- Jan 7 Jacobus de Kerle, French Flemish composer, dies at about 59
- Jan 19 Edmond Auger, French jesuit (under Henri III), dies at about 60
- Feb 5 Gerard de Jode, Flemish publisher and cartographer, dies at about 82
- May 15 Dmitry Ivanovitch, youngest son of Russian Tsar Ivan IV, murdered at 8
- May 17 Jost Amman, Swiss cartoonist, graphic artist and illustrator, dies at 51
- Jun 21 Aloysius Gonzaga, Italian aristocrat and Jesuit saint, dies at 23
- Jul 2 Vincenzo Galilei, Italian composer (b. 1520)
- Jul 18 Jakob Handl [Petelin], Austrian composer and bandmaster, dies at 40
- Aug 23 Luis de Leon, Spanish scholar and poet, dies at 64
- Sep 12 Richard Grenville, vice-admiral (Roanoke) dies in battle at 49
- Oct 16 Gregory XIV [Niccolo Sfondrati], Italian Pope, dies at 56