1553

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	15th century – 16th century – 17th century
Decades:	1520s 1530s 1540s – 1550s – 1560s 1570s 1580s
Years:	1550 1551 1552 – 1553 – 1554 1555 1556

1553 in topic:
Subjects: Archaeology – Architecture – Art –
Literature – Music – Poetry – Science
Leaders: State leaders – Colonial governors
Category: Establishments – Disestablishments
Births – Deaths – Works

Year 1553 (MDLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Events of 1553

May – The first Royal Charter is granted to St. Albans.
June 26 – Christ's Hospital and King Edward's School, Witley are created by Royal Charter.

July 6 – Edward VI of England dies.
July 9 – Battle of Sievershausen: Prince-elector Maurice of Saxony defeats the Catholic forces of Margrave Albert of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. Maurice is mortally wounded.

July 10 – Lady Jane Grey is proclaimed Queen of England – a position she holds for the next nine days.
July 18 – The Lord Mayor of London proclaims Queen Mary as the rightful Queen; Lady Jane Grey willingly abdicates.
July 19 – Lady Jane Grey is replaced by Mary I of England as Queen of England after having that title for just nine days.

September – Protestant bishops in England are arrested and Roman Catholic bishops are restored.
September 23 – The Sadians consolidate their power in Morocco by defeating the last of their enemies.
October 27 – Inquisition burns Michael Servetus as a heretic in Geneva.
December 25 – Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeats the Spanish conquistadors and exetutes the governor of Chile Pedro de Valdivia.

Tonbridge School founded by Sir Andrew Judde under the Letters Patent of King Edward VI.
Russia: The maritime way of the White sea is opened by the English explorer Richard Chancellor, beginning the trade with England.
Shanghai is fortified for the first time.
In the Ming Dynasty of China, the addition of a new section of the Outer City is completed in southern Beijing, bringing the overall size of Beijing to 4 by 4½ miles.

February 19 – Erasmus Reinhold, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1511)
February 25 – Hirate Masahide, Japanese diplomat and tutor of Oda Nobunaga (suicide) (b. 1492)
April 9 – François Rabelais, French writer
May 5 – Erasmus Alberus, German humanist (b. 1500)
May 28 – Johannes Aal, Swiss theologian (b. 1500)
July 6 – King Edward VI of England (b. 1537)
July 9 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony (b. 1521)
August 8 – Girolamo Fracastoro, Italian physician (b. 1478)
August 22 – John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (b. 1502)
October 7 – Cristóbal de Morales, Spanish composer (b. 1500)
October 16 – Lucas Cranach the Elder, German painter (b. 1472)
October 27 – Michael Servetus, Spanish theologian (burned at the stake) (b. 1511)
October 30 – Jacob Sturm von Sturmeck, German statesman and reformer (b. 1489)
date unknown – George Joye English Protestant bible translator (b. c. 1495)