1624 facts for kids

The year 1624 was a special year that started on a Monday in the Gregorian calendar. Many important things happened around the world, from new settlements and discoveries to big changes in politics and art. Let's explore some of the key events that shaped this time.

Important Events of 1624

New Settlements and Colonies

• On January 24, Alfonso Mendez, a special church leader chosen by Pope Gregory XV for Ethiopia, arrived in Massawa after traveling from Goa.
• The country of the Netherlands started a new trading post in Kaohsiung on the island of Taiwan. This was a place where they could buy and sell goods.
• About 30 families from Wallonia (a region in what is now Belgium) moved to the New Netherland colony. This colony was a new settlement in North America, which later became part of the United States.

City Changes and Rebuilding

• The city of Oslo in Norway was sadly destroyed by a big fire. When it was rebuilt by King Christian IV, he decided to rename it Christiania. This name lasted for a long time before it became Oslo again.
• The famous Palace of Versailles in France was first built in 1624. It started as a simple hunting lodge for the king, but it would later become a huge and famous palace.
• Construction also began on the beautiful Chateau Cheverny, a grand castle in France.

Discoveries and New Ideas

• The beautiful plant known as Kalmia latifolia, or mountain laurel, was officially recorded for the first time in America.
• An astronomer named Jakob Bartsch officially named and recorded a new group of stars, or constellation, called Camelopardalis. It looks like a giraffe in the night sky!
• The scientist Cornelius Drebbel made an important discovery about different types of gases.

Education and Learning

• Dr Challoner's Grammar School, an important school, was founded in England.
• A new university was started in Bolivia, a country in South America.
• Henry Briggs, a mathematician, published his book Arithmetica Logarithmica. This book was very important for understanding logarithms, which are used in math and science.

Politics and Power

• The country of Denmark started its first official mail service, making it easier for people to send letters.
• The Japanese Shogun, who was the military ruler of Japan, told all the Spanish people to leave the country. He also stopped trade with the Philippines.
• A war began between England and Spain.
• Cardinal Richelieu became a very important advisor to King Louis XIII of France. He helped the king make many big decisions for the country.

Art and Literature

• The famous composer Claudio Monteverdi published his work Tancredi e Clorinda, which was a type of musical story.
• The writer Jean Louis Guez de Balzac published his book of Lettres (letters).
• Another writer, Bernardo de Balbuena, published his long poem called El Bernardo.

Miracles and Beliefs

• In the city of Palermo, it was believed that Saint Rosalia appeared in a miraculous way during a terrible sickness called the plague.

Images for kids

• 

  May 8: The Capture of Bahia, a battle between the Dutch and Portuguese.

• 

  Guarino Guarini, a famous architect.

• 

  Pierre Lambert de la Motte, a French bishop.

• 

  Lambert Doomer, a Dutch painter.

• 

  Thomas Sydenham, an English doctor.

• 

  Murad Bakhsh, a Mughal prince.

• 

  Barent Fabritius, a Dutch painter.

• 

  Ketevan the Martyr, a queen from Georgia.

• 

  Willem Pieterszoon Buytewech, a Dutch painter.

• 

  Simón de Rojas, a Spanish priest.

• 

  Gaspard Bauhin, a Swiss botanist.

• 

  John Kendrick, a cloth merchant.

See also

In Spanish: 1624 para niños