1550

Events of 1550

January - June

• July 21 - The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) is definitely approved by Pope Julius III.

Undated

• The first grammatical description of the French language is published by Louis Maigret.
• The first book in Slovenian, Abecedarium, written by Protestant reformer Primoz Trubar, is printed in Tübingen, Germany.
• Nostradamus' first almanac is written.
• Helsinki, the capital of Finland, is founded by Gustav Vasa.
• Iceland becomes fully Protestant.
• Altan Khan besieges Peking.
• The discovery of silver at Zacatecas and Guanajuato in Mexico, and Potosi in Bolivia, stimulates silver rushes (approximate date).

Births

• January 31 - Henry I, Duke of Guise, French Catholic general (d. 1588)
• April 12 - Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, Lord Great Chamberlain of England (d. 1604)
• May 25 - Camillus de Lellis, Italian soldier and nurse (d. 1614)
• June - Pomponio Nenna, Italian composer (d. 1613)
• June 27 - King Charles IX of France (d. 1574)
• July 3 - Jacobus Gallus, Slovenian composer (d. 1591)
• September 10 - Alonso de Guzmán El Bueno, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia, commander of the Spanish Armada (d. 1615)
• September 17 - Pope Paul V (d. 1621)
• November 6 - Karin Månsdotter, queen of Eric XIV of Sweden (d. 1612)
• December 6 - Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (d. 1605)
• December 22 - Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher (d. 1631)
• date unknown
• Jacob ben Isaac Ashkenazi, author (d. 1625)
• Sarsa Dengel, Emperor of Ethiopia (d. 1597)
• John Napier, Scottish mathematician (d. 1617)
• Ralph Sherwin, English Roman Catholic martyr and saint (d. 1581)
• Anselmus de Boodt, Belgian mineralogist and physician (d. 1632)
• Willem Barentsz, Dutch navigator and explorer (d. 1597)
• probable
• Robert Balfour, Scottish philosopher (d. 1625)
• Henry Barrowe, English Puritan and Separatist (d. 1593)
• Emilio de' Cavalieri, Italian composer (d. 1602)
• Cornelis Corneliszoon, Dutch inventor of the sawmill (d. c. 1600)
• Philip Henslowe, English theatrical entrepreneur (d. 1616)

Deaths

• March 7 - William IV, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1493)
• March 8 - John of God, Spanish friar and saint (b. 1495)
• April 12 - Claude, Duke of Guise, French soldier (b. 1496)
• May 18 - John, Cardinal of Lorraine, French churchman (b. 1498)
• May 20 - Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Japanese shogun (b. 1511)
• July - Jacopo Bonfadio, historian (b. c. 1508)
• July 30 - Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, English politician (b. 2188)
• October 23 - Tiedemann Giese, Polish Catholic bishop (b. 1480)
• November 6 - Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1487)
• November 7 - Jón Arason, the last Catholic bishop of Iceland (executed)
• December 8 - Gian Giorgio Trissino, humanist writer (b. 1478)
• date unknown
• Aq Kubek of Astrakhan, ruler of Astrakhan Khanate
• Jamsheed Quli Qutb Shah, second ruler of Golconda
• Tabinshwehti, King of Burma (b. 1512)
• Lapu-Lapu, Filipino hero