Events
- 6 February - Death of Charles II at Whitehall Palace after four days' illness. His brother, the Roman Catholic James Stuart, Duke of York, becomes King James II of England.
- 23 April - Coronation of King James II at Westminster Abbey.
- May - Titus Oates, found guilty of perjury for his part in the alleged "Popish Plot", is sentenced by Judge Jeffreys to be imprisoned, pilloried and whipped.
- 19 May - Beginning of the first session of the Loyal Parliament.
- 11 June - Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland, lands at Lyme Regis with an invasion force brought from the Netherlands to challenge his uncle, James II, for the Crown of England.
- 20 June - Monmouth Rebellion: James, Duke of Monmouth, declares himself at Taunton to be King and heir to his father's Kingdoms as James II of England and Ireland and James VII of Scotland.
- 6 July - Monmouth Rebellion: The Battle of Sedgemoor between the armies of King James II and rebel forces under Monmouth, the last pitched battle fought on English soil. Monmouth's army is defeated and the Duke himself is captured shortly after the battle.
- 15 July - The Duke of Monmouth is beheaded at Tower Hill, London, by Jack Ketch.
- 25 August to 23 September - Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys holds the Bloody Assizes to try Monmouth's supporters, beginning at Winchester and ending at Wells. Over a thousand receive sentences of hanging or transportation.
- September - Edward Hemming establishes the first organised street lighting, using oil lamps, in London.
- 23 October - Elizabeth Gaunt, burned at the stake at Tyburn for alleged complicity in the Rye House Plot, becomes the last woman executed for political treason in England.
- 20 November - The Loyal Parliament is prorogued and never meets again.
- undated - The Toyé family arrive in England as Huguenot refugees, establishing the jewellery and clothing business which, as Toye, Kenning and Spencer, will still be operating in the hands of the original family in the 21st century.
Read more about this topic: 1685 In England
Famous quotes containing the word events:
“It is clear to everyone that astronomy at all events compels the soul to look upwards, and draws it from the things of this world to the other.”
—Plato (c. 427–347 B.C.)
“When the course of events shall have removed you to distant scenes of action where laurels not nurtured with the blood of my country may be gathered, I shall urge sincere prayers for your obtaining every honor and preferment which may gladden the heart of a soldier.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“All strange and terrible events are welcome,
But comforts we despise.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)