Events of 1554

April 12: Mary of Guise.

January–June

• January 5 – A great fire breaks out in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

• January 25 – São Paulo, Brazil is founded.

• February – Thomas Wyatt surrenders to government forces in London.

• February 12 – After claiming the throne of England the previous year, Lady Jane Grey is beheaded for treason alongside her husband.

• March 17 – Princess Elizabeth is imprisoned in The Tower.

• April 12 – Mary of Guise becomes Regent of Scotland.

• May 21 – A Royal Charter is granted to Derby School at Derby, England.

July–December

August 2: Battle of Marciano in Tuscany.

• July 23 – 25 – Queen Mary I of England marries King Philip of Naples, the only son of Emperor Charles V, in Winchester, England.

• August 2 – Battle of Marciano: Senese–French forces are defeated by the Florentine–Imperial army.

• August 12 – Battle of Renty: French forces led by Francis, Duke of Guise turn back an invasion of Picardy by Charles V.

Undated

• Mikael Agricola becomes the bishop of Turku.

• Saadi conquer the Kingdom of Fez

Births

• January 9 – Pope Gregory XV (d. 1623)

• January 20 – King Sebastian of Portugal (d. 1578)

• March – Richard Hooker, Anglican theologian (d. 1600)

• March 26 – Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, French military leader (d. 1611)

• April – Stephen Gosson, English satirist (d. 1624)

• May 20 – Paolo Bellasio, Italian composer (d. 1594)

• July 5 – Elisabeth of Austria, Queen consort of France (d. 1592)

• October 3 – Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, English poet (d. 1628)

• November 30 – Sir Philip Sidney, English courtier and poet (d. 1586)

• December 19 – Philip William, Prince of Orange (d. 1618)

• date unknown

• *Jacques Bongars, French scholar and diplomat (d. 1612)

• *James Lancaster, English navigator (d. 1618)

• *Walter Raleigh, English writer, poet, and explorer (d. 1618)

• *Francis Throckmorton, English conspirator (d. 1584)

Deaths

• January 1 – Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador (b. c. 1500)

• January 16 – Christiern Pedersen, Danish humanist (b. c. 1480)

• February 12

• *Lord Guilford Dudley, consort of Lady Jane Grey (executed) (b. 1536)

• *Lady Jane Grey, claimant to the throne of England (executed) (b. 1537)

• February 21 – Hieronymus Bock, German botanist (b. 1498)

• February 23 – Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English politician (executed) (b. c.1515)

• March 3 – John Frederick, Elector of Saxony (b. 1503)

• April 11 – Thomas Wyatt the Younger, English rebel (executed) (b. 1521)

• August 25 – Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, English politician (b. 1473)

• September 22 – Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, Spanish conquistador (b. c. 1510)

• December 22 – Alessandro Bonvicino, Italian painter (b. 1498)

• date unknown

• *Leo Africanus, Sudanese writer (b. 1485)

• *Sebastiano Serlio, Italian architect (b. 1475)

• *John Taylor, Bishop of Lincoln (b. 1503)