Jane Grey (1537-1554)
Feb 12 Queen of England in 1553 for 9 days, beheaded for treason at 16
- Feb 12 Lord Guildford Dudley, Jane Grey's husband, beheaded at about 19 for treason
- Feb 21 Hieronymus Bock, German doctor (founder of modern botany), dies
- Feb 23 Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, Lady Jane Grey's father, executed
- Mar 3 Johann Friedrich, the Generous, Elector of Saxony (1532-47) and Head of the Protestant Confederation of Germany (the Schmalkaldic League), dies at 50
- Apr 11 Thomas Wyatt the younger, English rebel (b. 1521)
- Jun 19 Sixt Birck [Xystus Betulius], German writer and humanist (Judith), dies at 53
- Aug 25 Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, English great admiral, dies
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (1510-1554)
Sep 22 Spanish explorer and conquistador who led 1st European expedition to discover the Grand Canyon, dies of disease at about 44
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide