Explore 103 historical events from 1560–1569.
Diego de Landa Calderón, O.F.M. was a Spanish Franciscan bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Yucatán. He led a campaign against idolatry and human sacrifice. In doing so, h…
Fray Diego de Landa, acting Bishop of Yucatán, burns the sacred idols and books of the Maya.
Xu Guangqi or Hsü Kuang-ch'i, also known by his baptismal name Paul or Paul Siu, was a Chinese agronomist, astronomer, mathematician, politician, and writer during the late Ming dy…
Xu Guangqi, Ming Dynasty Chinese politician, scholar and lay Catholic leader (died 1633)
Margrave James III of Baden-Hachberg was margrave of Baden-Hachberg from 1584 to 1590 and resided at Emmendingen. He converted, in 1590, from Lutheranism to the Roman Catholic conf…
James III, margrave of Baden-Hachberg (died 1590)
Katō Kiyomasa was a Japanese daimyō of the Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. His court title was Higo no Kami . His name as a child was Yashamaru, and first name was Toranosuke. He…
Katō Kiyomasa, Japanese warlord (died 1611)
Gottfried "Götz" von Berlichingen zu Hornberg, also known as Götz of the Iron Hand, was a German (Franconian) Imperial Knight (Reichsritter), mercenary and poet. He was born around…
Götz von Berlichingen, German knight and poet (born 1480)
Lelio Francesco Maria Sozzini, often known in English by his Latinized name Laelius Socinus, was an Italian Renaissance humanist and theologian, and, alongside his nephew Fausto So…
Lelio Sozzini, Italian Protestant theologian (born 1525)
In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches an…
The steeple of St Paul's, the medieval cathedral of London, is destroyed in a fire caused by lightning, and is never reb
Mary, Queen of Scots, also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication on 24 July 1567.
Mary, Queen of Scots, aged 18, returns to Scotland after spending 13 years in France.
William the Silent or William the Taciturn, more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange and in the Dutch National anthem as Willem van Nassau, was the leader of the…
Willem of Orange marries duchess Anna of Saxony.
Count John VII the Middle of Nassau-Siegen, German: Johann VII. der Mittlere Graf von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: Graf zu Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden und Diez, Herr zu Beil…
John VII, Count of Nassau-Siegen, German count and military theorist (died 1623)
Anna of Württemberg was a German princess, member of the House of Württemberg, and by her two marriages duchess of Oława-Wołów and Legnica.
Anna of Württemberg, German princess (died 1616)
Luis de Góngora y Argote was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet and a Catholic priest at Córdoba Cathedral. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, are widely considered th…
Luis de Góngora, Spanish cleric and poet (died 1627)
Maria of the Palatinate, also known as Anna Maria, was a Swedish princess and Duchess of Södermanland by marriage, the first wife of the future King Charles IX of Sweden. She died …
Maria of the Palatinate-Simmern (died 1589)
Jacopo Peri was an Italian composer, singer, and instrumentalist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. He wrote what is considered the first opera, the mostly lost Daf…
Jacopo Peri, Italian singer and composer (died 1633)
Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk,, of Audley End House in the parish of Saffron Walden in Essex, and of Suffolk House near Westminster, a member of the House of Howard, was the s…
Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk (died 1626)
Johan Philip Lansberge was a Flemish Calvinist Minister, astronomer and Mathematician. His name is sometimes written Lansberg, and his first name is sometimes given as Philip or J…
Philippe van Lansberge, Dutch astronomer and mathematician (died 1632)
Jan Amor Tarnowski was a Polish nobleman, knight, military commander, military theoretician, and statesman of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. He was Grand Crown Hetman from 152…
Jan Tarnowski, Polish noble and statesman (born 1488)
Old St Paul's Cathedral was the cathedral of the City of London that, until the Great Fire of 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral. Built in 1087 and from 125…
The spire of Old St Paul's Cathedral in London was destroyed by fire
The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed, commonly known as Saint Basil's Cathedral, is a Russian Orthodox church on Red Square in the historic centre of Moscow. It is one of the most p…
Saint Basil's Cathedral (pictured), located in Red Square, Moscow, was consecrated.
The Ottoman Navy or the Imperial Navy, also known as the Ottoman Fleet, was the naval warfare arm of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Ottomans first reached the sea…
The Ottoman naval forces inflict a defeat on a Spanish fleet in the battle of Djerba
The Treaty of Edinburgh was a treaty drawn up on 5 July 1560 between the Commissioners of Queen Elizabeth I of England with the assent of the Scottish Lords of the Congregation, a…
The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland and England.
The Catholic Church, also called the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with an estimated 1.28 to 1.41 billion baptized members worldwide as of 2026. It consis…
The Catholic Church is overthrown and Protestantism is established as the national religion in Scotland.
Wilhelm Fabry, often called the "Father of German surgery", was the first educated and scientific German surgeon. He is one of the most prominent scholars in the iatromechanics sch…
Wilhelm Fabry, German surgeon (died 1634)
Giovanni Paolo Lascaris di Ventimiglia e Castellar was an Italian nobleman and Grand Master of the Knights of Malta.
Giovanni Paolo Lascaris, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (died 1657)