1556
| Centuries: | 15th century |
| Decades: | 1520s 1530s 1540s - 1550s - 1560s 1570s 1580s |
| Years: | 1553 1554 1555 |
| 1556 in topic: |
| Subjects: |
| Art
- Literature - Music - Science |
| Leaders: |
| Category: Establishments |
| Births |
Year 1556 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Contents |
Events of 1556
: Shaanxi Earthquake, devastation kills 830,000 in China.
January - June
- January 16
- Emperor Charles V abdicates. His son, Philip II becomes King of Spain, while his brother Ferdinand becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
- January 23
- The Shaanxi Earthquake, the deadliest earthquake in history, occurs with its epicenter in Shaanxi province, China: 830,000 people may have been killed.
- February
- Truce of Vaucelles
- Jellaladin Mahommed Akbar
ascends to the throne of the Mughal Empire; he rules until his death in 1605.
- February 14
- Thomas Cranmer is declared a heretic.
- March 21
- In Oxford, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer is burned at the stake for treason.
July - December
- November
- The Truce of Vaucelles collapses, and war resumes between Henry II of France and Philip II of Spain.
- November 5
- Second Battle of Panipat: Fifty miles north of Delhi, a Mogul Army defeats Hindu forces of General Hemu, to ensure Akbar the throne of India.
Undated
- Lorenzo Priuli
becomes Doge of Venice.
- Mary I of England
establishes the Fort of Maryborough, in what is now Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland.
-
The kings of Spain take control of the Flanders region, including what is now the French département of Nord.
-
The false Martin Guerre appears in the French village of Artigat.
-
King John III of Sweden becomes ruler of Finland as Hertig Johan.
-
Welser banking families of Augsburg lose colonial control of Venezuela.
- Ivan the Terrible
conquers Astrakhan, opening the Volga River to Russian traffic and trade.
Births
| Gregorian calendar |
1556 |
| Ab urbe condita |
2309 |
| Armenian calendar |
1005 |
| Bahá'í calendar |
-288 – -287 |
| Berber calendar |
2506 |
| Buddhist calendar |
2100 |
| Burmese calendar |
918 |
| Byzantine calendar |
7064 – 7065 |
| Chinese calendar | 乙卯年閏十一月十九日 (4192/4252-intercalary 11-19) — to —
丙辰年十一月三十日(4193/4253-11-30) |
| Coptic calendar |
1272 – 1273 |
| Ethiopian calendar |
1548 – 1549 |
| Hebrew calendar | 5316
– 5317 |
| Hindu calendars | |
|
1611 – 1612 |
|
|
1478 – 1479 |
|
|
4657 – 4658 |
|
| Holocene calendar |
11556 |
| Iranian calendar |
934 – 935 |
| Islamic calendar |
963 – 964 |
| Japanese calendar | Kōji
2 |
| Korean calendar |
3889 |
| Thai solar calendar |
2099 |
- January 8
- Uesugi Kagekatsu, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1623)
- February
- Henry Briggs, English mathematician (d. 1630)
- February 21
- Sethus Calvisius, German calendar reformer (d. 1615)
- March 7
- Guillaume du Vair, French statesman and philosopher (d. 1621)
- June 6
- Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche, English politician and diplomat (d. 1625)
- November 15
- Jacques-Davy Duperron, French cardinal (d. 1618)
- date unknown
- Margaret Clitherow
, English Catholic martyr (d. 1586)
- Shibata Katsutoyo
, Japanese military commander (d. 1583)
- Ahmad Baba al Massufi
, Sudanese writer and political leader (d. 1627)
- James Melville
, Scottish divine and reformer (d. 1614)
- Margaret Clitherow
- See also Category: 1556 births
Deaths
- March 21
- Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (burned at the stake) (b. 1489)
- April 18
- Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet and statesman (b. 1495)
- June 10
- Martin Agricola, German composer (b. 1486)
- July 31
- Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish founder of the Jesuit order (b. 1491)
- September
- Patrick Hepburn, 3rd Earl of Bothwell, Scottish traitor (b. 1512)
- October 21
- Pietro Aretino, Italian author (b. 1492)
- November 14
- Giovanni della Casa, Italian poet (b. 1503)
- December 23
- Nicholas Udall, English dramatist (b. 1504)
- date unknown
- John Bell
, Bishop of Worcester
- Girolamo da Carpi
, Italian painter (b. 1501)
- Jacob Clemens non Papa
, Flemish composer (b. 1510)
- Saitō Dōsan
, Japanese warlord (b. 1494)
- Fuzûlî
, Turkish poet (b. 1494)
- Lorenzo Lotto
, Italian painter (b. 1480)
-
Brian mac Cathaoir O Conchobhair Failghe, last of the Kings of Ui Failghe
- John Bell
- See also Category: 1556 deaths.

