- Mar 9 Emperor Karel appoints son Philip as heir to the throne
- Apr 11 English premier John Dudley appointed Duke of Northumberland
- Apr 20 John Dudley becomes Earl Marshal of England
Event of Interest
May 1 Council of Trente resumes
- May 12 San Marcos University in Lima, Peru, opens (oldest continuously operating university in the Americas)
- Jun 8 Pope Julius III excommunicates Duke Ottario Farnese of Parma
- Jul 19 Treaty of Karlsburg: arch duke Ferdinand of Austria recognized as King of Hungary/Transsylvania
- Aug 14 Ottoman fleet under Dragut captures Tripoli from The Knights of Malta after a six-day bombardment
- Oct 16 English Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset re-arrested
- Dec 19 Dutch west coast hit by hurricane