Major Events
- Jan 30 Adrian van Goes becomes land advocate of Holland
- Apr 14 Battle at Carignano: French troops under Earl d'Enghien beat Swiss
- May 1 Turkish troops occupy Hungary
- May 17 Scottish Earl of Lennox Matthew Stewart signs a secret treaty with English King Henry VIII
- May 23 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V recognizes King Christian III of Denmark
- Jul 19 Italian War of 1542: The Siege of Boulogne begins
- Aug 17 French city of Saint-Dizier seized by Imperial army of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V during Italian War (1842-46)
- Sep 18 English King Henry VIII's troops occupy Boulogne
- Sep 18 Peace of Crépy signed by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V & French King Francis I ending the Fourth Hapsburg-Valois War
- Sep 30 King of England Henry VIII draws his armies out of France
- More 1544 Events
Born in 1544
- Jan 19 Francis II, King of France (1559-60) and husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, born in Château de Fontainebleau, France (d. 1560)
- Mar 11 Torquato Tasso, Italian Renaissance poet (Aminta, Apologia), born in Sorrento, Kingdom of Naples (d. 1595)
- May 24 William Gilbert, English physician and physicist (research into magnetism), born in Colchester, England (d. 1603)
- Nov 27 Ascanio Trombeti, Italian composer, born in Bologna, Papal States (now Italy) (d. 1590)
- Dec 23 Anna, Duchess of Saxony, second wife of Prince William of Orange (1561-71) who was divorced and imprisoned for adultery, born in Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1577)
Who Died in 1544
- Mar 22 Johannes Magnus, last Catholic Archbishop of Sweden (b. 1488)
- Apr 30 Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, Lord Chancellor of England
- May 29 Jacobus Latomus [Jasques Masson], Belgian inquisitor, dies at about 68
- Jun 14 Antoine, Duke of Lorraine and military leader (freed the Duchy of Lorraine from the Holy Roman Empire), dies at 55
- Jul 18 René van Chalon, viceroy of Holland, dies in battle at 25
More 1544 Deaths
Martin Luther
Michelangelo
Charles V
Francis I of France
Henry VIII
Suleiman the Magnificent