6th February » James II of England and VII of Scotland becomes British monarchy e.g King upon the death of his brother Charles II of England e.g Charles II.
20th June » Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth declares himself King of England at Bridgwater.
6th July » Battle of Sedgemoor: Last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion. troops of King James II defeat troops of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.
15th July » Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth is executed at Tower Hill, England after his defeat at the Battle of Sedgemoor on 6 July 1685.
Famous Birthdays in 1685
7th January » Jonas Alströmer, Swedish businessman (d. 1761)
9th January » Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist (d. 1766)
8th February » Charles-Jean-François Hénault, French historian (d. 1770)
10th February » Aaron Hill (writer) called Aaron Hill, English playwright (d. 1750)
23rd February » George Frideric Handel, German-English composer (d. 1759)
12th March » George Berkeley, Irish philosopher (d. 1753)
18th March » Ralph Erskine (preacher) named Ralph Ersine, Scottish minister (d. 1752)
31st March » Johann Sebastian Bach, German organist and composer (d. 1750)
23rd June » Antonio Bernacchi, Italian singer-songwriter (d. 1756)
30th June » John Gay, English poet and playwright (d. 1732)
3rd July » Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, English field marshal and politician (d. 1768)
18th August » Brook Taylor, English mathematician (d. 1731)
20th September » Giuseppe Matteo Alberti, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1751)
1st October » Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1740)
26th October » Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1757)
17th November » Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, Canadian commander and explorer (d. 1749)
15th July » James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, Dutch-English general and politician, Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull (b. 1649)
28th July » Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1618)
1st September » Leoline Jenkins, Welsh lawyer, jurist, and politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1625)
7th September » William Carpenter (Rhode Island) known as William Carpenter, English-American settler, co-founded Rhode Island known as Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (b. 1605)
2nd October » David Teniers III, Flemish painter (b. 1638)
12th October » Christoph Ignaz Abele, Austrian jurist (b. 1628)
30th October » Michel Le Tellier, French politician, Minister of Defence (France) or French Secretary of State for War (b. 1603)
12th December » John Pell, English mathematician and linguist (b. 1610)