1563 CE
(January 2, 1563 O.S., January 11, 1563 N.S.) – The convocation of bishops and clerics of the Church of England is opened at St Paul's Cathedral in London by the Dean of the Arches, Robert Weston to agree upon the wording of what will become the Thirty-nine Articles, with the assembly adopting all but three of the Forty-two Articles promulgated during the reign of King Edward VI in 1553. The conference lasts for three months before agreeing upon the Articles to be submitted for further modification. Edict of Amboise is signed at the Château d'Amboise by Catherine de' Medici, acting as regent for her son Charles IX of France, having been negotiated between the Huguenot Louis, Prince of Condé, and Anne, duc de Montmorency, Constable of France, according some toleration to Huguenots, especially to aristocrats; this officially ends the first phase of the French Wars of Religion, and the combined Huguenot and royal armies then march north to besiege the English in Le Havre. The Council of Trent (which had opened on December 13, 1545) officially closes. It reaffirms all major Roman Catholic doctrines, and declares the Deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament to be canonical, along with the rest of the Bible. Chapter 1, Session 24, promulgates the decree Tametsi, stipulating that for a marriage to be valid, consent (the essence of marriage) as expressed in the vows has to be given publicly before witnesses, one of whom has to be the parish priest.
In the 1560s, the 16th century.
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
- February 1 – Sarsa Dengel succeeds his father Menas as Emperor of Ethiopia at age 14.source
- April 10 – Royal assent is given by Queen Elizabeth of England to parliamentary approval of multiple laws, including the Highways Act 1562 (requiring all householders in a parish to provide six days labor per year on building highways); the Poor Act 1562 (providing for fines for persons who refuse to contribute to a fund for relief of the poor); the Supremacy of the Crown Act 1562 (making refusal to swear allegiance to the monarch punishable as treason); and the Witchcraft Act 1562 (limiting the death penalty for witchcraft to cases where a defendant caused another person's death)source
- June 4 – The Parliament of Scotland passes the Witchcraft Act, making both the practice of witchcraft, and the act of consulting with witches, punishable by burning at the stake.source
Conflict & Security
- April–September 11 – Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, based in Armagh, campaigns against Shane O'Neill.Irelandsource
- May 5 (3rd day of 4th month, Eiroku 6) – The Battle of Yudokoru takes place in Japan at the Inaba Province (now the eastern Tottori Prefecture), as Takanobu Takeda defeats the shogun Toyokazu Yamana.source
- May 30 – At Bornholm, the Danish fleet fires on the Swedish navy, leading to a Danish defeat and precipitating the Northern Seven Years' War.source
- 7 June – The King's brother Duke John and his spouse are accused of treason in their absence.Swedensource
- July 28 – The English surrender Le Havre to the French after a siege.source
- 9 August – Northern Seven Years' WarSwedensource
- 12 August – Duke John and his spouse are arrested for treason after the Siege of Turku, and imprisoned at Gripsholm Castle.Swedensource
- August 13 – Northern Seven Years' War: Denmark–Norway and the Free City of Lübeck declare war against the Kingdom of Sweden.source
- 22 August – Danish occupation of Älvsborg.Swedensource
- September 4 – Northern Seven Years' War: King Frederick II of Denmark, advancing from Halland, takes Old Älvsborg from Sweden.source
- November 9 – The Army of Sweden, under the command of King Eric XIV, suffers a severe defeat in the Battle of Mared against the Army of Denmark, commanded by King Frederik II. In the battle, near what is now the city of Oskarström in Sweden, the Swedes suffer at least 2,500 casualties. The Swedish Army is able to retreat and rebuild, but the Danes plunder the village of Övraby, which is never rebuilt.source
- 9 November – Danish victory at the Battle of MaredSwedensource
- 30 December – Swedish commander Nils Persson is given the order to invade and pillage the Danish province of Blekinge.Swedensource
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
- January 11 (January 2, 1563 O.S., January 11, 1563 N.S.) – The convocation of bishops and clerics of the Church of England is opened at St Paul's Cathedral in London by the Dean of the Arches, Robert Weston to agree upon the wording of what will become the Thirty-nine Articles, with the assembly adopting all but three of the Forty-two Articles promulgated during the reign of King Edward VI in 1553. The conference lasts for three months before agreeing upon the Articles to be submitted for further modification.source
- March 19 – The Edict of Amboise is signed at the Château d'Amboise by Catherine de' Medici, acting as regent for her son Charles IX of France, having been negotiated between the Huguenot Louis I, Prince of Condé, and Anne, duc de Montmorency, Constable of France. It accords some toleration to the Huguenots, especially to aristocrats. It officially ends the first phase of the French Wars of Religion, and the combined Huguenot and royal armies then march north to besiege the English in Le Havre.source
- March 19 – Edict of Amboise is signed at the Château d'Amboise by Catherine de' Medici, acting as regent for her son Charles IX of France, having been negotiated between the Huguenot Louis, Prince of Condé, and Anne, duc de Montmorency, Constable of France, according some toleration to Huguenots, especially to aristocrats; this officially ends the first phase of the French Wars of Religion, and the combined Huguenot and royal armies then march north to besiege the English in Le HavreFrancesource
- May 18 – commission for administration of the Oath of Supremacy to all ecclesiastics and state servants.Irelandsource
- November 11 – The Council of Trent amends existing Roman Catholic canon law to deter unannounced marriages. In order for a marriage to be recognized by the Church, the names of the bride and groom are to be announced publicly in a chapel during Mass, and registered with the parish priests of both parties.source
- December 4 – The Council of Trent (which had opened on December 13, 1545) officially closes. It reaffirms all major Roman Catholic doctrines, and declares the Deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament to be canonical, along with the rest of the Bible. Chapter 1, Session 24, promulgates the decree Tametsi, stipulating that for a marriage to be valid, consent (the essence of marriage) as expressed in the vows has to be given publicly before witnesses, one of whom has to be the parish priest.source
Science & Discovery
Crime & Justice
Disasters & Accidents
- April 5 – The English galleon ship HMS Grehound strikes a sandbar off of the coast of Rye, East Sussex and sinks with all hands in the English Channel, including the Admiral of the Narrow Seas, John Malyn.source
- August 18 – Merchants from the Bungo Province destroy the Portuguese settlement in Yokoseura, Japansource
Climate & Environment
Culture & Society
- January 25 – In Italy, Instituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino, a constituent of the major financial group Sanpaolo IMI, is founded.source
- April 23 – The cornerstone is laid for the construction of El Escorial, the royal palace for the monarch of Spain. Construction will not be finished for 21 more years, with completion on September 13, 1584.source
- May 25 – Elizabeth College, Guernsey is founded, by order of Queen Elizabeth I of England.source
Births
- January 19 – Leonhard Hutter, German theologian (died 1616)source
- January 30 – Franciscus Gomarus, Dutch theologian (died 1641)source
- January – Penelope Blount, Countess of Devonshire, English noblewoman (died 1607)source
- March 5 – John Coke, English politician (died 1644)source
- April 15 – Guru Arjan Dev, fifth Sikh leader (died 1606)source
- 15 April – Guru Arjan Dev, Sikh guru, is born (dies 1606)Indiasource
- May – Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester, English administrator and soldier, Lord Deputy of Ireland (died 1625)Irelandsource
- June 1 – Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English statesman and spymaster (died 1612)source
- June 4 – George Heriot, Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist (died 1624)source
- September 4 – Wanli Emperor of China (died 1620)source
- September 30 – Enno III, Count of East Frisia, Count of Ostfriesland from 1599 to 1625 from the Cirksena family (died 1625)source
- October 13 – Francis Caracciolo, Italian Catholic priest (died 1608)source
- October 14 – Jodocus Hondius, Flemish artist (died 1633)source
- November 8 – Henry II, Duke of Lorraine (died 1624)Francesource
- November 19 – Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, English statesman (died 1626)source
- November 28 – Hosokawa Tadaoki, Japanese daimyō (died 1646)source
- December 19 – Lord William Howard, English nobleman (died 1640)source
- Steven van der Hagen, first admiral of the Dutch East India Company is born in Amersfoort (dies 1621)Indiasource
Deaths
- February 1 – Emperor Menas of Ethiopia (fever) (born 1559)source
- February 18 – François, Duke of Guise, is assassinated while besieging Orléans by Jean de Poltrot.source
- February 24 – François, Duke of Guise, French soldier and politician (shot) (born 1519)source
- March 2 – Ercole Gonzaga, Spanish Catholic cardinal (born 1505)source
- March 17 – Girolamo Seripando, Italian Catholic cardinal (born 1493)source
- March 28 – Heinrich Glarean, Swiss music theorist (born 1488)source
- April 30 – Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford, English baron (born 1501)source
- May 21 – Martynas Mažvydas, author of the first printed book in Lithuanian (born 1510)source
- June 10 – William Paget, 1st Baron Paget, English statesman (born 1506)source
- August 18 – Étienne de La Boétie, French judge and writer (born 1530)source
- August 18 – Étienne de La Boétie, judge, political philosopher and sonneteer (born 1530)Francesource
- August 30 – Wolfgang Musculus, German theologian (born 1497)source
- September 17 – Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, English soldier (born 1526)source
- December 29 – Sebastian Castellio, French theologian (born 1515)source
- December 29 – Sebastian Castellio, Calvinist preacher and theologian (born 1515)Francesource
- Ioan Iacob Heraclid, ruler of Moldavia (born 1511)source
- Gaspar Correia, a Portuguese historian and author of Lendas da Índia ( "Legends of India"), dies (born c. 1486)Indiasource
- Diarmuid Mac Bruideadha, poet.Irelandsource