1440

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	14th century – 15th century – 16th century
Decades:	1410s 1420s 1430s – 1440s – 1450s 1460s 1470s
Years:	1437 1438 1439 – 1440 – 1441 1442 1443

1440 in topic:
Subjects: Archaeology – Architecture –
Art – Literature – Music – Science
Leaders: State leaders – Colonial governors
Category: Establishments – Disestablishments
Births – Deaths – Works

Also see: number 1440.

Year 1440 (MCDXL) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Events of 1440

February 21 – The Prussian Confederation is formed.
September 13 – Gilles de Rais is taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him by the Bishop of Nantes.
October 22 – Gilles de Rais confesses and is sentenced to death.

Itzcóatl, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan, dies and is succeeded by Moctezuma I (Moctezuma Ilhuicamina).
The term of Regent of Sweden Karl Knutsson Bonde ends.
Murad II lays siege to Belgrade. The city is heavily damaged, but the defenders' use of artillery prevents the Turks from capturing the city.
Eton College is founded by Henry VI.
Sir Richard Molyneux is appointed constable of Liverpool Castle.
The Ming Dynasty government of China begins a decade-long series of issuing harsh edicts towards those who illegally mine silver, the latter known as 'miner bandits' (kuangzei), a trend begun in 1438. The government wants to cap the amount of silver circulating into the market as more grain taxes are converted into silver taxes. The government establishes community night watches known as 'watches and tithings' (baojia) who ensure that illegal mining activities are brought to a halt. However, these are desperate measures, as illegal silver mining continues to thrive as a dangerous but lucrative venture.

January 22 – Ivan III of Russia (d. 1505)
February 22 – King Ladislaus Posthumus of Bohemia and Hungary (d. 1457)
date unknown – Kabir, Indian mystic (d. 1518)
– Anton Koberger, German goldsmith
probable
- Pedrarias Dávila, Spanish colonial administrator (d. 1531)
- Jorge Manrique, Spanish poet (d. 1479)

March 9 – St. Frances of Rome, Italian nun (b. 1384)
March 20 – Sigismund I of Lithuania
April 1 (or April 2) – Giovanni Vitelleschi, Italian bishop and soldier
April 6 – Henry Wardlaw, Scottish church leader
September 20 – Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1371)
September 30 – Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn, English soldier and politician
October 26 – Gilles de Rais, French soldier (b. 1404)
November 13 – Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmoreland
date unknown
- Itzcóatl, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan