What Happened in 1516

Major Events

  • Feb 19 Consecration of Henry VII's Lady Chapel, part of Westminster Abbey, called "one of the most perfect buildings ever erected in England" [1]
  • Mar 1 Printing is completed of Erasmus' "Novum Instrumentum omne", first published New Testament in Greek
  • Apr 6 A Willaert installed as singer of cardinal Ippolito I d'Este
  • Apr 10 1st Jewish ghetto established: Venice compels Jews to live in a specific area
  • Apr 23 Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria endorses "The German Beer Purity Law" (Reinheitsgebot) and adds to it standards for the sale of beer in Bavaria, ensuring beer is only brewed from three ingredients – water, malt and hops
  • Aug 13 The Treaty of Noyon between France and Spain is signed. Francis recognises Charles's claim to Naples, and Charles recognises Francis's claim to Milan.
  • Aug 24 Battle of Marj Dabiq: Ottoman forces decisively beat the Mamluk Sultanate
  • Oct 28 Battle of Yaunis Khan: Turkish forces under the Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha defeat the Mameluks near Gaza
  • Nov 29 Treaty of Freiburg: French/Swiss "eternal" peace treaty

Born in 1516

  • Jan 1 Margaret Leijonhufvud, Queen of Gustav I of Sweden (d. 1551)
  • Feb 18 Mary I Tudor [Bloody Mary], Queen of England (1553-58), born in Greenwich, England (d. 1558)
  • Mar 26 Conrad Gessner, Swiss physician and naturalist, born in Zürich, Switzerland (d. 1565)
  • Apr 23 Georg Fabricius, German poet, historian and archaeologist, born in Chemnitz, Germany (d. 1571)
  • Oct 23 Charlotte of Valois, Princess of France as second daughter of King Francis I and his wife Claude, born in Château d'Amboise, France (d. 1524)


More 1516 Deaths