Explore 44 historical events from 1550–1559.
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)
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)
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)
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
François Béroalde de Verville was a French Renaissance novelist, poet and intellectual. He was born in Paris, the son of Matthieu Brouard, called "Béroalde", a professor of Agrippa…
François Béroalde de Verville, French writer (died 1626)
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)
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)
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)
Johannes Bugenhagen, also called Doctor Pomeranus by Martin Luther, was a German theologian and Lutheran priest who introduced the Protestant Reformation in the Duchy of Pomerania …
Johannes Bugenhagen, German priest and theologian (born 1485)
Petrus Apianus, also known as Peter Apian, Peter Bennewitz, and Peter Bienewitz, was a German humanist, known for his works in mathematics, astronomy and cartography. His work on "…
Petrus Apianus, German mathematician and astronomer (born 1495)
John Knox was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the reformer of the Church of Scotland.
John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the nascent Scottish Reformation
Alice Spencer, Countess of Derby was an English noblewoman from the Spencer family and noted patron of the arts. Poet Edmund Spenser represented her as "Amaryllis" in his eclogue C…
Alice Spencer, English noblewoman (died 1637)
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named after its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though othe…
Presbyterian clergyman John Knox returned from exile to lead the Scottish Reformation
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, marries the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre-Dame de Paris
Jean François Fernel was a French physician who introduced the term "physiology" to describe the study of the body's function. He was the first person to describe the spinal canal.…
Jean Fernel, French physician (born 1497)
Francisco de Sá de Miranda was a Portuguese poet of the Renaissance.
Francisco de Sá de Miranda, Portuguese poet (born 1485)
Elisabeth of Brandenburg was a Duchess consort of Brunswick-Göttingen-Calenberg by marriage to Eric I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Regent of the Duchy of Brunswick-Göttingen-Ca…
Elisabeth of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Calenberg-Göttingen (born 1510)
Johannes Bugenhagen, also called Doctor Pomeranus by Martin Luther, was a German theologian and Lutheran priest who introduced the Protestant Reformation in the Duchy of Pomerania …
Johannes Bugenhagen, German priest and theologian (born 1485)
Sir Philip Hoby PC was a 16th-century English Ambassador to the Holy Roman Empire and Flanders.
Philip Hoby, English general and diplomat (born 1505)
Petrus Apianus, also known as Peter Apian, Peter Bennewitz, and Peter Bienewitz, was a German humanist, known for his works in mathematics, astronomy and cartography. His work on "…
Petrus Apianus, German mathematician and astronomer (born 1495)
François Béroalde de Verville was a French Renaissance novelist, poet and intellectual. He was born in Paris, the son of Matthieu Brouard, called "Béroalde", a professor of Agrippa…
François Béroalde de Verville, French writer (died 1626)
Prince Jerzy Radziwiłł was a Polish–Lithuanian magnate and Imperial Reichsfürst from the Radziwiłł family. He was ordained a Catholic priest and later rose through the ranks as Bis…
Jerzy Radziwiłł, Catholic cardinal (died 1600)
Luigi Alamanni was an Italian poet and statesman. He was regarded as a prolific and versatile poet. He was credited with introducing the epigram into Italian poetry.
Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet and politician (born 1495)
Saitō Dōsan , also known as Saitō Toshimasa, was a Japanese samurai lord and daimyo during the Sengoku period. He was also known as the "Viper of Mino" for his ruthless tactics. H…
Saitō Dōsan, Japanese samurai (born 1494)
The Ottoman Empire, historically also known as the Turkish Empire, was a state that spanned much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th century to the early…
The Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire sign a peace treaty to end the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1532–1555
Ludovico Carracci was an Italian early-Baroque painter, etcher, and printmaker from Bologna. His works are characterized by a strong mood invoked by broad gestures and flickering l…
Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter and etcher (died 1619)
Jerónima de la Asunción, O.S.C. was a Spanish Catholic nun and abbess who founded the Real Monasterio de Santa Clara in Intramuros, Manila, Philippines.
Jerónima de la Asunción, Spanish Catholic nun and founder of the first monastery in Manila (died 1630)
George Carew, 1st Earl of Totnes, known as Sir George Carew between 1586 and 1605 and as The Lord Carew between 1605 and 1626, served under Elizabeth I during the Tudor conquest of…
George Carew, 1st Earl of Totnes, English general and administrator (died 1629)
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
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