1644 ( MDCXLIV ) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar  and a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar , the 1644th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 644th year of the 2nd millennium , the 44th year of the 17th century , and the 5th year of the 1640s decade. As of the start of 1644, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

Events [ change | change source ]

• February to August ? Explorer Abel Tasman 's second expedition for the Dutch East India Company maps the north coast of Australia .
• April ? A popular Chinese Uprising led by Li Zicheng enter and conquer Beijing , prompting Chongzhen , the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty , to commit suicide.
• June 6 ? The invading Manchu army, with the help of Ming general Wu Sangui , captures Beijing , China. This marks the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (also known as the Manchu Dynasty), the last imperial dynasty of China .
• July 2 ? Battle of Marston Moor , a crushing victory for the Parliamentary side of the English Civil War , ends Charles I 's hold on the north of England .
• September 1 ? Battle of Tippermuir , Montrose defeats Elcho 's Covenanters , reviving Royalist cause in Scotland
• September 2 ? Second Battle of Lostwithiel , the last major victory for Charles I and the Royalist side in the English Civil War.
• September 15 ? Pope Innocent X is elected to the Papacy , in Rome .
• November 23 ? Areopagitica by John Milton is published.
• December ? Plague breaks out in Edinburgh .