Explore 37 historical events from 1540–1549.
Hernando de Alarcón was a Spanish explorer and navigator of the 16th century, noted for having led a 1540 expedition to the Colorado River Delta, during which he became one of the …
Hernando de Alarcón sets sail on an expedition to the Gulf of California
The Burning of Edinburgh in 1544 by an English army was the first major action of the war of the Rough Wooing. The Provost of Edinburgh was compelled to allow the English to sack L…
The Burning of Edinburgh by an English army is the first action of the Rough Wooing
Francis Xavier, venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative of the Portuguese Empire, led …
Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time
Renata of Lorraine was a noblewoman of the House of Lorraine who became a Duchess of Bavaria by her marriage to Duke William V.
Renata of Lorraine, Duchess consort of Bavaria (died 1602)
Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, was an English peer.
Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, English Earl (died 1581)
The Battle of Mühlberg took place near Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony in 1547, during the Schmalkaldic War. The Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Holy Roma…
Battle of Mühlberg
The Rough Wooing, also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following the English Reformation, the break from the Catholic Church…
During the Rough Wooing, an English army carried out the Burning of Edinburgh
Pratap Singh I, popularly known as Maharana Pratap, was king of the Kingdom of Mewar, in north-western India in the present-day state of Rajasthan, from 1572 until his death in 159…
Maharana Pratap, Indian ruler (died 1597)
Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden KG, PC, KS, JP, was an English barrister and judge who served as Lord Chancellor of England from 1533 to 1544.
Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chancellor of England (born 1488)
Yi Sun-sin was a Korean admiral and military general known for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin War in the Joseon period. Yi's courtesy name was Yŏhae (여해),…
Yi Sun-sin, Korean commander (died 1598)
Elizabeth Knollys, Lady Leighton, was an English courtier who served Queen Elizabeth I of England, first as a Maid of Honour and secondly, after 1566, as a Gentlewoman of the Privy…
Elizabeth Knollys, English noblewoman (died 1605)
The 1549 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the original version of the Book of Common Prayer, variations of which are still in use as the official liturgical book of the Church of Eng…
The first Book of Common Prayer was legally mandated by Parliament, introducing a fully vernacular Protestant liturgy to
Juan de Zumárraga, OFM was a Spanish Basque Franciscan prelate and the first Bishop of Mexico. He was also the region's first inquisitor. He wrote Doctrina breve, the first book pu…
Juan de Zumárraga, Spanish-Mexican archbishop (born 1468)
Dom João de Castro was a Portuguese nobleman, scientist, writer and colonial administrator, who served as the fourth Portuguese Viceroy of India from 1545 to 1548. He was called St…
João de Castro, Portuguese soldier and politician, Governor of Portuguese India (born 1500)
Carpentras was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was famous during his lifetime, and was especially notable for his settings of the Lamentations which remained in the repert…
Carpentras, French composer (born 1470)
The Battle of Mühlberg took place near Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony in 1547, during the Schmalkaldic War. The Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Holy Roma…
Battle of Mühlberg
Philipp von Hutten was a German adventurer and an early European explorer and conquistador of Venezuela. He is a significant figure in the history of Klein-Venedig, the concession …
Philipp von Hutten, German explorer (born 1511)
David Beaton was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish cardinal prior to the Reformation.
David Beaton, Scottish cardinal and politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (born 1494)
Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, was an English peer.
Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, English Earl (died 1581)
Yi Sun-sin was a Korean admiral and military general known for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin War in the Joseon period. Yi's courtesy name was Yŏhae (여해),…
Yi Sun-sin, Korean commander (died 1598)
Franciscus Junius the Elder was a Reformed scholar, Protestant reformer and theologian. Born in Bourges in central France, he initially studied law, but later decided to study theo…
Franciscus Junius, French theologian (died 1602)
Sher Shah Suri, also known by his title Sultan Adil, was the Sultan of Hindustan, as the first Sur Emperor, from 1540 until his death in 1545. Prior to his ascension, he also serve…
Sher Shah Suri, Indian ruler (born 1486)
Abraomas Kulvietis was a Lithuanian jurist and a professor at Königsberg Albertina University, as well as a reformer of the church.
Abraomas Kulvietis, Lithuanian Lutheran lawyer and jurist (born 1509)
The Burning of Edinburgh in 1544 by an English army was the first major action of the war of the Rough Wooing. The Provost of Edinburgh was compelled to allow the English to sack L…
The Burning of Edinburgh by an English army is the first action of the Rough Wooing
Renata of Lorraine was a noblewoman of the House of Lorraine who became a Duchess of Bavaria by her marriage to Duke William V.
Renata of Lorraine, Duchess consort of Bavaria (died 1602)
William Gilbert, also known as Gilberd, was an English physician, physicist and natural philosopher. He passionately rejected both the prevailing Aristotelian philosophy and the Sc…
William Gilbert, English physician, physicist, and astronomer (died 1603)
Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden KG, PC, KS, JP, was an English barrister and judge who served as Lord Chancellor of England from 1533 to 1544.
Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chancellor of England (born 1488)
Antoine, known as the Good, was Duke of Lorraine from 1508 until his death in 1544. Raised at the French court, Antoine would campaign in Italy twice: once under Louis XII and the …
Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (born 1489)
The Rough Wooing, also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following the English Reformation, the break from the Catholic Church…
During the Rough Wooing, an English army carried out the Burning of Edinburgh
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than Earth at its center. The publication of Copernicus's model in …
Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (born 1473)
Francis Xavier, venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative of the Portuguese Empire, led …
Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time
Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter KG, known as Lord Burghley from 1598 to 1605, was an English politician, courtier and soldier.
Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire (died 1623)
Countess Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg was a German noblewoman. She was born in Lichtenberg, the eldest surviving daughter of Count Philipp IV and his wife, Countess Eleonore o…
Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg, German noblewoman (died 1580)
The Prome kingdom also known as Pyay kingdom was a kingdom that existed for six decades between 1482 and 1542 in present-day central Burma (Myanmar). Based out of the city of Prome…
The Prome Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in present-day Myanmar