| January 13 | Elizabeth I crowned queen of England in Westminster Abbey |
| February 16 | Pope Paul IV calls for deposition of sovereigns supporting heresy |
| March 14 | Storm floods ravage Gorinchem, Dordrecht and Woudrichem, Netherlands |
| April 2 | England/France signs 1st Treaty of Le Cateau-Cambresis |
| April 3 | Spain and France signs 2nd Treaty of Le Cateau-Cambresis |
| May 10 | Scottish Protestants under John Knox uprise against queen-mother Mary |
| May 13 | Excavated corpse of heretic David Jorisz burned in Basel |
| June 22 | Jewish quarter of Prague burned and looted |
| June 30 | Duke of Montgomery wounds king Henri II during tournament |
| August 9 | Willem of Orange becomes viceroy of Holland/Zealand/Utrecht |
| August 14 | Spanish explorer de Luna lands in Pensacola Bay,Fla |
| August 22 | Spanish archbishop Bartholome de Carranza arrested as heretic |
| September 19 | 5 Spanish ships sinks in storm off Tampa, about 600 die |
