1666 in England was the first year to be designated as an Annus mirabilis, in John Dryden's 1667 poem, which celebrated England's failure to be beaten either by fire (the Great Fire of London) or by the Dutch.

1666
in
England

Centuries:
Decades:
See also:Other events of 1666

Incumbents

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Events

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London, as it appeared from Bankside, Southwark, During the Great Fire — Derived from a Print of the Period by Visscher

Undated

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  • Isaac Newton uses a prism to split sunlight (Deus phos) into the component colours of the optical spectrum, assisting understanding of the scientific nature of light. He also develops differential calculus. His discoveries this year lead to it being referred to as his Annus mirabilis or Newton's "Year of the Morning Star".
  • First Burying in Woollen Act requires the dead, except plague victims and the destitute, to be buried in pure English woollen shrouds for the benefit of the home textile industry.[5]

Publications

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Births

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Deaths

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Palmer, Alan; Palmer, Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 190–191. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
  2. ^ Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
  3. ^ "British and European Extremes". The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO).
  4. ^ Uglow, Jenny (2010) [2009]. A Gambling Man. London: Faber. pp. 373–4. ISBN 978-0-571-21734-2.
  5. ^ "Charles II, 1666: An Act for Burying in Woollen onely". British History Online. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  6. ^ Wikipedia Library [dead link]