1521

January 22: The Diet of Worms parliament is opened by Emperor Charles V in the German city of Worms.

Template:C16 year in topic 1521 (MDXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar, the 1521st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 521st year of the 2nd millennium, the 21st year of the 16th century, and the 2nd year of the 1520s decade.

Events

Neacșu's letter, the oldest surviving document written in Romanian has the oldest appearance of the word "Rumanian"

January–March

• January 3 – Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther, in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• January 22 – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, opens the Diet of Worms in Worms, Germany.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• January 27 – Suleiman the Magnificent suppresses a revolt by the ruler of Damascus, Janbirdi al-Ghazali.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• February 2 – The Nydala Abbey Bloodbath takes place at Nydala Abbey, Sweden; the abbot and many monks are murdered by Danes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• March 6
  • Ferdinand Magellan makes the first European contact with Guam,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> most likely landing in Tumon.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • Martin Luther is summoned to appear before the Diet of Worms.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• March 16 – Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Philippines, in eastern Samar.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• March 31 – The First Mass in the Philippines is held.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

April–June

• April 7
  • Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Cebu.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Martin Luther preaches an inflammatory sermon to students at Erfurt, while on his way to Worms.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• April 16–18 – Martin Luther is examined before Emperor Charles V and the Diet of Worms, where he refuses to recant his writings and allegedly proclaims, "Here I stand", regarding his belief in the Bible alone, as the standard of Christian doctrine.
• April 23 – Revolt of the Comuneros – Battle of Villalar: Castilian royalists defeat the rebels.<ref name="REV">Template:Cite book</ref> Juan López de Padilla, Francisco Maldonado, and Juan Bravo are executed the following day as the leaders of the rebels.
• April 26 – Martin Luther leaves Worms and disappears for around a year<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> – he is rumored to be murdered, but is actually in hiding at the Wartburg castle.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• April 27 – Battle of Mactan: Ferdinand Magellan is killed in the Philippines when he confronts Lapulapu, the chief of the island.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• April or May – Battle of Tunmen in Tuen Mun (present-day Hong Kong): The Ming Dynasty navy defeats the Portuguese navy<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> (arguably the first Sino-European battle in world history).
• May 17 – Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason in Tower Hill.<ref name="ES">Template:Cite journal</ref>
• May 20 – At the Battle of Pampeluna in Italy, and alliance of forces from French and the Kingdom of Navarre forces defeat those of Spain.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• May 25 – The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw and banning his literature.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• May 27 – After death of his cousin, Jiajing, Prince Zhu Houcong became the new Ming dynasty Emperor of China, taking the imperial name of the Emperor Jiajing becomes the new.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• June 25 – Suleiman the Magnificent begins the siege of Belgrade.
• June 29 or 30 – The oldest surviving dateable document written primarily in the Romanian language: Neacșu's letter, written by a trader from Câmpulung, to Johannes Benkner, the mayor of Brașov, warning that the Ottoman Empire is preparing its troops to cross into Wallachia and Transylvania; the script used is Romanian Cyrillic.
• June 30 – Battle of Esquiroz: French forces under André de Foix, fighting for the exiled King of Navarre Henri d'Albret, are defeated by the Spanish, and forced to abandon their attempt to recover Henri's kingdom.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

July–September

• July 15 — San Juan Bautista is founded as the new capital of the archipelago of Puerto Rico.
• August 13 – Fall of Tenochtitlan: Cuauhtémoc surrenders to Cortés,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> thus incorporating the Aztec Empire into the Spanish Empire and ending the Late Postclassic period in Mesoamerica.
• August 20 – The Italian War of 1521–1526 breaks out between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and Francis I of France as Henry III of Nassau-Breda leads Imperial troops on an invasion of northeastern France.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• August 29 – Belgrade is captured by the Ottoman army of Suleiman the Magnificent.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

October–December

• October 25 – The Revolt of the Comuneros, an uprising by citizens of the Kingdom of Castile against the rule of Spain's King Carlos I, ends as the comuneros surrender Toledo.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• November 23 – Spanish–German–Papal forces under Prospero Colonna force French Marshal Odet de Lautrec to abandon Milan.
• December 27 – The Zwickau prophets arrive in Wittenberg, disturbing the peace and spreading the idea of rejecting infant baptism.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Date unknown

• Jacopo Berengario da Carpi publishes Commentaria cum amplissimus additionibus super anatomiam Mundini in Bologna, including observation of the vermiform appendix.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• The Grand Duchy of Ryazan is annexed by the Grand Duchy of Moscow.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Births

Maria of Portugal, Duchess of Viseu

• March 21 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony (d. 1553)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• April 5 – Francesco Laparelli, Italian architect (d. 1570)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• April 14 – Johann Marbach, German theologian (d. 1581)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• April 18 – François de Coligny d'Andelot, French general (d. 1569)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• May 8 – Petrus Canisius, Dutch Jesuit (d. 1597)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• May 10 – John Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg, (d. 1553)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• June 8 – Maria of Portugal, Duchess of Viseu, daughter of King Manuel I (d. 1577)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• June 21 – John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev (d. 1580)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• August 4 – Pope Urban VII (d. 1590)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• August 19 – Lodovico Guicciardini, Italian historian (d. 1589)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• October 1 – Frederick Magnus I, Count of Solms-Laubach, (d. 1561)
• November 21 – Edmund Sheffield, 1st Baron Sheffield, English baron (d. 1549)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
• November 29 – Marcantonio Maffei, Italian Catholic archbishop and cardinal (d. 1583)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• December 1 – Takeda Shingen, Japanese warlord (d. 1573)
• December 13 – Pope Sixtus V (d. 1590)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• date unknown
  • Anne Askew, English Protestant martyr (d. 1546)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • John Aylmer, English divine (d. 1594)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
  • Sue Harukata, Japanese retainer and later daimyō under Ōuchi Yoshitaka (d. 1555)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Thomas Chaloner, English statesman and poet (d. 1565)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Philippe de Monte, Flemish composer (d. 1603)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Rokkaku Yoshikata, Japanese daimyō (d. 1598)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Thomas Wyatt the Younger, English rebel (d. 1554)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
• possible
  • Catherine Howard, fifth queen of Henry VIII of England, (b. between 1518 and 1524; d. 1542)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>

Deaths

Zhengde Emperor

Ferdinand Magellan

Juan Ponce de León

Saint Margaret of Lorraine

Pope Leo X

King Manuel I of Portugal

Blessed Domenico Spadafora

• January 6 – Cardinal William de Croÿ (b. 1497)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• January 15 – John II, Duke of Cleves (b. 1458)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• April 20 – Zhengde Emperor of China (b. 1491)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• April 24 – Spanish rebels (executed)<ref name="REV" />
  • Juan López de Padilla
  • Juan Bravo
  • Francisco Maldonado
• April 27 – Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese explorer (b. 1480)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• April 28 – Suzanne, Duchess of Bourbon (b. 1491)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• May 10 – Sebastian Brant, German humanist and satirist (b. 1457)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• May 17 – Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (executed) (b. 1478)<ref name="ES" />
• June 15 – Tamás Bakócz, Hungarian Catholic cardinal and statesman (b. 1442)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• June 22 – Leonardo Loredan, Doge of Venice (b. 1436)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• July – Juan Ponce de León, Spanish conquistador (b. 1460)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• July 9 – Raffaele Riario, Italian cardinal (b. 1461)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• August 27 – Josquin des Prez, Flemish composer (b. c. 1450)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• September 12 – In the Italian War, the Holy Roman Empire abandons its siege of the French-controlled city of Parma after 17 days.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• September 15 –
  • Gazi Husrev Bey replaces Bali-beg Jahjapašić as the Ottoman Governor of Bosnia.
  • Teodosie becomes the new Voivode of Wallachia, at the capital, Targoviste, now in Romania.
• October 7 – Margaret of Anhalt-Köthen, Princess of Anhalt by birth, Duchess consort of Saxony (b. 1494)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• October 22 – Edward Poynings, Lord Deputy to King Henry VII of England (b. 1459)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
• October 24 – Robert Fayrfax, English Renaissance composer (b. 1464)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• November 2 – Margaret of Lorraine, French Duchess of Alençon, Roman Catholic nun and blessed (b. 1463)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• December 1 – Pope Leo X (b. 1475)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• December 13 – King Manuel I of Portugal (b. 1469)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• December 21 – Domenico Spadafora, Italian Roman Catholic priest and blessed (b. 1450)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

• 1521 in art
• 
  March–April: Ferdinand Magellan's voyage around the world.
• 
  May 25: Martin Luther outlawed.
• 
  Hans Maler zu Schwaz, Portrait of a beardless man with the inscription:
  "ALS MAN. 1521. ZALT. WAS. ICH. 33. IAR ALT"
  (mutatis mutandis to English: "as we had in 1521, I was 33 years old)
• 
  Lorenzo Lotto, Christ Taking Leave of His Mother