26 Martyrs of Japan Executed
Feb 5 A group of early Japanese Christians, known as the 26 Martyrs, are killed by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society
- Feb 24 Flemish painter Frederick of Valckenborch becomes porter of Frankfurt-on-Main
First Dutch Expedition to East Indies
Feb 26 Cornelis de Houtman's Dutch fleet departs Bali and sets sail for the Netherlands
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Apr 23 William Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is first performed, with Queen Elizabeth I of England in attendance
- Jun 14 At 4:30 AM Dutch explorer Willem Barents leaves Novaya Zemlya on his third Arctic expedition to return to the Netherlands (dies on the return voyage)
- Aug 11 Germany throws out English sales people
- Aug 14 Cornelis de Houtman's Dutch fleet arrives back in Holland, the 1st Dutch visit to Java
- Aug 20 1st Dutch East India Company ships return from the Far East
- Sep 16 Albert VII Archduke of Austria's Spanish forces lose control of the city of Amiens to French King Henry VI
- Oct 9 Eighty Years War: Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange with English support captures Breevoort, Netherlands from the Spanish
Gregory I
Gregory XIII
Julius II
Julius III
Leo X
Pius V