Year by year · 16th century

1556

1556 in world history: 7 events, 5 births, 9 deaths, 2 states founded and 3 that came to an end. 997 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 23 January

    Shaanxi earthquake, the deadliest on record, strikes China

    An earthquake centred in the Wei River valley killed an estimated 830,000 people. Many died when cave dwellings carved into soft loess cliffs collapsed.

  2. 21 March

    Thomas Cranmer burned at the stake in Oxford

    The former Archbishop of Canterbury, author of the Book of Common Prayer, withdrew his recantations before Mary I's officials. He thrust the hand that had signed them into the flames first.

    Oxford

  3. 27 June

    The Stratford Martyrs are burned for their Protestant beliefs

    Eleven men and two women, the Stratford Martyrs, were burned at the stake together for their Protestant beliefs during the Marian persecutions, at Stratford-le-Bow or Stratford, Essex, both near London.

    Protestantism

  4. 31 July

    Ignatius of Loyola dies in Rome

    Ignatius of Loyola, the Basque soldier turned founder of the Society of Jesus, died in Rome. His Spiritual Exercises and the Jesuits' schools and missions reshaped Catholicism worldwide.

    CatholicismJesuits

  5. 5 November

    Akbar's Mughal army defeats Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat

    North of Delhi, the army of the young Mughal emperor Akbar, under his regent Bairam Khan, faced Hemu, who had taken Delhi weeks earlier. Struck in the eye by an arrow, Hemu was captured and killed, and Mughal rule was restored.

    Second Battle of PanipatAkbarHemu
ProfileState874 states with a known seat in 1556Open the atlas at 1556 →

In the profiles

  • Mughal EmpireAkbar begins his reign, turning a fragile conquest into a stable empire
  • Habsburg SpainCharles V abdicates; Philip II becomes king

Born in 1556 5

Died in 1556 9

States founded 2

States that came to an end 3

Great speeches

Cranmer's Last SpeechThomas Cranmer

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APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1556. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1556
MLA
“1556.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1556. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1556.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1556.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1556’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1556 (Accessed: ).