1550 Apr 12, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was born (d.1604).
Some claimed that he was responsible for all the 37 plays, 154 sonnets
and 2 long narrative poems that are attributed to William Shakespeare (Shaksper).
(SFC, 4/26/97, p.E1)(WSJ, 5/1/97, p.A16)
1550 The Flemish Tapestry, "The Bridal Chamber of Herse," was
woven by Willem de Pannemaker. It is now stored in the N.Y. Metropolitan
Museum of Art.
(WSJ, 1/5/96, p.A-8)
1550 Michelangelo began his painting "The Deposition from the
Cross," which included a self-portrait as Nicodemus.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1550 Japanese Ukiyoe painting, which takes subjects from everyday
life, had its beginnings.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1550 Nicholas Udall wrote the first known English comedy: "Ralph
Roister Doister."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1550 Giorgio Vasari, Italian architect and painter, published
his definitive "Lives of the Artists," and founded the Fine Arts Academy
in Florence.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)(WSJ, 2/5/97, p.A16)
1550 Palladio, Italian architect, designed the Villa Rotunda,
Vincenza. It has four porticoes and symmetrical planning and is an example
of his search for harmonious proportions.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1550 John Marbeck produced the first musical setting for the English
liturgy.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1550 John Marbeck, English theologian, published a concordance
of the entire English bible.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
c1550 In California radiocarbon tests indicated human habitation
at the bay side foot of San Bruno Mountain up to this time. The Sipliskin
Tribe, a northern branch of the Ohlone Indians, occupied the site.
(SFEC,12/29/97, p.A13)
1550 In Washington state Mount St. Helens began almost nonstop
eruptions that continued for a century.
(SFEC, 8/16/98, p.A15)
1550 The Peace of Boulogne ended the war of England with Scotland
and France. France bought back Boulogne for 400,000 crowns.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1550 Anton Fugger, Augsburg banker, went bankrupt. This caused
financial chaos throughout Europe.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1550 Rhaticus, German mathematician, published a set of trigonometric
tables.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1550 In Italy the Beretta family branched into guns.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)
1550 Mercury was discovered in Peru.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1550 African slaves were shipped to Brazil to work sugar plantations.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R25)
1550 South America shipped rubber to Europe.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R49)
1550 Helsinki was founded by the Swedes.
(SFEM, 8/8/99, p.44)
1550s In Moscow Ivan the IV built a stone church to commemorate
the triumph of Orthodoxy over Roman Catholicism, Islam and the Uniates,
who sought to unite the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
(AM, Jul/Aug '97 p.36)
1550-1555 Julius III, Giommaria Ciocci del Monte or Giovanni Maria del
Monte, served as Pope 1550-1555.
(WUD, 1994, p.773)
1550-1563 Henry Machyn, a merchant tailor in London, kept a diary over
this time that described the funerals of noble persons, the coronation
of Queen Elizabeth I, the murder of Arden of Feversham by his wife and
her lover, and other London events. A definitive edition of the diaries
was in process by English Prof. R.W. Bailey and graduate students at the
Univ. of Mich. in 1996.
(MT, 6/96, p.9)
c1550-1600 Grace O'Malley led a 200-strong band on Clare Island, Ireland,
financed by piracy.
(SFEC, 4/12/98, p.T8)
c1550-1615 Shakespeare was born in England and authored about thirty-five
plays. "Man and woman are always the focus of the plays... the medieval
world picture fades into the background, and humankind emerges naked and
unadorned...he was skillful in comedy as in tragedy, and he even knew how
to mix the two... he invaded the life of ordinary families in his plays,
revealing to us what we had always known but never faced. " [see Apr 23,
1564]
(V.D.-H.K.p.146)
1551 Konrad von Gesner wrote the first modern book on Zoology:
"Historia Animalium."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1551 Cranmer published his 42 Articles, the basis of Anglican
Protestantism.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1551 Palestrina, Italian composer, was appointed director of music
at St. Peter's in Rome.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1551 The term "Xmas" was used at least this early for Christmas.
The short form derived from the Greek letters "XP," chi and rho, as an
abbreviation of the Greek symbol for Christ.
(SFC,12/24/97, Z1 p.6)
1551 Spanish sailors in the Caribbean became ill after eating
a fish stew. Most likely caused by ciguatera, a disease caused by toxins
of microorganisms eaten by reef fish.
(NH, 5/96, p.60)
1551 Henry II led French forces against Charles V in Italy.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1551 Don Philip was recognized as the sole heir of Charles V.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1551 Persecution of the Jews became widespread in Bavaria.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1551 Turkish forces captured Tripoli but failed to take Malta.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1551 Printing was introduced into Ireland.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1551 Erasmus Rheinhold, German astronomer, published astronomical
tables based on the numerical values provided by Nicolas Copernicus.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1551 Leonard Digges, English inventor, described the theodolite
(a surveying instrument to measure horizontal and vertical angles) in his
posthumously published "Pantometria."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1551 The Jesuits founded the Papal Univ. in Rome.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1551 The National Univ. of Mexico was founded.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1551 The Univ. of Lima was founded.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1552 Feb 1, Sir Edward Coke, English jurist, was born. He helped
the development of English law with his arguments for the supremacy of
common law over royal prerogative.
(HN, 2/1/99)
1552 Aug 2, The treaty of Passau gave religious freedom to Protestants
living in Germany. The Augsburg Interim was annulled and Lutherans were
allowed freedom of worship in Germany.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)(HN, 8/2/98)
1552 The Second Prayer Book of Edward VI, more radical than the
first, was authorized by a second Uniformity Act.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1552 Etienne Jodelle, French dramatist, completed his "Cleopatre
Captive," the first French neoclassical tragedy.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1552 Edward VI founded Christ's Hospital in London.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1552 The English again attacked the Irish town and monastery at
Clonmacnoise and carried everything away.
(SFEC, 8/1/99, p.T8)
1552 The Treaty of Friedewalde confirmed the alliance between
Henry II of France and the Protestant princes of Germany against Charles
V.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1552 The Turks invaded Hungary again with a victory at the Battle
Szegedin. Istvan Dobo led the defense of Eger against the Turks. The siege
of Eger lasted 38 days.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)(Hem., 6/98, p.126)
1552 Ivan IV of Russia began his conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1552 Books on geography and astronomy were burned in England because
of fears of magic.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1552 The shift from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar was begun.
In 2000 Duncan Steel authored "Marking Time: The Epic Quest to Invent the
Perfect Calendar."
(SFEC, 2/20/00, Par p.7)
1552 Bartolommeo Eustachio, Italian anatomist, described the Eustachian
tube of the ear and the Eustachian valve in the heart.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1552-1599 Edmund Spencer, helped establish the form of modern English
in literature.
(V.D.-H.K.p.143)
1553 Jul 9, Maurice of Saxony was mortally wounded at Sievershausen,
Germany, while defeating Albert of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.
(HN, 7/9/98)
1553 Jul 10, After King Edward VI of England died of tuberculosis,
John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, tried to get his daughter, Lady
Jane Grey (the great-granddaughter of Henry VII), declared the queen and
got archbishop Cranmer's signature to that end. However the succession
went to Mary, the Catholic half-sister of Edward. Cranmer and others were
then found guilty of treason.
(WSJ, 9/12/96, p.A14)(AM, Jul/Aug '97 p.24)
1553 Jul 19, 15-year-old Lady Jane Grey, daughter of John Dudley,
the Duke of Northumberland, was deposed as Queen of England after claiming
the crown for nine days. Mary, the daughter of King Henry VIII, was proclaimed
Queen.
(AP, 7/19/97)
1553 Aug 2, An invading French army was destroyed at the Battle
of Marciano in Italy by an imperial army.
(HN, 8/2/98)
1553 Aug 3, Mary Tudor, the new Queen of England, entered London.
(HN, 8/3/98)
1553 Oct 27, Michael Servetus, who discovered the pulmonary circulation
of the blood, was burnt for heresy in Switzerland. [see 1540]
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)(HN, 10/27/98)
1553 "Les Observations de Plusieurs Singularitez et Choses Memorables"
was written by Pierre Belon, French naturalist and traveler. It included
an account of Turkish fruit sorbets.
(NH, 4/97, p.77)
1553 Virgil's "Aeniad" was translated into English for the first
time.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1553 Christopher Tye composed "The Acts of the Apostles."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1553 The Forty-two Articles of the Church of England were written
by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer "for the avoiding of controversy in opinions."
The Forty-two Articles had been partly derived from the Thirteen Articles
of 1538. When Mary became queen in 1553 and restored Catholicism, the Forty-two
Articles were eliminated.
(HNQ, 10/20/98)
1553 Protestants fearing persecution in England began leaving
to Switzerland.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1553 The League of Heidelberg was formed by German Catholic and
Protestant princes to stop Philip of Spain from becoming Holy Roman Emperor.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1553 The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) was founded
as a royal, pontifical university.
(WSJ, 9/1/99, p.A1)
1553 Suleiman I of Turkey made peace with Persia.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1553 Turkish warships ravaged the Mediterranean.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1553 In London The Mysterie and Compagnie of the Merchant Adventurers
for the Discoverie of Regions, Dominions, Islands and Places Unknown offered
stock to finance a quest for a passage to the riches of the East. The Muscovy
Company venture led to the death of explorer Sir Hugh Willoughby who died
with the crews of 2 ships in the Arctic ice. A 3rd ship reached the court
of Ivan the Terrible in Moscow and returned with a treaty giving England
freedom to trade there.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)
1553 Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor voyaged to Russia
via Archangel seeking a north-east passage to China. Willoughby discovered
Novaya Zemlya and died on the Kola Peninsula.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1553 Giambattista della Porta, Italian inventor, improved the
camera obscura.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1553 Lucas Cranach the elder (b.1472), German painter and graphic
artist, died. His work included "Madonna and Child in a Landscape."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.13)(WUD, 1994, p.339)
1553-1610 Henri IV, Henry of Navarre, Henry the Great. He was the King
of France from 1589-1610.
(WUD, 1994, p.662)
1554 Jan 9, Gregory XV, Roman Catholic Pope was born.
(HN, 1/9/98)
1554 Feb 12, Lady Jane Grey, who had claimed the throne of England
for nine days, the Queen of England for thirteen days, was beheaded on
Tower Hill. She was barely 17 years old.
(AP, 2/12/98)(HN, 2/12/99)
1554 Mar 12, Richard Hooker, English theologian, was born. He
authored "Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity."
(HN, 3/12/99)
1554 Nov 30, Sir Philip Sidney, poet, was born.
(HN, 11/30/98)
1554 Benvenuto Cellini completed his masterpiece, the bronze Perseus.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1554 Palladio wrote "L'Antichita," a guidebook to Roman antiquities.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1554 Jorg Wickram, German writer, wrote the first German romance
novel: "Der Goldfaden."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1554 Palestrina composed his first book of Masses.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1554 England and the Pope reached a reconciliation.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1554 John Knox fled to Geneva where he met Jean Calvin.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1554 Philip of Spain, son of Emp. Charles V, married Queen Mary
I.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1554 Henry II of France invaded the Netherlands.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1554 Dragut, leader of the Mediterranean pirates, recaptured Mehedia,
Tunisia, from the Spaniards.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1554 At London's Guildhall Sir Nicholas Throckmorton was tried
and found not guilty. The verdict was deemed unsatisfactory and the whole
jury was carted off to prison and released after paying heavy fines.
(SFC, 8/11/96, p.T7)
1554 Fernelius, French physician, codified the medicine of the
Renaissance.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1554 Flemish hop growers emigrated to England.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1554 Sao Paulo in Brazil was founded by the Jesuits with a mission
school.
(USA Today, OW, 4/22/96, p.3)(Hem, 8/96, p.67)
1555 Sep 25, Lutheranism was acknowledged by the Holy Roman Empire
in the Peace of Augsburg. The Peace of Augsburg was the first permanent
legal basis for the existence of Lutheranism as well as Catholicism in
Germany. It was promulgated as part of the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire
on September 25, 1555. Charles V's Augsburg Interim of 1548 was a temporary
doctrinal agreement between German Catholics and Protestants that was overthrown
in 1552.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)(HNQ, 2/8/99)
1555 Oct 16, In England the Protestant martyrs Bishop Hugh Latimer
and Bishop Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake at Oxford for heresy
under the Catholic rule of Mary, half-sister of Edward VI.
(WSJ, 9/12/96, p.A14)(HN, 10/16/98)
1555 Michelanangelo began work on his Rondanini Pieta with a modern
expressionistic quality.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1555 The first Aztec dictionary was published.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1555 Pierre Belon, French naturalist, published the first comprehensive
study of birds in "L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1555 Guillaume Rondelet wrote a classic taxonomy of fishes. His
categories, based on general shape and habitation, precluded any deep insight
into a genealogical basis of historical order.
(NH, 9/97, p.15)
1555 The first Jesuit play was performed in Vienna.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1555 Balthazar de Beaujoyeoux, violinist, introduced several fellow
violinists to the court of Catherine de Medici. Under his influence the
lute was replaced by the violin as France's most popular instrument.
(SFC, 12/29/96, zone 1 p.2)
1555 Pope Julius III died. He was succeeded by Marcellus II and
then by Paul IV.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1555 Siena was incorporated with Florence. When the Florentine
army defeated the Siennese a moratorium was put on further development
in the walled city.
(EWH, p.426)(SFEC, 6/29/97, p.T11)
1555 Japanese pirates besieged Nanking.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1555 The Ottoman Empire continued its conquest of the North African
coast.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1555-1600 Richard Hooker, architect of Anglicanism. The Anglican Communion
emerged from the conflicts between Henry VIII and Pope Clement VII over
Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn.
(SFC, 7/21/97, p.A11)
1555-1636 Tung Ch'i-ch'ang, painter and master of calligraphy. He also
mastered the play of void and presence at the heart of Chinese ink painting.
(SFC, 10/14/96, p.B3)
1556 Jan 24, The worst earthquake in history devastated China's
Shansi [Shanxi] Province, killing 830,000 people.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)(PCh, 1992, p.190)
1556 Feb 5, Henry II of France and Philip of Spain signed the
truce of Vaucelles.
(HN, 2/5/99)
1556 Mar 21, Former archbishop of Canterbury Cranmer was scheduled
to denounce his errors and be burned at the stake. He denounced his own
confessions and was hustled off to be burned. He then put forth his hand
and declared: "Forasmuch as my hand offended, writing contrary to my heart,
my hand shall first be punished."
(WSJ, 9/12/96, p.A14)
1556 Jul 31, St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of
Jesus, the Jesuit order of Catholic priests and brothers, died in Rome.
(AP, 7/31/97)
1556 Nov 5, The Emperor Akbar defeated the Hindus at Panipat and
secured control of the Mogul Empire. Akbar the Great became Mogul Emperor
of India and defeated the Afghans at the Battle of Panipat in the Punjab.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19) (HN, 11/5/98)
1556 Nov 10, The Englishman Richard Chancellor was drowned off
Aberdeenshire on his return from a second voyage to Russia.
(HN, 11/10/98)
1556 Robert Recorde, English mathematician, wrote a navigational
guide to China, "The Castle of Knowledge." He was the first person to use
the "=" sign.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1556 George Bauer (Agricola), German doctor, made a full description
of mining, smelting, and chemistry in "De Re Metallica," published in Basel.
It was still the major source on the state of technology in the Middle
Ages.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1556 Orlando di Lasso, Belgian composer, composed his first book
of motets, among the earliest of 2,000 compositions.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1556 Suleiman's mosque in Constantinople was completed after six
years of work.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1556 The Jesuit order was established in Prague.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1556 Charles V resigned and ended his days in a Spanish monastery.
He bequeathed Spain to his son Philip II, and the Holy Roman Empire to
his brother Ferdinand I. A few years of peace in Europe followed. The event
formed the basis for a later historical play by Friedrich Schiller, which
was in turn used by Verdi for his opera "Don Carlos."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)(WSJ, 3/21/96, p.A-12)
1556 A German mineralogist described the hazards of mining, including
occupational diseases such as "difficulty in breathing and destruction
of the lungs."
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R25)
1556 In India Humayun fell down the library steps in Purana Qila
and died. This put his 14-year-old son, Akbar, on the throne.
(HT, 4/97, p.22)
1556 The first tobacco seeds from Brazil reached Europe, brought
back by a Franciscan monk. Diplomat Jean Nicot (hence nicotine) gave a
gift of tobacco seeds to French royalty.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R49)
1556-1605 The Mughal Empire (Northern India) prospered under Akbar.
(ATC, p.1161)
1556-1605 Akbar the Great during his reign built a walled Mughal fort
at Hund in northern Pakistan, that now encloses a modern village.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.C)
1556-1620 Adriaen de Vries, Dutch sculptor. He was born in The Hague
and worked in Florence under the sculptor Giovanni Bologna. His work included
"Juggling Man" (c1610-1615), a bust of Emp. Rudolf II (1603), and the Neptune
Fountain (1615-1618).
(WSJ, 1/6/98, p.A20)(WSJ, 12/7/99, p.A24)
1557 Aug 10, Spanish and English troops in alliance defeated the
French at the Battle of St. Quentin. French troops were defeated by Emmanuel
Philibert's Spanish army at St. Quentin, France.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)(HN, 8/10/98)
1557 The first English play to be censored, "The Sea-Sack Full
of Newes," was produced at Aldgate in London, and was promptly suppressed.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1557 William Whittingham translated the Geneva Testament into
English. It was divided into verses and printed in Roman type.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1557 Robert Recorde published the first English treatise on algebra,
"Whetstone of Witte."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1557 Catholics and Protestants met in Worms in a final effort
to achieve reconciliation.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1557 The Russians invaded Poland and started the 14-year Livonian
War of succession in the Baltic lands held by the Teutonic Knights.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1557 The influx of American silver caused bankruptcies in France
and Spain.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1557 The Portuguese settled in Macao, on the coast of southern
China, and established trading factories. Trade agreement gave the Portuguese
a virtual monopoly for 300 years on maritime commerce China and Europe.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)(SFEC, 5/16/99, p.A24)(SFEM, 10/10/99, p.16)
1557 John III (the Pious) of Portugal, who began the Inquisition,
died. He was succeeded by his three-year old grandson, Sebastian.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1558 Jan 6, The French seized the British held port of Calais.
(HN, 1/6/99)
1558 Jan 7, The French, under the Duke of Guise, finally took
the port of Calais from the English.
(HN, 1/7/99)
1558 Apr 24, Mary, Queen of Scotland, married the French dauphin,
Francis.
(HN, 4/24/98)
1558 Jun 22, The French took the French town of Thioville from
the English.
(HN, 6/22/98)
1558 Jul 13, Led by the court of Egmont, the Spanish army defeated
the French at Gravelines, France.
(HN, 7/13/98)
1558 Nov 17, Elizabeth I ascended the English throne upon the
death of Queen Mary. Upon the reign of Elizabeth I a new statement of doctrine
of the Church of England was needed. The Church of England was reestablished.
(AP, 11/17/97)(HNQ, 10/20/98) (HN, 11/17/98)
1558 John Knox published his "The First Blast of the Trumpet against
the Monstrous Regiment of Women."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1558 Giovanni Battista della Porta, Italian artist, published
his "Natural Magic," the first published account of the use of the camera
obscura as an aid to artists.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1558 The religious climate in England changed for the better and
Protestants returned home from Geneva and Zurich.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1558 The Hamburg exchange was founded.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1558 The Univ. of Jena was founded.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1558 Mary Queen of Scots married the Dauphin, who later became
Francis II of France.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1558 Ferdinand I became Holy Roman Emperor without being crowned
by the Pope.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1558 Thomas Gresham (1519-1579, English financier, put forward
proposals for reforming the English currency. He formulated Gresham's Law,
a hypothesis that bad money drives good money out of circulation.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)(WUD, 1994, p.622)
1558 John Dee, English mathematician, invented two compasses for
master pilots.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1558 Charles V, former Holy Roman Emperor, died three weeks after
eating an eel pie.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1559 Jan 15, England's Queen Elizabeth I was crowned in Westminster
Abbey and Lord Dudley soon became her favorite.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)(AP, 1/15/98)
1559 Apr 3, Philip II of Spain and Henry II of France signed the
peace of Cateau-Cambresis, ending a long series of wars between the Hapsburg
and Valois dynasties.
(HN, 4/3/99)
1559 May 8, An act of supremacy defined Queen Elizabeth I as the
supreme governor of the church of England.
(HN, 5/8/99)
1559 Aug 14, Spanish explorer de Luna entered Pensacola Bay, Florida.
(HN, 8/14/98)
1559 Titian began his work "Europa." It was completed in 1562.
In 1896 it was acquired by Isabella Stewart Gardner. [see 1562]
(WSJ, 3/9/98, p.A16)
1559 The Escorial, an enormous palace built on a grid plan for
Philip II, was begun in Madrid.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1559 John Knox preached an inflammatory sermon at Perth and incited
the Protestants lords to rise. They captured Edinburgh and sacked religious
houses in other cities.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1559 The Elizabethan Prayer Book was used for the first time.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1559 Pope Paul IV died and was succeeded by Pius IV.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1559 The Geneva Academy was founded. It became a Univ. in 1873.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1559 Realdo Columbus, Italian anatomist, advanced the understanding
of human blood circulation.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1559 The Treaty of Cateay-Cambresis ended the war between the
late Holy Roman Emp. and France, and between England and France. Calais
was to remain French for eight years and then to be restored to England.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1559 Henry II of France was struck in the head by a tournament
lance and died. This fulfilled a prophecy by Nostradamus. Gabriel de Lorges
de Montgomery, captain of the Scottish Guards, accidentally killed Henry
II as they jousted in front of the Hotel Royal des Tournelles. The widowed
queen, Catherine de Medicis, had the royal residence demolished.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)(SFEM, 3/15/98, p.16)
1559 1,500 Spanish settlers sailed from Vera Cruz to found a settlement
on Pensacola Bay in Florida, but were repulsed by hostile Indians.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1559 King Christian of Denmark and Norway died after almost 24
years on the throne. He was succeeded by his son Frederick II.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.19)
1560 Hsu Wei wrote the first classic Chinese novel, "Ching Ping
Mei."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1560 Cardinal Mendoza, archbishop of Burgos, wrote "Tizon de la
nobleza de Espana," (the Blot on the Spanish Nobility). He claimed that
virtually the entire aristocracy had Jewish or Moorish blood to point to
the folly of the Inquisition's campaign to prevent anyone with Jewish blood
from securing a position of authority under the crown.
(WSJ, 4/16/98, p.A20)
1560 Giorgio Vasari's commission for the Uffizi Palace took shape
in Florence.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1560 The Church of Scotland was founded. The Presbyterian branch
of Protestant Christianity was started by John Knox.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)(SFC, 7/21/97, p.A11)
1560 The beginnings of Puritanism appear in England.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1560 The Huguenot conspiracy of Amboise attempted without success
to overthrow the Guises, a powerful French ducal line that championed the
Catholic cause.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1560 Turkish galleys routed a Spanish fleet off of Tripoli.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1560 Giovannin Battista della Porta founded the first scientific
society in Naples.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1560 King Francis II of France died and was succeeded by Charles
IX. Francis' widow, Mary Queen of Scots decided to return to Scotland.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1560 King Gustavus I of Sweden died. He was succeeded by Eric
XIV, who courted Queen Elizabeth.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1560 The first blacks set foot in Brazil.
(SFC, 9/21/96, p.A8)
1561 Jan 22, Sir Francis Bacon (e.1626), English philosopher,
was born in London. He was a statesman and essayist. Educated at Cambridge,
he served under Queen Elizabeth and King James I. "He wrote the "Essays"
throughout his life and these are filled with pithy wisdom and homely charm.
His "Advancement of Learning" and "Novum Organon" constitute his most important
contribution to knowledge. He held for the inductive method of learning
as opposed to the deductive method. The deductive method, according to
Bacon, failed because the seeker after knowledge deduced from certain intuitive
assumptions conclusions about the real world that might have been logically
correct but were not true to nature. The inductive method succeeded because
the student of nature ascended by what Bacon called a "ladder of intellect"
from the most careful and indeed humble observations to general conclusions
that had to be true because their foundation was experience. "If a man
will begin in certainties he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content
to begin in doubts he shall end in certainties." In 1998 Perez Zagorin
published "Francis Bacon."
(V.D.-H.K.p.140)(AP, 5/1/98)(HN, 1/22/99)
Bacon also conceived the invention of "idols" to explain the
existence of human error. He identified four idols:
1) The idols of the tribe, i.e. intellectual faults that are
common to all human beings (the universal tendency to oversimplify).
2) The idols of the cave, i.e. errors caused by individual idiosyncrasies.
3) The idols of the marketplace, caused by the language itself.
4) The idols of the theater, i.e. philosophical systems that
stood in the way of the patient, humble search for truth."
(V.D.-H.K.p.140)
Bacon suggested that ideas could be classified with an alphabet
that represented fundamental notions. "Studies serve for delight, for ornament,
and for ability." In 1998 Perez Zagorin published the biography "Francis
Bacon." It was Bacon who said that "knowledge is power," (scientia potestas
est).
(Wired, 8/96, p.86)(WSJ, 7/23/98, p.A14)
1561 May, In Montpellier, France, a Calvinist stronghold, the
Catholics marched in protest against the Calvinists chanting "We shall
dance in spite of the Huguenots." Wars of religion began to rip France
apart and lasted for the next 6 decades.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R22)
1561 Sep 20, Queen Elizabeth of England signed a treaty at Hamptan
Court with French Huguenot leader Louis de Bourbon, the Prince of Conde.
The English would occupy Le Harve in return for aiding Bourbon against
the Catholics of France.
(HN, 9/20/98)
1561 Sep 23, Philip II of Spain gave orders to halt colonizing
efforts in Florida. The French took advantage of the opportunity.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)(HN, 9/23/98)
1561 Ruy Lopez wrote the first manual of chess instruction.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1561 Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton, English dramatists, wrote
the first known English tragedy, "Gorboduc or Ferrex and Porrex." It marked
the first use of blank verse in the English theater.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1561 Gabriel Fallopius, wrote one of the first studies in anatomy
in "Observationes anatomicae."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1561 Portuguese monks at Goa introduced printing to India.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1561 The Order of the Teutonic Knights in the Baltic States was
secularized.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1561 The first Calvinist refugees from Flanders, clothworkers,
settled in Sandwich, England.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1561 The Edict of Orleans suspended the persecution of the Huguenots.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1561 The Basilica of St. Basil in Moscow was completed after 26
years of work.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1561 Jean Nicot, French ambassador to Lisbon, sent tobacco seeds
and powdered leaves back to France. The word "nicotine" is derived from
his name. French diplomat Jean Nicot introduced the use of tobacco to the
French court in the 1560s. Tobacco was cultivated and smoked by American
Indians long before the arrival of Columbus to the New World. By the 1530s
Spanish settlers were cultivating wild tobacco (N. rustica) and exporting
it to Europe from the West Indies. Sir Walter Raleigh popularized smoking
tobacco in England during the late 1500s. Nicotine, an addictive alkaloid
found in tobacco and certain other plants, is named for Nicot, as is the
genus name for the tobacco plant, Nicotiana.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)(HNQ, 1/24/00)
1561 Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was founded by the Spaniard Nuflo de
Chavez as a bulwark against Portuguese expansion.
(WSJ, 12/6/96, p.A12)
1561 Philip II moved his court to Madrid, which was but a village
until this time, and proclaimed Madrid as capital of Spain.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)(SFEC, 3/22/98, p.T11)
1562 Jan 17, French Protestants were recognized under the Edict
of St. Germain.
(AP, 1/17/98)
1562 Dec 19, The French Wars of Religion between the Huguenots
and the Catholics began with the Battle of Dreux.
(HN, 12/19/98)
1562 Titian completed the "Rape of Europa" for Philip II of Spain.
It is the most celebrated of his erotic mythologies.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)(WSJ, 3/9/98, p.A16)
1562 William Turner published a survey of spas in Europe.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1562 Gasparo Bartolotti, Italian violin maker, began his career.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1562 The Council of Trent (1545-1563) demanded that clarity replace
embellishment and display in church music.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1562 William Cecil built the first conservatory in England to
protect his subtropical plants and trees.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1562 The Univ. of Lille was founded.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1562 Milled coins were first introduced in England.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1562 The Huguenot leader Louis I de Bourbon signed the Treaty
of Hampton Court with Queen Elizabeth that called for the English troops
to occupy Dieppe and La Havre.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1562 Emp. Ferdinand I signed an 8-year truce with Suleiman I of
Turkey.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1562 John Hawkins, English naval commander, removed 300 African
slaves from a Portuguese ship bound for Brazil. This marked the start of
the English participation in the slave trade.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1562 The Guises massacred more than 60 Huguenots at a Protestant
service at Vassy and sparked off The Wars of Religion in France.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1563 Apr 30, Jews were expelled from France by order of Charles
VI.
(HN, 4/30/98)
1563 Jun 1, Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, Chief Minister of
England, was born.
(HN, 6/1/98)
1563 Pieter Bruegel the Elder, great Flemish artist, painted the
"Tower of Babel." [see 1568-1625]
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)(WSJ, 2/18/00, p.W12)
1563 Foxe's "Book of Martyrs" appeared in its first illustrated
English edition.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1563 William Byrd, English composer, was appointed organist at
Lincoln Cathedral.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1563 The 1563 Canterbury Convocation drastically revised the Forty-two
Articles of the Church of England. The 39 Articles combined Protestant
doctrine with Catholic church organization to establish the Church of England.
Dissenting groups included the Puritans, Separatists, and Presbyterians.
[see 1571]
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)(HNQ, 10/20/98)
1563 The Jesuits lead the Counter-Reformation from Bavaria.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1563 In Turin the Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino was established
with a system of ownership under a charitable foundation under the control
of local authorities. The system held into 1997.
(WSJ, 3/24/97, p.A14)
1563 Maximilian II was elected King of Hungary.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1563 Frederick II of Denmark allied to Poland, Lubeck, and Saxony
against Sweden to start the Seven Years' War.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1563 The Peace of Amboise ended the First War of Religion in France.
Huguenots gained limited tolerance. The French regain La Havre from the
English.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1563 Gerardus Mercator, Flemish geographer, produced the first
detailed map of Lorraine.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1564 Feb 15, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei (d.1642) was born
in Pisa. He was the first modern man to understand that mathematics can
truly describe the physical world. He said: "The Book of Nature is written
in mathematics." [V.D.-H.K. dated his death to 1646] He ran afoul of the
Catholic Church for defending the Copernican system, which maintained that
the earth revolves around the sun. He died in Acetri, near Florence.
(V.D.-H.K.p.1200) (TNG,Klein,p.22) (AHD,p.539) (CFA, '96,Vol
179, p.40) (AP, 2/15/98) (HN, 2/15/99)
1564 Feb 18, Michelangelo, painter and sculptor, died in Rome.
In 1996 George Bull wrote a biography and in 1999 James H. Beck published
"Three Worlds of Michelangelo."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)(AP, 2/18/98)(SFEC, 3/14/99, BR p.6)
1564 Feb, Christopher Marlowe (d.Jun 1, 1593), Dramatist/Playwright,
Poet, Gay, English, was born. English author of "Doctor Faustus," "Tamburlaine,"
"The Jew of Malta," and other plays. He was murdered at 29 in a Deptford
tavern and was suspected of being a spy to the Continent on behalf of the
Crown. In 1993 Anthony Burgess had a novel published posthumously about
Marlowe titled "A Dead Man in Deptford."
(WSJ, 4/28/95, p.A-8)(DT Internet 6/1/97)
1564 Apr 23, William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English poet and
playwright of the Elizabethan and early Jacobin periods, was born and died
on the same date 52 years later. He added more than 1,700 word to the English
language. He was the son of an illiterate glove maker who left school at
12: "Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness,
and some have greatness thrust upon them." -- from Act II, Scene 5 of "Twelfth
Night." From "Henry V," "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once
more."
(CFA, '96, p.44)(WSJ, 4/22/96, p.a-23)(AP, 4/23/97)(HN, 4/23/99)
1564 Apr 26, William Shakespeare was baptized.
(HN, 4/26/98)
1564 May 27, John Calvin, one of the dominant figures of the Protestant
Reformation, died in Geneva.
(HN, 5/27/99)
1564 Jul 25, Maximillian II became emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
(HN, 7/25/98)
1564 Sep 13, On the verge of attacking Pedro Menendez's Spanish
settlement at San Agostin, Florida, Jean Ribault's French fleet was scattered
by a devastating storm.
(HN, 9/13/98)
1564 The Peace of Troyes ended the war between England and France
with England renouncing its claim to Calais for a substantial payment.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1564 Emp. Ferdinand I died. He was succeeded by his son Maximilian
II.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1564 Ivan IV was forced by the Russian nobles (Boyars) to withdraw
from Moscow.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1564 Spaniards occupied the Philippines and built Manila.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1564 The Council of Trent ended with the Pope promulgating profesio
fidei, the final definition of Roman Catholicism.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1564 The Counter-Reformation extended to Poland.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1564 John Calvin, Protestant leader, died in Geneva.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1564 Andrea Amati, Italian violin maker, made one of the first
of his famous violins in Cremona. Stradivari was one of his students.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)(AMNHDT, 5/98)
1564 Andreas Vesalius, the father of modern anatomy, was forced
by the Inquisition to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He disappeared
during the voyage.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1564 The first horse-drawn coach was introduced to England from
Holland.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.20)
1564 France adopted the reformed calendar and shifted the new
year from April to Jan. Some didn't like the change and were called April
fools.
(SFEC, 1/10/99, Z1 p.8)
1564-1651 Abraham Bloemaert, Dutch artist and teacher of Hendrick ter
Brugghen.
(SFEM, 8/31/97, p.13)
1565 Apr 27, First Spanish settlement in Philippines was established
in Cebu City.
(HN, 4/27/98)
1565 May 19-Sep 8, In Malta the Great Siege lasted over this
period as Suliman the Magnificent sought to add the island to his conquests.
The Grand Master Jean de la Valette led the Knights of St. John in repulsing
the Turks and consequently halting the westward advance of Islam in the
Mediterranean.
(HNQ, 4/8/99)
1565 Sept. 8, The siege of Malta was broken. The Turkish army
of 40,000 men of Suleyman the Magnificent besieged the Knights of Malta,
led by Jean de la Valette, at their garrison, St. Elmo. The defenders numbered
540 knights, 400 Spanish troops, and Maltese gentry. In the initial attack
200 of 260 defenders lay dead at the end of the day but the garrison held
out. The Turks continued their efforts for four months when reinforcements
arrived and saved them. St. Elmo was later transformed into Valletta, the
capital of Malta. The Order of St. John continues to thrive to today. From
a Review of The Knights of Malta by H.J.A. Sire.
(HFA, '96, p.38)(WSJ, 12/30/94, p.A-6)(AM, Jul/Aug '97 p.40)
1565 Sep 8, A Spanish expedition established the first permanent
European colony in the present day St. Augustine, Fla., the first permanent
European settlement in what is now the United States.
(AP, 9/8/97)(NG, March 1990, J. Boslough p. 117)(WSJ, 8/3/95,
p.A-8) (HN, 9/8/98)
1565 Sep 20, Pedro Menendez of Spain wiped out the French at Fort
Caroline, in Florida. Spanish colonists in the northeast coast of Florida
under Pedro Menendez de Aviles massacred a band of French Huguenots that
posed a potential threat to Spanish hegemony in the area. They also took
advantage of the local Timucuan Indian tribe.
(NG, March 1990, J. Boslough p. 117)(WSJ, 8/3/95, p.A-8)(HN,
9/20/98)
1565 Pieter Bruegel the Elder received a commission for a series
of paintings called "The Months." Five survive including "Hunters in the
Snow."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1565 Palladio finished S. Giorgio Maggiore Church in Venice.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1565 Rio de Janeiro was founded by the Portuguese, who destroyed
the existing French colony.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1565 The bouree, derived from a traditional French clog dance,
was introduced at the French court Catherine de'Medici.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1565 Mary Queen of Scots married Henry, Lord Darnley.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1565 The Royal College of Physicians in London was officially
permitted to carry out human dissections.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1565 Pencils were first manufactured in England.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1565 Venetian Fernand Berteli drew a large body of water in the
St. Lawrence Valley on his map "A Complete Description of the Whole Known
World."
(LSA, Spring 1995, p.6)
1565 Father Andres Urdaneta sighted land believed to be the California
coast while sailing on the Manila to Acapulco trade route.
(SFC,10/17/97, p.A25)
1565 Elizabeth I of England granted the nobleman Hellier de Carteret
the island fiefdom of Sark, which included the island of Brecqhou in the
English Channel.
(SFC, 8/10/96, p.A10)
1565 In India Akbar had the Red Fort built in Agra along the Yamuna
River.
(HT, 4/97, p.22)
c1565-1609 Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio, Italian painter.
He painted the "Beheading of St. John" that was kept in Malta and recently
sent to Florence for restoration. Paintings from the school of Caravaggio
include "The Chastisement of Love." In 1996 the oil painting "A Boy Peeling
an Apple" was rediscovered. [see 1571 & 1573]
(WUD, 1994, p.221)(SFC, 6/11/96, p.E2)(AAP, 1964)(SFC, 11/19/96,
p.B1)
1566 Jun 19, King James I (d.1625 at 59), son of Mary Queen of
Scots, was born. James, aka King James VI of Scotland ruled Scotland from
1567-25 and England from 1603-25.
(WUD, 1994, p.763)(WSJ, 4/16/97, p.A13)(DT internet 6/19/97)(HN,
6/19/99)
1566 Jul 2, French astrologer, physician and prophet Nostradamus
died in Salon.
(AP, 7/2/97)
1566 Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted the "Peasant Wedding Dance."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1566 G. Blundeville published his "Foure Chiefest Offices Belonging
to Horsemanship." It was a pioneering manual of veterinary science.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1566 Japanese music began to win its individual character with
the popularization of national forms of vertical bamboo pipe (shakuhachi),
three-stringed guitar (samisen), and zither (koto).
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1566 Akbar began the construction of the Lahore Fort in northern
Pakistan.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.C)
1566 Heinrich Bullinger, Swiss theologian, sought to combine Calvinism
with Zwinglianism in his "Helvetian Confession."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1566 Cardinal Michaele Ghislieri was elected Pope Pius V.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1566 Fanatical Calvinists instigated religious riots in the Netherlands.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1566 Regent Margaret abolished the Inquisition.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1566 The Turko-Hungarian War restarted despite the truce of 1562.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1566 The Spanish made contact with Calusa Indians at a major village
in what is now Pineland, Florida.
(AM, adv. circular, p.2)
1566 Sir Francis Drake visited an island off Roanoke, Va., with
a ship full of Turkish prisoners. Only half the prisoners were recorded
as taken back to England.
(WSJ, 4/14/97, p.B5)
1566 Suleiman I (Suleyman the Magnificent) died and his great
empire began a gradual decline under his slothful son, Selim II. Suleyman
during his reign commissioned the architect Sinan to build the Suleymanye,
perhaps the finest mosque ever constructed.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)(WSJ, 4/29/99, p.A24)
1566 One of the world's first newspapers, "Notizie Scritte," appeared
in Venice.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1566-1572 Pius V (b. 1504) led the Catholic Church.
(HN, 1/17/99)
1566-1638 Joachim Wytawael, Dutch mannerist painter.
(SFEM, 8/31/97, p.13)
1567 Feb 9, Lord Darnley, the second husband of Mary, Queen of
Scots, was murdered in his sick-bed in a house in Edinburgh when the house
blows up.
(HN, 2/9/99)
1567 Jun 16, Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in Lochleven
Castle in Scotland.
(AP, 6/16/98)
1567 Jul 24, Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned and forced to
abdicate her throne to her 1-year-old son James VI.
(HN, 7/24/98)
1567 The Metropolitan Cathedral was begun in Mexico City. It took
250 years to complete.
(Hem., 1/96, p.26)
1567 Longleat House was begun. It shows the impetus of the Reformation
on English domestic architecture.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1567 The Catholic Church outlawed the outright sale of indulgences.
(WSJ, 1/13/00, p.A1)
1567 Maximilian II established a monastery council to superintend
the clergy.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1567 Laurence Sheriff founded the Rugby school in England.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1567 The Huguenots started a second War of Religion in France
with the Conspiracy of Meaux.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1567 The Duke of Alva, a military commander under Philip II of
Spain, arrived in the Netherlands as a military governor and began a reign
of terror. Margaret of Parma resigned the regency.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1567 Typhoid fever swept through parts of South America and killed
more than two million Indians.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1567 Alvaro Mendana de Neyra, Spanish explorer, discovered the
Solomon Islands.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1567-1642[3] Claudio Monteverdi, Italian musician and composer, marked
the beginning of the Baroque Era in music.
(LGC-HCS, p.25)(WUD, 1994, p.928)
1568 May 3, French forces in Florida slaughter hundreds of Spanish.
(HN, 5/3/98)
1568 May 19, Defeated by the Protestants, Mary, Queen of Scots,
fled to England where Queen Elizabeth imprisoned her.
(HN, 5/19/99)
1568 Jun 5, Ferdinand, the Duke of Alba, crushed the Calvinist
insurrection in Ghent [Belgium].
(HN, 6/5/98)
1568 Sep 5, Tommasso Campanella, Italian philosopher and poet,
who wrote "City of the Sun," was born.
(HN, 9/5/98)
1568 Sep 30, Eric XIV, king of Sweden, was deposed after showing
signs of madness. The Swedes declared Eric XIV unfit to reign and proclaimed
John III king.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)(HN, 9/30/98)
1568 The "Shahnameh" by Firdawsi, as commissioned by Shah Tahmasp
was given to the Ottoman Sultan Selim II. By 1903 it was in the hand of
Baron Edmond de Rothschild.
(WSJ, p. A-18, 10/13/94)
1568 Archbishop Matthew Parker supervised the "Bishop's Bible,"
which was published in opposition to the popular Geneva (Calvinistic) Bible.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1568 Il Gesu, the mother church of the Jesuit order, was begun
in Rome.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1568 The Spanish Riding School in Vienna began operating and became
world famous for their Lipizzaners, white horses.
(SFEC, 11/29/98, p.T5)
1568 Emp. Maximilian bought peace from Selim II and the Sultan
received a large annual payment.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1568 Leaders of the Flemish opposition to the Spanish Inquisition
were beheaded as traitors in Brussels.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1568 An eighty year war of independence from Spain was carried
on by the Calvinist and predominantly mercantile Dutch provinces.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1568 General Oda Nobunaga, Japanese leader who seized Kyoto and
destroyed the power of the feudal lords, introduced a dynamic period of
centralization and expansion.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1568 Gasparo da Salo began making violins at Brescia.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1568 Constanzo Varoli, Italian anatomist, studied the anatomy
of the human brain.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1568 Alexander Nowell, Dean of St. Paul's in London, invented
bottled beer.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1568-1600 The Azuchi-Momoyama Period in Japan.
(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 215)
1568-1625 Jan Bruegel, the Elder, a son of Pieter Bruegel, painted the
"teeming textures of normal existence."
(WSJ, 2/18/00, p.W12)
1569 Alfonso de Ercilla y Zuniga published about this time the
first part of a Spanish epic on the conquest of Chile, "La Araucana."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1569 Lithuania and Poland formed the Union of Lublin for protection
against the growing power of Muscovite Russia. The new federation established
an elective monarchy and Lithuania lost its separate institutions and was
gradually submerged into Poland as a province. The Union of Lublin merged
Lithuania, Poland and Lublin under Sigismund II of Poland.
(Compuserve, Online Encyclopedia)(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1569 Don John of Austria put down the Morisco rebellion in Granada.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1569 Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer, built a quadrant measuring
5.8 meters, and a celestial globe with a diameter of 1.5 meters at Augsburg.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1569 Gerhardus Mercator, Flemish geographer, produced his "Map
of the World" for the use of navigators on the projection that bears his
name to this day. He was the first to use the term "atlas" for a collection
of maps.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.21)
1569 Burmese King Bayinnaung invaded Thailand and took as hostage
Princess Suphankalaya. It was later believed that the princess gave up
her freedom in exchange for her kingdom's independence from Burma. In 1999
The Thai government offered to help Burma restore a palace in exchange
for information about the princess.
(SFEC, 7/4/99, p.A11)
1569-1583 In India Akbar was informed by a holy man that he would soon
be a father. A Muslim wife bore him a son and Akbar built a walled city,
Fatehpur Siskri, in Sikri, the home village of the holyman. The local water
table could not meet the demands of the city and after about 14 years the
capital was moved back to Agra.
(HT, 4/97, p.23)
1570 Feb 25, Pope Pius V issued the bull Regnans in Excelsis which
excommunicated Queen Elizabeth the First of England.
(TL-MB, p.22)(AP, 2/25/98)(HN, 2/25/99)
1570 Aug 8, Charles IX of France signed the Treaty of St. Germain
(Peace of St. Germain-en-Laye), ending the third war of religion and giving
religious freedom to the Huguenots.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)(HN, 8/8/98)
1570 Nov 2, A tidal wave in the North Sea destroyed the sea walls
from Holland to Jutland. Over a thousand people are killed.
(HN, 11/2/98)
1570 Nicholas Hilliard painted his famous portrait of Elizabeth
I.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1570 Melchior Lorch made an ink drawing.
(SFEM, 6/29/97, p.4)
1570 Jacopo Zucchi, a mannerist artist, painted "The Bath of Bathsheba."
(WSJ, 4/28/98, p.A16)
1570 George Owen wrote his "History of Pembrokeshire," wherein
he clearly set forth the orderly principle of geological stratigraphy;
but the work was not published until 1796.
(RFH-MDHP, p.7)
1570 "The Scholemaster," a treatise on education by the English
scholar Roger Ascham, was published posthumously.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1570 Palladio published "I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura," a
summary of classical architecture.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1570 The Convento de Penha was built on a 164-meter cliff overlooking
Vitoria in the state of Espiritu Santo, Brazil.
(USA Today, OW, 4/22/96, p.13)
1570 Lutherans, Calvinists and Moravian brethren united against
the Jesuits in Poland in the Consensus of Sendomir.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1570 In Switzerland the hotel Crusch Alva in Zuoz in the Engadine
dates back to this time.
(Hem., 2/97, p.28)
c1570 Christian Huygens built the first pendulum clock.
(NG, March 1990, J. Boslough p. 113)
1570 Denmark recognized the independence of Sweden in the Peace
of Stettin.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1570 In Carrara, Italy, Alberigo, son of the mad Marquis Alberigo
Cybo Malaspina, Lord of Carrara, inaugurated the use of gunpowder for quarrying
marble.
(SFEC,10/19/97, p.T4)
1570 The Japanese opened the port of Nagasaki to overseas trade.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1570 Sweden gave up her claim to Norway.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1570 Ivan the Terrible, Tsar of Muscovy, sacked the city of Great
Novgorod, massacring most of its inhabitants during a five-week reign of
terror.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1570 The Turks declared war on Venice, which refused to surrender
Cyprus.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1570 The Turks sacked Nicosia.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1570-1612 The first modern atlas, Theatrum orbis terrarum, was published
by Abraham Ortelius of Amsterdam in 1570. The Flemish mapmaker compiled
it using the best maps available and issued dozens of editions in this
period. [see 1602]
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)(WSJ,11/24/95, p.B-8)
1570-1628 Salamone Rossi, Jewish court composer in Mantua.
(SFC, 2/28/98, p.B3)
1570-1670 Portuguese forces attacked Monomutapa in order to gain control
over the markets and gold mines there. The Portuguese forces suffered losses
to malaria and their conquest was unsuccessful. For the next 100 years
they continued to promote civil wars and weakened the Monomutapa power.
By the late 1600s the southern kingdoms were able to conquer Monomutapa
completely.
(ATC, p.148)
1571 Feb 2, All eight members of a Jesuit mission in Virginia
were murdered by Indians who pretended to be their friends.
(HN, 2/2/99)
1571 May 19, The City of Manila in the Philippines was founded
by Miguel Lopez de Lagazpi.
(DT Internet 5/19/97)
1571 Sep 7, Spanish and Venetian ships of the Christian League
in the naval Battle of Lepanto in the Mediterranean Sea under Don John
of Austria gained complete victory over a Turkish fleet with 117 Turkish
ships sunk. [see Oct 7]
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)(HN, 9/7/98)(WSJ, 4/26/99, p.A18)
1571 Oct 7, In the last great clash of galleys, the Ottoman navy
was defeated at Lepanto, Greece, by a Christian naval coalition under the
overall command of Spain's Don Juan de Austria. [see Sep 7]
(HN, 10/7/98)
1571 Dec 27, Johannes Kepler (d.1630), German astronomer known
as the "father of modern astronomy," was born. Working with the data gathered
by Tycho Brahe, he established the three laws of planetary motion:
a) The planets do not travel in concentric circles, but in ellipses,
with the sun at one of the two foci of the ellipse.
b) A radius vector joining a planet to the sun sweeps out equal
areas in equal times.
c) The third law asserted a mathematical relation between the
periods of revolution of the planets and their distance from the sun.
(V.D.-H.K.p.199)(HN, 12/27/98)
1571 In Malta the Palace of the Grand Masters was begun.
(AM, Jul/Aug '97 p.40)
1571 Along with the Common Book of Prayer, the Thirty-nine Articles
constitute the doctrinal statements of the Church of England. Developed
from the Forty-two Articles written by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in 1553
"for the avoiding of controversy in opinions." When Mary became queen in
1553 and restored Catholicism, the Forty-two Articles were eliminated.
Upon the reign of Elizabeth I in 1558 a new statement of doctrine was needed.
The 1563 Canterbury Convocation drastically revised the Forty-two Articles
and a final revision resulted in the Thirty-nine articles in 1571, approved
by the Queen and imposed on the clergy. They deal briefly with the doctrines
accepted by Catholics and Protestants alike and more fully with the points
of controversy.
(HNQ, 10/20/98)
1571 Charles IX of France had a reconciliation with the Huguenots.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1571 John Lyon founded Harrow School in England.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1571 Hugh Price founded Jesus College at Oxford.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1571 Pope Pius V signed an alliance with Venice and Spain to fight
the Turks.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1571 A British law was so set that a man could be fined for not
wearing a wool cap.
(NG, 5.1988, pp. 574)
1571 A permanent gallows in London drew gawkers and became a source
of entertainment and profit.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R34)
1571 Potters from Antwerp introduced Delft ware to England about
this time.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1571 The Jesuits in Chesapeake Bay were wiped out by the Indians,
resulting in the complete withdrawal of all Jesuits from Florida.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1571 Moscow was sacked by Tartars from Crimea.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1571-1598 Shah Abbas, King of the Safavid dynasty in Persia. He established
a monopoly on the production and sale of silk and used the wealth to develop
the city of Isfahan. Fearful of assassination he turned on his own family,
executed one son, and blinded 2 sons, his father and his brothers.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R8)
1571-1610 Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Italian artist. [see 1565-1609]
(WSJ, 4/28/98, p.A16)
1572 Apr 1, The Sea Beggars under Guillaume de la Marck landed
in Holland and captured the small town of Briel.
(HN, 4/1/99)
1572 Aug 24, The slaughter of French Protestants at the hands
of Catholics began in Paris as Charles IX of France attempted to rid the
country of Huguenots. France's fourth war of religion started with the
Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day, in which 50,000 Huguenots and their
leader, Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, were killed in and around Paris. Meyerbeer's
1836 opera "Les Huguenots" was centered on the struggle.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)(AP, 8/24/97)(HN, 8/24/98)(WSJ, 11/23/99,
p.A21)
1572 Luis Vaz de Camoes, Portuguese poet, published his epic poem
about Vasco da Gama's voyages: "Os Lusiadas."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1572 The first book privately printed in England, "De Antiquitate
Britannicae Ecclesiae" by Matthew Parker, was published.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1572 One of the earliest cellos was made by Andrea Amati in Cremona.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1572 Pope Pius V died and was succeeded by Gregory XIII.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1572 The Society of Antiquaries was founded in London.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1572 The British Parliament passed the Act for Punishment as Vagabonds.
It required entertainers to obtain a noble patron for support. It led to
the emergence of permanent theaters.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R34)
1572 Dutch warships, Beggars of the Sea, effectively harried Spanish
shipping in the English Channel and fueled the Dutch War of Independence.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1572 The Dutch used carrier pigeons during the Spanish siege of
Haarlem.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R14)
1572 A refurbished Turkish fleet captured Cyprus.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1572 Ambroise Pare, French surgeon, introduced more humane treatment
for battlefield wounds. He substituted egg yolk and turpentine for boiling
oil, and introduced arterial ligature instead of cauterization.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1572 Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer, discovered a nova in the
constellation of Cassiopeia. It is described in detail in his book "De
Nova Stella."
(V.D.-H.K.p.197)
1572 On the death of Sigismund II, the Polish monarchy became
elective.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1572-1637 Ben Jonson, English dramatist and poet: "Very few men are
wise by their own counsel; or learned by their own teaching. For he that
was only taught by himself, had a fool to his master."
(AP, 1/4/98)
1573 May 11, Henry of Anjou became the first elected king of Poland.
(HN, 5/11/98)
1573 Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer, published a monograph on
his discovery of a new star. His observations were denied by Roman Catholic
divines, but Tycho was Lutheran, independently rich, and lived in a Lutheran
country whose king was a staunch Protestant, so he didn't care. Tycho settled
down to "leave to posterity a collection of astronomical observations sufficiently
accurate so that future generations would be able to depend on them. "
(V.D.-H.K.p.197)
1573 Paolo Cagliari Veronese (1528-1588), Venetian painter, was
hauled before the Inquisition and accused of painting profanities.
(WUD, 1994, p.1588)(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1573 Venice and Turkey signed the Peace of Constantinople whereby
Venice surrendered Cyprus and paid Turkey a large indemnity.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1573 France's Fourth War of Religion ended with the Pacification
of Boulogne.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1573 The Huguenots gained an amnesty and were promised freedom
of conscience.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1573 Don John of Austria captured Tunis from the Turks.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1573 Sir Francis Drake captured a huge shipment of Spanish silver
as it was being transported across the Isthmus of Panama.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1573 In Bolivia the city of Potosi at the foot of Cerro Rico grew
to surpass Seville, Madrid, Rome or Paris.
(NH, 11/96, p.38)
1573 Wan-Li of China began a 47-reign as emperor of the Ming dynasty.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1573 The first maps in England were made by Christopher Saxton.
He produced an atlas with 37 county maps and a large country map.
(SFC, 8/14/96, z-1 p.5)
1573 The first German cane-sugar refinery was established at Augsburg.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1573 The Ashikaga shogunate ended after 237 years with Shogun
Yoshiake routed in his challenge of ruler Nobunaga Oda.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1573-1577 In Malta the Cathedral of St. John was built.
(AM, Jul/Aug '97 p.40)
1573-1610 Caravaggio, Italian painter. His emphasis on the play of light
and shadow invoked greater realism and set a new trend in painting. His
paintings included "Boy Bitten by Lizard." [see 1565-1609 & 1571-1610]
In 1999 Helen Langdon published "Caravaggio, A Life."
(SFEM, 8/31/97, p.8,13)(SFEC, 7/11/99, BR p.6)
1573-1615 The Momoyama period of Japan. It coincided with the ascendancy
of 3 warlords and represented a time of temporary peace with the opening
of the country to Western influence.
(WSJ, 9/25/96, p.A20)
1573-1652 Inigo Jones, father of English classical architecture.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.14)
1574 Feb 23, The 5th War of Religion broke out in France.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)(HN, 2/23/98)
1574 Feb 28, On the orders of the Holy Office of the Inquisition,
two Englishmen and an Irishman were burnt for heresy.
(HN, 2/28/99)
1574 Mar 5, William Oughtred, mathematician and inventor of the
slide rule, was born.
(HN, 3/5/98)
1574 Justus Lipsius, Flemish scholar, edited "The Histories and
The Annals of Tacitus."
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1574 Giorgio Vasari, completed Florence's Uffizi Palace after
14 years of building.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1574 The Univ. of Berlin was founded.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1574 An auto-da-fe (a public announcement of sentence imposed
on persons tried by the Inquisition) took place in Mexico for the first
time.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1574 Spanish forces in the Netherlands besieged Leyden, but William
the Silent breached the dykes to flood the land. This allowed his ships
to sail up to the walls and lift the siege.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1574 Turkish troops captured Tunis from the Spaniards.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1574 The Portuguese began to settle in Angola.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1574 Juan Fernandez, Spanish navigator, discovered a group of
islands, to be named after him, 400 miles off the west coast of South America.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1574 In France Charles IX died and was succeeded by his brother
Henry of Valois, Henry III.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)
1574 Selim II, Sultan of Turkey, died and was succeeded by his
son, Murad III.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.22)