1544

Year 1544 (MDXLIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Events of 1544

April 11 - Battle of Ceresole: French forces under the Comte d'Enghien defeat Imperial forces under the Marques Del Vasto near Turin.
May - Emperor Charles V again invades eastern France.
June 19 - August 18 - The Holy Roman Empire besieges St. Dizier in eastern France.

July 19 - September 14 - English forces under Henry VIII besiege and capture Boulogne.
September 18 - Peace of Crépy: Peace is declared between Charles and Francis. The war between France and England continues.
September 22 - Captain Juan Bautista Pastene leads the first European expedition to the estuary of Valdivia, Chile and the Bay of Corral.
October 9 - French forces under the Dauphin assault Boulogne, but are ultimately unsuccessful.

The Mongols burn the suburbs of Peking.
Italian botanist Luca Ghini publishes the first herbarium.
The University of Königsberg is founded.
Hungary is invaded by the Turks for the third time and gets robbed of the crown jewels.
Rats make their first appearance in North America.
Gustav I of Sweden signs an alliance with France.
Battle of the Shirts: The Frasers and Macdonalds of Clan Ranald fight over a disputed chiefship; reportedly, 5 Frasers and 8 Macdonalds survive.
Portuguese explorers encounter the island of Taiwan and call it Ilha Formosa ("Beautiful Island").

January 19 - King Francis II of France (d. 1560)
March 11 - Torquato Tasso, Italian poet (d. 1595)
April - Thomas Fleming, English judge (d. 1613)
May 24 - William Gilbert, English scientist (d. 1603)
December 23 - Anna of Saxony, only child and heiress of Maurice, Elector of Saxony (d. 1577)
date unknown

Richard Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1610)
Thomas Hobson, English carrier and origin of the phrase "Hobson's choice" (d. 1631)
Ikeda Tomomasa, Japanese military commander (d. 1603)