June 29 – Pedro Calderón de la Barca makes his debut as a playwright, his Amor, honor y poder (Love, Honor and Power) being performed at the Spanish Court. Two other plays follow this year.
July 20 – Henry Herbert (Sir Henry from August) becomes deputy to Sir John Ashley, Master of the Revels and takes over his duties. Herbert effectively controls professional drama in England from 1623 until the theaters close in 1642.
Between November 8 and December 5 – Publication of the "First Folio" (Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies), a collection of 36 of the plays of Shakespeare, half of which have not previously been printed, compiled posthumously by actors John Heminges and Henry Condell and published by Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount in London. The first recorded purchase is on December 5, of two copies at £1 each by Sir Edward Dering.[3]
Procopius's long-lost Secret History is rediscovered in the Vatican Library.
Sotheby's. The Shakespeare First Folio, 1623: The Dr. Williams's Library Copy, 13 July 2006; "Three Issues" p. 26; auction catalogue research by Peter Selley and Dr. Peter Beal.