1669

Events in 1669 2

• 1606 – 1669 Rembrandt Dutch Golden Age · Netherlands Rembrandt van Rijn (July 15, 1606 – October 4, 1669) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker, master of light and shadow, and one of the greatest portraitists and storytellers in art history. The Night Watch is his most celebrated work.
• 1669 Steno — fossils and geological strata Fossils are remains of ancient organisms; rock layers record history In 1669, Nicolas Steno (Niels Steensen) published his Prodromus, establishing that fossils are the remains of ancient living organisms, not random shapes in rock. He also formulated the principle of superposition (deeper rock layers are older) and identified the systematic nature of sedimentary strata. These ideas founded stratigraphy and historical geology, and were crucial precursors to Darwin's theory of evolution.