As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 through 1600.

''See also:'' 16th century in literature

1500s

1500s: Mississippian culture disappears.

1501: Safavid dynasty rules Iran until 1736.

1503: Leonardo da Vinci begins painting the ''Mona Lisa'' and completes it three or four years later.

1506: Christopher Columbus dies in Valladolid, Spain.

1509: The Battle of Diu marks the beginning of Portuguese dominance of the Spice trade.

1510s

1513: The Portuguese mariner Jorge Álvares lands at Macau, China, during the Ming Dynasty.

1514: The Battle of Orsha halts Muscovy's expansion into Eastern Europe.

1515: The Ottoman Empire wrests Eastern Anatolia from the Safavids after the Battle of Chaldiran.

1516-17: The Ottomans defeat the Mamluks and gain control of Egypt, Arabia, and the Levant.

1517: The Protestant Reformation begins when Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses in Saxony.

1518: Mir Chakar Khan Rind left Baluchistan and settled in Punjab.

1519: Leonardo da Vinci died of natural causes at May 2.

1519: Wang Yangming, the Chinese philosopher and governor of Jiangxi province, describes his intent to use the fire power of the ''fo-lang-ji'', a breech-loading Portuguese culverin, in order to suppress the rebellion of Prince Zhu Chen-hao.

1519-21: Hernán Cortés leads the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

1519-22: Spanish expedition commanded by Magellan and Elcano first to circle Earth

1520s

1520-1650: Commercial Revolution in Europe

1520-66: The reign of Suleiman the Magnificent marks the zenith of the Ottoman Empire.

1521: Belgrade is captured by the Ottoman Empire.

1521: After building fortifications at Tuen Mun, the Portuguese attempt to invade Ming Dynasty China, but are expelled by Chinese naval forces.

1523: Sweden gains independence from the Kalmar Union.

1524-25: Peasants' War in the Holy Roman Empire.

1526: The Ottomans conquer the Kingdom of Hungary at the Battle of Mohács.

1526: Mughal Empire, founded by Babur, rules India until 1739 and hold titles until 1857.

1527: Sack of Rome is considered the end of the Italian Renaissance.

1527: Protestant Reformation begins in Sweden.

1529: The Siege of Vienna marks the Ottoman Empire's furthest advance into Europe.

1530s

1531-32: The Church of England breaks away from the Roman Catholic Church and recognizes King Henry VIII as the head of the Church.

1532: Francisco Pizarro leads the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.

1534: Jacques Cartier claims Quebec for France.

1534: The Ottomans capture Baghdad.

1539: Hernando de Soto explores inland North America

1540s

1543: The Nanban trade period begins after Portuguese traders make contact with Japan.

1550s

1550-1551: Valladolid debate concerning the existence of souls in Amerindians

1552: Russia conquers the Khanate of Kazan.

1553: Portuguese founded a settlement at Macau.

1555: The Muscovy Company is the first major English joint stock trading company.

1556: Publication in Venice of Delle Navigiationi et Viaggi (terzo volume) by Giovanni Battista Ramusio, secretary of Council of Ten, with plan La Terra de Hochelaga, an illustration of Indian village Hochelaga. See http://jacquescartier.org/plan-hochelaga/index.html

1556: The Shaanxi Earthquake in China is history's deadliest known earthquake.

1556: Georgius Agricola, the "Father of Mineralogy", publishes his ''De re metallica''.

1556: Russia conquers the Astrakhan Khanate.

1556-1605: During his reign, Akbar expands the Mughal Empire in a series of conquests.

1556: Mir Chakar Khan Rind captured Delhi with Emperor Humayun.

1556: Pomponio Algerio, radical theologian, is executed by boiling in oil as part of the Roman inquisition.

1557: The Portuguese settle in Macau.

1558-1603: The Elizabethan era is considered the height of the English Renaissance.

1558-83: Livonian War between Poland, Grand Principality of Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark and Russia.

1558: After 200 years, the Kingdom of England loses Calais to France.

1559: With the Peace of Cateau Cambrésis, the Italian Wars conclude.

1560s

1560: Erzsebet Bathory is born in Nyirbator, Hungary.

1561: Guido de Bres draws up the Belgic Confession of Protestant faith.

1562: Mughal leader Akbar reconciles the Muslim and Hindu factions by marrying into the powerful Rajput Hindu caste.

1562-98: French Wars of Religion between Catholics and Huguenots.

1562: Massacre of Wassy and Battle of Dreux in the French Wars of Religion.

1564: William Shakespeare baptized April 26

1565: Mir Chakar Khan Rind died age of 97.

1566-1648: Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Netherlands.

1567: Rising of the Northern Earls in England

1568-1600: The Azuchi-Momoyama period in Japan.

1569: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is created with the Union of Lublin which lasts until 1795.

1570s

1571: Pope Pius V completes the Holy League as a united front against the Ottoman Turks.

1571: The Holy League defeats a force of Ottoman galleys in the Battle of Lepanto.

1571: Spanish missionaries are murdered by Indians at the later Jamestown Settlement, Virginia.

1572: Brielle is taken from Habsburg Spain by Protestant Watergeuzen in the Capture of Brielle, in the Eighty Years' War.

1572: Spanish conquistadores apprehend the last Inca leader Tupak Amaru at Vilcabamba, Peru, and execute him in Cuzco.

1572: Catherine de' Medici instigates the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre which takes the lives of Protestant leader Gaspard de Coligny and thousands of Huguenots. The violence spreads from Paris to other cities and the countryside.

1577-80: Francis Drake circles the World

1579: The Union of Utrecht unifies the northern Netherlands, a foundation for the later Dutch Republic.

1580: Drake's royal reception after his attacks on Spanish possessions, influences Philip II of Spain to build up the Spanish Armada. English ships in Spanish harbours are impounded.

1580: Spain unifies with Portugal under Philip II. The struggle for the throne of Portugal ends the Portuguese Empire. The Spanish and Portuguese crowns are united for 60 years, i.e. until 1640.

1580s

1582: Pope Gregory XIII issues the Gregorian calendar.

1582: Yermak Timofeyevich conquers the Siberia Khanate on behalf of the Stroganovs.

1584-85: After the Siege of Antwerp, many of its merchants flee to Amsterdam.

1585-1604: The Anglo-Spanish War is fought on both sides of the Atlantic.

1588: England repulses the Spanish Armada.

1589: Spain repulses the English Armada.

1590s

1592-98: Korea, with the help of Ming Dynasty China, repelled two Japanese invasions.

1598: The Edict of Nantes ended the French Wars of Religion.

1598-1613: Russia descended into anarchy during the Time of Troubles.

Significant people

Henry VII of England, founder of the Tudor dynasty. Introduced ruthlessly efficient mechanisms of taxation which restored the kingdom after a state of virtual bankruptcy due to the effects of the Wars of the Roses (1457 - 1509).

Leonardo da Vinci famous artist and inventor and scientist (1452 – 1519).

Pedro Álvares Cabral, first European to arrive in Brazil in 22 April, 1500 (c. 1467 - 1520).

Zygmunt I the Old, King of Poland, established a conscription army and the bureaucracy needed to finance it (1467 - 1548).

Vasco da Gama, Portuguese navigator, first one to sail around the Cape of Good Hope (c. 1469 - 1524).

György Dózsa, leader of the peasants' revolt in Hungary (1470 - 1514)

Nicolaus Copernicus, developed the heliocentric (Sun-centered) theory using scientific methods (1473 - 1543).

Michelangelo Buonarroti, Italian painter and sculptor (1475 - 1564)..

Thomas More, English politician and author (1478 - 1535).

Ferdinand Magellan Portuguese navigator who sailed around the world (1480 - 1521).

Martin Luther, German religious reformer (1483 - 1546).

Hernán Cortés, Spanish Conquistador (1485 - 1547).

King Henry VIII of England, founder of Anglicanism (1491 - 1547).

Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (1491 - 1556).

François Rabelais, French author (c. 1493 - 1553).

King Francis I of France, considered the first Renaissance monarch of his Kingdom (1494 - 1547).

Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Conqueror and legal reformer (1494 - 1566).

King Gustav I of Sweden, restored Swedish sovereignty and introduced Protestantism in Sweden (1496-1560).

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and the first to reign as King of Spain. Involved in almost constant conflict with France and the Ottoman Empire while promoting the Spanish colonization of the Americas (1500 - 1558).

Cuauhtémoc, the last Tlatoani of the Aztec, led the native resistance against the Conquistadores (1502 - 1525).

Michel Nostradamus, French astrologer and doctor, author of Les Propheties, a book of world prophecies (1503 - 1566).

Qiu Ying, Chinese painter who belonged to the Wu School and used gongbi brush style (1494 - 1552)

Mikolaj Rej, Polish writer (1505 - 1569).

Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi, Somali Imam and general (1507 - 1543).

John Calvin, theologian, and reformer. Founder of Calvinism (1509 - 1564).

Mary I of England. Attempted to counter the Protestant Reformation in her domains. Nick-named Bloody Mary for her Religious persecution (1516 - 1558).

Luís de Camões, Portuguese poet (c. 1524 –1580).

Pierre de Ronsard, French poet. Called the 'Prince of poets' of his generation. (1524 – 1585).

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian Composer (1525 - 1594)

King Philip II of Spain, self-proclaimed leader of Counter-Reformation (1527 - 1598).

Ivan IV of Russia, first Russian tsar (1533-1584).

William the Silent, William I of Orange-Nassau, main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish (1533-1584).

Wanli Emperor, Emperor of China during the Ming Dynasty, aided Korea in the Imjin War, (1563 - 1620)

Michel de Montaigne, French essayist (1533 – 1592).

Elizabeth I of England, central figure of the Elizabethan era (1533 - 1603).

Oda Nobunaga , daimyo of the Sengoku period of Japanese civil war. First ruler of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1534 - 1582).

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , daimyo of the Sengoku period of Japanese civil war. Second ruler of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1536 - 1598).

Edward VI of England, notable for further differentiating Anglicanism from the practices of the Roman Catholic Church (1537 - 1553).

Lady Jane Grey, Queen regnant of England and Ireland. Notably deposed by popular revolt (1537 - 1554).

Mary I of Scotland, First female head of the House of Stuart (1542 - 1587).

Admiral Yi Sun-sin , Korean admiral, respected as one of the greatest admirals in world history. (1545 - 1598).

Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish author (1547 - 1616).

Giordano Bruno, Italian philosopher and astronomer/astrologer (1548 - 1600).

King Henry IV of France and Navarre, ended the French Wars of Religion and reunited the kingdom under his command (1553 - 1610).

Michael the Brave, ruler of Walachia, national symbol of Romanians for uniting the three provinces under his rule in 1600 (1558 - 1601)

Lope and special litlle Lilliann de Vega, Spanish dramatist (1562 – 1635).

Christopher Marlowe, English poet and dramatist (1564 – 1593).

William Shakespeare, English author (1564 - 1616).

John Donne, English metaphysical poet (1572 - 1631)

Miyamoto Musashi, famous warrior in Japan, author of The Book of Five Rings, a treaty on strategy and martial combat. (1584 - 1645)

Giovanni Battista Ramusio, diplomat and secretary of council of Ten of Venice Italy, author of Delle Navigationi et Viaggi. Third volume (terzo volume) containing plan La Terra de Hochelaga showing village of Hochelaga (1585 - 1657). See http://jacquescartier.org/ramusio/index.html

John Ford, English dramatist (1586 - c. 1640).

Matteo Ricci, Italian Jesuit who traveled to Macau, China in 1582, and died in Beijing, (1552 - 1610)

Andrea Amati, (ca. 1520 – ca. 1578) was the earliest maker of violins whose instruments still survive today.

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

: ''Related article: List of 16th century inventions.''

The Columbian Exchange introduces many plants, animals and diseases to the Old and New Worlds.

Introduction of the spinning wheel revolutionizes textile production in Europe.

Modern square root symbol (√ )

The letter J is introduced into the English alphabet.

Copernicus publishes his theory that the Earth and the other planets revolve around the Sun (1543)

Gregorian Calendar adopted by Catholic countries (1582)

1513: Juan Ponce de León sights Florida and Vasco Núñez de Balboa sights the eastern edge of the Pacific Ocean.

1519-22: Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano lead the first circumnavigation of the World.

1519-1540: In America, Hernando de Soto expeditions map the Gulf of Mexico coastline and bays.

1540: Francisco Vásquez de Coronado sights the Grand Canyon.

1541-42: Francisco de Orellana sails the length of the Amazon River.

1559-1562: Spanish settlements in Alabama/Florida and Georgia confirm dangers of hurricanes and local native warring tribes.

1565: Spanish settlers outside New Spain (Mexico) colonize Florida's coastline at St. Augustine.

1597: Opera in Florence by Jacopo Peri.

1500: First portable watch is created by Peter Henlein of Germany.

1545: Theory of complex numbers is first developed by Gerolamo Cardamo of Italy.

1558: Camera obscura is first used by Giambattista della Porta of Italy.

1565: Invention of the graphite pencil (in a wooden holder) by Conrad Gesner. Modernized in 1812.

1568: Gerardus Mercator creates the first Mercator Projection map.

1572: Supernova SN 1572 is observed by Tycho Brahe in the Milky Way.

1582: Gregorian calendar is introduced in Europe by Pope Gregory XIII.

c. 1583: Galileo Galilei of Pisa, Italy identifies the constant swing of a pendulum, leading to development of reliable timekeepers.

1585: earliest known reference to the 'sailing carriage' in China.

1589: William Lee invents the stocking frame.

1591: First flush toilet is introduced by Sir John Harrington of England, the design published under the title 'The Metamorphosis of Ajax'.

1593 - Galileo Galilei invents a thermometer.

1596: William Barents discovers Spitsbergen.