Timeline May 1650

Events in May 1650 3

• 1612 – 1650 James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612-1650) Died 21 May 1650, aged 37 Scottish nobleman and military commander James Graham was captured after a failed campaign to restore Charles II and was hanged in Edinburgh on charges of treason. He had earlier won a string of victories for the Royalist cause during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. His execution made him a lasting symbol of Royalist loyalty in Scotland.
• 1650 Treaty of Breda Charles II agrees to Covenanter terms for the Scottish crown Exiled King Charles II signed an agreement with Scottish Covenanter commissioners at Breda in the Netherlands, accepting the Covenant in exchange for support to reclaim the throne. The agreement set the stage for his landing in Scotland weeks later. He committed to Presbyterian church government, a promise he would later abandon.
• 1650 Harvard College Receives Its Charter Massachusetts formalises the governance of its young college The General Court of Massachusetts Bay granted a charter establishing the President and Fellows of Harvard College, creating the corporate body that still governs the university. Harvard had been founded in 1636 but lacked formal legal structure until this charter. It remains the oldest institution of higher education in what became the United States.