1562
| Years: 1559 1560 1561 - 1562 - 1563 1564 1565 | |
| Decades: 1530s 1540s 1550s - 1560s - 1570s 1580s 1590s | |
| Centuries: 15th century - 16th century - 17th century | |
Events
- Earliest English slave-trading expedition under John Hawkins. The expedition goes between Guinea and the West Indies
- January 6 - Earl of Tyrone ends his first rebellion by surrendering to Queen Elizabeth I of England
- January 17 - Huguenots were recognized under the Edict of Saint-Germain
- March 1 - Over 1,000 Huguenots are massacred by the ultra-Catholic Francis, Duke of Guise in Wassy-sur-Blaise marking the start of the First War of Religion in France. Protestant forces led by Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Condé and Gaspard de Coligny quickly seize control of Orleans, Rouen, and other cities throughout France.
- May 1 Jean Ribault, French navigator, lands in Florida and later establishes a Huguenot colony at Charlesfort
- May 26 - Earl of Tyrone leads a second rebellion in Ireland
- September 20 - English forces under John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, land in Le Havre to aid the Huguenots.
- September 22 - Maximilian, son of the Emperor Ferdinand I, succeeds as King of Bohemia.
- October 26 - Rouen is captured by Royalist forces under Antoine de Bourbon, King of Navarre, who is mortally wounded.
- November 5 - In Scotland, the rebellion of George Gordon, Earl of Huntly is crushed by James Stewart, Earl of Moray at Corrichie.
- November 20 - Maximilian of Bohemia is elected King of the Romans.
- December 19 - Battle of Dreux. An indecisive battle between Huguenots forces under Condé and Coligny, and Catholic forces under Anne de Montmorency and Guise. Notable is that the official leaders of both armies - Condé and Montmorency - were captured in the battle.
Births
- January 12 - Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, surnamed the Great (died 1630)
- January 13 - Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet and soldier of fortune (died 1601)
- July 25 - Kato Kiyomasa, Japanese samurai (died 1611)
- July 25 - Kato Kiyomasa, Japanese daimyo (died 1611)
- August 17 - (baptised) - Hans Leo Hassler, German composer (died 1612)
- October 4 - Christian Sřrensen Longomontanus, Danish astronomer (died 1647)
- October 19 - George Abbot, English divine (died 1633)
- November 25 - Lope de Vega, Spanish poet and dramatist (died 1635)
- Isabella Andreini, Italian actress (died 1604)
- Pietro Bernini, Italian sculptor (died 1629)
- John Bull, English composer (died 1628)
- Henry Constable, English poet (died 1613)
- Samuel Daniel, English poet and historian (died 1619)
- Bartholomäus Gesius, German theologian and composer
- Francis Godwin, English writer and prelate (died 1633)
- Cornelis van Haarlem, Dutch painter
- George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly (died 1636)
- Juan Jauregui, attempted assassin of William I of Orange (died 1582)
- Natsuka Masaie, Japanese daimyo
- Richard Neile, English churchman (died 1640)
- Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich (died 1607)
- Ottavio Rinuccini, Italian composer (died 1621)
- Henry Spelman, English antiquary (died 1641)
- Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Dutch composer (died 1621)
- Maeda Toshinaga, Japanese nobleman (died 1614)
Deaths
- January 9 - Amago Haruhisa, Japanese samurai and warlord (born 1514)
- May 14 - Lelio Sozini, Italian protestant theologian (born 1525)
- October 9 - Gabriele Falloppio, Italian anatomist (born 1523)
- November 12 - Pietro Martire Vermigli, Italian theologian (born 1500)
- November 17 - Antoine de Bourbon, father of Henry IV of France (born 1518)
- December 7 - Adrian Willaert, Flemish composer (born 1490)
- Thomas Appleby, English organist and composer of church music
- Matteo Bandello, Italian novelist (born 1480)
- Nicholas Grimald, English poet and theologian (born 1519)
- George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly (born 1514)
- Jan van Scorel, Dutch painter (born 1495)
- Claudin de Sermisy, French composer
- Elzbieta Szydlowiecka, Polish noblewoman (born 1533)