- Jan 20 The Mexican city of León is founded by order of viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almansa
- Feb 5 Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV of France) abjures Catholicism at Tours
Event of Interest
Mar 8 Spanish official Diego Garcia de Palacio writes of his visit to ruins of Copan to King Philip II of Spain - 1st non-Indian to visit and report on a major Maya site
Uraniborg Observatory
May 23 King Frederick of Denmark offers island of Hveen to astronomer and nobleman Tycho Brahe to build an Observatory
- May 29 Spanish army under Cristóbal de Mondragón conquers Zierik sea
- Jul 2 Muitende Spanish soldiers conquer Zierik Sea
- Jul 11 English explorer Martin Frobisher sights Greenland
- Jul 26 Muitende Spanish troops conquer Aalst
- Aug 8 Cornerstone laid for Tycho Brahe's observatory in Uraniborg, Denmark, when built becomes the world's most advanced research institution
Emperor Rudolf II
Oct 12 Rudolf II succeeds Maximilian II as Holy Roman Emperor
Gregory I
Gregory XIII
Julius II
Julius III
Leo X
Pius V