1694

January–June

• February 5 - The ship Ridderschap van Holland is lost at sea, after it departs the Cape of Good Hope, but does not arrive at Batavia.
• February 6 - The colony of Quilombo dos Palmares, Brazil, is destroyed.
• March 1 - The HMS Sussex treasure fleet of thirteen ships is wrecked in the Mediterranean off Gibraltar, with the loss of approximately 1,200 lives.
• May 27 - Battle of Torroella: The French Navy defeats Spain.

  July–December

• July 27 - The Bank of England is founded through Royal charter by the Whig-dominated Parliament of England, following a proposal by Scottish merchant William Paterson to raise capital, by offering safe and steady returns of interest guaranteed by future taxes. A total of £1.2 million is raised for the war effort against Louis XIV of France by the end of the year, to establish the first-ever government debt.
• September 5 - The Great Fire of Warwick breaks out in England and destroys half the town. Donors raise £110,000 toward disaster relief, with Queen Anne contributing £1,000.
• Autumn - A major windstorm spreads the Culbin Sands over a large area of farmland, in Scotland.
• October 23 - British/American colonial forces, led by Sir William Phips, fail to seize Quebec from the French.
• October 25 - Queen Mary II of England founds the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich.
• December - Thomas Tenison is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
• December 3 - The Parliament of England passes the Triennial Act, requiring general elections every three years.
• December 28 - Queen Mary II of England dies of smallpox aged 32, leaving her husband King William III to rule alone but without an heir. Since he is also without a royal hostess, Mary's sister Princess Anne is summoned back to court, as his official heiress.

  Date unknown

• The Lao empire of Lan Xang unofficially ends.
• The notorious voyage of the English slave ship Hannibal ends with the death of nearly half of the 692 slaves aboard.
• Rascians establish the settlement which will become Novi Sad on the Danube.
• The Académie française publishes the first complete edition of its Dictionnaire in Paris.