- Jan 21 Azai Sukemasa, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1491)
Martin Luther
Feb 18 Martin Luther, German theologian and key figure in the Protestant Reformation, dies at 62
Martin Luther
- Mar 1 George Wishart, Scottish religious reformer (martyred) (b 1513)
- Mar 10 Thomas Elyot, English diplomat (Boke named the Governor), dies at 46
- Mar 26 Thomas Elyot, English diplomat, dies at about 56
- May 29 Cardinal Beaton, English archbishop of St Andrews, murdered in St Andrews Castle at 52
- Jul 4 Hayreddin Barbarossa, Admiral of the Ottoman Navy (b. 1478)
- Jul 16 Anne Askew, English Protestant (burned at the stake) (b. 1521)
- Aug 1 Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian (co-founder of Society of Jesus), dies at 39
- Aug 3 Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect, dies at 62
- Aug 3 Étienne Dolet, French scholar and printer, dies on his 37th birthday
- Aug 12 Francisco de Vitoria, Spanish theology/lawyer, dies
- Nov 1 Giulio Romano, Italian painter/architect (Ondergang der Titanen), dies