Major Events
- Jan 22 Ottoman forces take Cairo, capital of the Mamluk Sultanate
- Mar 16 Pope Leo X holds the last session of the Fifth Council of the Lateran, convoked to restore peace between Catholic rulers and assert the authority of Pope
- Apr 13 Ottoman army occupies Cairo
- May 19 Philip van Bourgondie installed as bishop of Utrecht
- Jun 11 British admiral Sir Thomas Pert reaches Hudson Bay
- Jul 1 1st burning of Protestants at the stake in the Netherlands
- Jul 1 Inquisitor Adrian Boeyens (pope Adrianus VI) becomes cardinal
- Jul 9 Gelderse crowd robber murders population of Asperen
- Aug 15 Seven Portuguese armed vessels led by Fernão Pires de Andrade meet Chinese officials at the Pearl River estuary.
- Oct 31 Martin Luther sends his Ninety-five Theses to Albert of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz, precipitating the Protestant Reformation
Born in 1517
- Jan 17 Antonio Scandello, Italian composer (Passion of John), born in Bergamo, Republic of Venice (d. 1580)
- Jan 31 Gioseffo Zarlino, Italian composer and musical theorist, born in Chioggia (d. 1590)
- Mar 29 Carlo Carafa, Italian cardinal, born in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, Spanish Empire (now Italy) (d. 1561)
- Jun 18 Emperor Ōgimachi, 106th Emperor of Japan (d. 1593)
- Jun 29 Rembert Dodoens [Rembert Van Joenckema], Flemish physician and botanist, born in Mechelen, Spanish Netherlands (d. 1585)
More People Born in 1517
Who Died in 1517
- Jan 1 Hermann Vischer, the Younger, German bronze merchant, dies at 31
- Mar 7 Maria of Aragon, queen of Portugal (1500-17), dies at 34
- Mar 26 Heinrich Isaac, Flemish composer, dies at about 67 [birth date uncertain, c. 1450]
- Apr 13 Tuman bay II, last Mamelukken sultan of Egypt, dies at 40
- Sep 24 Frederik IV, of Baden, bishop of Utrecht, dies
More 1517 Deaths
Articles About 1517
The Protestant Reformation
1517 copy of Martin Luther's 95 theses, the publication of which began the Protestant Reformation in EuropeOctober 15
Martin Luther Challenges the Money-Making Pope
Defiant monk Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a church door on this day, defying the Pope and changing the course of religious and cultural history.October 31
Martin Luther
Michelangelo
Raphael
Charles V
Francis I of France
Henry VIII