Explore 109 historical events from 1540–1549.
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
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
Charles II Francis of Austria was an Archduke of Austria and a ruler of Inner Austria from 1564. He was a member of the House of Habsburg.
Charles II, Archduke of Austria (died 1590)
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
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
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)
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)
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 Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits, is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church. Headquartered in Ro…
The Jesuit priest Francis Xavier's ship reaches Japan.
The Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits, is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church. Headquartered in Ro…
Jesuit priest Francis Xavier comes ashore at Kagoshima (Traditional Japanese date: 22 July 1549).
The Battle of Sampford Courtenay was one of the chief military engagements in the Western Rebellion of 1549.
Battle of Sampford Courtenay: The Prayer Book Rebellion is quashed in England.
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)
Francesco Maria del Monte, full name Francesco Maria Bourbon del Monte Santa Maria, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat, and connoisseur of the arts. His fame today rests on his earl…
Francesco Maria del Monte, Italian cardinal and art collector (died 1627)
Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland, 14th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG was the son of Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, whose titles he inherited in 1563.
Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland (died 1587)
Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I. He expanded the culture of Tuscany, whic…
Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (died 1609)
Prince Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł, nicknamed "the Orphan", was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman (szlachcic), ordynat of Nyasvizh from 1586, Court Marshal of Lithuania from 1569, Grand…
Mikołaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwiłł, Polish nobleman (died 1616)
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
Bernardino Poccetti, also known as Barbatelli, was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker of etchings.
Bernardino Poccetti, Italian painter (died 1612)
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)
The Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the no…
Scotland and France conclude the treaty of Haddington in response to the "rough wooing". According to the treaty, the…
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
Henry II was King of France from 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder …
Henry II of France is crowned.
Cristofano Malvezzi was an Italian organist and composer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most famous composers in the city of Florence during a time of transition to the…
Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian organist and composer (died 1599)
Garzia de' Medici was the son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleanor of Toledo. He was the subject of a famous painting by Bronzino when he was an infant. He wa…
Garzia de' Medici, Tuscan son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (died 1562)
Francis II of Saxe-Lauenburg, was the third son of Francis I of Saxe-Lauenburg and Sybille of Saxe-Freiberg, daughter of Duke Henry IV the Pious of Saxony. From 1581 on he ruled Sa…
Francis II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (died 1619)
Sebastiano del Piombo was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance and early Mannerist periods, famous as the only major artist of the period to combine the colouring of the Vene…
Sebastiano del Piombo, Italian painter and educator (born 1485)
Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene, known in English as Saint Cajetan, was an Italian Catholic priest and religious reformer, co-founder of the Theatines. He is recognised as a saint in t…
Cajetan, Italian priest and saint (born 1480)
Katharina von Zimmern, also known as the imperial abbess of Zürich and Katharina von Reischach, was the last abbess of the Fraumünster Abbey in Zürich.
Katharina von Zimmern, Swiss sovereign abbess (born 1478)
Henry II was King of France from 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder …
Henry II was crowned King of France at Reims Cathedral.
Robert Persons, later known as Robert Parsons, was an English Jesuit priest. He was a major figure in establishing the 16th-century "English Mission" of the Society of Jesus.
Robert Persons, English Jesuit priest, insurrectionist, and author (died 1610)