Events of 1636

January–June

• February 24 – King Christian of Denmark gives an order that all beggars that are able to work must be sent to Brinholmen, to build ships or to work as galley rowers.

• March 26 – Utrecht University is founded in The Netherlands.

July–December

• August 15 – The Spanish besiege Corbie, France.

• August 15 – The covenant of the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts is first signed.

• September 8 – A vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony establishes Harvard College as the first college founded in North America.

• December 13 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians. This organization is recognized today as the founding of the United States National Guard.

Undated

• The first American ancestor of John Adams, Henry Adams, emigrates to Massachusetts.

• Pierre Corneille's play, Le Cid, is first performed.

• Manchus occupy the Liaoning region in north China, select Shenyang (Mukden) as their capital, and proclaim the new Qing Dynasty ("pure").

• The Shogun forbids Japanese to travel abroad and those abroad from returning home.

• In the American colonies, Roger Williams (theologian) founds Rhode Island.

• Thirty Years' War: French intervention starts.

• The first synagogue of the New World, Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue, is founded in Recife by the Dutch.

Births

• April 7 – Gregório de Mattos, Brazilian poet (d. 1696)

• September 29 – Thomas Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1715)

• October 31 – Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1679)

• November 1 – Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, poet and critic (d. 1711)

• November 6 – Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy (d. 1676)

• date unknown – Laura Mancini, French court beauty (d. 1657)

Deaths

• January 11 – Dodo Knyphausen, Swedish military leader (b. 1583)

• January 26 – Jean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul, French diplomat (b. 1552)

• February 22 – Sanctorius, physician (b. 1561)

• April 18 – Julius Caesar, English judge (b. c.1557)

• June 13 – George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly, Scottish politician (b. 1562)

• August 25 – Bhai Gurdas, Sikh religious figure (b. 1551)

• September 17 – Stefano Maderno, sculptor (b. 1576)

• October 19 – Marcin Kazanowski, Polish military leader (b. c.1564)

• December 9 – Fabian Birkowski, Polish writer (b. 1566)

• December 10 – Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim, Irish leader