Years: 1676 1677 1678 - 1679 - 1680 1681 1682

Decades: 1640s 1650s 1660s - 1670s - 1680s 1690s 1700s

Centuries: 16th century - 17th century - 18th century

Events

• January 24 - King Charles II of England disbands Parliament
• August 7 - The brigantine Le Griffon, which was commissioned by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is towed to the southern end of the Niagara River, to become the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes.
• Battle of Bothwell Bridge
• Habeas Corpus Act 1679 passed in England.
• European explorers discover Niagara Falls.

Births

• October 16 - Jan Dismas Zelenka , Bohemian composer
• Firmin Abauzit - French scientist

Deaths

• May 3 - Archbishop Sharp (assassinated) (b. 1613)
• August 24 - Jean François Paul de Gondi, cardinal de Retz, French churchman and agitator (b. 1614)
• December 4 - Thomas Hobbes, English author (b. 1588)
• Lady Anne Finch Conway, English philosopher (b. 1631)