– The First War of Villmergen, a civil war in the Confederation of Switzerland pitting its Protestant and Roman Catholic cantons against each other, breaks out but is resolved by March 7. The Lutheran cantons of the larger cities of Zurich, Bern and Schaffhausen battle against seven Catholic cantons of Lucerne, Schwyz, Uri, Zug, Baden Unterwalden (now Obwalden and Nidwalden) and St. Gallen.

– The Treaty of Königsberg is signed, establishing an alliance between Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg.

– The first Jewish doctor in the Thirteen Colonies of America, Jacob Lumbrozo, arrives in Maryland.

– Reinforced by soldiers dispatched by the Viceroy of Peru, Spanish Chilean troops defeat the indigenous Mapuche warriors in a battle at San Fabián de Conuco in what is now central Chile, turning the tide in the Spanish colonists favor in the Mapuche uprising after more than a year.

(February 8 O.S.) – Swedish Empire troops led by King Carl X Gustav defeat troops of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth commanded by General Stefan Czarniecki in the first major engagement of the Swedish Deluge, meeting in the Battle of Golab.

– London's Lord Mayor Christopher Packe suggests to Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector and chief executive of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, that the monarchy should be restored with Cromwell as its King. Cromwell declines to become King Oliver, but his right to name his successor becomes effective on May 25, 1657 with the commencement of the Humble Petition and Advice.

– A rebellion of Turkish soldiers, leading to the "Çınar incident", takes place after a palace guard for Ottoman Sultan Mehmet IV turns away a representative group who had come for payment for their services during the war in Crete. The rebellion ends with the mass killing 30 men identified by the rebels as being responsible for the non-payment.

– Fyodor Baykov, the Russian Empire's first envoy to China, is admitted to the Forbidden City within Beijing, after being sent by Tsar Alexis to negotiate a trade agreement with the Emperor Shunzi.

– The "Çınar incident", named for the Turkish word for the sycamore tree takes place after Ottoman Sultan Mehmet IV declines the request of soldiers to have 30 named government officials put to death. When Mehmet agrees only to dismiss the people from office, the rebels seek out the men on the list and publicly hang most of them from the cinar trees.

– Zurnazen Mustafa Pasha is appointed as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire after persuading Mehmet IV to rescind the February 28 selection of Gazi Hüseyin Pasha. Zurnazen Mustafa's rule lasts only four hours and he is sent into exile the same day.

– The First War of Villmergen in the Confederation of Switzerland ends with a peace agreement, mediated by France and the Duchy of Savoy, between the Protestant and Roman Catholic cantons

– Almost a month after their defeat by Sweden at the battle of Golab, Polish and Lithuanian troops commanded by Stefan Czarniecki defeat King Karl X Gustav's Swedish Army at the Battle of Jaroslaw.

– Roman Catholic Pope Alexander VII issues a decree ending the Chinese Rites controversy between Jesuit missionaries (who tolerate the rites as compatible with Catholicism) and Dominican and Franciscan missionaries (who consider the Chinese rituals incompatible). The Pope rules that practices ""favorable to Chinese customs", including Confucianism and ancestor worship, can be accepted as compatible with Catholic rites.

– William Fleetwood, Anglican bishop (d. 1723)

– Paolo Panelli, Italian painter (d. 1759)

– Duchess Johanna Magdalena of Saxe-Altenburg (d. 1686)

– John Ashburnham, 1st Baron Ashburnham, English politician (d. 1710)

– Samuel Andrew, American Congregational clergyman and educator (d. 1738)

– Charles Churchill, English Army general and politician (d. 1714)

– Rose Venerini, Italian saint, educational pioneer (d. 1728)

– Ferdinand de Marsin, Marshal of France (d. 1706)

– Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount of Falkland, English politician (d. 1694)

– Maria Angela Caterina d'Este, Italian princess (d. 1722)

– Jan Frans van Douven, Dutch painter (d. 1727)

– Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt (d. 1715)

– Hachisuka Tsunamichi, Japanese daimyō, ruler of the Tokushima Domain (d. 1678)

– Nicolaas Hartsoeker, Dutch mathematician and physicist (d. 1725)

– Nicolas de Largillière, French painter (d. 1746)

March 31

– William Molyneux, Irish politician, philosopher and writer (d. 1698)

– Francesco Trevisani, Italian painter (d. 1746)

– René Lepage de Sainte-Claire, lord-founder of Rimouski in eastern Quebec, Canada (d. 1718)

– Benoît de Maillet, French diplomat and natural historian (d. 1738)

– Anton Egon, Prince of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg, Governor of the Electorate of Saxony (d. 1716)

– Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet, Anglo-Irish politician and judge (d. 1724)

– John Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Dornburg (d. 1704)

– Sir John Mainwaring, 2nd Baronet, English member of Parliament (d. 1702)

– Rebecca Rawson, Massachusetts heroine of the 1849 book Leaves from Margaret Smith's Journal (d. 1692)

– Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein (d. 1721)

– Marin Marais, French composer and viol player (d. 1728)

– Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, French botanist (d. 1708)

– Paul Thymich, German poet (d. 1694)

– Polykarp Leyser III, German Lutheran theologian (d. 1725)

– John Leake, English Royal Navy admiral (d. 1720)

– John Hamilton, 2nd Lord Belhaven and Stenton, Scottish politician (d. 1708)

– Guru Har Krishan, 8th Guru of Sikhism (d. 1664)

July 15

– George Ashby, English member of Parliament (d. 1728)

– Joachim Bouvet, French Jesuit active in China (d. 1730)

– Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, Austrian architect (d. 1723)

– Claude de Forbin, French naval commander (d. 1733)

– Claude de Visdelou, French missionary (d. 1737)

– Christian Knaut, German physician (d. 1716)

– Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian painter (d. 1743)

– Guillaume Dubois, French cardinal and statesman (d. 1723)

– Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth, Irish politician (d. 1725)

September 9

– Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark, Swedish queen consort (d. 1693)

– Thomas Baker, English antiquarian (d. 1740)

– William des Bouverie, English aristocrat and merchant (d. 1717)

– Hendrik Carré, Dutch painter (d. 1721)

– Nicolas de Largillière, French painter (d. 1746)

– Georg Reutter, German composer and organist (d. 1738)

– Edmond Halley, English scientist (d. 1742)

– Jacques de Tourreil, French lawyer (d. 1714)

– Duchess Eleonore Charlotte of Württemberg-Montbéliard (d. 1743)

– Jacob de Heusch, Dutch painter (d. 1701)

– Joshua Oldfield, English Presbyterian minister (d. 1729)

– Johann Michael Rottmayr, Austrian painter (d. 1730)

date unknown

– Mathieu Molé, French statesman (b. 1584)

– Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, German noble (b. 1577)

– Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano (b. 1596)

– Ferdinando Hastings, 6th Earl of Huntingdon, English politician (b. 1609)

– Henriette Catherine de Joyeuse, Duke of Joyeuse (b. 1585)

– Meleki Hatun, influential Ottoman lady-in-waiting (killed by rebels)

– James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland (b. 1581)

– Georg Calixtus, German Lutheran theologian who looked to reconcile all Christendom (b. 1586)

– Krzysztof Arciszewski, Polish-Lithuanian noble (b. 1592)

– Gerard Pietersz Hulft, Dutch general (b. 1621)

– Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (b. 1561)

April 27

– Carlo Contarini, Doge of Venice (b. 1580)

– Dirck Hals, Dutch painter (b. 1591)

– George Louis, Prince of Nassau-Dillenburg, German noble (b. 1618)

– Francesco Cornaro, Doge of Venice (b. 1585)

– Thomas Tomkins, Welsh-born composer (b. 1572)

– Charles Worsley, English soldier and politician (b. 1622)

– Maximilian van der Sandt, Dutch theologian (b. 1578)

– François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-born French commander (b. 1611)

– Giovanni Giacomo Barbelli, Italian painter (b. 1604)

– Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas, Portuguese soldier, poet and writer (b. 1596)

– Ottavio Piccolomini, Austrian-Italian field marshal (b. 1599)

– Marie Anne d'Orléans, French princess (b. 1652)

– Aegidius Gelenius, German heraldist (b. 1595)

– Joseph Hall, English bishop and writer (b. 1574)

– Christian II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg since 1630 (b. 1599)

October – , English clergyman (b. c. 1561)

– Myles Standish, Mayflower colonist (b. c. 1584)

– John George I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1585)

October 12

– Ferruccio Baffa Trasci, Italian bishop (b. 1590)

November 6

November 12

– Alessandro dal Borro, Austrian field marshal (b. 1600)

– David Beck, Dutch portrait painter (b. 1621)

– Thomas Trevor, English politician and judge (b. 1586)

– Andrew White, Apostle of Maryland (b. 1579)

– Laurent de La Hyre, French Baroque painter (b. 1606)

Date unknown – , Italian Baroque era comic actor (plague) (b. 1595)