| National | Date | Personal |
| William Shakespeare dies; Galileo prohibited by Catholic Church from further scientific work |
1616 |
Born to Rev. Henry and Hester Owen |
| Founding of the Plymouth colony; Massacre of Protestants in the Valtelline |
1620 |
|
| English attempt to colonize Newfoundland and Nova Scotia |
1621
|
|
| Blaise Pascal (French philosopher and mathematician) born |
1623
|
|
| Charles I becomes King (March 28) |
1625 |
|
| Knighthoods for all Englishmen with property over £40 year, to help king’s revenue |
1626 |
Enters grammar school |
| John Bunyan was born. William Laud also became Bishop of London. |
1628 |
Enters Oxford |
| William Laud becomes chancellor of Oxford; Johann Kepler (Ger. astronomer) dies; John Winthrop sails to Massachusetts and founds Boston |
1630 |
|
| John Locke (English philosopher) is born; Baruch Spinoza (Dutch philosopher) is born |
1632 |
Graduates B.A. (June 11) |
| Laud becomes Archbishop of Canterbury; Charles I crowned King of Scotland in Edinburgh; John Donne’s Poems published posthumously |
1633 |
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|
1635 |
Graduates M.A. (April 27); ordained deacon by Bishop of Oxford; begins 7-year B.D. program | |
| Harvard College founded at Newe Towne, Cambridge, Mass., with Nathaniel Eaton as first president |
1636
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| Charles I introduces new Prayer Book in Scotland, causes riots |
1637 |
Leaves B.D. program; accepts chaplaincy in home of Sir Robert Dormer of Ascot |
| Short Parliament meets; Long Parliament (1640-53) begins to sit |
1640 |
|
| Irish Rebellion; Grand Remonstrance against Charles I; René Descartes: Méditations metaphysiques; John Bernard publishes First Booke of Selected Church Musick |
1641 |
|
| English Civil War begins (Oct. 23); All theatres in England closed by order of the Puritans (until 1660); Income and property tax introduced in England |
1642 |
Moves to London; conversion/assurance through unknown preacher; publishes A Display of Arminianism |
| Westminster Assembly meets; Solemn League and Covenant signed; First Battle of Newbury |
1643 |
Takes parish in Fordham of Essex; marries Mary Rooke of Coggeshall (she is probably 25; he 27); publishes The Duties of Pastors and People Distinguished |
| Battle of Marston Moor; Second Battle of Newbury; William Penn (Eng. Quaker and colonizer) born; René Descartes: Principia Philosophicae (“Cogito, ergo sum”); John Milton: Areopagitica, for the freedom of the press |
1644 |
Son John is baptized (Dec. 20) |
| Laud executed; formation of New Model Army |
1645 |
|
| End of first English Civil War; Gottfried Leibniz (Ger. philosopher) born |
1646 |
Preaches before the House of Commons (April 29); moves to parish in Coggeshall; becomes a Congregationalist; daughter Mary born? |
| Calvinists acknowledged by Lutherans as coreligionists; First newspaper advertisement appears |
1647 |
First daughter Mary buried (July 18); daughter Eliza buried (August); publishes The Death of Death in the Death of Christ |
| Siege of Colchester in the second brief civil war; Pride’s Purge of Parliament; George Fox founds the Society of Friends (Quakers) |
1648 |
Chaplain at the siege of Colchester; son Thomas dies (March) |
| King Charles I beheaded (Jan 30); Charles II becomes king (Jan 31); Cromwell’s expedition to Ireland; England declared a commonwealth |
1649 |
Preaches before the House of Commons (April 19); son John dies (Spring); sets out for Ireland with Cromwell (August-February); in Dublin, writes Of the Death of Christ |
| Cromwell invades Scotland; Richard Baxter: The Saints’ Everlasting Rest; James Ussher: Annales Veteris et Novi Testamenti |
1650 |
Daughter Elizabeth buried (Feb. 10); appointed preacher to the Council of State; makes two trips with Cromwell as chaplain to Scotland (June–December); |
| Battle of Worcester; Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan; Division of publisher and printer begins in book trade |
1651 |
Appointed Dean of Christ Church at Oxford |
| War with the Dutch |
1652 |
Appointed Chancellor of Christ Church by Cromwell; alternates Sunday sermons with Goodwin at the University church (until 1657) |
| Rump of Long Parliament expelled; Barebone’s Parliament; Cromwell declared Lord Protector (Dec 16) |
1653 |
University Convocation confers on him the Doctor of Divinity degree |
| Cromwell’s first parliament |
1654 |
Appointed a “Trier” in the “Cromwellian” State Church |
| Cromwell dissolves Parliament and divides England into 11 districts, prohibits Anglican services, readmits Jews into England |
1655 |
Prepares the defense of Oxford; two of his boys die |
| John Bunyan: Some Gospel Truths Opened; Spinoza excommunicated |
1656 |
Mortification of Sin published |
| Creation of new House of Lords increases Cromwell’s power; Richard Baxter: A Call to the Unconverted |
1657 |
Opposes moves to make Cromwell the King; end of his appointment as Vice Chancellor; Communion with God published |
| Oliver Cromwell dies; his son, Richard Cromwell, becomes Protector |
1658 |
Takes prominent part in the Savoy Assembly; Of Temptation published; Cromwell dies (Sept. 3) |
| Richard Cromwell resigns; General Monck marches from Scotland |
1659 |
Forms a gathered church of officers in London |
| Convention Parliament; Charles II returns; John Bunyan imprisoned (not released for 12 years) |
1660 |
Ends his career as Dean of Christ Church (March); lives quietly at Stadhampton; begins holding services there (until 1662) |
| Cavalier Parliament begins its long sitting; John Eliot translates the Bible into Algonquin (first Amer. Bible edition) |
1661 |
Publishes Theologouma Pantodapa (theological lectures at Oxford) |
| Black Bartholomew’s Day—Great Ejection (2000 Puritan clergy expelled from their benefices) by the Act of Uniformity; Blaise Pascal dies |
1662 |
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|
1663-64 |
Family moves to Hartopp’s home in Stoke Newington | |
| Coventicle Act |
1664 |
|
| Great Plague (kills 20% of London population); Five Mile or Oxford Act; Colony of New Jersey founded |
1665 |
Son Mathew dies (April) |
| Great Fire of London (Sept 2-6); France and Dutch declare war on England; John Bunyan: Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners |
1666 |
|
| Fall of Clarendon; Jonathan Swift born; John Milton: Paradise Lost |
1667 |
Active in seeking to persuade the Parliament to pass the Toleration Act; Indwelling Sin published |
|
1668 |
Commentary on Hebrews begins publication (final volume published in 1684) | |
| Rembrandt dies |
1669-70 |
Discusses Nonconformist Unity with Richard Baxter |
| Secret Treaty of Dover concluded by Charles II; Pascal: Pensées (posth.) |
1670 |
|
| Declaration of Indulgence; John Bunyan released from prison |
1672 |
Personally thanks the King for the Indulgence |
| Parliament passes the First Test Act that excludes Roman Catholics from office in England |
1673 |
Union of Caryl’s church with that of Owen’s under the latter’s ministry |
| Death of John Milton; Isaac Watts (Eng. Hymn writer) born |
1674 |
Discourse on the Holy Spirit published |
|
1675 |
First wife, Mary Rooke, dies | |
|
1676 |
Marries Dorothy D’Oyley (Owen is 60 years old) | |
| Spinoza dies |
1677 |
Justification by Faith published |
| Popish Plot; Parliament passes the Second Test Act; John Bunyan: The Pilgrim’s Progress (Part 1) |
1678 |
The Person of Christ published |
| Cavalier Parliament dissolved; First Exclusion Parliament; Habeas Corpus Amendment Act in England; Thomas Hobbes dies |
1679 |
|
| Second Exclusion Parliament |
1680 |
Controversy with Dean Stillingfleet |
|
1681 |
The Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually-Minded published | |
| Black Bartholomew’s Day |
1683 |
Dies at Ealing at the age of 67 (Aug. 24); buried in Bunhill Fields (Sept. 4) |
| John Bunyan: The Pilgrim’s Progress (Part 2) |
1684 |
Glory of Christ published |