1553
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Year 1553 (MDLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–March
- January 2 – The siege of Metz in France, started by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor during the Italian War of 1551–59 on October 19 last<ref>Victor Duruy, A Short History of France (J. M. Dent & sons, Ltd. 1918) p.501</ref> is lifted after 75 days. During the city's defense by the Duke of Guise and 6,000 soldiers, Charles V had lost two-thirds of his original force of at least 20,000 men.<ref>Robert Knecht, The Valois Kings of France 1328-1589 (Bloomsbury Academic, 2007) p.149 ("By the time Charles V lifted the siege, on 2 January 1553, his army had dwindled to a third of its original size.")</ref>
- February 17 – In India, Timmaraja Wodeyar II becomes the sixth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore (a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire), after the death of his father, the Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar III.
- February 21 – Lieutenant General Luis Álvarez de Toledo y Osorio temporarily serves as the Spanish Viceroy of Naples (in modern-day Italy) upon the death of his father, Pedro Álvarez de Toledo. Luis steps down after Pedro Pacheco de Villena is appointed as the new Viceroy in June.
- March 1 – The second (and last) session of the Parliament of England during the reign of King Edward VI is opened by the King at Westminster and lasts until March 31. Sir James Dyer serves during the session as Speaker of the House of Commons.<ref>Encyclopedia of Tudor England, ed. by John A. Wagner, et al. (ABC-CLIO, 2011) p.12</ref>
April–June
- April 28 – Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa, leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church in modern-day Iraq, is recognized by Pope Julius III as the Patriarch of Mosul.<ref>David Wilmshurst, The Ecclesiastical Organisation of the Church of the East, 1318–1913 (Peeters Publishers, 2000) pp.21–22</ref>
- May 12 – St Albans, in England, receives its first royal charter as a borough.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- May 25 – Lady Jane Grey, a 16-year-old first cousin of King Edward VI of England, marries Lord Guildford Dudley, son of the Duke of Northumberland, who has engineered the marriage.
- June 3 – The first of the five Battles of Kawanakajima, the "Battle of the Fuse," commences in Japan between Takeda Shingen of Kai Province and Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo Province. The clash, fought 12 days after Shingen has taken Katsurao Castle, takes place at a shrine of Hachiman (near modern-day Yashiro, Hyōgo prefecture), is part of a major series of conflicts during the Japanese Sengoku period.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- June 15 – On his deathbed, King Edward summons prominent English judges and signs his devise of the throne to Lady Jane Grey.
- June 21 – Under threats from the Duke of Northumberland, the devise by King Edward to make Jane Grey the heir to the throne is signed by over 100 prominent persons.
- June 26 – Two new schools, Christ's Hospital<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>https://privycouncil.independent.gov.uk/royal-charters/chartered-bodies/ Template:Webarchive retrieved 24 Mar 2017</ref> and King Edward's School, Witley, are created by royal charter in accordance with the will of King Edward VI of England; St Thomas' Hospital, London, in existence since the 12th century, is named in the same charter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
July–September
- July 6 – King King Edward VI of England dies at the age of 15 after a reign of only six years.
- July 9 – Battle of Sievershausen: Prince-elector Maurice of Saxony defeats the Catholic forces of Margrave Albert of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. Maurice is mortally wounded.<ref name="Lindsay1999">Template:Cite book</ref>
- July 10 – Four days after the death of her cousin King Edward VI of England, Lady Jane Grey is proclaimed Queen of England – a position she holds for the next nine days.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- July 19 – The Lord Mayor of London proclaims Mary I the rightful Queen, following a change of allegiance by the Privy Council; Lady Jane Grey voluntarily abdicates.<ref name="Tallis2016">Template:Cite book</ref>
- August 3 – Queen Mary I of England arrives in London from East Anglia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- August 18 – John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, is tried and convicted of treason for his role in putting his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, on the throne.<ref>Eric Ives (2009): Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery Wiley-Blackwell. Template:ISBN. Pages 96-7.</ref>
- August 24 – English explorer Richard Chancellor enters the White Sea and reaches Arkhangelsk.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He goes on afterwards to the court of Ivan IV of Russia, opening up trade between England and Russia.
- September 23 – The Sadians consolidate their power in Morocco, by defeating the last of their enemies.
- September – Anglican bishops in England are arrested, and Roman Catholic bishops are restored.
October–December
- October 6 – Şehzade Mustafa, oldest son of Suleiman the Magnificent, is executed in Konya by order of his father.<ref>A General History of the Middle East, Chapter 13: Ottoman Era, Suleiman the Magnificent, xenohistorian.faithweb.com; accessed January 8, 2015.</ref>
- October 27 – Geneva's governing council burns Michael Servetus at the stake as a heretic.<ref name="michael">Template:Cite book</ref>
- November 13 – Lady Jane Grey, who had claimed the title of Queen of England for nine days, is convicted of high treason, along with her husband Lord Guilford Dudley, two of Dudley's brothers, and Thomas Cranmer, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, after trial conducted by a special commission at Guildhall in the City of London.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Referred to by the court as "Jane Dudley, wife of Guildford", Lady Jane is found to have treacherously assumed the title and the power of the monarch of England, as evidenced by a number of documents she had signed as "Jane the Quene". All five defendants are sentenced to death. Beheading is the sentence for the men, while Lady Jane is to either be "burned alive on Tower Hill or beheaded as the Queen pleases", with the decision (for a private decapitation) to be made by Queen Mary.<ref>Template:Cite book; Template:Cite book</ref>
- November 16 – A delegation from the English Parliament formally asks the new queen, Mary I, to choose an English husband rather than to marry Spain's Prince Philip, and suggests Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Queen Mary's choice to marry Philip, in the interests of protecting England from an invasion, will ultimately lead to Wyatt's rebellion.
- November 17 (13th waxing of Natdaw 915 ME) – Bayinnaung, King of Burma, commissions the building of the Kanbawzathadi Palace in his capital, Pegu (modern-day Bago in Myanmar).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The palace is completed in 1556 but is burned down in 1599.
- November 25 – Italian War of 1551–1559: Cosimo I de' Medici, Duke of the Florentine Republic, signs a secret treaty with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor to conquer the Republic of Siena to bring it back into the Empire.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- November 25 – Second Margrave War: The city of Kulmbach, near Brandenburg in Bavaria in Germany, is sacked and burned to the ground after its margrave, Albert Alcibiades, makes an unsuccessful attempt to bring all of the Duchy of Franconia under his control.<ref>Geschichte der Stadt Kulmbach Template:Webarchive auf der städtischen Homepage</ref>
- December 25 – Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors, and execute Pedro de Valdivia, the first Royal Governor of Chile.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Date unknown
- Tonbridge School is founded by Sir Andrew Judde, under letters patent of Edward VI of England.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- The xiii Bukes of Eneados of the famose Poete Virgill, the first complete translation of any major work of classical antiquity into one of the English languages, is published in London.
- In Ming dynasty China:
- The addition of a new section of the Outer City fortifications is completed in southern Beijing, bringing the overall size of Beijing to 18 square miles (4662 hectares).
- Shanghai is fortified for the first time.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Births
- January 20 – Bernardino de Cárdenas y Portugal, Duque de Maqueda, Spanish noble (d. 1601)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- January 22 – Mōri Terumoto, Japanese warrior (d. 1625)<ref>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Unreliable source?</ref>Template:Unreliable source?
- February 24 – Cherubino Alberti, Italian engraver and painter (d. 1615)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- March – Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo, Italian noble (d. 1576)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- March 26 – Vitsentzos Kornaros, Greek writer (d. 1613)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- April 24 – John Maxwell, 8th Lord Maxwell, Scottish noble (d. 1593)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- April 30 – Louise of Lorraine, French queen consort (d. 1601)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- May 7 – Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (d. 1618)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- May 14 – Margaret of Valois, Queen of France (d. 1615)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- June 5 – Bernardino Baldi, Italian mathematician and writer (d. 1617)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- June 15 – Archduke Ernest of Austria, Austrian prince, the son of Maximilian II (d. 1595)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- July 1 – Peter Street, English carpenter (d. 1609)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- September 26 – Nicolò Contarini, Doge of Venice (d. 1631)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- October 8 – Jacques Auguste de Thou, French historian (d. 1617)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- October 18 – Luca Marenzio, Italian composer (d. 1599)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- November 2 – Magdalene of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, Countess Palatine of Pfalz-Zweibrücken (d. 1633)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- November 4 – Roger Wilbraham, Solicitor-General for Ireland (d. 1616)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- November 23 – Prospero Alpini, Italian physician and botanist (d. 1617)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- November 28 – George More, English politician (d. 1632)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- December 13 – King Henry IV of France (d. 1610)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- date unknown
- Patriarch Filaret of Moscow and All Rus' (d. 1633)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- Giovanni Florio, English writer and translator (d. 1625)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
- Richard Hakluyt, English travel writer (d. 1616)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Robert Hues, English mathematician and geographer (d. 1632)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
- Amago Katsuhisa, Japanese nobleman (d. 1578)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Pierre de Rostegny, French jurist (d. 1631)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- William Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Thornhaugh, Spanish military leader (d. 1613)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
- Moses Székely, Hungarian noble (d. 1603)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Beatrice Michiel, Venetian spy (d. 1613)
- Mirza Muhammad Hakim, son of Mughal emperor Humayun and brother of emperor Akbar (d. 1585)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Deaths
- January 13 – George II, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels, Count of Glatz (b. 1512)
- February 4 – Caspar Othmayr, German Protestant priest, theologian and composer (b. 1515)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- February 6 – Ernest, Margrave of Baden-Durlach (b. 1482)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- February 8 – John Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg, (b. 1521)
- February 17 – Chamaraja Wodeyar III, King of Mysore (b. 1492)
- February 19 – Erasmus Reinhold, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1511)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- February 25 – Hirate Masahide, Japanese diplomat and tutor of Oda Nobunaga (suicide) (b. 1492)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- April – Minkhaung of Prome, last king of Prome in Burma (Myanmar)
- April 9 – François Rabelais, French writer<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- May 5 – Erasmus Alberus, German humanist (b. 1500)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- May 28 – Johannes Aal, Swiss theologian (b. 1500)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- June 26 – Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich of Russia, Grand Prince of Moscow (b. 1552)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- July 6 – King Edward VI of England (b. 1537)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- July 9 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony (b. 1521)<ref name="Lindsay1999"/>
- July 16 – Bernardino Maffei, Catholic cardinal (b. 1514)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- August 6 – Girolamo Fracastoro, Italian physician (b. 1478)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- August 17 – Charles III, Duke of Savoy (b. 1486)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- August 22 – John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (b. 1502; executed)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
- September 6 – Juan de Homedes y Coscon, 47th Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller (b. c. 1477)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- October 6 – Şehzade Mustafa, Suleiman the Magnificent's first-born son by Mahidevran Hatun (b. 1515)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- October 7 – Cristóbal de Morales, Spanish composer (b. 1500)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- October 16 – Lucas Cranach the Elder, German painter (b. 1472)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- October 17 – George III, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, German prince (b. 1507)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- October 27 – Michael Servetus, Spanish Protestant theologian (burned at the stake) (b. 1511)<ref name="michael" />
- October 28 – Giovanni Salviati, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1490)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- October 30 – Jacob Sturm von Sturmeck, German statesman and reformer (b. 1489)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- November 15 – Lucrezia de' Medici, Italian noblewoman (b. 1470)
- November 23 – Sebastiano Antonio Pighini, Italian cardinal (b. 1500)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- November 27 – Şehzade Cihangir, Ottoman prince (b. 1531)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- December 3 – Ludwig of Hanau-Lichtenberg, German nobleman (b. 1487)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- December 25 – Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador (b. 1497)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- date unknown
- George Joye, English Protestant Bible translator (b. c. 1495)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Gunilla Bese, Finnish noble and fiefholder (b. 1475)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>