Mar 31 Henry II succeeds François I as king of France

Sep 29 The birth of Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish novelist

Feb 20 King Edward VI of England was enthroned following death of Henry VIII

Feb 03 Russian czar Ivan IV (17) marries Anastasia Romanova

May 19 Monarch Johan Frederik surrenders to Karel

May 16 Protestant German monarch surrenders to Karel in Wittenberg

Jan 16 Ivan the Terrible crowns himselfst tsar of Russia

Jan 13 Earl Henry Howard of Surrey sentenced to death

Jan 16 Ivan IV the Terrible (17) crowns himself first tsar of Russia

Jan 16 Ivan the Terrible is crowned Czar of Russia.

Jan 28 King Henry the Eighth of England dies and is succeeded by his nine-year-old son, Edward the Sixth.