Explore 76 historical events from 1540–1549.
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)
Don Carlos, Prince of Asturias, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Philip II of Spain. His mother was Maria Manuela of Portugal, daughter of John III of Portugal. Carlos …
Carlos, Prince of Asturias (died 1568)
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)
In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era. The Tudor period coincides with the reign of the House of Tudor, which began w…
The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in one of the most complex and…
The Isle of Wight is an island off the south coast of England. It is a unitary authority and also a ceremonial county. It is separated from the mainland county of Hampshire by the …
The first landing of French troops on the coast of the Isle of Wight during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight.
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)
The Mary Rose was a carrack in the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. She was launched in 1511 and served for 34 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. A…
The English warship Mary Rose sank outside Portsmouth during the Battle of the Solent; it was raised from the seabed…
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)
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
The Italian War of 1542–1546 was a conflict late in the Italian Wars, pitting Francis I of France and Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and …
Italian War of 1542–46: The first Siege of Boulogne begins.
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)
René of Chalon, also known as Renatus of Chalon, was the prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and Gelre.
René of Châlon (born 1519)
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
The Battle of Solway Moss took place on Solway Moss near the River Esk on the English side of the Anglo-Scottish border in November 1542 between English and Scottish forces.
Having been defeated in the battle of Solway Moss in the previous year, the Scots conclude the peace treaty of…
Henry VIII was King of England and Ireland from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547.
King Henry VIII of England marries his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace.
Christine of Hesse was Duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp as the spouse of Duke Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp. She exerted some political influence as a widow after 1586.
Christine of Hesse, Duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp (died 1604)
Mary Boleyn, also known as Lady Mary, was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn, whose family enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII.
Mary Boleyn, English daughter of Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire (born 1499)
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)