1587
| Years: 1584 1585 1586 – 1587 – 1588 1589 1590 | |
| Decades: 1550s 1560s 1570s – 1580s – 1590s 1600s 1610s | |
| Centuries: 15th century – 16th century – 17th century | |
Events
- February 8 – Mary, Queen of Scots is beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England after she is implicated in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
- July 22 – Colony of Roanoke: A group of English settlers arrive on Roanoke Island off of North Carolina to re-establish the deserted colony.
- August 19 – Polish and Lithuanian nobles elect Sigismund Vasa as their king
- October 20 – Battle of Coutras – Huguenot forces under Henry of Navarre defeat Royalist forces under Anne, Duc de Joyeuse, favorite of King Henry. Joyeuse is killed.
- October 31 – Leiden University Library opens its doors after its founding in 1575.
- First Filipinos in North America landed in Morro Bay near San Luis Obispo, California
- The Rose (theatre) is founded in London by Philip Henslowe.
Births
- January 6 – Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, Count-Duke of Olivares (d. 1645)
- August 18 – Virginia Dare, Virginia colony settler (d. 1588)
Deaths
- February 8 – Mary, Queen of Scots (executed) (b. 1542)
- April 8 – John Foxe, English author (b. 1516)
- October 19 – Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1541)
Categories: 1587