1672

Events 
March 15 – Charles II of England issues the Royal Declaration of Indulgence.
May 2 – John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.
 June 12 – French forces under king Louis XIV cross the Rhine to Netherlands
June 28 – William III of Orange appointed Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht.
August 20 – Johan de Witt, Grand Pensionary of Holland is slaughtered by a mob in The Hague.
England, France, Münster and Cologne invade the United Provinces, therefore this name is known as ´het rampjaar´ (the disaster year) in the Netherlands.

 Births 
May 1 – Joseph Addison, writer and essayist