1521
| Years: 1518 1519 1520 - 1521 - 1522 1523 1524 | |
| Decades: 1490s 1500s 1510s - 1520s - 1530s 1540s 1550s | |
| Centuries: 15th century - 16th century - 17th century | |
Events
- January 3 - Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther.
- January 28 - Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
- March 6 - Ferdinand Magellan discovers Guam.
- March 16 - Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Philippines.
- April 7 - Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Cebu.
- April 17 - 18 - Martin Luther speaks to emperor Charles V and the German Diet of Worms.
- April 26 - Martin Luther leaves Worms and disappears for a year - he is rumored to be murdered but really is in hiding.
- April 27 - Magellan killed in the Philippines.
- May - Outbreak of war between Emperor Charles and the King of France.
- May 20 - Battle of Pampeluna.
- May 25 - The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw.
- June 30 - Battle of Esquiroz - French forces under Henri d'Albret, exiled King of Navarre, are defeated by the Spanish and forced to abandon their attempt to recover Henri's kingdom.
- August 8 - Hernan Cortes and allied local Indians defeat Aztec forces of Cuautemoc, the last Aztec Emperor, in the Battle of Tenochtitlan.
- August 13 - Emperor Cuauhtémoc surrenders to Hernan Cortes.
- August 29 - Capture of Belgrade by the Turkish army of Suleiman I after a brave resistance.
- November 23 - Spanish-German-Papal forces under Prosper Colonna force French Marshal Odet de Lautrec to abandon Milan.
- Berengairo da Garbi notices appendix.
- The New Testament translated to English in part by William Tyndale.
Births
- May 8 - Petrus Canisius, Jesuit (died 1597)
- August 4 - Pope Urban VII (died 1590)
- December 13 - Pope Sixtus V (died 1590)
- Philippe de Monte, Flemish composer (died 1603)
- Anne Askew, English protestant martyr (died 1546)
- John Aylmer, English divine (died 1594)
- Leonardo Loredano, doge of the Republic of Venice
- Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma (died 1586)
- December 1 - Takeda Shingen, Japanese daimyo
- Thomas Chaloner, English statesman and poet (died 1565)
- Thomas Wyatt the younger, English rebel (died 1554)
Deaths
- April 27 - Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese explorer (born 1480)
- May 17 - Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (executed) (born 1477)
- August 27 - Josquin Des Prez, Flemish composer
- December 1 - Pope Leo X (born 1475)
- Piero di Cosimo, Italian artist (born 1462)
- Leonardo Loredano, Doge of Venice (born 1436)
- Edward Poyning, Lord Deputy to King Henry VII of England (born 1459)
- Juan Ponce de León, Spanish conquistador (born 1460)
- December 13 - Manuel I of Portugal
- May 10 - Sebastian Brant, German humanist and satirist (born 1457)
- Stephen Hawes, English poet (born 1502)
- June 15 - Tamás Bakócz, Hungarian archbishop (born 1442)
- April 20 - Zhengde Emperor of China (born 1491)