- Jan 16 Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk is tried and convicted of high treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England
- Feb 5 Beggars assault Oisterwijk in the Netherlands, drive nuns out
- Mar 12 Poet Luís Vaz de Camões publishes the epic poem "Os Lusíadas" in Portugal
- Apr 1 Watergeuzen capture Brielle from the Spaniards, during the Eighty Years' War, gaining the first foothold on land for what would become the Dutch Republic.
- Apr 21 France & England sign anti-Spanish military covenant
- May 4 Dutch towns of Flushing and Veere side with Dutch rebels, the Sea Beggers (Geuzen) during the uprising against the Spanish
- May 15 Louis van Nassau & huguenots occupy Valenciennes
William Takes Gelderland
Jun 9 Army of William I of Orange occupies Gelderland
Dutch Rebellion
Jun 24 Five clergymen of Dutch city Enkhuizen are hanged during the Dutch Rebellion against Philip II of Spain
- Jul 9 Death of the Gorcum Martyrs: Calvinist militant force the Watergeuzen (the Sea Beggars) capture and hang 19 Catholic priests in Brielle
- Jul 18 Provincial States of Holland recognize William I of Orange as Stadtholder of Holland, Friesland and Utrecht at a gathering in Dordrecht
- Jul 19 Battle at Saint Ghislain: Spanish army beats The Genlis' mercenaries
- Jul 23 William I of Orange's troops occupy Roermond on the Spanjaarden
- Aug 22 Failed assassination on Gaspard de Coligny, a French nobleman and admiral, a Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion (killed 2 days later)
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre
Aug 24 St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of Protestants by Roman Catholics begins in Paris and later spreads to the French provinces
Brahe Observes a Supernova
Nov 5 Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe observes a new star (supernova) with the naked eye in the Cassiopeia constellation, proving objects changed in world beyond the Moon and making his reputation [1]
- Nov 6 Supernova is observed in constellation known as Cassiopeia
- Nov 11 Duke of Alva's son Don Fredrik begins siege of Haarlem
- Nov 16 Troops under Don Frederik (the Spanish General Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo) occupy and plunder Zutphen, Netherlands
- Dec 11 Spanish troops begin siege of Haarlem
- Dec 13 Spanish army beats Geuzen fleet (confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles) under admiral Lumey
- Dec 17 Spanish army begins fires in Haarlem Netherlands
Gregory I
Gregory XIII
Julius II
Julius III
Leo X
Pius V