1612
| 1612 • Galileo Galilei becomes the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune when in conjunction with Jupiter, yet he mistakenly catalogues it as a fixed star because of its extremely slow motion along the ecliptic. Neptune is not truly discovered until 1846, about 234 years after Galileo first sights it with his telescope. |
1642
Apr 8
Age: 30y
| 1642 • The village of Bro (Broo) in Sweden is granted the city rights for the second time and takes the name Kristinehamn (literally "Christina's port") after the present Swedish monarch, Queen Christina. |
1677
Age: 65y
| 1677 • Elias Ashmole gifts the collection that begins the Ashmolean Museum to the University of Oxford in England. |