Year 1546 (MDXLVI)
Year 1546 was a common year commencing on Friday of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–March
January 11 – Ashikaga Yoshifushi becomes the 13th Shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate.
January 13 – Jeremias I of Constantinople, Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, dies.
January 18 – Blasco Núñez Vela, the first Spanish Viceroy of Peru, is killed at the Battle of Iñaquito by Gonzalo Pizarro.
February 12 – The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico is established, one of the largest in the world with over four million Catholics.
February 15 – Martin Luther delivers his final sermon, addressing the urgent need to expel “obdurate Jews” from Germany, just three days before his death.
March 1 – Scottish Protestant reformer George Wishart is executed by burning at the stake in St. Andrews on the orders of Cardinal David Beaton for heresy. Beaton is assassinated less than three months later.
March 8 – King John III of Portugal commands the prohibition of Hinduism in Portuguese India, ordering the destruction of Hindu temples and harsh punishments for their practices.
April–June
April 8 – The Council of Trent issues the Decretum de Canonicis Scripturis, defining the scripture considered canonical by the Roman Catholic Church.
April 13 – Alice Glaston, at age 11, becomes the youngest girl to be executed legally in England.
April 17 – Dionysius II is elected as the new Patriarch of Constantinople.
April 18 – Hermann of Wied, Archbishop of Cologne, is excommunicated by Pope Paul III after converting to Protestantism.
April 20 – The Siege of Diu begins as Mahmud Shah III leads an attack against the Portuguese fortress at Diu.
April 24 – The Keeper of the King’s Ports and Galleys is established, marking the first government body to oversee England’s Royal Navy.
May 1 – Sir John Alan is dismissed as Lord Chancellor of Ireland amid corruption accusations, only to be reinstated in 1548.
May 16 – Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier proposes the Goa Inquisition to King João III of Portugal.
May 19 – The Siege of Kawagoe Castle concludes with defeat for the Uesugi clan in Japan.
May 28 – Edward Whitchurch and Richard Grafton secure exclusive rights to publish prayer books for the Church of England.
May 29 – David Beaton, Archbishop of St. Andrews, is assassinated in retaliation for Wishart’s execution.
June 7 – The Treaty of Ardres is signed, establishing peace between England and France and concluding the Italian War.
June 17 – The Council of Trent affirms its decree concerning original sin, threatening excommunication to those who reject its teachings.
July–September
July 4 – Following Luther’s death, leaders of the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League meet to strategize against the Roman Catholic forces.
July 8 – The Earl of Arran recaptures Dumbarton Castle from England.
July 10 – The Schmalkaldic War begins with a Protestant attack on the town of Füssen.
July 20 – Charles V issues a Reichsacht against Schmalkaldic leaders John Frederick I and Philip I, declaring them outlaws.
August 14 – The Scottish Parliament ratifies the Treaty of Ardres.
August 20 – Admiral Claude d’Annebault negotiates the English approval of the Treaty of Ardres.
August 24 – Mircea the Shepherd leads a successful attack against Wallachian nobility in the Battle of Periș.
August 28 – The Imperial army, counterattacking in the Schmalkaldic War, fails to capture Frankfurt.
September 3 – Ilie II Rareș is proclaimed the new Prince of Moldavia.
September 8 – The first Protestant Huguenot church in France is raided, resulting in arrests and executions.
September 23 – Pier Luigi Farnese receives additional control over Italian cities from Pope Paul III.
September 27 – San Salvador is re-established as the capital of Central America’s El Salvador.
October—December
October 8 – The Fourteen of Meaux, French Huguenots, are executed for heresy.
October 17 – James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond, is poisoned under mysterious circumstances.
October 28 – A second campaign begins in the Toungoo–Mrauk-U War, with King Tabinshwehti invading the Kingdom of Mrauk U.
November 4 – Christ Church, Oxford, is refounded as a college by Henry VIII.
November 8 – A Maya uprising against Spanish colonial rule begins in Yucatán.
November 10 – The Portuguese successfully defend the city of Diu against a six-month siege.
November 14 – The Treaty of Prague is signed between King Ferdinand and Maurice, Elector of Saxony.
December 12 – Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, and his son are arrested.
December 18 – A truce is established between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Catilians.
December 19 – Trinity College, Cambridge, is founded by Henry VIII.
December 30 – King Henry VIII revises his will, outlining the succession to the English throne.
Date Unknown
Katharina von Bora escapes to Magdeburg.
Michelangelo is appointed as chief architect of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
The Spanish conquest of Yucatán is momentarily interrupted by an uprising but resumes successfully by March 1548.
Births
January 27 – Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1608).
February 1 – Mogami Yoshiaki, Japanese daimyō (d. 1614).
February 4 – Jakob Monau, Polish writer (d. 1603).
February 14 – Johann Pistorius, German historian (d. 1608).
March 16 – Francesco Barbaro, Italian diplomat (d. 1616).
March 21 – Bartholomeus Spranger, Flemish painter (d. 1611).
March 25 – Giacomo Castelvetro, Italian writer (d. 1616).
March 27 – Johannes Piscator, German theologian (d. 1625).
March 29 – Anne d’Escars de Givry, French Catholic cardinal (d. 1612).
April 1 – Nanbu Nobunao, Japanese daimyō (d. 1599).
April 20 – Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas, Spanish cardinal (d. 1618).
June 13 – Tobias Matthew, English Archbishop of York (d. 1628).
June 14 – Wolfgang, Count of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim, German count (d. 1610).
June 24 – Robert Parsons, English Jesuit (d. 1610).
June 29 – Dorothea of Denmark, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1617).
July 4 – Murat III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1595).
August 10 – Juliana of Nassau-Dillenburg, Dutch princess (d. 1588).
August 13 – Jan Opaliński, Polish nobleman (d. 1598).
August 31 – Daniel Adam z Veleslavína, Czech lexicographer (d. 1599).
September 6 – Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, Spanish noble (d. 1627).
September 11 – Arild Huitfeldt, Danish historian (d. 1609).
September 13 – Isabella Bendidio, Italian singer (d. 1610).
October 5 – Rudolph Snellius, Dutch linguist (d. 1613).
November 11 – Richard Madox, English explorer (d. 1583).
December 14 – Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer (d. 1601).
Date Unknown
- Luca Bati, Italian Baroque composer (d. 1608).
- Thomas Digges, English astronomer (d. 1595).
- Veronica Franco, Venetian poet (d. 1591).
- Takeda Katsuyori, Japanese nobleman (d. 1582).
- Mikołaj VII Radziwiłł, Polish magnate (d. 1565).
- Probable – Lodewijk Elzevir, Dutch printer (d. 1617).
Deaths
January 11 – Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (b. 1497).
January 11 – Gaudenzio Ferrari, Italian painter (b. c. 1471).
January 21 – Azai Sukemasa, daimyō (b. 1491).
February 18 – Martin Luther, German reformer (b. 1483).
February 23 – Francis, Count of Enghien, French military leader (b. 1519).
March 1 – George Wishart, Scottish reformer (b. 1513).
March 26 – Thomas Elyot, English diplomat (b. c. 1490).
April 7 – Friedrich Myconius, German theologian (b. 1491).
May 17 – Philipp von Hutten, German explorer (b. 1511).
May 28 – Ottaviano de’ Medici, Italian politician (b. 1484).
May 29 – David Beaton, Scottish cardinal (b. c. 1494).
June 13 – Fridolin Sicher, Swiss composer (b. 1490).
July 4 – Khair ad Din “Barbarossa”, corsair ruler (b. 1475).
July 9 – Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell, Scottish statesman (b. c. 1493).
July 16 – Anne Askew, English Protestant (b. 1521).
August 1 – Peter Faber, French Jesuit (b. 1506).
August 3 – Étienne Dolet, French scholar (b. 1509).
August 3 – Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect (b. 1484).
August 12 – Francisco de Vitoria, theologian (b. 1492).
November 1 – Giulio Romano, Italian painter (b. 1499).