The 1580s

1586 440 years ago

English colonists leave Roanoke Island, after failing to establish England's first permanent settlement in North America

Roanoke Island is an island in Dare County, bordered by the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was named after the historical Roanoke, a Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the…

English colonists leave Roanoke Island, after failing to establish England's first permanent settlement in North America

1586 440 years ago

John Ford, English poet and playwright (died 1639)

John Ford was an English playwright and poet of the Jacobean and Caroline eras born in Ilsington in Devon, England. His plays deal mainly with the conflict between passion and cons…

John Ford, English poet and playwright (died 1639)

1586 440 years ago

Rose of Lima, Peruvian mystic and saint (died 1617)

Rose of Lima, TOSD, was a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic in Lima, Peru, Spanish Empire, who became known for both her life of severe penance and her care of the poverty…

Rose of Lima, Peruvian mystic and saint (died 1617)

1586 440 years ago

Paul Siefert, German composer and organist (died 1666)

Paul Siefert was a German composer and organist associated with the North German school.

Paul Siefert, German composer and organist (died 1666)

1586 440 years ago

Claudio Saracini, Italian lute player and composer (died 1630)

Claudio Saracini was an Italian composer, lutenist, and singer of the early Baroque era. He was one of the most famous and distinguished composers of monody.

Claudio Saracini, Italian lute player and composer (died 1630)

1586 440 years ago

Thomas Hooker, English-born founder of the Colony of Connecticut (died 1647)

Thomas Hooker was a prominent English colonial leader and Congregational minister, who founded the Connecticut Colony after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts. He was…

Thomas Hooker, English-born founder of the Colony of Connecticut (died 1647)

1586 440 years ago

Henry Sidney, Irish politician, Lord Deputy of Ireland (born 1529)

Sir Henry Sidney was an English soldier, politician and Lord Deputy of Ireland. Instrumental in the Tudor conquest of Ireland, his attempts to consolidate English power in Ireland …

Henry Sidney, Irish politician, Lord Deputy of Ireland (born 1529)

1586 440 years ago

Primož Trubar, Slovenian author and reformer (born 1508)

Primož Trubar or Primus Truber was a Slovene Protestant Reformer of the Lutheran tradition, mostly known as the author of the first Slovene language printed book, the founder and t…

Primož Trubar, Slovenian author and reformer (born 1508)

1586 440 years ago

Anglo–Spanish War: A convoy of English ships from the Levant Company repelled a fleet of Spanish and Maltese galleys…

The Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) was an intermittent conflict between Habsburg Spain and the Kingdom of England that was never formally declared. It began with England's military …

Anglo–Spanish War: A convoy of English ships from the Levant Company repelled a fleet of Spanish and Maltese galleys…

1585

The Treaty of Nemours abolishes tolerance to Protestants in France.

The Treaty of Nemours were articles that were agreed upon in writing and signed in Nemours on 7 July 1585 between the Queen Mother, Catherine de' Medici, acting for the King, and r…

The Treaty of Nemours abolishes tolerance to Protestants in France.

1585

Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill, Belarusian saint (died 1612)

Zofia Radziwiłł, also Zofia of Słuck is a Polish-Lithuanian Orthodox Christian saint. She was the last descendant of the Olelkowicz–Słucki family – princes of Slutsk and Kopyl – wh…

Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill, Belarusian saint (died 1612)

1585

Evert Horn, Swedish soldier (died 1615)

Evert Karlsson Horn af Kanckas was a Swedish field marshal and governor of Narva.

Evert Horn, Swedish soldier (died 1615)

1585

Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, English courtier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland (died 1646)

Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel KG, was an English magistrate, diplomat and courtier during the reigns of James I and Charles I. He made his name as a Grand Tourist and art col…

Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, English courtier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland (died 1646)

1585

Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg, Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück and Paderborn (born 1550)

Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg was a Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, then Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück, then Prince-Bishop of Paderborn.

Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg, Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück and Paderborn (born 1550)

1585

Niwa Nagahide, Japanese samurai (born 1535)

Niwa Nagahide , also known as Gorōzaemon (五郎左衛門), his other legal alias was Hashiba Echizen no Kami (羽柴越前守), was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi-Momoyama periods o…

Niwa Nagahide, Japanese samurai (born 1535)

1585

Muretus, French philosopher and author (born 1526)

Marc Antoine Muret, better known by his Latinized name Marcus Antonius Muretus, was a French humanist who was among the revivers of an Attic, or anti-Ciceronian, prose style, and i…

Muretus, French philosopher and author (born 1526)

1585

Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland (born 1532)

Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland, 2nd Baron Percy was an English nobleman and conspirator.

Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland (born 1532)

1585

Thomas Aufield, English priest and martyr (born 1552)

Thomas Aufield, also called Thomas Alfield, was an English Roman Catholic martyr.

Thomas Aufield, English priest and martyr (born 1552)

1585

Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (born 1527)

Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford of Chenies in Buckinghamshire and of Bedford House in Exeter, Devon, was an English nobleman, soldier, and politician. He was a godfather to th…

Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (born 1527)

1584

Santiago de Vera becomes sixth governor-general of the Spanish colony of the Philippines

Santiago de Vera was a native of Alcalá de Henares, Spain and the sixth Spanish governor of the Philippines, from May 16, 1584, until May 1590.

Santiago de Vera becomes sixth governor-general of the Spanish colony of the Philippines

1584

Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe arrive at Roanoke Island.

Philip Amadas (1550–1618) was a naval commander and explorer in Elizabethan England. Little is known from his early life, but he grew up within a wealthy merchant family in southwe…

Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe arrive at Roanoke Island.

1584

The Maronite College is established in Rome.

The Pontifical Maronite College is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. Founded originally in 1584 in order to educate Maronite priests, the college provides now highe…

The Maronite College is established in Rome.

1584

Michael Altenburg, German theologian and composer (died 1640)

Michael Altenburg was a German theologian and composer.

Michael Altenburg, German theologian and composer (died 1640)

1584

Steven Borough, English navigator and explorer (born 1525)

Steven Borough was an English navigator and an early Arctic explorer. He was master of the first English ship to reach the White Sea in 1553 and open trade with Russia on behalf of…

Steven Borough, English navigator and explorer (born 1525)