- Jan 16 George Spalatin, German humanist, reformer and important figure in the Reformation, dies at 60
- Feb 19 Pierre Brully [Peter Brulius], Calvinist minister, burned to death for teaching Protestant doctrine in Tournai
- Apr 10 Costanzo Festa, Italian composer
- Jun 19 Abraomas Kulvietis Lithuanian reformer (b. 1509)
- Jul 12 Maria Manuela van Portugal, niece of Spanish King Philip II, dies
- Jul 19 George Carew, English admiral, drowns
- Jul 19 Roger Grenville, English captain of Mary Rose, drowns
- Aug 27 Piotr Gamrat, Polish Catholic archbishop (b. 1487)
- Sep 24 Albert of Brandenburg, German Archbishop of Mainz (Martin Luther's Ninety-five Theses were addressed to him), dies at 55
- Oct 18 John Taverner, English composer (Western Wynde), dies at about 55
- Nov 28 Jacob van Liesveld, printer/"heretic" (Refeyen), beheaded
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning