Explore 56 historical events from 1550–1559.
Giovanni Antonio Magini was an Italian astronomer, astrologer, cartographer, and mathematician.
Giovanni Antonio Magini, Italian mathematician, cartographer and astronomer (died 1617)
Polydore Vergil or Virgil, widely known as Polydore Vergil of Urbino, was an Italian humanist scholar, historian, priest and diplomat, who spent much of his life in England. He is …
Polydore Vergil, English historian (born 1470)
Pope Marcellus II, born Marcello Cervini degli Spannocchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 10 April 1555 to his death, 22 days later.
Pope Marcellus II (born 1501)
Gemma Frisius was a Dutch physician, mathematician, cartographer, philosopher, and instrument maker. He created important globes, improved the mathematical instruments of his day a…
Gemma Frisius, Dutch physician, mathematician, and cartographer (born 1508)
Henry II, nicknamed Sangüesino because he was born in Sangüesa, was the King of Navarre from 1517. The kingdom had been reduced to a small territory north of the Pyrenees mountains…
Henry II of Navarre (born 1503)
Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, was head of the Catholic Church and leader of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death, in August 1559. While serving as papal nuncio i…
Gian Pietro Carafa became Pope Paul IV, beginning a tumultuous four-year papacy during which the Papal States suffered a
Pietro de' Medici was a Tuscan prince of the House of Medici as a son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
Pietro de' Medici, Italian noble (died 1604)
Benedetto Giustiniani was an Italian clergyman who was made a cardinal in the consistory of 16 November 1586 by Pope Sixtus V.
Benedetto Giustiniani, Italian clergyman (died 1621)
Gaspara Stampa was an Italian poet. She is considered to have been the greatest woman poet of the Italian Renaissance, and she is regarded by many as the greatest Italian woman po…
Gaspara Stampa, Italian poet (born 1523)
Mary I was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous attempts to rev…
Queen Mary I grants a royal charter to Derby School, as a grammar school for boys in Derby, England
Louise of Lorraine was Queen of France as the wife of King Henry III from their marriage on 15 February 1575 until his death on 2 August 1589. During the first three months of thei…
Louise of Lorraine, Queen of France (died 1601)
Albert Frederick was the Duke of Prussia, from 1568 until his death. He was a son of Albert of Prussia and Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He was the second and last Prussian duk…
Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (died 1618)
Margaret of Valois, popularly known as Queen Margot, was Queen of Navarre from 1572 to 1599 and Queen of France from 1589 to 1599 as the consort of Henry IV of France and III of Na…
Margaret of Valois, Queen of France (died 1615)
Archduke Ernest of Austria was an Austrian prince, the son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria of Spain.
Archduke Ernest of Austria (died 1595)
Giovanni Bernardi, also known as Giovanni da Castel Bolognese and as Giovanni da Castelbolognese, was an Italian gem engraver and medallist who was born in Castel Bolognese, Italy.…
Giovanni Bernardi, Italian sculptor and engraver (born 1495)
Wolf Huber was an Austrian- German painter, printmaker, and architect, who worked in Passau, Germany for most of his life as a leading member of the Danube school.
Wolf Huber, Austrian painter, printmaker and architect (born 1485)
John Leland or Leyland was an English poet and antiquary.
John Leland, English poet and historian (born 1502)
Sebastian Münster was a German cartographer and cosmographer. He also was a Christian Hebraist scholar who taught as a professor at the University of Basel. His well-known work, th…
Sebastian Münster, German cartographer and cosmographer (born 1488)
Dr Alexander Barclay was a poet and clergyman of the Church of England, probably born in Scotland.
Alexander Barclay, English poet and author (born 1476)
The National University of San Marcos is a public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. In the Americas, it is the first officially established and the oldest c…
National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas, is founded in Lima, Peru
William Camden was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of Britannia, the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain an…
William Camden, English historian and topographer (died 1623)
Thomas Drury was an English government informer, messenger and swindler, who is noted for having been one of the main people responsible for accusations of heresy, blasphemy, and …
Thomas Drury, English government informer and swindler (died 1603)
Martin Anton Delrio SJ was a Dutch Jesuit theologian. He studied at numerous institutions, receiving a master's degree in law from Salamanca in 1574. After a period of political se…
Martin Delrio, Belgian occultist and theologian (died 1601)
Barbara Radziwiłł was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund II Augustus, the last male monarch of the Jagiellon dynasty. Barbara, already w…
Barbara Radziwiłł, queen of Poland (born 1520)