| March 9 | Emperor Karel appoints son Philip as heir to the throne |
| April 11 | English premier John Dudley appointed duke of Northumberland |
| April 20 | John Dudley becomes English Earl Marshal |
| May 1 | Council of Trente resumes |
| May 12 | San Marcos University in Lima Peru, opens |
| June 8 | Pope Julius III excommunicates Duke Ottario Farnese of Parma |
| July 8 | Willem of Orange weds countess Anna van Egmond and Buren |
| July 19 | Treaty of Karlsburg: arch duke Ferdinand of Austria recognized as king of Hungary/Transsylvania |
| August 14 | Turkish fleet under Dragut occupies Tripoli |
| October 16 | English Edward Seymour duke of Somerset re-arrested |
| December 19 | Dutch west coast hit by hurricane |
