A coalition army led by King John III Sobieski of Poland relieves the siege of Vienna, defeating the Ottomans and halting their advance into Central Europe.
Isaac Newton publishes "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica", setting out the laws of motion and universal gravitation.
James II is deposed and William III and Mary II take the throne; the Bill of Rights of 1689 limits royal power and strengthens Parliament.
Using microscopes of his own making, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek describes single-celled organisms in water and reports them to the Royal Society.
A fire starting in a bakery on Pudding Lane destroys much of the medieval City of London, including Old St Paul's Cathedral.
European powers fight over the succession to the Spanish throne after the death of Charles II; the war ends with the treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt.
Tsar Peter I lays the foundations of Saint Petersburg at the mouth of the Neva; the city becomes Russia's capital in 1712.