1544

Year 1544 (MDXLIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Events of 1544

January - June

* April 11 - Battle of Ceresole: French forces under the Comte d'Enghien defeat Imperial forces under the Marques Del Vasto near Turin.
* May - Emperor Charles V again invades eastern France.
* June 19 - August 18 - The Holy Roman Empire besieges St. Dizier in eastern France.

July - December

* July 19 - September 14 - English forces under Henry VIII besiege and capture Boulogne.
* September 18 - Peace of Crépy: Peace is declared between Charles and Francis. The war between France and England continues.
* September 22 - Captain Juan Bautista Pastene leads the first European expedition to the estuary of Valdivia, Chile and the Bay of Corral.
* October 9 - French forces under the Dauphin assault Boulogne, but are ultimately unsuccessful.

Undated

* The Mongols burn the suburbs of Peking. [Roberts, J: "History of the World.". Penguin, 1994.]
* Italian botanist Luca Ghini publishes the first herbarium.
* The University of Königsberg is founded.
* Hungary is invaded by the Turks for the third time and gets robbed of the crown jewels.
* Rats make their first appearance in North America.
* Gustav I of Sweden signs an alliance with France.
* Battle of the Shirts: The Frasers and Macdonalds of Clan Ranald fight over a disputed chiefship; reportedly, 5 Frasers and 8 Macdonalds survive.
* Portuguese explorers encounter the island of Taiwan and call it "Ilha Formosa" ("Beautiful Island").

Births

* January 19 - King Francis II of France (d. 1560)
* March 11 - Torquato Tasso, Italian poet (d. 1595)
* April - Thomas Fleming, English judge (d. 1613)
* May 24 - William Gilbert, English scientist (d. 1603)
* December 23 - Anna of Saxony, only child and heiress of Maurice, Elector of Saxony (d. 1577)
*"date unknown"
**Richard Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1610)
**Thomas Hobson, English carrier and origin of the phrase "Hobson's choice" (d. 1631)
**Ikeda Tomomasa, Japanese military commander (d. 1603)
*"probable"
**Sanada Masayuki, Japanese military leader (d. 1611)
**George Whetstone, English writer (d. 1587)

: "See also ."

Deaths

* March 22 - Johannes Magnus, last Catholic Archbishop of Sweden (b. 1488)
* April 30 - Thomas Audley, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1488)
* June 14 - Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1489)
* July 15 - René of Châlon, Prince of the House of Orange (b. 1519)
* September 10 - Clément Marot, French poet (b. 1496)
* September 25 - Valerius Cordus, German physician and scientist (b. 1515)
* December 9 - Teofilo Folengo, Italian poet (b. 1491)
*"date unknown"
**Ulick nagCeann Burke, 1st Earl of Clanricarde
**Chen Chun, Chinese painter (b. 1483)
**Hugh Fraser, 3rd Lord Lovat
**Nilakantha Somayaji, Indian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1444)
**Manco Inca Yupanqui, ruler of the Inca (b. 1516)
*"probable"
**Bonaventure des Périers, French author (b. 1500)

: "See also ."

References