1566

Centuries: 15th century - 16th century - 17th century

Decades: 1510s 1520s 1530s 1540s 1550s - 1560s - 1570s 1580s 1590s 1600s 1610s

Years: 1561 1562 1563 1564 1565 - 1566 - 1567 1568 1569 1570 1571

• January 7 - Pius V becomes Pope
• Selim II succeeds Suleiman I as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
• Religious rioting in the Netherlands signifies the beginning of the Eighty Years War in the Netherlands.

Births

• June 19 - Prince James Stewart, later King James VI of Scotland and King James I of England and Ireland.
• June 20 - Prince Sigismund Vasa, later King Sigismund III of Poland and King Sigismund I of Sweden.

Deaths

• April 25 - Diane de Poitiers, lover of King Henri II of France