1554
| Years: 1551 1552 1553 - 1554 - 1555 1556 1557 | |
| Decades: 1520s 1530s 1540s - 1550s - 1560s 1570s 1580s | |
| Centuries: 15th century - 16th century - 17th century | |
Events
| Missing image Delaroche_Jane_Grey.jpg The Execution of Lady Jane Grey |
- 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 imprisoned in The Tower
- April 12 - Mary of Guise becomes Regent of Scotland
- July 23 - 25 - Wedding of Queen Mary I of England and King Philip of Naples, only son of Emperor Charles V in Winchester, England
- August 12 - Battle of Renty. French forces led by Francis, Duke of Guise turn back an invasion of Picardy by Charles V.
- The French forces in Siena surrender to the Imperialists after a long siege
- Mikael Agricola becomes the bishop of Turku
- Jesuits found Sao Paulo in Brazil
Births
- January 9 - Pope Gregory XV (died 1623)
- January 20 - Sebastian of Portugal (died 1578)
- March 26 - Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne (died 1611)
- May 20 - Paolo Bellasio, Italian composer (died 1594)
- November 30 - Sir Philip Sidney, English courtier and poet (died 1586)
- Jacques Bongars, French scholar and diplomatist (died 1612)
- Stephen Gosson, English satirist (died 1624)
- Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, English poet (died 1628)
- Richard Hooker, Anglican theologian (died 1600)
- James Lancaster, English navigator (died 1618)
- Sakuma Morimasa, Japanese nobleman
- Philip William of Orange (died 1618)
- Janusz Ostrogski, Polish noble (died 1620)
- Walter Raleigh, English writer, poet, spy and explorer (died 1618)
- Francis Throckmorton, conspirator against Queen Elizabeth I of England (died 1584)
- Wakisaka Yasuharu, Japanese nobleman
- Mikolaj Zebrzydowski, voivode of Lublin
Deaths
- January 1 - Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador (born 1500)
- January 2 - João de Portugal, eighth son of King John III of Portugal (born 1537)
- February 12 - Lady Jane Grey, claimant to the throne of England (executed) (born 1537)
- February 12 - Lord Guilford Dudley, son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland (born 1536)
- February 23 - Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, father of Lady Jane Grey (executed) (born 1515)
- March 3 - John Frederick, Elector of Saxony, called John the Magnanimous (born 1503)
- April 11 - Thomas Wyatt the younger, rebel leader during the reign of Queen Mary I of England (born 1521)
- September 22 - Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, Spanish conquistador (born 1510)
- October 18 - John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick, heir of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (born 1528)
- November 25 - Amago Kunihisa, Japanese nobleman
- December 22 - Alessandro Bonvicino, Italian painter
- Leo Africanus, Sudanese writer on Africa (born 1485)
- John Sutton, 3rd Baron Dudley, commonly known as Lord Quondam (born 1494)
- Christiern Pedersen, Danish humanist (born 1480)
- Sebastiano Serlio, Italian Mannerist architect (born 1475)
- John Taylor, Bishop of Lincoln (born 1503)