1659

Events in 1659 2

• 1655 – 1659 Huygens discovers Saturn's rings and Titan The first moon of Saturn and its ring system explained Between 1655 and 1659, Christiaan Huygens discovered Titan (Saturn's largest moon) and correctly explained that Saturn was surrounded by a solid ring inclined to the ecliptic — resolving the confusing observations of Galileo. He also invented the pendulum clock in 1656, improving timekeeping accuracy by orders of magnitude.
• 1659 – 1695 Henry Purcell English Baroque composer The greatest English composer of the Baroque era, known for his opera Dido and Aeneas and his mastery of vocal writing.