Major Events
- Jan 23 Shaanxi Earthquake, the deadliest ever recorded, kills 830,000 in Shaanxi Province, China
- Nov 5 Second Battle of Panipat: Hindu Emperor of north India Hem Chandra Vikramaditya defeated by forces of Mughal Emperor Akbar, who captures and later beheads Hem Chandra
- More 1556 Events
Born in 1556
- Jan 8 Uesugi Kagekatsu, Japanese samurai daimyō, born in Echigo Province (d. 1623)
- Jan 27 Abbas I, Abbas the Great, Shah of Persia who made Eṣfahān his capital (1588-1629), born in Herat, Safavid Iran (d. 1629)
- Feb 7 Maria van Nassau, Dutch countess of Buren (d. 1616)
- Feb 21 Sethus Calvisius, German composer, born in Gorsleben, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1615)
- Mar 7 Guillaume du Vair, French writer and thinker, born in Paris (d. 1621)
More People Born in 1556
Who Died in 1556
- Mar 19 Lieven van der Maude [Livius Ammonius], South Netherland poet and Carthusian monk, dies at 70
- Mar 21 Thomas Cranmer, English reformer, Archbishop of Canterbury (1533-55), burned at stake at 66
- Apr 18 Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet (Flora, Antigone), dies at 61
- May 28 Saitō Dōsan, Japanese daimyo (b. 1494?)
- Jun 10 Martin Agricola [M Sore], German composer/cantor, dies
More 1556 Deaths
Charles V
Henry II
Philip II of Spain
Suleiman the Magnificent