Svärdet (1662) | Timeline

Svärdet (Sword) was a Swedish warship and flagship built under the supervision of shipwright Jacob de Voss. It was launched in 1662 at Skeppsholmen, Stockholm, and was armed with 86 guns in two decks. The ship's complement was 400 sailors and 220 soldiers. The Svärdet was destroyed by the dutch navy in the Battle of Öland (1676), exploding similarly to the Kronan, which was lost on the same battle, shortly before.

January(?) 1(?), 1660 - Skeppsholmen, Stockholm, Sweden - The keel of the Svärdet is laid down by Master shipwright Jacob de Voss

January(?) 1(?), 1662 - Skeppsholmen - The Svärdet is launched =(START)

January(?) 1(?), 1663 - Skeppsholmen - The ship is Commissioned

October 1(?), 1675 - Dalarö, SE of Stockholm - Departs from the Dalarö anchorage in a fleet of 28 ships, that included the ships-of-the-line "Kronan", the "Äpplet" and the "Nyckeln", under the command of Gustaf Otto Stenbock

November(?) 1(?), 1675 - Stora Karlsö, off Gotland - The fleet turns back at Stora Karlsö due to the weather being stormy and unusually cold, with many sailors falling ill

December(?) 1(?), 1675 - Dalarö - Returns to the Dalarö anchorage

January 23, 1676 - Dalarö - The fleet is blocked by ice when it reaches Dalarö

February 14, 1676 - Älvsnabben, Muskö - The fleet reaches the anchorage of Älvsnabben, with the help of hundreds of local peasants, that open a narrow channel through the ice with saws and picks

April 29, 1676 - While at Älvsnabben, Muskö - Danish Admiral Niels Juel arrives at Gotland with 20 ships and lands troops on the island, which surrenders

May 4, 1676 - Älvsnabben - Admiral Lorentz Creutz receives orders to intercept Niels Juel at Gotland, but the winds are adverse

May 19, 1676 - Älvsnabben - The fleet finally leaves Älvsnabben

May 24, 1676 - between the islands of Bornholm and Rügen - Both fleets sight each other

May 25, 1676 - between the islands of Bornholm and Rügen - Battle of Bornholm - Strategic Danish-Dutch victory

May 27(?), 1676 - Trelleborg, Sweden - The swedish fleet anchors at Trelleborg, where king Charles XI was waiting with new orders to recapture the Island of Gotland

May 30, 1676 - Trelleborg - The swedish fleet departs to the island of Öland. A short while after, the danish fleet pursues the swedes

June 1, 1676 - East coast of Öland - After the Kronan explodes, the Svärdet is surrounded by allied ships, including Cornelis Tromp's and Niels Juel's flagships. When they are about to grapple and board the swedish ship, a dutch fireship sets her ablaze. The fire reaches the gunpowder stores and the ship also explodes, killing 600 men. Only 50 survive =(END)

Kronan (1668) | Timeline

Kronan, also called Stora Kronan, was a Swedish warship that served as the flagship of the Swedish Navy in the Baltic Sea in the 1670s. When built, she was one of the largest seagoing vessels in the world. The construction of Kronan lasted from 1668 to 1672 and was delayed by difficulties with financing and conflicts between the shipwright Francis Sheldon and the Swedish admiralty. After four years of service, the ship foundered in rough weather at the Battle of Öland on 1 June 1676: while making a sharp turn under too much sail she capsized, and the gunpowder magazine ignited and blew off most of the bow. Kronan sank quickly, taking about 800 men and more than 100 guns with her, along with valuable military equipment, weapons, personal items, and large quantities of silver and gold coins. (Intro from Wikipedia)

October 1(?), 1665 - Skeppsholmen, Stockholm, Sweden - The keel of the Kronan is laid down by Master Shipwright Francis Sheldon

July 31, 1668 - Skeppsholmen, Stockholm - The "Kronan" is launched =(START)

January(?) 1(?), 1669 - Skeppsholmen - Sculptures by Master Sculptor Jost Schütz are finished.

January(?) 1(?), 1672 - Skeppsholmen - After being rigged and armed with 124 guns, Kronan is Commissioned

December 18, 1672 - Skeppsholmen - The ship sails for the first time during the celebrations of King Charles XI's majority

October 1(?), 1675 - Dalarö, SE of Stockholm - Departs from the Dalarö anchorage in a fleet of 28 ships, that included the ships-of-the-line "Svärdet", the "Äpplet" and the "Nyckeln", under the command of Gustaf Otto Stenbock

November(?) 1(?), 1675 - Stora Karlsö, off Gotland - The fleet turns back at Stora Karlsö due to the weather being stormy and unusually cold, with many sailors falling ill

December(?) 1(?), 1675 - Dalarö - Returns to the Dalarö anchorage

January 23, 1676 - Dalarö - The fleet is blocked by ice when it reaches Dalarö

February 14, 1676 - Älvsnabben, Muskö - The fleet reaches the anchorage of Älvsnabben, with the help of hundreds of local peasants, that open a narrow channel through the ice with saws and picks

April 29, 1676 - While at Älvsnabben, Muskö - Danish Admiral Niels Juel arrives at Gotland with 20 ships and lands troops on the island, which surrenders

May 4, 1676 - Älvsnabben - Admiral Lorentz Creutz receives orders to intercept Niels Juel at Gotland, but the winds are adverse

May 19, 1676 - Älvsnabben - The fleet finally leaves Älvsnabben

May 24, 1676 - between the islands of Bornholm and Rügen - Both fleets sight each other

May 25, 1676 - between the islands of Bornholm and Rügen - Battle of Bornholm - Strategic Danish-Dutch victory

May 26, 1676 - between the islands of Bornholm and Rügen - During the battle, Kronan's heavy cannons destroy the beakhead of Philip van Almonde's flagship "Delft", which is forced to disengage

May 27(?), 1676 - Trelleborg, Sweden - The swedish fleet anchors at Trelleborg, where king Charles XI was waiting with new orders to recapture the Island of Gotland

May 30, 1676 - Trelleborg - The swedish fleet departs to the island of Öland. A short while after, the danish fleet pursues the swedes

June 1, 1676 - East coast of Öland, Sweden - Battle of Öland - Decisive Danish-Dutch victory. 

Battle of Öland - The Kronan explodes

In rough weather, as the swedish fleet sharply turns to attempt to engage the allied fleet before it sailed past the northern end of Öland, Kronan turns to port with too much sail and heels so far over that she begins to flood through the open gunports and capsizes. For unknown reasons, the gunpowder store ignites and Kronan explodes, killing 800 men =(END)

Hugo Grotius | Timeline

Hugo Grotius (10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot or Hugo de Groot, was a Dutch jurist. Along with the earlier works of Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili, Grotius laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law. A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was imprisoned for his involvement in the intra-Calvinist disputes of the Dutch Republic, but escaped hidden in a chest of books. He wrote most of his major works in exile in France. (Intro from Wikipedia)

April 10, 1583 - Delft - Huig de Groot (Hugo Grotius) is born

October 21, 1591 - Leiden - 8-year old Grotius praises Prince Maurice, in a latin poem to mark the Stadholder's capture of Nijmegen

August 3, 1594 - Leiden - A prodigious learner, 11-year old De Groot matriculates in the University of Leiden 

April 26, 1597 - Leiden - Public disputation - Grotius defends twelve theses in logic taken directly from Aristotle's "Categories" =(START)

June 28, 1597 - Leiden - Letter to Johannes Meursius, a Dutch classical scholar and antiquary

September 27, 1597 - Leiden - Public disputation - Defends another series of theses taken from Aristotle's "Physics"

March 17, 1598 - The Hague - Leaves The Hague for the harbour of Brill

March 18, 1598 - Brill - After delay caused by unfavourable winds, Grotius and Van Oldenbarnevelt depart to France

March 19, 1598 - Calais - Arrival at Calais, still in spanish hands. The fleet comes under fire

March 20, 1598 - Dieppe - The fleet anchors in the roadstead of Dieppe, from where the journey was to continue overland
March 23, 1598 - Rouen - Grotius and Van Oldenbarnevelt leave Dieppe and reach Rouen

March 28, 1598 - Chartres - Arrival in Chartres

March 30, 1598 - Blois - Pause in Blois
April 1, 1598 - Amboise - Continues by boat on the Loire, via Amboise, Tours and Langeais

April 3, 1598 - Saumur - Reaches Saumur
April 4, 1598 - Angers - The members of the Embassy lodge in the houses of citizens of Angers
April 5, 1598 - Angers - Audience with King Henri IV
April 8, 1598 - Angers - Second audience with King Henri IV
April 15, 1598 - Nantes - The Embassy arrives in Nantes
April 23, 1598 - Nantes - Final talks with King Henri IV, without success
April 26, 1598 - Nantes - Last audience with King Henri IV - once again, the dutch tell him that the States-General finds his policy hard to swallow
April 28, 1598 - Ancénis - Travelling to Paris
April 29, 1598 - Angers - Travelling to Paris
April 30, 1598 - Saumur - Travelling to Paris
May 2, 1598 - Langeais - Travelling to Paris
May 3, 1598 - Amboise - Travelling to Paris
May 4, 1598 - St.Laurent-des-Eaux - Travelling to Paris
May 5, 1598 - Orléans - Travelling to Paris. Grotius Takes his Doctorate at the University there - title of Doctor of both laws, roman and canon
May 6, 1598 - Artenay - Travelling to Paris
May 7, 1598 - Etampes - Travelling to Paris
May 8, 1598 - Paris - Arrival in Paris
May 12, 1598 - St.Maur-des-Fossés - Received by Henri II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé. Grotius is invited on the spot to be the Prince's secretary
May 14, 1598 - Paris - Grotius and Van Oldenbarnevelt leave Paris

16-year-old Grotius, 1599

April 1, 1599 - Delft - Letter to the Doge, Senate and citizens of Venice, and another to Jacques Auguste de Thou, a French historian, book collector and president of the Parlement de Paris
December 13, 1599 - The Hague - Admitted to an advocate in The Hague
July 4, 1600 - The Hague - Letter to Jacques Auguste de Thou, a french historian, book collector and president of the Parlement de Paris
July 26, 1600 - The Hague - Letter to the States of Holland
September 14, 1600 - The Hague - Letter to Justus Lipsius, a Flemish philologist, philosopher and humanist
August 18, 1601 - The Hague - Letter to 13-year old Prince Henri II de Bourbon-Condé
February 18, 1602 - The Hague - Letters to Isaac Casaubon, a classical scholar and philologist, and to Nicolas Lefèvre, a French chemist and alchemist
April 1, 1602 - The Hague - Letter from Jan Gruter, a Flemish-born philologist, scholar, and librarian, in Frankfurt
June 17, 1602 - The Hague - Letter to Daniel Heinsius, a dutch scholar
July 10, 1602 - Leiden - Letter from Isaac Casaubon, in Paris
August 2, 1602 - The Hague - Letter to Daniel Heinsius
September 2, 1602 - The Hague - Letter from Johannes Uyttenbogaert (Wtenbogaert), a Dutch Protestant minister, a leader of the Remonstrants
September 4, 1602 - The Hague - Letter to Pieter Bert (Petrus Bertius), a Flemish philosopher, theologian, historian, geographer and cartographer.
January 25, 1604 - The Hague - Letters to Gottfried Jungermann, a Greek scholar, and to Georg Michael Lingelsheim, a Palatinate official and scholar
September 9, 1604 - (While in The Hague) - The Amsterdam Admiralty Court declares the portuguese captured "Santa Catharina" Carrack a good prize
September 15(?), 1604 - (While in The Hague) - The directors of the Dutch East India Company ask him to write a defence of the Company's privateering campaign in Asian waters
March 7, 1605 - The Hague - Letter to Georg Michael Lingelsheim, mentioning that he had been appointed historiographer of Holland by the States, to suceed Janus Dousa, who had died on 8 October 1604
March 23, 1605 - The Hague - Letter to Franciscus Raphelengius (son), a Flemish-born scholar, printer and bookseller
August 27, 1605 - The Hague - Letter to Jan Rutgersius (Jan Johannes Rutgers), a Dutch philologist and diplomat
November 1, 1606 - The Hague - Grotius completes work on "De iure praedae" (The Law of prize or booty). Letter to Georg Michael Lingelsheim
December 1(?), 1607 - The Hague(?) - Grotius becomes Advocate-Fiscal (public prosecutor) of Holland
January(?) 1(?), 1608 - The Hague - Grotius completes "De Indis"
July 17, 1608 - The Hague - Grotius marries Maria van Reigersberch
August 6, 1608 - The Hague - Letter to Johan Hugo de Groot
November 4, 1608 - The Hague - Grotius receives a letter from The Dutch East India CompanyApril 1(?), 1609 - (While in The Hague) - "Mare Liberum", chapter twelve of "De Indis", is published in the Spring by Lodewijk Elzevier
July 16, 1609 - The Hague - Letter to Aubert Le Mire, an ecclesiastical historian in the Spanish Netherlands
September 6, 1609 - The Hague - Letters to Georg Michael Lingelsheim and Jan Gruter
September 18, 1609 - The Hague - Letter to Pierre Jeannin, a French statesman
September 28, 1609 - The Hague - Letter to Jan Rutgersius (Jan Johannes Rutgers)
November 3, 1609 - The Hague - Letter to the States of Holland
December 24, 1609 - The Hague - Letters to Jan Rutgersius and François Gomaer, a Dutch theologian
March 14, 1610 - The Hague - Letters to Daniel Heinsius and the States of Holland
March 16, 1610 - The Hague - Letter to the States of Holland
March 27, 1610 - The Hague - Letter to Franciscus Raphelengius (son)
August 31, 1610 - The Hague - Letter from Cornelis Matelieff, with the background of of the Anglo-Dutch colonial conference in London
February 1, 1611 - The Hague - Letter to the States of Holland
May 17, 1611 - The Hague - Letter to the States of Holland
August 27, 1611 - The Hague - Letter to Maria van Reigersberch
November 11, 1611 - The Hague - Letter to Anton van Wale, a Dutch Calvinist minister, theologian, and academic
January(?) 1(?), 1612 - Delft - Grotius is sent on a mission as Advocate-Fiscal
January 7, 1612 - The Hague - Letter to Isaac Casaubon
April 3, 1612 - The Hague - Letter to Apolonius Schotte, a Dutch statesman, jurist and poet
January 13, 1613 - The Hague - Letter to Simon Episcopius, a Dutch theologian and Remonstran
February 26, 1613 - The Hague - Letter to Pieter de Bert, a Flemish philosopher, theologian, historian, geographer and cartographer
March 4, 1613 - Rotterdam(?) - Grotius is promoted to Governor of Rotterdam. This carried with it a sear in the States Attorney General of Holland and the States General of the United Netherlands
April 1, 1613 - London - The dutch embassy arrives in London
April 6, 1613 - London - First audience with King James I of England
April 7, 1613 - London - The embassy meets Prince Frederick Hendrik, the future Stadtholder
April 19, 1613 - London - Letter to Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, a Dutch statesman
May 22, 1613 - London - Letter to Isaac Casaubon
May 26, 1613 - The Hague - Returns to The Hague
June 1(?), 1613 - Rotterdam - Grotius becomes Pensionary (chief legal adviser) of the Town of Rotterdam
June 16, 1613 - Rotterdam - Letter to Johannes Meursius
June 21, 1613 - Rotterdam - Letter to Georg Michael Lingelsheim
August 13, 1613 - The Hague - Letter to Sir Ralph Winwood, an English diplomat and statesman to the Jacobean court
September 3, 1613 - Rotterdam - Letters to Johannes Uyttenbogaert and Boudewijn de Witte
October 27, 1613 - Rotterdam - Letter to Gerardus Vossius (Gerrit Janszoon Vos), a Dutch classical scholar and theologian
October 28, 1613 - Rotterdam - Letter to Abraham van der Mijl
December 14, 1613 - Rotterdam - Letter from Cornelis Matelieff, during the backdrop of a second Anglo-Dutch colonial conference in The Hague
January 27, 1614 - The Hague - Letter to Frederik van den Sande
February 5, 1614 - Rotterdam - Letters to Pieter de Bert, Daniel Heinsius and Jacques Auguste de Thou
June 5, 1614 - Rotterdam - Letter to Benjamin Aubery du Maurier, French Ambassador in The Hague
April 27, 1615 - Rotterdam - Letter from Cornelis Matelieff, concerned with expenses incurred by the VOC in building up its infrastructure and waging war in Asia
March 3, 1616 - Rotterdam - Letter from Cornelis Matelieff, about how he was treated by the gentlemen directors and politicians on his return from Asia
June 23, 1616 - Delft - Letter to Johan van Oldenbarnevelt
November 5, 1616 - Rotterdam - Back in Rotterdam. Letter from Pier Winsemius
December 10, 1616 - The Hague - Letters to Georg Michael Lingelsheim and Gerardus Joannes Vossius
December 21, 1616 - Rotterdam - Back in Rotterdam. Letter from Georg Michael Lingelsheim
May 1(?), 1617 - The Hague - Grotius becomes a member of the Holland delegation in the Dutch States General, the federal government of the Dutch Republic
May 13, 1617 - The Hague - The High Court judges were swayed by Grotius’ arguments and dismissed the suit of the Stettin merchants. Although the outcome was never really in doubt, the Amsterdam Admiralty Board knew whom to thank for the verdict
May 20, 1617 - The Hague - The Board sends Grotius a short thank-you note, enclosing ‘‘two gilded cups, made of silver’’ as a small token of its appreciation
June 17, 1617 - The Hague - Letter to Georg Michael Lingelsheim
June 30, 1617 - Rotterdam - Back in Rotterdam. Letter from John Overall, bishop of the see of Norwich
July 30, 1617 - The Hague - Letters to John Overall and Gerardus Joannes Vossius
August 3, 1617 - Rotterdam(?) - Conflict arrises with the "Sharp Revolution" (Scherpe Resolutie - signed by Van Oldenbarnevelt) between the States General (Arminians) and Holland (soon to be Calvinist)
August 6, 1617 - Rotterdam - Letter to Gideon van den Boetzlaer, Ambassador of the States of Holland in France
October 25, 1617 - Rotterdam - Letter from King Louis XIII of France
May 1(?), 1618 - Rotterdam - Prince Maurice of Orange seeks to break the political deadlock by means of a regime change.
July 12, 1618 - Rotterdam - Letter from King Louis XIII of France
August 28, 1618 - Rotterdam - Grotius spends his last day as a free man discussing the merits of a proposal to let the VOC pay 100,000 Dutch guilders in compensation to Le Maire.
August 29, 1618 - Rotterdam - Calvinist Coup d'etat. Grotius is arrested for high treason. He sends letters defending that he always had been an irreconcilable enemy of Spain and her allies, and that his hard work is to "mantain the East Indies trade"
August 30, 1618 - Rotterdam - Letter to Caspar Vosbergen, Counsellor of the High Court of Holland and Zeeland
September 13, 1618 - Rotterdam - Letter to Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange
September 21, 1618 - The Hague - Letter to Maria Reigersberch
November 19, 1618 - The Hague - Fearing to be beheaded like Van Oldenbarnevelt, Grotius draws a sentence of life imprisonment and forfeiture of all his goods
December 10, 1618 - The Hague - Letter to the Rotterdam City Council
May 13, 1619 - The Hague - A special Tribunal of 24 judges meet to try the three political prisoners
May 18, 1619 - The Hague - Grotius and Rombout Hoogerbeets (Pensionary of Leiden) are sentenced to life in prison at the castle of Loevestein, while Van Oldenbarnevelt is senteced to death

Castle of Loevestein

June 6, 1619 - Loevestein Castle, Poederoijen-Gelderland - Grotius and Hoogerbeets start serving their sentences at Loevestein Castle
July 1(?), 1619 - Loevestein Castle - Grotius puts pen to paper in order to justify himself to posterity, his wife and children in particular. ‘Memorandum of My Intentions and of My Treatment during the Trial Proceedings’ (‘Memorie van mijne intentie¨n ende notable bejegeningen’) consists of two parts: a defense of his political record during the Twelve Years Truce, followed by his own account of the trial proceedings
July 14, 1619 - Loevestein Castle - Letter to the States-General of Netherlands
December 27, 1620 - Loevestein Castle - Letter to Petrus Scriverius (Peter Schrijver), a Dutch writer and scholar on the history of Holland and Belgium
March 22, 1621 - Loevestein Castle - Grotius escapes from Loevestein Castle in a book trunk, helped by his wife
March 23, 1621 - Antwerp - Grotius escapes to Antwerp, receiving a letter from Rombout Hogerbeets, a Dutch jurist and statesman, from Loevestein Castle prison
March 25, 1621 - Delft - Letter to Theodor Graswinckel, a Dutch jurist, cousin and pupil of Grotius
March 26, 1621 - Antwerp - Letters to Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, and to Frederik Hendrik of Oranje-Nassau
March 30, 1621 - Antwerp - Letter to the States-General of Netherlands
April 11, 1621 - Paris - Grotius arrives in Paris
April 23, 1621 - Paris - Letter to Frederik Hendrik of Oranje-Nassau
June 3, 1621 - Paris - Letter to Frederik Hendrik of Oranje-Nassau
March 3, 1622 - Paris - Letter to Frederik Hendrik of Oranje-Nassau
March 17, 1622 - Paris - Letter to Duke Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp
June 7, 1622 - Paris - Letter to the States-General of Netherlands
August 6, 1622 - Paris - Letter to the States of Zeeland
November 1(?), 1622 - (While in Paris) - "Amidst poverty and debts, Grotius produces "Justification of the Lawful Government of Holland and West Friesland" which attacks the proceedings against him. He write that he had been denied an opportunity to defend himself and that it wasn’t true, as officials claimed, that he had confessed to crimes; he said he had never been interrogated, and he didn’t know what the alleged crimes were about. He affirmed his belief that toleration was better than persecution. The work was published in Amsterdam, November 1622, and it outraged the States-General. They denounced him for what they called “a notorious, seditious and scandalous Libel” and declared that anybody caught possessing or reading a copy of Grotius’ work would be punished (Libertarianism.com)"
January 1(?), 1623 - (While in Paris) - The Delft VOC director writtes to Grotius about the great difficulties experienced by the Company
February 26, 1623 - Paris - Letter from King Louis XIII of France
June 2, 1623 - Balagny-sur-Thérain, N. of Paris - Letter to Jean Hotman, a French diplomat
August 4, 1623 - Senlis, N. of Paris - Begins working on "De Juris Belli ac Pacis". Letter to Pierre Dupuy, a french scholar
October 1, 1623 - Paris - Back in Paris. Letter from Nicolaas Reigersberch
March 29, 1624 - Paris - Letter to his brother Willem de Groot, reporting that the 1618 reprint of "Mare Liberum" was widely read in government circles in Paris
April 4, 1625 - Paris - Letter to Frederik Hendrik of Oranje-Nassau
April 23, 1625 - (While in Paris) - Maurice of Nassau dies
June 1(?), 1625 - Paris - "De Jure Belli ac Pacis" is published. The printer pays Grotius by giving him 200 copies of the book
March 1(?), 1626 - Paris - Grotius reports in a letter that Schapekaes had discussed his plans to "divert the East and West Indies trade to France. "De Jure Belli ac Pacis" is placed on the Papal index and catholics were forbidden to read it.
November 1(?), 1626 - Paris - Cardinal Richelieu invites Hugo Grotius to play an active role in the establishment of a french East India Company. He writes to his brother-in-law at the beginning of November that Marquis d’Effiat, ‘‘one of Richelieu’s closest clients,’’ had offered him various lucrative appointments, provided he would support ‘‘the new company in word and deed.’’ He could choose between the position of ‘Superintendent of Maritime Affairs’, reporting directly to Richelieu, an ambassadorship in Germany on behalf of Louis XIII, or political rehabilitation in Holland through the King’s intercession
November 30(?), 1626 - Paris - Richelieu was willing to pay handsomely for Grotius’ expertise in commercial thought and statecraft. By late November, the exile receives daily visits from the Cardinal’s men, who try to sound him out about his employment preferences
December 1(?), 1626 - Paris - The States of Holland meet to discuss the very real danger of Grotius divulging to foreign governments his vast knowledge of "the fisheries and navigation of these provinces, and particularly of VOC policy"
December 30(?), 1626 - Paris - Grotius writes to Nicolaas Van Reigersberch that he could not avoid inflicting ‘‘great damage on our country’’ if he becamewell and truly enmeshed in the Cardinal’s schemes for the restoration of French trade and navigation
January 1(?), 1627 - Paris - Grotius assures his wife that his aim had always been to secure the regular payment of his royal pension, nothing more. He is unwilling to burn all his bridges behind him as long as there is a possibility, however slight, of political rehabilitation in Holland
January 23, 1627 - Paris - Letter to Frederik Hendrik of Oranje-Nassau
January 24, 1627 - Paris - Grotius writes to his brother-in-law (Nicolaas Reigersberch) that he had translated the printed charters of the VOC and WIC to French. Yet he comforts himself with the thought that he had refused to provide Richelieu with the instructions of the Dutch Admiralty Board, ‘‘even though I had them in my possession"
August 1(?), 1627 - Paris - Grotius asks his younger brother to send him various books on the law of the sea, in case Richelieu should turn his attention to the Indies trade once more
January(?) 1(?), 1628 - Paris - Reminds his brother-in-law, Nicolaas van Reigersberch (1584–1654), of the many services which he had rendered the United Dutch East India Company or VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie). In Grotius’ view, ‘‘he merited thus much of this company that, even if all others sleep, they ought to keep watch over me.’
February 18, 1628 - Paris - Letter to Philipp Ernst von Hohenlohe-Langenburg
March 5, 1628 - Paris - He admits to Van Reigersberch that, when quizzed by the Cardinal, he had not dared to withhold his advice on the topic. Yet there was a difference between playing along and accepting one of Richelieu’s job offers
May 19, 1629 - Paris - Letter to Frederik Hendrik of Oranje-Nassau
October 1(?), 1631 - Paris - Farewell visit to Louis XIII. Grotius returns to Holland in order to force a breakthrough in the negotiations about his possible rehabilitation
October 5, 1631 - Rotterdam - Returns to Rotterdam. Letter to Willem Groot
December 10, 1631 - Amsterdam - As an arrest warrant is issued in Rotterdam against him, Grotius arrives in Amsterdam where he lodges with the Remonstrant merchant Joost Brasser
December 13, 1631 - Amsterdam - Letter to the States-General of Netherlands
January 14, 1632 - Amsterdam - Letter to Frederik Hendrik of Oranje-Nassau
March 1(?), 1632 - Amsterdam - Writes a legal opinion for the "Noordsche Compagnie"
April 7, 1632 - Amsterdam - The States of Holland exile him once more and put a price of 2,000 guilders on his head
April 11, 1632 - Amsterdam - Grotius receives a letter from Krzysztof Arciszewski, from Recife-Brazil
April 17, 1632 - Amsterdam - When officials issue an order for his arrest, Grotius flees to Hamburg
May 1(?), 1632 - Hamburg - Grotius arrives in Hamburg
May 17, 1632 - Hamburg - Letter to Willem Groot
February 15, 1633 - Hamburg - Letter from Count Axel Oxenstierna, in Berlin
January 30, 1634 - Hamburg - Letter to Count Axel Oxenstierna
May 26, 1634 - Frankfurt - Letters to Willem de Groot and Gerardus Joannes Vossius
July 13, 1634 - Frankfurt - Letter to the States-General of Netherlands
July 16, 1634 - Frankfurt - Letter from Johan Skytte, a swedish politician
October 7, 1634 - Mainz - Arrives in Mainz with Count Axel Oxenstierna. Letter from Willem de Groot
January 5, 1635 - Mainz - Letter from Count Axel Oxenstierna, also in Mainz. Grotius is appointed swedish ambassador in Paris =(changeflag)
January 8, 1635 - Mainz - Grotius departs to Paris. As the roads are frozen, the progress is slow
January 22, 1635 - Paris - Arrives in Paris. Letter from Nicolaas van Reigersberch
January 25, 1635 - Metz - Arrives in Metz
January 28, 1635 - Metz - Letter from Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, a Dutch historian, poet and playwright. Letter to Count Axel Oxenstierna
February 1, 1635 - Metz - Letter to Count Axel Oxenstierna, in Worms
February 2, 1635 - Metz - Resumes his voyage to Paris
February 7, 1635 - Meaux - Letter to Count Axel Oxenstierna, in Worms
February 8, 1635 - Paris - Back in Paris
February 14, 1635 - Saint-Denis - Letter to Count Axel Oxenstierna, in Worms
March 2, 1635 - Paris - Grotius makes his public entry into Paris, attended by Marshal d'Estrées and Count Brulon
March 6, 1635 - Senlis - Grotius is conducted to the Court and is graciously received by King Louis XIII
March 8, 1635 - Paris - Letters to Queen Christina, Count Axel Oxenstierna, Johan Skytte and Peter Abel Schmalz, about his audience with King Louis XIII 
March 28, 1635 - Paris - Grotius is summoned by Richelieu to discuss the unratified treaty with Sweden. Letter to Count Axel Oxenstierna, in Neustadt am Rübenberge
March 29, 1635 - Paris - Letters to Queen Christina and Johan Skytte
April 2, 1635 - Paris - Letter from Petter Spiring (Silfvercrona), in Stettin, a swedish diplomat
April 27, 1635 - Compiégne - Oxenstierna and Grotius have an audience with King Louis XIII, during half an hour
July 29, 1635 - Paris - Letter from Petter Spiring (Silfvercrona), in Magdeburg
August 1, 1635 - Paris - Letter to Peter Heyling, a missionary, in Gondar-Amhara, Ethiopia
September 14, 1635 - Paris - Letter to Count Axel Oxenstierna, explaining that the Treasurer of Sweden had neglected to pay his salary for the last quarter
November 5, 1635 - Senlis(?) - Audience with King Louis XIII
November 8, 1635 - Paris - Letter to Count Axel Oxenstierna, explaining that he had received but one quarter's salary, which was owing before his arrival in Paris
December 14, 1635 - Ruel - Grotius receives some letters from Oxenstierna from a courier sent by St.Chaumont, which he suspected had been opened
January 28, 1636 - Paris - Grotius' appointment given by Oxenstierna is ratified by the five regents of the Kingdom in the name of young Queen Christina (Delay because he wasn't appointed by the Queen)
August 15, 1636 - Paris - Letter from Galileo Galilei
October 2, 1636 - Paris - Letter to Sten Svantesson Bielke, a swedish diplomat in Stettin
November 17, 1636 - Paris - Letter from Petter Spiring (Sifvercrona), in The Hague
November 22, 1636 - Paris - Letter to King Louis XIII of France, congratulating him on his military campaign success
January 26, 1637 - Paris - Letter from Constantijn Huygens, a dutch poet and composer
February 23, 1637 - Senlis(?) - Grotius visits the King to congratulate him on his reconciliation with Gaston of France and the restoration of union and peace in the royal family
September 23, 1637 - Chantilly - Grotius visits the King in order to deliver to him a letter from the Queen of Sweden and to acquaint him with the gallant stand Marshal Bannier was making against five armies in the field
October 1, 1637 - Saint-Germain-en-Laye - Grotius renews his solicitation of aid from Louis, presenting a letter from Queen Christina
February 15, 1638 - Paris - Letter from Nicolaas Reigersberch informing Grotius about the WIC’s fierce internal disputes regarding the question whether, and to what extent, the Company should relinquish its monopoly of trade between the Dutch Republic and the Americas
March 16, 1638 - Saint-Germain-en-Laye - Audience with King Louis XIII to thank him for the news of the victory of the Duke of Weimar, on March 2nd, over the Austrians, capturing all their generals
October 1, 1638 - Saint-Germain-en-Laye - Audience with King Louis XIII to ask him to send aid to the Duke of Weimar, who was about to be attacked by a vastly superior force
November 10, 1638 - Saint-Germain-en-Laye - Audience with King Louis XIII to ask him to send aid to the Duke of Weimar, who was about to be attacked by a vastly superior force
November 14, 1638 - Paris - Letters from Jacob Pontusson de la Gardie and Count Axel Oxenstierna
December 2, 1638 - Paris - Letter to Jacob Pontusson de la Gardie
December 25, 1638 - Paris - Letter from Menasseh Ben Israel, in Amsterdam
January 22, 1639 - Paris - Letter to Queen Christina and Jacob Pontusson de la Gardie. Grotius asks permission to take his salary from the subsidies he was obtaining, and without awaiting a reply, appropriated 16,000 thalers
May 14, 1639 - Paris - Letters to Queen Christina, Count Axel Oxenstierna and Jacob Pontusson de la Gardie
September 23, 1639 - Paris - Letter from Israël Lagerfelt, a swedish diplomat, in Genoa
October 8, 1639 - Paris - Letter to Menasseh Ben Israel, in Amsterdam
October 10, 1639 - Paris - Letter to Count Axel Oxenstierna: "The more I reflect upon the death of the Duke of Weimar, the more I am persuaded that he had on his body no marks of the plague and that it was not in his house. So the rumors that he was poisoned again prevail and the suspicion falls upon the Geneva physician who was summoned to relieve his colic"
April 7, 1640 - Paris - Letter to Queen Christina and Count Axel Oxenstierna. Answer letter to Van Reigersberch, who had requested Grotius' opinion on the validity of testamentary dispositions drawn up overseas - an opportunity for Grotius to consider the legal and constitutional implications of Dutch empire-building
May 1, 1640 - Paris - Letter from Gustav Horn, a Swedish nobleman, military officer and Governor-general
July 28, 1640 - Paris - Letter to Karl X Gustav (future king of Sweden) and Count Axel Oxenstierna
September 15, 1640 - Paris - Letter from Johan Banér, a Swedish Field Marshal in the Thirty Years' War
November 10, 1640 - Paris - Letters to Karl X Gustav and Count Axel Oxenstierna
April 27, 1641 - Paris - Grotius and his family move to a new address, leasing an house in the faubourg Saint-Germain-des-Prés for a 6 year therm
June 1, 1641 - Paris - Letter to Per Brahe, a Swedish soldier, statesman, and author
November 1, 1641 - Paris - Letter to Willem de Groot: ""'If they threatened to recall me from my embassy I should not be sorry; there is little profit in this kind of employment. I am tired of honors; old age approaches and will soon require rest"
November 15, 1641 - Paris - Letter from Johan Axelsson Oxenstierna, statesman and son of Axel Oxenstierna
July 7, 1642 - Paris - Letter from Gustav Horn, in Amsterdam
June 6, 1643 - Paris - Letter to Johan Axelsson Oxenstierna, in Wismar
June 28, 1643 - Paris - Letter to Erik Gabrielsson Emporagrius, a Swedish professor and bishop
July 6, 1643 - Paris - Letter to Lennart Torstensson, a Swedish Field Marshal and military engineer
November 14, 1643 - Paris - Letter to Johan Stålhandske
December 8, 1644 - Paris - Letter to Johan Axelsson Oxenstierna, in Osnabrück
December 30, 1644 - Paris - Letter from Queen Christina, relieving him of the position of Ambassador in Paris
April 22, 1645 - Paris - Letters to Queen Christina and Count Axel Oxenstierna
April 29, 1645 - Dieppe - Grotius departs from Dieppe with a suite of 3 lackeys, a pageboy, a steward and a chamberlain
May 3, 1645 - Rotterdam - Grotius arrives at Goedereede and reaches Rotterdam
May 8, 1645 - Amsterdam - Takes his leave of the Amsterdam civic authorities, his family and friends at the town hall, while waiting for his baggage
May 16, 1645 - Hamburg - Arrives in Hamburg. Letter to Willem de Groot
May 20, 1645 - Lübeck - Letter to Willem Groot
May 28, 1645 - Wismar - Letter to Nicolaas van Reigersberch
June 8, 1645 - Kalmar, Sweden - Letters to Willem de Groot and Nicolaas Reigersberch
June 14, 1645 - Söderåkra, Kalmar, Sweden - Letters to Karl X Gustav and Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie
June 25, 1645 - Kalmar - Letters to Willem de Groot and Nicolaas Reigersberch
June 30(?), 1645 - Stockholm - Arrives in Stockholm
July 5, 1645 - Stockholm - Letter to Count Axel Oxenstierna, also in Stockholm
July 28, 1645 - Stockholm - Grotius' last letter to Willem de Groot
July(?) 30(?), 1645 - Stockholm - Refuses to become one of Queen Christina's privy councillors and decides to take the first ship to France
August 12, 1645 - Stockholm - Grotius departs to Lübeck
August 17, 1645 - Pomeranian Coast, 14 miles from Danzig - After a storm-ridden voyage across the Baltic, Grotius is shipwrecked. Grotius safely reaches the shore
August 26, 1645 - Rostock, Swedish Pomerania - Very ill, Grotius is carried by farm cart about 60 miles through wind and rain to Rostock. A physician named Stochman is summoned, who says that Grotius was suffering from fatigue and that rest woud restore his health
August 28, 1645 - Rostock - Huig de Groot (Hugo Grotius) gets worse on 27th and a clergyman named Johan Quistorpius is summoned. On the 28th, Grotius dies of exhaustion, aged 62 =(END)

Bibliography

NELLEN, Henk - Hugo Grotius - A lifelong struggle for Peace in Church and State 1583 - 1645. Brill
VREELAND Jr., Hamilton - "Hugo Grotius, Diplomatist". Cambridge University Press

René Descartes | Timeline

René Descartes (March 31, 1596, La Haye, Touraine, France — February 11, 1650, Stockholm, Sweden), was a French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. Because he was one of the first to abandon scholastic Aristotelianism, because he formulated the first modern version of mind-body dualism, from which stems the mind-body problem, and because he promoted the development of a new science grounded in observation and experiment, he has been called the father of modern philosophy. Applying an original system of methodical doubt, he dismissed apparent knowledge derived from authority, the senses, and reason and erected new epistemic foundations on the basis of the intuition that, when he is thinking, he exists; this he expressed in the dictum “I think, therefore I am” (best known in its Latin formulation, “Cogito, ergo sum,” though originally written in French, “Je pense, donc je suis”). He developed a metaphysical dualism that distinguishes radically between mind, the essence of which is thinking, and matter, the essence of which is extension in three dimensions. Descartes’s metaphysics is rationalist, based on the postulation of innate ideas of mind, matter, and God, but his physics and physiology, based on sensory experience, are mechanistic and empiricist. (Intro from Britannica)

March 31, 1596 - La Haye en Touraine - René Descartes is born

April 3, 1596 - La Haye en Touraine - René Descartes is baptized

May 13, 1597 - La Haye en Touraine - Jeanne Brochard, René's mother, dies. He is brought up by his maternal grandmother, Jeanne Sain, with his elder brother Pierre and sister

January(?) 1(?), 1600 - (While in La Haye) - His father remarries

April 16, 1607 - La Flèche, Anjou - Enters the Jesuit Collège Royal Henry-Le-Grand just after Easter

January(?) 1(?), 1610 - (While in La Flèche) - Jeanne Sain dies

May 15, 1610 - La Flèche, Anjou - Descartes participates in the procession carrying the king's heart to its final resting place in La Flèche

August 8, 1613 - (While in La Flèche) - His brother Pierre earns a Baccalauréat and Licence in canon and civil law

January(?) 1(?), 1614 - Outside Paris - Young Descartes graduates and leaves college. He moves to an house outside Paris, alone and probably suffering from a nervous breakdown

January(?) 1(?), 1615 - Poitiers - Enrolls at the University of Poitiers. He takes rooms at the house of a tailor

October 10, 1616 - Poitiers - Earns a Baccalauréat and Licence in canon and civil law =(START)

January(?) 1(?), 1617 - Rennes | Sucé, near Nantes - After his studies end, Descartes rejoins his family in Rennes, and then at Sucé, where his father's second wife had a house

August(?) 1(?), 1618 - Breda, Netherlands - Joins as a mercenary, the Protestant Dutch Army under the command of Maurice of Nassau

November 10, 1618 - Breda - Meeting with Isaac Beeckman, also interested in "scientific matters". He challenges Descartes to a mathematical puzzle and is amazed by the frenchman's capabilities
January 1, 1619 - Breda - Descartes offers his "Compendium Musicae" to Beeckman as a gift
January 24, 1619 - Breda - Letter to Isaac Beeckman (in Middelburg), telling him that he was engaged in "painting, military architecture, and above all Flemish"
February 9, 1619 - Breda - Letter to Isaac Beeckman (in Middelburg)
March 26, 1619 - Breda - Letter to Isaac Beeckman (in Middelburg) - "I desire to give the public not an Ars brevis of Lull, but a science based on new foundations"
April 24, 1619 - Breda - After saying goodbye to Beeckman, Descartes leaves Breda, planning a journey though Germany to join the army of Maximilian of Bavaria
April 29, 1619 - Amsterdam - Letter to Isaac Beeckman (in Middelburg). Descartes embarks on a ship to Copenhagen
May 6, 1619 - (While in Copenhagen) - Isaac Beeckman writes to Descartes
June(?) 1(?), 1619 - Danzig - From Denmark, Descartes crosses to Danzig
July(?) 1(?), 1619 - Poland - Some weeks later, Descartes heads south, traveling through Poland
July(?) 10(?), 1619 - Hungary - Descartes enters Hungary
July 20, 1619 - Frankfurt - Descartes turns west and reaches Frankfurt
August 27, 1619 - Frankfurt - Attends the coronation of Ferdinand II
October 1(?), 1619 - Neuburg an der Donau - Enters the service of Catholic Duke Maximilian of Bavaria at Neuburg an der Donau
November 10, 1619 - Neuburg an der Donau - While stationed at Neuburg, Descartes apparently has 3 dreams and believes that a divine spirit revealed to him a new philosophy
February 23, 1620 - Neuburg an der Donau - Descartes vows in thanksgiving to make a pilgrimage to the Virgin of Loreto
July 1(?), 1620 - Ulm - Descartes decides to leave the rest of the troops as they progressed northeast, and to visit the city of Ulm. He meets Johann Faulhaber, a german mystic-mathematician
November 1(?), 1620 - Ulm - Descartes and his valet depart Ulm and travel northeast to rejoin Duke Maximilian's army
November 8, 1620 - Near Prague - Descartes participates in the Battle of White Mountain, serving the Catholic League as an official observer
November 9, 1620 - Prague - Descartes enters Prague with the other soldiers
November 11, 1620 - Prague - Descartes has a revelation while walking through Prague - "I began to conceive the foundation of an admirable discovery" - He writes "Olympica" (now lost)
December 10(?), 1620 - South of Bohemia - Descartes departs Prague with Maximilian's troops to their new winter quarters in the south of Bohemia
March 1(?), 1621 - South of Bohemia - Descartes gets tired of being stationed in the south of Bohemia and quits the service of Maximilian of Bavaria
April(?) 1(?), 1621 - Middelburg(?) - Back in the Netherlands. Descartes resumes his joint work on mathematics, music and mechanics with Isaac Beeckman
June 1(?), 1621 - Ulm - Back in Germany, probably meets Johann Faulhaber again
July 1(?), 1621 - Hungary - Descartes leaves Germany and travels to Hungary
August(?) 1(?), 1621 - Breslau (Wroclaw) - Descartes visits Breslau to learn about the effects of the war on the inhabitants of the region
October(?) 1(?), 1621 - Pomerania - In Pomerania in the beginning of the Autumn
October(?) 10(?), 1621 - Stettin - Visit to Stettin and the Baltic Coast
November(?) 1(?), 1621 - Brandenburg - Visit to Brandenburg, where the Elector had just arrived from Warsaw
November(?) 10(?), 1621 - Duchy of Mecklenburg - Continues to the Duchy of Mecklenburg
November(?) 20(?), 1621 - Holstein - Reaches Holstein
November 30(?), 1621 - Elbe River, Germany - Descartes embarks on a ship to the Frisian islands. While aboard he realized that the crewmen are robbers who plan to kill him and take his money. Descartes understands their dialect and maintains calm. Before their move, Descartes draws his sword and controls the crew, who are surprised and terrorized by the french passenger
December 10(?), 1621 - Netherlands - Returns to the Netherlands via the Frisian islands and spends the winter there, often visiting Beeckman
February(?) 1(?), 1622 - Spanish Netherlands (Belgium) - Descartes and his valet travel through the catholic parts of the Spanish Netherlands
February(?) 10(?), 1622 - Paris - Passing though Paris
February(?) 20(?), 1622 - Touraine | Poitou - Descartes reaches the regions of Touraine and Poitou
March 1(?), 1622 - Rennes - Descartes arrives to his father's house in Rennes
May 1(?), 1622 - Poitou - Joachim Descartes turns over to René the major part of the wealth he had inherited from his wife after her death. Since much of the wealth was in the form of land holdings, René decides to travel to the Poitou region, the location of his new lands, so he could inspect them and perhaps come to a decision as to what to do with them
May 22, 1622 - Poitou - Letter to his father, Joachim
March 21, 1623 - Paris - Letter to his brother, Pierre
May 1(?), 1623 - Rennes | Châtellerault, Poitou - Arrives in Rennes. Then continues to Poitou
July 8, 1623 - Châtellerault, Poitou - Descartes sells a large estate he inherited from his grandparents
July(?) 15(?), 1623 - Rennes - Descartes takes the money with him to Brittany
September(?) 1(?), 1623 - Paris - Descartes bids farewell to his family and returns to Paris
April(?) 15(?), 1624 - Zurich, Switzerland - Descartes crosses the Alps and arrives in Zurich. He discusses mathematics with local scholars
May(?) 1(?), 1624 - Tyrol - Continues east to the region of Tyrol
May 16, 1624 - Venice, Italy - Descartes arrives in Venice just in time to witness the feast of the Ascension
June(?) 1(?), 1624 - Loreto (Loretto) - Visit to Basilica della Santa Casa
August(?) 1(?), 1624 - Rome - Descartes arrives in Rome - speculative date
August 24, 1624 - (While in Rome) - Jean Bitault, Étienne de Claves and Antoine Villon, post notices announcing 2 days of disputations - in opposition to Aristotle - "One of the most beautiful halls in Paris had been retained and nearly a thousand people were already assembled"
September(?) 1(?), 1624 - Arcetri, (Florence) Tuscany - Descartes visits Arcetri on his way back to France but to his great disappointment, he isn't able to meet Galileo
April 1(?), 1625 - Gavi - Observes the military maneuvers of the Duke of Savoy
May 1(?), 1625 - Turin - Visits the City of Turin
May 10(?), 1625 - Alps - Descartes crosses the Alps back to France, having witnessed an avalanche
June 1(?), 1625 - Poitiers - Descartes reaches Poitiers, via Lyon
June 24, 1625 - Poitiers - Letter to his father, Joachim, asking if he thinks it's too late for him to enter a legal career
July(?) 1(?), 1625 - Rennes - Arrives in Rennes to stay with his family before returning later to Paris
February 1(?), 1626 - Paris - Letter to Marin Mersenne, a french polymath
July 16, 1626 - Paris - Letter to his brother, Pierre, about financial affairs
January 22, 1628 - Kerleu in Elven, Brittany - Descartes is back in Brittany to be godfather for his brother Pierre's son Joachim
March 30, 1628 - Kerleu in Elven, Brittany - Balzac sends a copy of his just published "Discourse of a Christian Socrates" to Descartes
August 30(?), 1628 - Outside La Rochelle - Descartes arrives outside of the besieged city of La Rochelle to observe the military and engineering operations
October 27, 1628 - La Rochelle - Descartes enters the defeated protestant town of La Rochelle with Louis XIII's troops
November 10, 1628 - Paris - Descartes returns to Paris. Begins writing "Regulae ad Directionem Ingenii" (unfinished work)
December(?) 1(?), 1628 - Paris - Descartes departs to Middelburg to visit Isaac Beeckman
December(?) 8(?), 1628 - Dordrecht - Not finding Isaac Beeckman at Middelburg, he meets with him in Dordrecht
December(?) 20(?), 1628 - Dordrecht - Descartes moves to the Netherlands permanently
April 26, 1629 - Franeker, Netherlands - Joins the University of Franeker
June 18, 1629 - Franeker - Letter to Ferrier
July 18, 1629 - Franeker - Letter to Gibieuf
August 1(?), 1629 - Franeker - Letter to Mersenne
October 8, 1629 - Amsterdam - Letters to Ferrier and Mersenne
December 18, 1629 - Amsterdam - Letter to Mersenne
June 26, 1630 - Leiden - Enrolls at the Leiden University
October 17, 1630 - Leiden(?) - Descartes has a falling-out with Isaac Beeckman, whom he accuses of plagiarizing some of his ideas
April 15, 1631 - Amsterdam - Letter to Balzac
May 5, 1631 - Amsterdam - Letter to Balzac
May 20(?), 1631 - Denmark - Visits Denmark with the physician and alchemist Étienne de Villebressieu to see hydraulic works
April 5, 1632 - Amsterdam - Letter to Mersenne
May 1(?), 1632 - Deventer - Moves to Deventer. Descartes reconciles with Beeckman
February 1, 1634 - Deventer - Letter to Mersenne
August 14, 1634 - Amsterdam - Letter to Mersenne. Descartes lodges at the house of Thomas Sergeant - a bookshop owner and associate of Descartes
October 15, 1634 - Amsterdam - Relationship with a servant girl, Hélène Jans van der Strom (according to him, the night of his daughter's conception)
April 1(?), 1635 - Utrecht - In the Spring, Descartes goes to Utrecht, where Reneri was about to provide the first institutional teaching of Cartesian natural philosophy
July 19, 1635 - Deventer - Daughter Francine is born
August 8, 1635 - Deventer - Francine's baptism
November 1, 1635 - Utrecht - Letter to Constantijn Huygens, a dutch poet, composer and secretary to the Princes of Orange (Frederik Hendrik and Willem II)
December 8, 1635 - Utrecht - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
March 1(?), 1636 - Leiden - Moves to Leiden to supervise publication of the "Discours" and the three "Essais"
March 28, 1636 - Leiden - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
June 11, 1636 - Leiden - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
July 13, 1636 - Leiden - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
October 30, 1636 - Leiden - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
January 1, 1637 - Leiden - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
February 25, 1637 - Leiden - Letter to Constantijn Huygens - Descartes refuses to say anything about Mersennes 'Table of propositions' because he says he knows Mersenne personally too well.

Discours de la Methode, 1637

March 1, 1637 - Leiden - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
April 20, 1637 - Leiden - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
May 20, 1637 - Alkmaar - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
June 8, 1637 - (While in Alkmaar) - "Discours de la Methode" is published by Jean Maire in Leiden
July 5, 1637 - Alkmaar - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
February 22, 1638 - Alkmaar(?) - Letter to Vatier
March 1, 1638 - Alkmaar(?) - Letter to Mersenne
March 9, 1638 - Alkmaar(?) - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
March 31, 1638 - Santpoort - Letter to Mersenne
August 18, 1638 - Santpoort - Letter to Henricus Regius
October 11, 1638 - Santpoort - Letter to Mersenne
January 29, 1639 - Santpoort - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
February 20, 1639 - Santpoort - Letter to Mersenne
May 6, 1639 - Santpoort - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
November 26, 1639 - Santpoort - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
December 12, 1639 - Leiden - Letter to Constantijn Huygens - Letter about non-musical matters. In the postscriptum Descartes deals with a controversy between Huygens and Salmasius. He reports that he has seen Ban's new harpsichord. Ban will still contact Huygens with Bloemaert.
December 17, 1639 - Santpoort - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
March 12, 1640 - Santpoort - Letter to Constantijn Huygens - Descartes writes about various things, such as the miracle stories of Mersenne, the lens-grinder Beaune and the issue around Stampioen. He has heard that Huygens recently went to Haarlem and wants to hear Huygens' opinion on Bans harpsichord.
April 1(?), 1640 - Santpoort - Departs to Leiden

Meditationes, 1640

May 5(?), 1640 - Leiden - Returns to Leiden to supervise printing of the "Meditationes"
May 15, 1640 - Leiden - Descartes receives a letter from Henricus Regius
May 24, 1640 - Leiden - Letter to Henricus Regius
June 11, 1640 - Leiden - Letter to Mersenne
August 27, 1640 - Leiden - Letter to Constatijn Huygens
September 7, 1640 - Amersfoort - Francine Descartes dies of scarlet fever, aged 5
September 15, 1640 - Leiden - Returns from Francine's funeral
October 2, 1640 - Leiden - Letter to Joachim de Wicquefort
November 11, 1640 - Leiden - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
December 24, 1640 - Leiden - Letter to Mersenne
January 16, 1641 - Leiden - Letter to Constatijn Huygens
March 1(?), 1641 - Endergeest, near Leiden - Publication of "Meditationes de Prima Philosophia, in qua Dei existentia et animæ immortalitas demonstratur". Descartes moves to the castle of Endergeest
July 29, 1641 - Endergeest - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
March 16, 1642 - (While in Endergeest) - The senate of the University of Utrecht publicly condemns Cartesian philosophy, forbidding professors from teaching it at the University
April 26, 1642 - Endergeest - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
May 1(?), 1643 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Moves to Egmond aan den Hoef, still with Helena as his servant
May 24, 1643 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
June 13, 1643 - Egmond aan den Hoef - The municipality of Utrecht places a public poster in the center of the city, making public Descartes' private letters to Dinet and to Voetius. Descartes is officially charged with libel against Voetius.
July 10, 1643 - Amsterdam - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
September 20, 1643 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
January(?) 1(?), 1644 - (While in Egmond aan den Hoef) - Publication of "Principia Philosophiæ"
February 26, 1644 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
April 10, 1644 - Utrecht - The senate of the University of Utrecht clears Descarts of the accusation of atheism
May 1(?), 1644 - Paris - Travels to France for an extended stay (he would be at Blois, Tours, Nantes and Rennes)
May 4, 1644 - (While in Paris) - In Leiden, Helena marries Jan Jansz van Wel, a local innkeeper, by contract. The marriage is celebrated days later at Egmond
June 12, 1644 - Paris - Apology letter to Voetius
October 1(?), 1644 - Paris - He distributes 12 copies of the "Principles" to the jesuits in Paris
November 13, 1644 - Dordrecht - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
November 15(?), 1644 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Returns to Egmond aan den Hoef
December 21, 1644 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
October 4, 1645 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Descartes spends 4 days with Pierre Chanut, future diplomat in Sweden, who was travelling from France to Denmark
November 3, 1645 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia
March 11, 1646 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
November 1, 1646 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Clerselier. Descartes mentions that Chanut is waiting to get a copy of the french edition of the "Meditations", to present it to Queen Christina
November 23, 1646 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Mersenne
January(?) 1(?), 1647 - (While in Egmond aan den Hoef) - French translation of "Meditationes de Prima Philosophia, in qua Dei existentia et animæ immortalitas demonstratur" and "Principia Philosophiæ" are published under Descartes' supervision as "Méditations Métaphysiques" and "Les Principes de la Philosophie"
March 1(?), 1647 - (While in Egmond aan den Hoef) - Descartes is condemned by Revius and other theologians at the University of Leiden
April 1(?), 1647 - (While in Egmond aan den Hoef) - Descartes is condemned by Revius and other theologians at the University of Leiden
April 19, 1647 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Heereboord
May 4, 1647 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to the curators of the University of Leiden and the consuls of the city
May 12, 1647 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
June 1(?), 1647 - France - Travels to France
September 1(?), 1647 - Holland - Returns to Holland, after meeting Hobbes, Gassendi and Pascal
December 8, 1647 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
December 12, 1647 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
January 15, 1648 - The Hague - Passes through The Hague on his way to Rotterdam
February 21, 1648 - The Hague(?) - Letter to Chanut: planning "to go to Paris at the beginning of next month"
April 16, 1648 - The Hague(?) - Dinner and interview with Frans Burman
May 1(?), 1648 - Paris - Descartes arrives in Paris
August 17, 1648 - Paris - Descartes leaves hurriedly Paris, just before the start of the Fronde

"Passions de l'âme", 1649

January(?) 1(?), 1649 - (While in Egmond aan den Hoef) - "Les Passions de l'âme" (Dedicated to Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia) is published in Paris
February 26, 1649 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Chanut and another to Queen Christina of Sweden - "Madame, if it should have happened that a letter was sent to me from heaven, and that I saw it descend upon me from the clouds, I would not have been more surprised, and would not have received it with more respect and veneration than I did the letter your majesty has written me"
April 23, 1649 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Clerselier
June 11, 1649 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Carcavi
August 1(?), 1649 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Descartes is visited by swedish admiral Flemming, sent to pick him up. He starts packing his bags, taking care of financial concerns, moving money from one bank to another, paying off debts, and revising his will.
August 17, 1649 - Egmond aan den Hoef - Letter to Carcavi
September 1, 1649 - Amsterdam - Descartes arrives in Amsterdam with his new german valet Henry Schluter, where he meets some local friends who gather to wish him bon voyage
October 4, 1649 - Stockholm, Sweden - Arrives in Stockholm after a lenghty voyage due to headwinds. Descartes spends the voyage helping the admiral navigate in difficult seas. According to Flemming, he learned more during the month he spent with Descartes than he did in decades of sailing the oceans
October 5, 1649 - Stockholm - Descartes is received by Queen Christina of Sweden
October 9, 1649 - Stockholm - Letter to Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia
December 4, 1649 - Stockholm - Letter to Constantijn Huygens
January 15, 1650 - Stockholm - Letter to Brégy - "The thoughts of the people here freeze during the winter as do the waters...My desire to return to my desert grows every day more and more".
February 1, 1650 - Stockholm - Contracts pneumonia while visiting Chanut. While Descartes gets sick, Chanut recovers
February 3, 1650 - Stockholm - As the queen's french doctor was away in a mission, her second doctor, a dutchman named Weulles is called. This was a man that fiercely hated Descartes. When the philosopher didn't allow the doctor to bleed him (due to his advanced knowledge), Weulles hated him even more
February 8, 1650 - Stockholm - Descartes begins feeling well. He sits on the bed, reading, eating bread and drinking water, telling everyone that the illness was gone. He asks for wine mixed with tobacco flavour
February 9, 1650 - Stockholm - Descartes gets much worse, vomiting blood...(as recently was discovered that)...Dr.Weulles poisoned the wine
February 10, 1650 - Stockholm - Very weak, Descartes is then bled twice, which makes him worse. He lies by the fire and says before loosing consciousness: "Ah, my dear Schluter, this is the time I must leave". A few hours later, as they realize that he would not survive, a priest administers him the last rites.
February 11, 1650 - Stockholm - René Descartes dies in the morning, aged 53 =(END)

Bibliography

ACZEL, Amir D. - "Descartes' secret notebook"