Events

• February 13 - Henry III of France is crowned at Reims
• February 14 - Henry III of France marries Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont
• August 5 - Henry Sidney is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
• October 10 - Battle of Dormans : Catholic forces under Duke Henry of Guise defeat the Protestants, capturing Philippe de Mornay among others.

• The Fifth War of Religion erupts in France.
• Stephen Báthory becomes king of Poland.
• Edmund Grindal succeeds Matthew Parker as Archbishop of Canterbury.
• Francisco De Obando Y Mexia becomes Governor of Puerto Rico.
• William I of Orange marries Charlotte de Bourbon .
• Portugal founds the city of Luanda in Angola.
• William I of Orange founds the University of Leiden.
• Queen Elizabeth I of England grants a monopoly on producing printed sheet music to Thomas Tallis and William Byrd.
• Abraham Ortelius becomes geographer to Philip II of Spain.
• First known self-portrait is painted by Nicholas Hilliard.

Births

• May 30 - Diego Salcedo, Spanish bishop (d. 1644)
• Jakob Böhme, German mystic (d. 1624)
• Edmund Bolton, English historian, poet
• James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn (approximate) (d. 1618)
• Thomas Heywood, English dramatist, author (approximate)
• Guido Reni, painter
• Arbella Stuart, Duchess of Somerset (d. 1615)
• Robert de Vere, 19th Earl of Oxford (d. 1632)
• Christoph Scheiner, German astronomer

Deaths

• February 21 - Claude, son of Henry II of France
• March 11 - Matthias Flacius, Lutheran reformer
• March 24 - Yosef Karo, Jewish jurist
• May 17 - Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1504)
• September 17 - Heinrich Bullinger, Swiss religious reformer
• Constantio Varoli, Italian anatomist
• James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran