On This Day

August 1666 in History

Events in History

  • Aug 4 Hurricane hits Guadeloupe, Martinique and St Christopher; thousands die
  • Aug 4 Sea battle between Netherlands and England
  • Aug 5 English fleet beats Dutch under Michiel de Ruyter
  • Aug 9 Rear Admiral Robert Holmes leads a raid on the Dutch island of Terschelling, destroying 150 merchant ships in the Vlie estuary, and pillaging the town of West-Terschelling, an act later known as "Holmes's Bonfire".

Birthdays in History

  • Aug 6 Maria Sophia of Neuburg, Queen of Portugal as the wife of King Peter II from 1687-99), born in Schloss Benrath, Düsseldorf (d. 1699)
  • Aug 13 William Wotton, English theologian and scholar, born in Wrentham, Suffolk (d. 1727)
  • Aug 16 Princess Henriëtte Amalia of Anhalt-Dessau, monarch of Nassau-Dietz, born in Kleve, Lower Rhine (d. 1726)
  • Aug 27 Ivan V, co-tsar of Russia (1682-89), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1696)

Deaths in History

  • Aug 4 Johan Evertsen, ltalian admiral of Zeeland, lynched in Brielle
  • Aug 6 Tsjerk Hiddes de Vries, Dutch admiral, dies in battle at 43
  • Aug 15 Johann A Schall von Bell, German missionary and astronomer, dies at 75
  • Aug 24 Francisco M the Melo, Portuguese author (Obras Morales), dies at 57
  • Aug 26 Frans Hals, Dutch painter (b. circa 1580)
  • Aug 30 Benedictus Carpzovius [Benedikt Carpzov], German lawyer, dies at 71