1556

Events of 1556

January 16 - Abdication of Emperor Charles V. His son, Philip II becomes King of Spain, while his brother Ferdinand becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
January 23 - The Shaanxi Earthquake, the deadliest earthquake in history, occurs with its epicenter in Shaanxi province, China: 830,000 people may have been killed.
February

Truce of Vaucelles - Temporary end to the fighting between France and Spain.
Jellaladin Mahommed Akbar ascends to the throne of the Mughal Empire; he rules until his death in 1605.

February 14 - Thomas Cranmer is declared a heretic
March 21 - In Oxford, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer is burned at the stake for treason.

November - Collapse of the Truce of Vaucelles. War resumes between Henry II of France and Philip II of Spain
November 5 - Second Battle of Panipat - Fifty miles north of Delhi, a Mogul Army defeats Hindu forces of General Hemu to ensure Akbar the throne of India.

Lorenzo Priuli becomes Doge of Venice
Mary I of England establishes the Fort of Maryborough, in what is now Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland
The kings of Spain take control of the Flanders region, including what is now the French département of Nord
The false Martin Guerre appears in the French village of Artigat.
King John III of Sweden becomes ruler of Finland as Hertig Johan.
Welser banking families of Augsburg lose colonial control of Venezuela.
Ivan the Terrible conquers Astrakhan, opening the Volga River to Russian traffic and trade.

January 8 - Uesugi Kagekatsu, Japanese samurai and warlord (died 1623)
February - Henry Briggs, English mathematician (died 1630)
February 21 - Sethus Calvisius, German calendar reformer (died 1615)
March 7 - Guillaume du Vair, French statesman and philosopher (died 1621)
June 6 - Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche, English politician and diplomat (died 1625)
November 15 - Jacques-Davy Duperron, French cardinal (died 1618)
date unknown

March 21 - Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (burned at the stake) (born 1489)
April 18 - Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet and statesman (born 1495)
June 10 - Martin Agricola, German composer (born 1486)
July 31 - Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish founder of the Jesuit order (born 1491)
September - Patrick Hepburn, 3rd Earl of Bothwell, Scottish traitor (born 1512)
October 21 - Pietro Aretino, Italian author (born 1492)
November 14 - Giovanni della Casa, Italian poet (born 1503)
December 23 - Nicholas Udall, English dramatist (born 1504)
date unknown