1626

January–March

 * January 7 – Polish-Swedish War: Battle of Wallhof in Latvia – Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, defeats a Polish army.
 * January 9 – Peter Minuit sails from Texel Island for America's New Netherland colony, with two ships of Dutch emigrants.
 * February 2 – King Charles I of England is crowned, but without his wife, Henrietta Maria, who declines to participate in a non-Catholic ceremony.
 * February 5 – The Huguenot rebels and the French government sign the Treaty of Paris, ending the second Huguenot rebellion.
 * February 10 – Battle of Ningyuan: In Xingcheng in China, after an 8-day battle, Ming dynasty commander Yuan Chonghuan defeats the much larger force of Manchu leader Nurhaci, who dies soon after and is succeeded by Huang Taiji.
 * February 11 – Emperor Susenyos of Ethiopia and Patriarch Afonso Mendes declare the primacy of the Roman See over the Ethiopian Church, and Roman Catholicism the state religion of Ethiopia.
 * March 5 – The Treaty of Monzón is signed between France and Spain to end the Valtellina War and the First Genoese-Savoyard War.
 * March 7 – Ambrósio I Nimi a Nkanga becomes the new monarch of Kongo (in what is now Angola) after the overthrow of Garcia I Mvemba a Nkanga, restoring the Kwilu dynasty to power.
 * March 15 – Portugal declares war on Queen Nzinga of the Kingdom of Ndongo, located in what is now Angola.

April–June

 * April 25 – Thirty Years' War: Battle of Dessau Bridge – Albrecht von Wallenstein defeats Ernst von Mansfelds army.
 * May 4 – Peter Minuit becomes director-general of New Netherland, for the Dutch West India Company.
 * May 24 – Peter Minuit buys Manhattan from a Native American tribe (Lenape or Shinnecock) for trade goods, valued at 60 guilders ($24.00).
 * May 30 – Wanggongchang Explosion in Beijing, China: a gunpowder factory explosion destroys part of the city and kills 20,000 people.
 * June 15 – King Charles I of England dissolves the English Parliament.
 * June 20 – Nine Jesuit Christian missionaries, six of them Japanese and three from Spain, are executed in Japan, followed by eight Japanese converts to Christianity on July 12.
 * June 28 – A 7.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Lingqiu County, in China, killing 5,200 residents.

July–September

 * July 4 – The Ottoman Army halts its attempt to retake Baghdad from the Persians, after having lost it in 1624.
 * July 27 – George II becomes the new Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt upon the death of his father, Louis V.
 * August 1 – Eighty Years' War: Ernst Casimir of Nassau-Dietz retakes Oldenzaal, forcing Spain to withdraw from Overijssel.
 * August 27 – Thirty Years' War: Battle of Lutter – Tilly defeats King Christian IV of Denmark's army.
 * September 30 – Nurhaci, chief of the Jurchens and founder of the Qing dynasty, dies and is succeeded by his son Hong Taiji.

October–December

 * November 6 (O.S.) – The ship Arms of Amsterdam arrives in Europe from New Netherland (left September 23) with the news: "They have purchased the Island Manhattes [Manhattan] from the Indians for the value of 60 guilders."
 * November 18 – The new St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is consecrated, on the 1,300th anniversary of the previous church in 326.
 * December 1 – Pasha Muhammad ibn Farukh, tyrannical Governor of Jerusalem, is forced out.
 * December 20 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and Transylvanian monarch Bethlen Gabor sign the Peace of Pressburg.

Date unknown

 * 1626 influenza pandemic begins in Asia, then spreads into Europe, Africa, North America, and South America.
 * The Würzburg and Bamberg witch trials, which will lead to the mass executions of hundreds of people until 1630/31, begin.
 * Samuel de Champlain decides to build Cap tourmente (Kap toor-mont) Farm to raise livestock to provide food for settlers in Quebec, rather than depending on supplies sent from France.
 * Establishment of the coastal settlement of Salem, Massachusetts.

January–March

 * January 9 – Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé, French founder of the Trappist Order (d. 1700)
 * January 13 – Johann Philipp of Hanau-Lichtenberg, German nobleman (d. 1669)
 * January 25 – Edward Evelyn, British politician (d. 1692)
 * February 5 – Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French aristocrat and writer (d. 1696)
 * February 7 – Fabian von Fersen, Swedish soldier and statesman (d. 1677)
 * February 18 – Francesco Redi, Italian physician (d. 1697)
 * March 3 – John Hele, English politician (d. 1661)
 * March 9 – Lorentz Mortensen Angell, Norwegian merchant and landowner (d. 1697)
 * March 10 – Cornelis Van Caukercken, Flemish engraver, printseller (d. 1680)
 * March 12 – John Aubrey, English antiquary and writer (d. 1697)
 * March 16 – Cornelius Van Steenwyk, American politician (d. 1684)
 * March 21 – Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, Spanish Catholic saint, missionary to Guatemala (d. 1667)
 * March 30 – Atto Melani, Italian opera singer (d. 1714)

April–June

 * April 16 – Robert Harley, English politician (d. 1673)
 * April 10 – Franz Egon of Fürstenberg, German count in the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1682)
 * April 23 – Maurice Henry, Prince of Nassau-Hadamar (1653–1679) (d. 1679)
 * April 25 – Sigmund von Birken, German Baroque poet (d. 1681)
 * May 10 – Jan Jacobszoon Hinlopen, Dutch art collector and merchant (d. 1666)
 * May 12 – Louis Hennepin, Roman Catholic priest, missionary of the Franciscan Recollet Order (French (d. 1704)
 * May 14 – Willem Joseph van Ghent, Dutch admiral (d. 1672)
 * May 16 – Andrea Carlone, Italian painter (d. 1697)
 * May 17 – Countess Palatine Eleonora Catherine of Zweibrücken, sister of King Charles X of Sweden (d. 1692)
 * May 21 – Wolfgang Carl Briegel, German organist and composer (d. 1712)
 * May 27 – William II, Prince of Orange (d. 1650)
 * June 8 – William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford, member of England's House of Lords (d. 1695)
 * June 9 – Sir John Newton, 2nd Baronet, English Member of Parliament (d. 1699)
 * June 18 – John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt, English politician (d. 1675)
 * June 29 – Jeffrey Daniel, English politician (d. 1681)

July–September

 * July 15
 * Christiane Sehested, daughter of King Christian IV of Denmark, and his morganatic spouse Kirsten Munk (d. 1670)
 * Hedevig Ulfeldt, daughter of King Christian IV of Denmark and Kirsten Munk (d. 1678)
 * July 17 – Henriette Marie of the Palatinate, German noble (d. 1651)
 * August 1
 * Charles le Moyne de Longueuil et de Châteauguay, French colonist, interpreter (d. 1685)
 * Sabbatai Zevi, Sephardic Rabbi (d. 1676)
 * August 5 – Richard Ottley, English politician (d. 1670)
 * August 12 – Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian composer (d. 1690)
 * September 7 – Maria Klara of Dietrichstein, German noblewoman (d. 1667)
 * September 16 – Leopold Wilhelm of Baden-Baden, Imperial Field Marshal (d. 1671)
 * September 27 – William Douglas, 2nd Lord Mordington, eldest son and heir of Sir James Douglas (d. 1671)
 * September 28 – Elizabeth Maitland, Duchess of Lauderdale, influential British noblewoman (d. 1698)

October–December

 * October 4 – Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland (d. 1712)
 * October 5 – George II, Duke of Württemberg-Montbéliard (1662–1699) (d. 1699)
 * October 17 – Samuel Danforth, American Puritan minister, preacher, poet, astronomer, missionary (d. 1674)
 * October 23 – Francis Marsh, Irish bishop (d. 1693)
 * November 8
 * Matthew Marvin, Jr., Connecticut settler (d. 1712)
 * César-Pierre Richelet, French grammarian and lexicographer (d. 1698)
 * November 30 – Cesare Pronti, Italian painter (d. 1708)
 * December 8 – Queen Christina of Sweden (d. 1689)
 * December 10 – George Christian, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (1669–1671) (d. 1677)
 * December 12 – Giovanni Francesco Ginetti, nephew of Cardinal Marzio Ginetti (d. 1691)
 * December 18 – William Stanhope, English politician (d. 1703)
 * December 20 – Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff, German statesman (d. 1692)
 * December 21 – Francis Scott, 2nd Earl of Buccleuch, son of Walter Scott (d. 1651)
 * December 31 – Ladislaus, Count Esterházy, Hungarian noble (d. 1652)

Deaths

 * January 2 – Maria Buynosova-Rostovskaya (b. 1590)
 * January 19 – Ruqaiya Sultan Begum (b. 1542)
 * January 23 – Decio Carafa, Archbishop of Naples who had previously served as papal nuncio to the Spanish Netherlands (1606–1607) and to Habsburg Spain (1607–1611) (b. 1556)
 * January 24 – Samuel Argall, English adventurer and naval officer (b. 1580)
 * c. January? – Patrick Galloway, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (b. c. 1551)
 * February 7 – William V, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1548)
 * February 11 – Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician (b. 1552)
 * February 20 – John Dowland, English composer and lutenist (b. 1563)
 * February 21 – Odoardo Farnese, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1573)
 * March 3 – William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire, England (b. 1552)
 * March 10 – John Dormer, English Member of Parliament (b. 1556)
 * March 19 – Pierre Coton, French Jesuit and royal confessor (b. 1564)
 * April 5 – Anna Koltovskaya (b. c. 1552)
 * April 9 – Francis Bacon, English scientist and statesman (b. 1561)
 * April 11 – Marino Ghetaldi, Croatian mathematician and physicist (b. 1568)
 * May 4 – Arthur Lake, Bishop of Bath and Wells, English bishop, Bible translator (b. 1569)
 * May 17 – Joan Pau Pujol, Catalan composer (b. 1570)
 * May 28 – Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk (b. 1561)
 * June 7 – Anne of Saint Bartholomew, Spanish Discalced Carmelite nun (b. 1550)
 * June 16
 * Albert, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, joint ruler of Nassau-Dillenburg 1623–1626 (b. 1596)
 * Christian, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel, German Protestant military leader (b. 1599)
 * June 29 – Scipione Cobelluzzi, Italian cardinal and archivist (b. 1564)
 * June 30 – Honda Tadatoki (b. 1596)
 * July 13 – Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, English statesman (b. 1563)
 * July 15 – Isabella Brant, Flemish artists' model, first wife of painter Peter Paul Rubens (b. 1591)
 * July 19 – Elizabeth of Denmark, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, German regent (b. 1573)
 * July 27 – Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (b. 1577)
 * August 13 – Maria of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Duchess Consort of Saxe-Lauenburg (1582–1619) (b. 1566)
 * August 15 – Girolamo Asteo, Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Veroli (1608–1626) (b. 1562)
 * August 23 – Francesco Cereo de Mayda, Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Lavello (1621–1626) (b. 1568)
 * August 25 – Alfonso Pozzi, Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Borgo San Donnino (1620–1626) (b. 1582)
 * August 28 – Isabella of Savoy, Italian noble (b. 1591)
 * September 2 – Antonio Franco, Italian Catholic bishop, prelate of Santa Lucia del Mela (b. 1585)
 * September 16 – Denis-Simon de Marquemont, French cardinal and archbishop (b. 1572)
 * September 17 – Johann Schweikhard von Kronberg, Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1604 to 1626 (b. 1553)
 * September 21 – François de Bonne, Duke of Lesdiguières, Constable of France (b. 1543)
 * September 22 – Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil, Irish Franciscan theologian and Archbishop of Armagh (b. 1571)
 * September 25 – Lancelot Andrewes, English scholar (b. 1555)
 * September 26 – Wakisaka Yasuharu, Japanese warrior (b. 1554)
 * September 30 – Nurhaci, Chinese chieftain (b. 1559)
 * October 1 – Lady Abahai (b. 1590)
 * October 2 – Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, 1st Count of Gondomar, Spanish diplomat (b. 1567)
 * October 10
 * William Hockmere, English politician (b. 1581)
 * Abraham Schadaeus, German music editor (b. 1566)
 * October 13 – Domingo de Oña, Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Gaeta (1605–1626) (b. 1560)
 * October 28 – Muhammad Parviz, Mughal emperor (b. 1589)
 * October 29 – Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1587)
 * October 30 – Willebrord Snell, Dutch astronomer and mathematician (b. 1580)
 * November 21 – Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel, countess consort of Nassau-Saarbrücke (b. 1567)
 * November 25 – Edward Alleyn, English actor (b. 1566)
 * November 29 – Ernst von Mansfeld, German soldier (b. c. 1580)
 * December 6 – John Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, German duke (b. 1594)
 * December 8 – John Davies, English poet and politician (b. 1569)
 * December 10 – Edmund Gunter, English mathematician (b. 1581)
 * December 28
 * Gábor Esterházy (1580–1626), Hungarian noble (b. 1580)
 * Juraj V Zrinski, Ban of Croatia (b. 1599)