- Feb 4 Caspar Othmayr, German Lutheran pastor and composer, dies at 37
- Feb 19 Erasmus Reinhold, German mathematician (calculated planetary table), dies at 41
- Feb 25 Hirate Masahide, Japanese diplomat and tutor of Oda Nobunaga, commits suicide at about 61
- Apr 9 Francois Rabelais, French author (Gargantua, Pantagruel), dies at 49
- Jul 9 Maurice, Elector of Saxony (1547-53), dies of his wounds from the Battle of Sievershausen at 32 [some sources place death as July 11th]
- Aug 8 Girolamo Fracastoro, Italian physician (b. 1478)
- Aug 17 Charles III, Duke of Savoy (1504-53), dies at 66
- Aug 22 John Dudley, English Lord Admiral/premier (1551-53), beheaded
- Sep 4 Cornelia da Nomatalcino, monk converted to Judaism, burned at stake
- Oct 7 Cristóbal de Morales, Spanish composer, dies at about 53
- Oct 16 Lucas Cranach Sr, German painter, dies at 81
- Oct 19 Bonifazio Veronese/Veneziano [de' Pitati], Italian painter, dies
- Oct 27 Michael Servetus, Spanish theologian physician, burnt at stake for heresy at Champel near Geneva
- Oct 30 Jacob Sturm von Sturmeck, German statesman and reformer (b. 1489)
- Dec 14 Hanibal Lucić, Croatian writer, dies at 68
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning