- Jan 16 English parliament passes laws against Catholicism
Francis Drake Knighted
Apr 4 Francis Drake knighted by Queen Elizabeth I aboard his galleon "Golden Hind" at Deptford, England
- Apr 15 Portuguese assembly the Cortes of Tomar recognizes Philip II of Spain as King of Portugal after a succession crisis
- Jul 14 English Jesuit priest Edmund Campion arrested for sedition in Anglican England (later hung, drawn and quartered)
- Jul 26 Dutch Act of Abjuration declared - seven Dutch provinces declare their independence from Spanish King Philip II
- Aug 2 Leiden University names Rudolph Snellius as math professor
1st Ballet Staged in Paris
Oct 15 Commissioned by Catherine de' Medici, the 1st ballet "Ballet Comique de la Reine" is staged in Paris
Ivan the Terrible
Nov 16 Tsar Ivan the Terrible attacks his son and heir, Ivan Ivanovich, with a scepter after an argument leading to the latter's death three days later
Ivan the Terrible Murders Son
Nov 19 Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich dies after being attacked by his father Ivan the Terrible three days earlier
- Nov 29 Doornik (Tournai) surrenders to Duke of Parma
Gregory I
Gregory XIII
Julius II
Julius III
Leo X
Pius V