- Jan 7 Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence, Italian ruler of Florence (1532-37), assassinated by his friend and cousin at 26
- Jan 12 Lorenzo di Credi, Italian painter, dies
- Apr 8 Willem Aerts, Flemish architect, dies
- Jul 7 Madeleine of Valois, French princess who briefly became Queen of Scotland after marrying James V, dies only six months after the wedding at 16
- Sep 4 Johann Dietenberger, German theologian (b. c. 1475)
- Oct 24 Jane Seymour, 3rd wife of Henry VIII and Queen of England (1536-7), dies of postnatal complications at 28