Voyage of Discovery
Jan 17 Beginning of Giovanni da Verrazzano's voyage to find a passage to China

Giovanni da Verrazzano
- Mar 19 Giovanni de Varrazano, a Florentine explorer in the service of King Francis I of France, lands around area of Carolinas
- Apr 17 Giovanni Verrazano, a Florentine navigator, discovers New York Bay
- Apr 19 Pope Clemens VII fires Neth inquisitor-general French Van de Holly
- Apr 24 Duke of Bourbon drives Admiral Bonnivet out of Milan
- May 20 Duke of Albany leaves Scotland
- Jun 28 Duke of Bourbon occupies Province
- Jul 15 Emperor Charles I bans German national synode
- Jul 19 Peasants' War begins in Germany's Black Forest
- Jul 26 James V declared fit to govern by the Scottish Parliament
- Oct 26 Spanish troops give Milan to France
Historic Expedition
Nov 14 Francisco Pizarro begins his 1st great expedition, near Colombia

Francisco Pizarro
- Dec 12 Pope Clement VII approves Organization of Jewish Community of Rome