Explore 76 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)
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)
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
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)
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)
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)
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 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.
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)
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
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…
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
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)
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)
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)
Murad III was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595.
Murad III, Ottoman sultan (died 1595)
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)
Hayreddin Barbarossa, also known as Hayreddin Pasha, Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis, was an Ottoman corsair and later admiral of the Ottoman Navy. Barbarossa's naval …
Hayreddin Barbarossa, Ottoman admiral (born 1478)
Anne Askew, married name Anne Kyme, was an English writer, poet, and Protestant preacher who was condemned as a heretic during the reign of Henry VIII of England. She and Margaret …
Anne Askew, English author and poet (born 1520)
Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell was a Scottish nobleman, politician and soldier who was a member of the Council of Regency (1536) of the Kingdom of Scotland and Regent of the Isl…
Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell, Scottish statesman (born c. 1493)
Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, was an English peer.
Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, English Earl (died 1581)