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Births on August 19

John Dryden
1631Aug, 19

John Dryden

John Dryden, English writer (d. 1700)
John Dryden (; 19 August [O.S. 9 August] 1631 – 12 May [O.S. 1 May] 1700) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was appointed England's first Poet Laureate in 1668.He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden. Romanticist writer Sir Walter Scott called him "Glorious John".

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Events on 1631

  • 25Feb

    Cardinal Richelieu

    François de Bassompierre, a French courtier, is arrested on Richelieu's orders.
  • 18May

    John Winthrop

    In Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts.
  • 20May

    Sack of Magdeburg

    The city of Magdeburg in Germany is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years' War.
  • 17Jun

    Taj Mahal

    Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.
  • 20Jun

    Baltimore, County Cork

    The sack of Baltimore: The Irish village of Baltimore is attacked by Algerian pirates.