Events

• January - articles of Warsaw Confederation signed, sanctioning religious freedom in Poland.
• July 12 - Spanish forces under the Duke of Alva capture Haarlem after a seven month siege.
• August-October - Unsuccessful siege of Alkmaar by Alva
• November - Alva resigns as Spanish Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in the Netherlands, and is succeeded by Luis de Requesens, who attempts to pursue a more conciliatory policy.
• End of the Fourth War of Religion in France.
• Oda Nobunaga drives the 14th Ashikaga shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki out of Kyoto, effectively destroying the Ashikaga shogunate and historically ending the Muromachi period. The Azuchi-Momoyama period of Japan begins.
• Sarsa Dengel , emperor of Ethiopia, defeats the Oromo.

Births

• April 17 - Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1651)
• July 15 - Inigo Jones, English architect (d. 1652)
• October 7 - William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1645)
• Ambrosius Bosschaert, Dutch painter (d. 1621)
• Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Italian painter (d. 1610)
• Juan Pujol, Catalan composer (probable date)

Deaths

• September 23 - Azai Hisamasa, Japanese warlord