1556
| Years: 1553 1554 1555 – 1556 – 1557 1558 1559 | |
| Decades: 1520s 1530s 1540s – 1550s – 1560s 1570s 1580s | |
| Centuries: 15th century – 16th century – 17th century | |
Events
- January 16 – Abdication of Emperor Charles V. 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 – Temporary end to the fighting between France and Spain.
- February 14 – Thomas Cranmer is declared a heretic
- March 21 – In Oxford, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer is burned at the stake for treason.
- November – Collapse of the Truce of Vaucelles. 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.
- Lorenzo Priuli becomes Doge of Venice
- Queen Mary 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.
- Jellaladin Mahommed Akbar ascends to the throne of the Mughal Empire; he rules until his death in 1605
- 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
- January 8 – Uesugi Kagekatsu, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1623)
- March 7 – Guillaume du Vair, French statesman and philosopher (d. 1621)
Deaths
- March 21 – Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1489)
- June 10 – Martin Agricola, German composer (b. 1486)
- July 31 – St. Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish founder of the Jesuit order
- Lorenzo Lotto, Italian painter
- Tullia d'Aragona, Italian courtesan and writer
- Saito Dosan, Japanese daimyo (b. 1494)
- Nicholas Udall, English dramatist (b. 1504)
- Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet (b. 1495)
- Jacob Clemens non Papa, Flemish composer
- Fuzuli, Turkish poet (b. 1494)
Categories: 1556