Events of 1585

January–June

• January 12 – The Netherlands adopts the Gregorian calendar.

• February – The Spanish seize Brussels.

• April 24 – Pope Sixtus V succeeds Pope Gregory XIII as the 227th pope.

July–December

• July 7 – The Treaty of Nemours forces King Henry III of France to capitulate to the demands of the Catholic League.

• August 8 – John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in his quest for the Northwest Passage.

• August 17 – Antwerp is captured by Spanish forces under the Prince of Parma, who orders Protestants to leave the city. As a result, over half of the 100.000 inhabitants flee to the northern provinces. Furthermore, upon hearing of the capture of Antwerp, a relief fleet send to raise the siege instead blockades the Schelde, preventing any and all ships from reaching Antwerp for two centuries. This effectively destroys Antwerps position as important trade city and de-facto capitol of the Dutch provinces. Its position is taken over by various northern cities, most prominently Amsterdam.

• August 17 – A first group of colonists under the charge of Ralph Lane lands in the New World to create Roanoke Colony. This group will depart the following June.

• August 20 – The Treaty of Nonsuch is signed, committing England to support the Dutch Revolt.

Undated

• The Eighth War of Religion (also known as the War of the Three Henrys) begins in France.

• Chocolate is introduced to Europe commercially.

• England enters the Eighty Years' War.

• Sir Walter Raleigh sends an expedition to establish a colony on Roanoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina. The settlers face many problems, and soon abandon the colony.

Births

• January 27 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (d. 1634)

• March 5 – John George I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1656)

• March 16 – Gerbrand Adriaensz Bredero, Dutch writer (d. 1618)

• March 22 – Krzysztof Radziwiłł, Polish nobleman (d. 1640)

• June 11 – Evert Horn, Swedish soldier (d. 1615)

• August 11 – Hamnet Shakespeare, Son of William Shakespeare

• September 9 – Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu, French statesman (d. 1642)

• October – John Ball, English puritan divine (d. 1640)

• October 9 – Heinrich Schütz, German composer (d. 1672)

• October 15 – Louis Cappel, French Protestant churchman and scholar (d. 1658)

• October 28 – Cornelius Jansen, French bishop of Ypres and religious reformer (d. 1638)

• November 1 – Jan Brożek, Polish mathematician, physician, and astronomer (d. 1652)

• December 4 – John Cotton, founder of Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1652)

• December 13 – William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet (d. 1649)

• date unknown

• *Zachary Boyd, Scottish religious writer (d. 1653)

• *Ambrose Barlow, Catholic priest and martyr (d. 1641)

• *Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara, Irish soldier (d. 1655)

• *Lucilio Vanini, Italian free-thinker (d. 1619)

• *Alexander Whitaker, Virginia Colony religious leader (d. 1616)

• probable

• *Uriel da Costa, Portuguese Jewish philosopher (d. 1640)

• *Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, Spanish novelist (d. 1638)

• *Francesco Fontana, Italian lawyer and astronomer (d. 1656)

• *Jacob Le Maire, Dutch mariner (d. 1616)

Deaths

• January 16 – Edward Fiennes Clinton, English admiral (b. 1512)

• February 6 – Edmund Plowden, English legal scholar (b. 1518)

• February 13 – Alfonso Salmeron, Spanish Jesuit biblical scholar (b. 1515)

• March 10 – Rembert Dodoens, Flemish physician and botanist (b. 1517)

• April 3 – Thomas Goldwell, English ecclesiastic

• April 10 – Pope Gregory XIII (b. 1502)

• May 15 – Niwa Nagahide, Japanese warlord (b. 1535)

• June 4 – Muretus, French humanist (b. 1526)

• June 21 – Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland (b. 1532)

• July 6 – Thomas Aufield, English Catholic martyr (b. 1552)

• July 28 – Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (b. 1527)

• August 5 – Yermak Timofeyevich, Cossack leader and explorer of Siberia

• November 23 – Thomas Tallis, English composer (b. c. 1510)

• November 28 – Hernando Franco, Spanish composer (b. 1532)

• December – Pierre de Ronsard, French poet (b. 1524)

• December 4 – John Willock, Scottish reformer (b. c. 1515)

• December 22 – Vittoria Accoramboni, Italian noblewoman (b. 1557)

• date unknown

• *Taqi al-Din, Turkish scientist (b. 1526)

• *Stanisław Lubomirski (XVI-1585), Polish nobleman