- Jan 31 Battle of Gembloux (Gembloers); Spanish forces win decisive victor over coalition rebel forces
Tychonic System
Feb 13 Tycho Brahe first sketches "Tychonic system" of solar system
Dutch Rebellion
Mar 10 Queen Elizabeth I of England gives Johan Casimir £20,000 to aid Dutch rebellion
Event of Interest
Apr 27 Duel of the Mignons claims the lives of two favorites of Henry III of France and two favorites of Henry I, Duke of Guise.
- May 31 Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England, to Frobisher Bay, Canada. Eventually mines fools gold, famously used to pave the streets of London.
- Jun 11 England grants Sir Humphrey Gilbert a patent to explore and colonize North America
- Jul 2 English explorer Martin Frobisher sights Baffin Island
- Aug 2 Battle of Rijmenam: Spanish Habsburg forces defeated by Dutch troops (Eighty Years' War)
- Aug 4 Battle of The Three Kings [Battle of Alcazar quivir): Moroccans defeat a Moroccan-Portuguese alliance in northern Morocco with 10,000 killed
- Aug 13 Duke Frans of Anjou recognized as protector of Netherlands
The Golden Hind
Aug 20 Francis Drake renames his flagship the 'Pelican' to the 'Golden Hind' in honor of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton [1]
- Oct 10 German Count Johan Casimir occupies Ghent with 500 horsemen, subsidized by England
Gregory I
Gregory XIII
Julius II
Julius III
Leo X
Pius V