1581
| Years: 1578 1579 1580 – 1581 – 1582 1583 1584 | |
| Decades: 1550s 1560s 1570s – 1580s – 1590s 1600s 1610s | |
| Centuries: 15th century – 16th century – 17th century | |
Events
- January 16 – English Parliament outlaws Roman Catholicism
- April 4 – Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I.
- July 26 – The Northern Netherlands proclaim their independence from Spain in the Oath of Abjuration. They abjure loyalty to Philip II of Spain as their sovereign and become a Republic.
- Robert Browne and his Brownist companions were obliged to leave England and went to Middelburg, in the Netherlands. See Congregational church
- Russia begins the conquest of Siberia
- Finland becomes a grand duchy.
Births
- January 4 – James Ussher, Anglo-Irish priest and scholar (d. 1656)
Deaths
- August 21 – Sakuma Nobumori, Japanese retainer and samurai (b. 1527)
- September 1 – Guru Ram Das, fourth Sikh Guru (b. 1534)
Categories: 1581