| January 11 | 1st recorded lottery in England is drawn in St. Paul's Cathedral |
| February 7 | King Philip II forms inquistion in South America |
| March 13 | Battle of Jarnac, Count of Anjou defeats Huguenots |
| March 20 | Duke van Alva leads "tenth penning" in Ponts the Ce |
| July 1 | Latvia Parliament accept Union of Lublin, incorporate into Poland |
| August 27 | Pope Pius names Cosimo I de' Medici, grand duke of Toscane |
| October 1 | Duke of Norfolk arrested |
| October 3 | Battle of Montcontour: Duke of Anjou beats Huguenots |
| November 9 | Catholic uprising under Northumberland and Westmoreland |
| November 28 | Duke of Alva forces bishop Nicolaas van Nieuwland of Haarlem to resign |
| December 15 | Westmoreland flees to Scotland |
| December 23 | St. Philip of Moscow martyred by Ivan the Terrible |
