Who Was Alive
James II of England
Godfrey Kneller, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

James II of England

Monarch of Scotland

Born 14 October 1633 (Julian calendar) · died 5 September 1701 (Julian calendar), aged 67
Also known as James VII of Scotland, James VII, James VII and II

Who was alive at the same time as James II of England?

  1. Galileo Galilei, 1564 – 1642
  2. Peter Paul Rubens, 1577 – 1640
  3. Thomas Hobbes, 1588 – 1679
  4. René Descartes, 1596 – 1650
  5. Diego Velázquez, 1599 – 1660
  6. Rembrandt, 1606 – 1669
  7. John Milton, 1608 – 1674
  8. Jean de La Fontaine, 1621 – 1695
  9. Molière, 1622 – 1673
  10. Blaise Pascal, 1623 – 1662
  11. John Locke, 1632 – 1704
  12. Baruch Spinoza, 1632 – 1677
  13. James II of England, 1633 – 1701
  14. Louis XIV, 1638 – 1715
  15. Isaac Newton, 1642 – 1727
  16. Matsuo Bashō, 1644 – 1694
  17. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, 1646 – 1716
  18. Jonathan Swift, 1667 – 1745
  19. Peter the Great, 1672 – 1725
  20. Antonio Vivaldi, 1678 – 1741
  21. George Frideric Handel, 1685 – 1759
  22. Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685 – 1750
  23. Montesquieu, 1689 – 1755
  24. Voltaire, 1694 – 1778

Drag across the timeline, or use the arrow keys, to see who was alive in any year and the age each person reached that year. Dashed lines mark world events. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.

When James II of England was born, Galileo Galilei was 69, René Descartes was 37, Molière was 11, John Locke was 1 and Rembrandt was 27.

When James II of England died, Isaac Newton was 58, Johann Sebastian Bach was 16, Voltaire was 6, John Locke was 69 and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was 55.

Born during James II of England’s lifetime: Isaac Newton, Johann Sebastian Bach, Voltaire, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Matsuo Bashō, Louis XIV, Peter the Great and Antonio Vivaldi.

Not quite contemporaries: Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born about 11 years after James II of England died, Benjamin Franklin was born about 5 years after James II of England died, Carl Linnaeus was born about 6 years after James II of England died and Leonhard Euler was born about 6 years after James II of England died.

What happened in James II of England’s lifetime

Where James II of England’s contemporaries were born

James II of England is labelled; the others are the best-known people we track who lived at the same time. Each dot is a birthplace from Wikidata (81 of 81 placed); tap one to open that person.
Birthplaces as a list

Compare James II of England

The 150 best-known contemporaries

177 of the people we track were surely alive at the same time as James II of England. The 150 best known are listed here. See also everyone alive in 1667.

  1. Isaac Newton 1642 – 1727
  2. Galileo Galilei 1564 – 1642
  3. Johann Sebastian Bach 1685 – 1750
  4. Voltaire 1694 – 1778
  5. René Descartes 1596 – 1650
  6. Molière 1622 – 1673
  7. John Locke 1632 – 1704
  8. Rembrandt 1606 – 1669
  9. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz 1646 – 1716
  10. Matsuo Bashō 1644 – 1694
  11. Blaise Pascal 1623 – 1662
  12. Louis XIV 1638 – 1715
  13. Peter the Great 1672 – 1725
  14. Baruch Spinoza 1632 – 1677
  15. Peter Paul Rubens 1577 – 1640
  16. Antonio Vivaldi 1678 – 1741
  17. Diego Velázquez 1599 – 1660
  18. Jonathan Swift 1667 – 1745
  19. Montesquieu 1689 – 1755
  20. Thomas Hobbes 1588 – 1679
  21. George Frideric Handel 1685 – 1759
  22. John Milton 1608 – 1674
  23. Jean de La Fontaine 1621 – 1695
  24. Daniel Defoe c. 1661 – 1731
  25. Lope de Vega 1562 – 1635
  26. Oliver Cromwell 1599 – 1658
  27. Alexander Pope 1688 – 1744
  28. Christiaan Huygens 1629 – 1695
  29. Jean Racine 1639 – 1699
  30. Johannes Vermeer 1632 – 1675
  31. Pierre de Fermat 1607 – 1665
  32. Robert Boyle 1627 – 1691
  33. Charles I of England 1600 – 1649
  34. George Berkeley 1685 – 1753
  35. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 1632 – 1723
  36. Pierre Corneille 1606 – 1684
  37. Charles Perrault 1628 – 1703
  38. Pedro Calderón de la Barca 1600 – 1681
  39. Cardinal Richelieu 1585 – 1642
  40. Abel Tasman 1603 – 1659
  41. Robert Hooke 1635 – 1703
  42. Shah Jahan 1592 – 1666
  43. Edmond Halley 1656 – 1742
  44. John Amos Comenius 1592 – 1670
  45. François de La Rochefoucauld 1613 – 1680
  46. Charles II of England 1630 – 1685
  47. John Dryden 1631 – 1700
  48. Aurangzeb 1618 – 1707
  49. Louis XIII 1601 – 1643
  50. Hugo Grotius 1583 – 1645
  51. Anne, Queen of Great Britain 1665 – 1714
  52. William Harvey 1578 – 1657
  53. Evangelista Torricelli 1608 – 1647
  54. Nicolas Poussin 1594 – 1665
  55. Pope Benedict XIV 1675 – 1758
  56. Pope Urban VIII 1568 – 1644
  57. William III of England 1650 – 1702
  58. Robert Walpole 1676 – 1745
  59. Joseph Addison 1672 – 1719
  60. George II of Great Britain 1683 – 1760
  61. Daniel Bernoulli 1700 – 1782
  62. Claudio Monteverdi 1567 – 1643
  63. Ben Jonson 1572 – 1637
  64. Miyamoto Musashi 1584 – 1645
  65. Emanuel Swedenborg 1688 – 1772
  66. Christina, Queen of Sweden 1626 – 1689
  67. Christopher Wren 1632 – 1723
  68. Pope Clement XII 1652 – 1740
  69. Pope Innocent XI 1611 – 1689
  70. Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux 1636 – 1711
  71. George I of Great Britain 1660 – 1727
  72. Anthony van Dyck 1599 – 1641
  73. John III Sobieski 1629 – 1696
  74. Vitus Bering 1681 – 1741
  75. Francisco de Quevedo 1584 – 1645
  76. Philip IV of Spain 1605 – 1665
  77. John Bunyan 1628 – 1688
  78. Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit 1686 – 1736
  79. Pope Innocent X 1574 – 1655
  80. Cardinal Mazarin 1602 – 1661
  81. Charles II of Spain 1661 – 1700
  82. Pope Clement XIII 1693 – 1769
  83. William Hogarth 1697 – 1764
  84. Francisco de Zurbarán c. 1598 – 1664
  85. Bartolomé Esteban Murillo 1617 – 1682
  86. Pope Benedict XIII 1649 – 1730
  87. Pope Clement X 1590 – 1676
  88. Gian Lorenzo Bernini 1598 – 1680
  89. Pope Alexander VII 1599 – 1667
  90. Pope Clement IX 1600 – 1669
  91. Pope Alexander VIII 1610 – 1691
  92. Pope Innocent XII 1615 – 1700
  93. Ole Rømer 1644 – 1710
  94. Pope Clement XI 1649 – 1721
  95. Pope Innocent XIII 1655 – 1724
  96. Mary II 1662 – 1694
  97. Giambattista Vico 1668 – 1744
  98. Charles XII of Sweden 1682 – 1718
  99. Philip V of Spain 1683 – 1746
  100. Catherine I of Russia 1684 – 1727
  101. Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor 1685 – 1740
  102. Nader Shah c. 1693 – 1747
  103. Giovanni Domenico Cassini 1625 – 1712
  104. Jean de La Bruyère 1645 – 1696
  105. Jacob Bernoulli c. 1655 – 1705
  106. Tommaso Campanella 1568 – 1639
  107. Anna of Russia 1693 – 1740
  108. Aphra Behn 1640 – 1689
  109. Baltasar Gracián c. 1603 – 1658
  110. Juana Inés de la Cruz 1651 – 1695
  111. Samuel de Champlain c. 1570 – 1635
  112. Iskandar Muda 1583 – 1636
  113. Artemisia Gentileschi 1593 – 1653
  114. Murad IV 1612 – 1640
  115. Ibrahim of the Ottoman Empire 1615 – 1648
  116. Johann Bernoulli 1667 – 1748
  117. Georg Philipp Telemann 1681 – 1767
  118. Alexis of Russia 1629 – 1676
  119. Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor 1640 – 1705
  120. Mehmed IV 1642 – 1693
  121. Maria Sibylla Merian 1647 – 1717
  122. Pierre Bayle 1647 – 1706
  123. Mustafa I 1591 – 1639
  124. Michael of Russia 1596 – 1645
  125. Suleiman II 1642 – 1691
  126. Ahmed III 1673 – 1736
  127. Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor 1578 – 1637
  128. Guru Gobind Singh 1666 – 1708
  129. Canaletto 1697 – 1768
  130. Shivaji 1627 – 1680
  131. François Fénelon 1651 – 1715
  132. Jean-Philippe Rameau 1683 – 1764
  133. Antoine Watteau 1684 – 1721
  134. Bohdan Khmelnytsky 1595 – 1657
  135. Cyrano de Bergerac c. 1619 – 1655
  136. Jean-Baptiste Lully 1632 – 1687
  137. Prince Eugene of Savoy 1663 – 1736
  138. Domenico Scarlatti 1685 – 1757
  139. Mahmud I 1696 – 1754
  140. Frans Hals 1580s – 1666
  141. Jusepe de Ribera 1591 – 1652
  142. Ivan Mazepa 1639 – 1709
  143. Mustafa II 1664 – 1703
  144. Marie de' Medici 1575 – 1642
  145. Ahmed II 1643 – 1695
  146. Henry Purcell 1659 – 1695
  147. Blackbeard c. 1680 – 1718
  148. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo 1696 – 1770
  149. Christian IV of Denmark 1577 – 1648
  150. Jean-Baptiste Colbert 1619 – 1683