1566
| Years: 1563 1564 1565 – 1566 – 1567 1568 1569 | |
| Decades: 1530s 1540s 1550s – 1560s – 1570s 1580s 1590s | |
| Centuries: 15th century – 16th century – 17th century | |
Events
- January 7 – Pius V becomes Pope
- Selim II succeeds Suleiman I as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
- Religious rioting in the Netherlands signifies the beginning of the Eighty Years War in the Netherlands.
- The first bridge crossing the Neretva river at Mostar (in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina) is completed by the Ottoman Empire. The white marble bridge is now known as Stari Most (or "Old Bridge").
Births
- March 8 – Carlo Gesualdo, Italian composer and murderer (d. 1613)
- May 26 – Mehmed III, Ottoman Emperor (d. 1603)
- June 19 – King James VI of Scotland/James I of England and Ireland (d. 1625)
- June 20 – King Sigismund III of Poland/Sigismund I of Sweden (d. 1632)
- December 11 (baptised) – Manuel Cardoso, Portuguese composer (d. 1650)
Deaths
- April 25 – Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henri II of France (b. 1499)
- July 1 – Nostradamus, French astrologer (b. 1503)
- Kimotsuki Kanetsugu, Japanese samurai (b. 1511)
- Suleiman the Magnificent, Ottoman Emperor (b. 1494)
Categories: 1566