23rd January » Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his 'Lettres provinciales'.
21st July » The Raid on Malaga (1656) known as Raid on Malaga takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War (1654–60) or Anglo-Spanish War.
30th July » Sweden Swedish forces under the command of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden Charles X Gustav defeat the forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at the Battle of Warsaw (1656) Battle of Warsaw.
14th October » Massachusetts enacts the first punitive legislation against the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). The marriage of church-and-state in Puritanism makes them regard the Quakers as spiritually apostate and politically subversive.
Famous Birthdays in 1656
10th April » René Lepage de Sainte-Claire, French-Canadian founder of Rimouski (d. 1718)
31st May » Marin Marais, French viol player and composer (d. 1728)
7th July » Guru Har Krishan, Indian 8th Sikh Gurus (d. 1664)
6th August » Claude de Forbin, French general (d. 1733)
6th September » Guillaume Dubois, French cardinal (d. 1723)
14th September » Thomas Baker (antiquarian) or Thomas Baker, English historian and author (d. 1746)
10th October » Nicolas de Largillière, French painter (d. 1746)
3rd November » Georg Reutter, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1738)
8th November » Edmond Halley, English astronomer and mathematician (d. 1742)
Famous Deaths in History for 1656
3rd January » Mathieu Molé, French politician (b. 1584)
21st March » James Ussher, Irish archbishop (b. 1581)
24th April » Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (b. 1561)
27th April » Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter (b. 1596)
9th June » Thomas Tomkins, Welsh-English composer (b. 1572)
2nd July » François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-French general (b. 1611)
27th July » Salomo Glassius, German theologian and critic (b. 1593)
11th August » Ottavio Piccolomini, Austrian-Italian field marshal (b. 1599)
8th September » Joseph Hall (bishop) or Joseph Hall, English bishop (b. 1574)
3rd October » Myles Standish, English-American captain (b. 1584)
8th October » John George I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1585)
6th November » Jean-Baptiste Morin (mathematician) called Jean-Baptiste Morin, French mathematician, astrologer, and astronomer (b. 1583)