride. The Second Continental Congress t ...

) *''unknown date'' –

Alban Thomas Alban Thomas (1686–1771) was a Welsh doctor, librarian and antiquarian, who followed in his father's footsteps in supporting Welsh literature, being particularly associated with efforts by Moses Williams to publish Welsh-language manuscrip ...

, Welsh physician and antiquarian (died

1771 Events January– March * January 5 – The Great Kalmyk (Torghut) Migration is led by Ubashi Khan, from the east bank of the Lower Volga River back to the homeland of Dzungaria, at this time under Qing Dynasty rule. * January 9 ...

)

Deaths

January 31 Events Pre-1600 * 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades. * 1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the t ...

–

Jean Mairet Jean (de) Mairet (10 May 160431 January 1686) was a classical french dramatist who wrote both tragedies and comedies. Life He was born at Besançon, and went to Paris to study at the Collège des Grassins about 1625. In that year he produced ...

, French dramatist (born

1604 Events January–June * January 1 – '' The Masque of Indian and China Knights'' is performed by courtiers of James VI and I at Hampton Court. * January 14 – The Hampton Court Conference is held between James I of England ...

) *

February 6 Events Pre-1600 * 1579 – The Archdiocese of Manila is made a diocese by a papal bull with Domingo de Salazar being its first bishop. 1601–1900 * 1685 – James II of England and VII of Scotland is proclaimed King upon the death of ...

– Dorothy White, English Quaker pamphleteer (born c. 1630) *

February 10 Events Pre-1600 * 1258 – Mongol invasions: Baghdad falls to the Mongols, bringing the Islamic Golden Age to an end. * 1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murders John Comyn, sparkin ...

–

William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Coleshi ...

, English antiquary and herald (born

1605 Events January–June * January 16 – The first part of Miguel de Cervantes' satire on the theme of chivalry, ''Don Quixote'' (''El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha'', "The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha"), is publ ...

) *

February 25 Events Pre-1600 * 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor. * 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II. ...

–

Abraham Calovius Abraham Calovius (also Abraham Calov or Abraham Kalau; 16 April 161225 February 1686) was a Lutheran theologian, and was one of the champions of Lutheran orthodoxy in the 17th century. Biography He was born in Mohrungen (Morąg), Ducal Prussia ...

, German Lutheran theologian (born

1612 Events January–June * January 6 – Axel Oxenstierna becomes Lord High Chancellor of Sweden. He persuades the Riksdag of the Estates to grant the Swedish nobility the right and privilege to hold all higher offices of governme ...

) *

June 23 Events Pre-1600 * 229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu. * 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships. * 1280 – The Spanish Re ...

– Sir

William Coventry Sir William Coventry (4th October 162723 June 1686) was an English statesman. Early life and Civil War William was the son of the lord keeper Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry, by his second wife Elizabeth Aldersley. Coventry matriculated a ...

, English statesman and author (born c. 1628) *

July 10 Events Pre-1600 * 138 – Emperor Hadrian of Rome dies of heart failure at his residence on the bay of Naples, Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina. * 645 – Isshi Incident: Prin ...

– John Fell, English academic and bishop (born

1625 Events January–March * January 17 – Led by the Duke of Soubise, the Huguenots launch a second rebellion against King Louis XIII, with a surprise naval assault on a French fleet being prepared in Blavet. * February 3 – ...

) *

August 13 Events Pre-1600 * 29 BC – Octavian holds the first of three consecutive triumphs in Rome to celebrate the victory over the Dalmatian tribes. * 523 – John I becomes the new Pope after the death of Pope Hormisdas. * 554 – Em ...

–

Louis Maimbourg Louis Maimbourg ( la, Ludovicus Mamburgus; January 10, 1610, Nancy – August 13, 1686, Paris) was a French Jesuit and historian. Biography Born at Nancy, Maimbourg entered the Society of Jesus at the age of sixteen, and after studying at Rome ...

, French Jesuit historian (born

1610 Some have suggested that 1610 may mark the beginning of the Anthropocene, or the 'Age of Man', marking a fundamental change in the relationship between humans and the Earth system, but earlier starting dates (ca. 1000 C.E.) have received broa ...

) *

November 25 Events Pre-1600 *571 BC – Servius Tullius, king of Rome, celebrates the first of his three triumphs for his victory over the Etruscans. *1034 – Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots, dies. His grandson, Donnchad, son of Bethó ...

–

Nicolas Steno Niels Steensen ( da, Niels Steensen; Latinized to ''Nicolaus Steno'' or ''Nicolaus Stenonius''; 1 January 1638 – 25 November 16861638 Events January–March * January 4 – **A naval battle takes place in the Indian Ocean off of the coast of Goa at South India as a Netherlands fleet commanded by Admiral Adam Westerwolt decimates the Portuguese fleet. **A fleet of 80 ...

) *

November 28 Events Pre-1600 * 587 – Treaty of Andelot: King Guntram of Burgundy recognizes Childebert II as his heir. * 936 – Shi Jingtang is enthroned as the first emperor of the Later Jin by Emperor Taizong of Liao, following a revolt again ...

– Nicolas Letourneux, French religious writer (born

1640 Events January–March * January 6 – The Siege of Salses ends almost six months after it had started on June 9, 1639, with the French defenders surrendering to the Spanish attackers. * January 17 – A naval battle over ...

) *

December 6 Events Pre-1600 *1060 – Béla I of Hungary, Béla I is crowned king of Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages, Hungary. *1240 – Mongol invasion of Rus': Kyiv, defended by Voivode Dmytro, Siege of Kiev (1240), falls to the Mongols u ...

– Nicola Avancini, Italian Jesuit writer (born

)

References

{{Year in literature article categories Years of the 17th century in literature