Events of 1576

January–June

• May 5 – The Peace of Beaulieu or Peace of Monsieur (after Monsieur, the Duc d'Anjou, brother of the King, who negotiated it) ends the Fifth War of Religion. Once again, the Protestants are granted freedom of worship.

July–December

• August 11 – English navigator Martin Frobisher, on his search for the Northwest Passage, enters the bay now named after him.

• November 2 – Rudolf II becomes Holy Roman Emperor.

• November 4 – Eighty Years' War: In Belgium, Mutinous Spanish soldiers Sack Antwerp (after three days, the city is nearly destroyed).

• November 8 – Eighty Years' War – Pacification of Ghent: The States-General of the Netherlands meet and unite to oppose pillaging Spanish mutineers.

Undated

• The Sixth War of Religion begins in France.

• An early example of autobiography is written in English by Thomas Wythorne.

• Dartford Grammar School is founded by William d'Aeth, Edward Gwyn and William Vaughn.

• Sutton Valence School is founded by William Lambe.

Births

• January 12 – Petrus Scriverius, Dutch writer and scholar (d. 1660)

• March 31 – Louise Juliana of Nassau, Regent of Bohemia (d. 1644)

• May 27 – Caspar Schoppe, German controversialist and scholar (d. 1649)

• June 6 – Giovanni Diodati, Swiss Protestant divine (d. 1649)

• October – Thomas Weelkes, English composer and organist (d. 1626)

• October 7 – John Marston, English writer (d. 1634)

• October 12 – Thomas Dudley, Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony (d. 1652)

• November 17 – Roque Gonzales, Paraguayan missionary (d. 1628)

• November 27 – Shimazu Tadatsune, Japanese ruler of Satsuma (d. 1638)

• December 20 – Saint John Sarkander, Moravian priest (d. 1620)

• date unknown

• *William Ames, English Protestant philosopher (d. 1633)

• *Scipione Borghese, Italian art collector (d. 1633)

• *John Carver, first governor of Plymouth Colony (d. 1621)

• *Enrico Caterino Davila, Italian historian (d. 1631)

• *Giulio Cesare la Galla, professor of philosophy at the Collegio Romano in Italy (d. 1624)

• *Santino Solari, Swiss architect and sculptor (d. 1646)

• probable – Jesper Mattson Cruus af Edeby, Swedish soldier and politician (d. 1622)

Deaths

• January 19 – Hans Sachs, German Meistersinger (b. 1494)

• January 27 – Mizuno Nobumoto, Japanese shogun

• February 10 – Guilielmus Xylander, German classical scholar (b. 1532)

• March 5 – Luis de Zúñiga y Requesens, Spanish governor of the Netherlands (b. 1528)

• May 30 – Harada Naomasa, Japanese samurai

• July 2 – Josias Simmler, Swiss theologian and classicist (b. 1530)

• August 15 – Bálint Bakfark, Hungarian composer and lutenist (b. 1507)

• August 27 – Titian, Italian painter (b. c. 1489)

• September 21 – Gerolamo Cardano, Italian mathematician, physician, astrologer and gambler (b. 1502)

• September 22 – Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex (b. 1541)

• October 12 – Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1527)

• date unknown

• *Aloysius Lilius, Italian physician (b. 1510)

• *Tahmasp I, Shah of Persia (b. 1514)

• probable

• *Anthony More, Dutch portrait painter (b. 1512)

• *Nicola Vicentino, Italian music theorist and composer (b. 1511)