| January 29 | Deventer and Zutphen surrender to Spain |
| February 1 | English queen Elizabeth I signs Mary Stuarts death sentence |
| March 1 | English parliament leader Peter Wentworth confined in London Tower |
| March 12 | English parliament leader Peter Wentworth confined in London Tower |
| April 19 | Sir Frances Drake sails into Cadiz Spain and sinks Spanish fleet |
| July 22 | 2nd English colony forms on Roanoke Island off NC |
| August 5 | Spanish troops conquer Lock |
| August 19 | Sigismund III becomes king of Poland |
| October 20 | Battle at Coultras: Henri van Navarra beats Catholic League |
| November 24 | Battle at Auneau: Henri de Guise wins |
| November 27 | Dutch County Groningen flood by dike break |
| December 17 | Earl Leicesters army leaves Netherlands |
