- Jan 14 Battle at Elvas: Portuguese beat Spanish
- Jan 24 Pierre Corneille's "Oedipe" premieres in Paris
- Feb 11 The assault on Copenhagen by Swedish forces is beaten back with heavy losses
- Feb 16 1st known cheque written (£400), now on display at Westminster Abbey
- Apr 22 Lord Protector Richard Cromwell disbands English parliament
- May 22 France, England & Netherlands sign "Hedges Concerto" treaty
- May 25 Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England, earning the nickname "Tumbledown Dick" as a result of his abrupt fall from power
- May 31 Netherlands, England and France sign Treaty of The Hague
- Jun 29 The Russians, led by Prince Trubetskoy are defeated by the Ukrainian armies of Ivan Vyhovsky in the Battle of Konotop.
- Aug 10 Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb has his brother and competitor for the throne Dara Shukoh executed on religious grounds
- Sep 30 Robinson Crusoe is shipwrecked (according to Daniel Defoe)
- Nov 17 Peace of the Pyrenees is signed between France and Spain
- Nov 25 Michiel de Ruyter conquers Danish city Nyborg
- Dec 8 Mexican border town Ciudad Juárez is founded by Fray García de San Francisco.
- Dec 16 General Monck demands free parliamentary election in Scotland
- Dec 26 Long Parliament reforms in Westminster