- Jan 7 Louis de Blois "Dacrianus", French Benedictine writer and poet, dies at about 60
- Feb 3 George Cassander, Flemish theologian (b. 1513)
- Mar 9 David Rizzio, Italian secretary of Mary Queen of Scots, murdered by Protestant nobles
- Mar 26 Antonio de Cabezón, Spanish blind organist and composer, dies at 55
- Mar 28 Siegmund Freiherr von Herberstein, Austrian diplomat, dies at 79
- Apr 25 Diane de Poitiers, French mistress of French King Henry II, dies at 66
- Apr 25 Louise Labé, French poet
- May 4 Luca Ghini, Italian physician and botanist (b. 1490)
- May 10 Leonhard Fuchs, German physician and botanist (Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants) for which the flowering plants and color Fuchsia is named after, dies at 65
Nostradamus (1503-1566)
Jul 2 French astrologist and prophet (Les Propheties), dies at 62
- Jul 18 Bartolomé de las Casas, Spanish friar and social historian, dies at 81
- Jul 29 Agnes Waterhouse, British woman hanged after being convicted of witchcraft at approximately 63
- Jul 30 Guillaume Rondelet, French naturalist famous for his study of marine animals, dies at 58
- Jul 31 Bartholome de Casas, Spanish historian/bishop of Chiapa, dies at 92
- Aug 4 Girolamo della Robbia, Italian sculptor (Majolica relief), dies
- Sep 2 Taddeo Zuccari, Italian Mannerist painter (Villa dei Farnese at Caprarola), dies at 37
Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566)
Sep 5 Ottoman Sultan and the longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1530-1566), dies at 71 [or Sep 6]
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide