Whilst visiting Brownsea Island the other week, we came across this fallen tree and so I decided to find out what was happening in the world when this tree first sprouted.

King James II was the reigning monarch.  He was also known as James VII of Scotland.

John Alden, one of the crew members of the Mayflower Pilgrim Fathers  who had been hired in Southampton for maintaining the ship's barrels on its long voyage, died on the 12th September.  He had married fellow passenger Priscilla Mullins and served in a number of government positions in the new colony.   His decedents still survive today.

On the 14th November, Nell Gwyn, long-term mistress to King Charles II, died in London.  Nell has become a bit of a heroine with her rags-to-royalty tale and in 2011, she continued to cause a stir when a portrait was re-discovered (having disappeared for over 50 years) showing Nell topless, which went on to be displayed at the National Portrait Gallery.