1546
Year 1546 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.Events
January–June
- May 19 - The Siege of Kawagoe Castle ends in defeat for the Uesugi clan, in their attempt to regain Kawagoe Castle from the Late Hōjō clan in Japan.
- June 7 - The Treaty of Ardres is signed, resulting in peace between the kingdoms of England and France, ending the Italian War of 1542–1546.
July–December
- July 10 - The Schmalkaldic War, a political struggle between imperial forces under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Lutheran forces of the Schmalkaldic League, begins.
- November 4 - Christ Church, Oxford, is refounded as a college by Henry VIII of England under this name.
- December 19 - Trinity College, Cambridge, is founded by Henry VIII of England.
Date unknown
- Katharina von Bora flees to Magdeburg.
- Michelangelo is made chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
- The Spanish conquest of Yucatán is completed.
Births
January 27 - Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg February 1 - Mogami Yoshiaki, Japanese daimyō of the Yamagata domain February 4 - Jakob Monau, Polish writer and linguist February 14 - Johann Pistorius, German historian March 16 - Francesco Barbaro, Italian diplomat March 21 - Bartholomeus Spranger, Flemish painter March 25 - Giacomo Castelvetro, Italian writer March 27 - Johannes Piscator, German theologian March 29 - Anne d'Escars de Givry, French Catholic cardinal April 1 - Nanbu Nobunao, Japanese daimyō April 20 - Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas, Spanish Catholic cardinal June 13 - Tobias Matthew, English Archbishop of York June 14 - Wolfgang, Count of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim, German count June 24 - Robert Parsons, English Jesuit priest June 29 - Dorothea of Denmark, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg July 4 - Murat III, Ottoman Sultan August 10 - Juliana of Nassau-Dillenburg, Dutch prince August 13 - Jan Opaliński, Polish nobleman and Castellan of Rogozin August 31 - Daniel Adam z Veleslavína, Czech lexicographer September 6 - Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, 5th Marquis of Villafranca, Spanish noble and politician September 11 - Arild Huitfeldt, Danish historian September 13 - Isabella Bendidio, Italian singer and noble in Renaissance court of Ferrara October 5 - Rudolph Snellius, Dutch linguist and mathematician October 5 - Cyriakus Schneegass, German hymnwriter November 11 - Richard Madox, English explorer December 14 - Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer date unknown* William Barclay, Scottish jurist * Luca Bati, Italian Baroque composer * Philippe Desportes, French poet * Thomas Digges, English astronomer * Takeda Katsuyori, Japanese nobleman * Mikołaj VII Radziwiłł, Polish magnate probable - Lodewijk Elzevir, Dutch printerDeaths
January 11 * Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg * Gaudenzio Ferrari, Italian painter and sculptor February 18 - Martin Luther, German religious reformer February 23 - Francis, Count of Enghien, French military leader March 1 - George Wishart, Scottish religious reformer March 26 - Thomas Elyot, English diplomat and scholar April 7 - Friedrich Myconius, German Lutheran theologian May 17 - Philipp von Hutten, German explorer May 28 - Ottaviano de' Medici, Italian politician May 29 - David Beaton, Scottish Catholic cardinal June 13 - Fridolin Sicher, Swiss composer July 4 - Khair ad Din "Barbarossa", corsair ruler of Algiers July 9 - Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell, Scottish statesman July 16 - Anne Askew, English Protestant August 1 - Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian August 3* Étienne Dolet, French scholar and printer * Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect August 12 - Francisco de Vitoria, Renaissance theologian November 1 - Giulio Romano, Italian painter