Year 1557 (MDLVII)
Year 1557 (MDLVII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–March
January 4 – Pietro Giovanni Chiavica Cibo becomes the new Doge of the Republic of Genoa for a term of 2 years as the term of the Doge Agostino Pinelli Ardimenti comes to an end.
January 6 – In the Italian War of 1551–1559, Gaspard II de Coligny, the French governor of Picardy, launches surprise attacks on Douai and Lens in the Spanish Netherlands, capturing both cities for France.
January 13 – Sigismund II Augustus, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, issues an edict against Protestants at the urging of Archbishop Mikołaj Dzierzgowski.
January 28 – Bayinnaung, King of Burma, conquers the Shan States of Mongmit and Hsipaw in what is now northern Myanmar, commemorated with an inscription on the Shwezigon Pagoda Bell.
February 4 – Pope Paul IV creates the metropolitan archdiocese of Portuguese India, separating the Goan diocese from the ecclesiastical province of Lisbon.
February 24 – Delegates from Sweden, Finland, and Russia arrive at Novgorod to negotiate a treaty to end the war between the two empires.
March 11 – The conquest of the Shan States continues in Burma as Mong Kawng falls to the Toungoo dynasty invaders.
March – The Takeda clan besieges Katsurayama Castle in eastern Japan, ending with its complete destruction.
April–June
April 2 – The Treaty of Novgorod between Sweden and Russia is enacted.
April 12 – The Spanish settlement of Cuenca, Ecuador, is founded.
April 25 – English aristocrat Thomas Stafford attempts a rebellion against Queen Mary, capturing Scarborough Castle.
April 28 – The Stafford rebellion is quashed by Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland.
April 30 – In the Arauco War, the Battle of Mataquito sees Spanish forces attack the Mapuche.
May 4 – The Stationers’ Company is granted a royal charter, establishing a monopoly on the English publishing industry.
May 23 – The Shwezigon Pagoda Bell is dedicated in Myanmar, commemorating the conquest of the Shan States.
May 28 – Thomas Stafford and his followers are executed at the Tower of London.
May 29 – King Philip II of Spain signs a treaty restoring Iacopo VI to rule the Principality of Piombino.
June 7 – Mary I of England joins her husband Philip II in his war against France.
June 10 – The New Testament of the Geneva Bible is published in Geneva.
June 16 – Sebastião I is crowned as the new King of Portugal.
June 18 – Mass executions of Protestants resume under Queen Mary.
In June, the 1557 influenza pandemic spreads to Europe.
July–September
July 3 – The Stato dei Presidi is established on the Tuscan coast of Italy.
July 24 – The Edict of Compiègne is issued, imposing the death penalty on Protestants in France.
July 25 – In India, Sikandar Shah Suri surrenders to the Mughal Empire after a six-month siege.
August 27 – The Battle of St. Quentin results in a decisive defeat for the French forces.
September 11 – The Colloquy of Worms convenes in Germany to discuss religious issues.
September 12 – Pope Paul IV signs a peace treaty confirming the Spanish occupation of the Papal States.
October–December
October 8 – The Colloquy of Worms ends without resolution on Catholic-Protestant differences.
October 23 – Mohammed al-Shaykh, Sultan of Morocco, is assassinated by Ottoman soldiers.
November 17 – Prince Michihito of Japan becomes Emperor Ōgimachi.
December 24 – Mircea the Shepherd becomes Prince of Wallachia for the third time.
December 30 – King Henri II of France requests naval support from Suleiman the Magnificent for protection against Spain.
Date unknown
- Özdemir Pasha conquers the Red Sea port of Massawa for the Ottoman Empire.
- The Portuguese settle in Macau with permission from the Ming dynasty government of China.
- Spain goes bankrupt, causing chaos in German banking.
- Gonville and Caius College is refounded by John Caius.
- Brentwood School, Hampton School, and Repton School are established in England.
- Mathematician Robert Recorde publishes a book containing the first recorded use of the equals sign.
- Hans Staden publishes an account of his experiences with the Tupí people in Brazil.
Births
January 1 – Stephen Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania (d. 1606)
February 11 – Johannes Wtenbogaert, Leader of the Remonstrants (d. 1644)
February 15 – Alfonso Fontanelli, Italian composer (d. 1622); Vittoria Accoramboni, Italian noblewoman (d. 1585)
February 24 – Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1619)
March 1 – Anne Howard, Countess of Arundel (d. 1630)
March 22 – Casimir VI, Duke of Pomerania (d. 1605)
April 4 – Lew Sapieha, Polish-Lithuanian noble (d. 1633)
April 11 – Frederick, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (d. 1597)
May 5 – Emanuel Philibert de Lalaing, Belgian noble (d. 1590)
May 31 – Tsar Feodor I of Russia (d. 1598)
June 28 – Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel (d. 1595)
August 16 – Agostino Carracci, Italian painter (d. 1602)
August 19 – Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1608)
September 4 – Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, royal consort (d. 1631)
September 11 – Joseph Calasanz, founder of Piarists (d. 1648)
September 16 – Jacques Mauduit, French composer (d. 1627)
Date unknown – Giovanni Croce, Italian composer (d. 1609); Balthasar Gérard, assassin of William I of Orange (d. 1584); Toda Katsushige, Japanese warlord (d. 1600); Olaus Martini, Archbishop of Uppsala (d. 1609); Thomas Morley, English composer (d. 1602); Oda Nobutada, Japanese general (d. 1582); probable – Giovanni Gabrieli, Italian composer (d. 1612)
Deaths
January 2 – Pontormo, Italian painter (b. 1494)
January 4 – Philip, Duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1514)
January 8 – Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (b. 1522)
March 13 – Louis de Bourbon de Vendôme, French cardinal (b. 1493)
April 9 – Mikael Agricola, Finnish scholar (b. c. 1510)
April 24 – Georg Rörer, German theologian (b. 1492)
April 29 – Lautaro, Mapuche warrior (b. 1534)
May 18 – John II, Count Palatine of Simmern (b. 1492)
June 10 – Leandro Bassano, Italian painter (d. 1622)
June 11 – King John III of Portugal (b. 1502)
July 10 – Giovanni Battista Ramusio, Italian geographer (b. 1485)
July 16 – Anne of Cleves, queen of Henry VIII (b. 1515)
August 1 – Olaus Magnus, Swedish writer (b. 1490)
August 18 – Claude de la Sengle, Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller (b. 1494)
September 1 – Jacques Cartier, French explorer (b. 1491)
September 13 – John Cheke, English scholar (b. 1514)
September 15 – Juan Álvarez de Toledo, Spanish cardinal (b. 1488)
September 27 – Emperor Go-Nara of Japan (b. 1495)
October 5 or 6 – Kamran Mirza, Mughal prince (b. 1509)
October 20 – Jean Salmon Macrin, French poet (b. 1490)
October 25 – William Cavendish, English courtier (b. 1505)
November 19 – Bona Sforza, queen of Sigismund I of Poland (b. 1494); Maria de’ Medici, Italian noble (b. 1540)
December 6 – Elisabeth of Hesse, Hereditary Princess of Saxony (b. 1502)
December 13 – Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia, Italian mathematician (b. 1499)
December 27 – Queen Dangyeong, Korean royal consort (b. 1487)
Date unknown – Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, Spanish historian (b. 1478); Charlotte Guillard, French printer; Nicolas de Herberay des Essarts, French translator; Geoffrey Glyn, English lawyer; probable – Sebastian Cabot, explorer (b. 1476); Thomas Crecquillon, Flemish composer (b. 1490)
References
Historical records and documented events surrounding the year 1557.