Major Events
- Jan 18 King Naresuan of Siam kills Crown Prince Minchit Sra of Burma in single combat, date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day
- Jan 27 Scottish schoolmaster Dr. John Fian burned for witchcraft at Castle Hill, Edinburgh by order King James VI. Part of the Berwick witch trials.
- Feb 3 German monarchy forms Protestant Union of Torgau
- Mar 1 Pope Gregory XIV threatens to excommunicate French King Henry IV
- Mar 13 Battle at Tondibi: Moroccan army under Judar [Jawdar] defeats Sultan Askia Ishaq II of Songhai
- Apr 19 The French city of Chartres surrenders to King Henry IV
- May 30 Spanish troops in Zutphen surrender to Dutch and English forces under Maurice of Nassau
- Jun 20 Forces of Maurice and William Louis of Nassau occupy Dutch city of Deventer
- Aug 19 French King Henry IV occupies Rouen
- Sep 9 -10] Battle at Flores Azores: Spanish beat English
- More 1591 Events
Born in 1591
- Jan 11 Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, English Parliamentarian and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army during the English Civil War, born in England (d. 1646)
- Jan 12 Jusepe de Ribera, Spanish painter and printmaker nicknamed "Lo Spagnoletto / the Little Spaniard", born in Xàtiva, Spain (d. 1652)
- Feb 25 Friedrich von Spee, German writer (d. 1635)
- Mar 15 Alexandre de Rhodes, French Jesuit missionary (d. 1660)
- May 26 Dirck Janszoon Sweelinck, Dutch composer, baptized in Amsterdam, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (d. 1652)
More People Born in 1591
Who Died in 1591
- Jan 7 Jacobus de Kerle, French Flemish composer, dies at about 59
- Jan 19 Edmond Auger, French jesuit (under Henri III), dies at about 60
- Feb 5 Gerard de Jode, Flemish publisher and cartographer, dies at about 82
- May 15 Dmitry Ivanovitch, youngest son of Russian Tsar Ivan IV, murdered at 8
- May 17 Jost Amman, Swiss cartoonist, graphic artist and illustrator, dies at 51
More 1591 Deaths
William Shakespeare
Elizabeth I
Philip II of Spain