| February 13 | Willem of Nassau becomes prince of Orange |
| March 24 | German Parliament opens in Worms |
| April 12 | French king Francois I orders protestants of Vaudois to be killed |
| July 19 | King Henry VIII's flagship Mary Rose sinks at Portsmouth; 73 die |
| August 26 | Pope Paul III names his son Pierluigi Farnese, duke of Parma |
| September 8 | English earl Hertford leads retaliatory mission against Scotland |
| December 13 | Council of Trent (19th ecumenical council) opens |
| December 13 | Pope Paul III opens council of Trente |
