June 30 – King Henry of France participates in a jousting tournament at the Place des Vosges in Paris, where French nobles are celebrating the marriage of Princess Elisabeth to King Philip of Spain. During competition against Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery, commander of King Henry's bodyguards, the Garde Écossaise, King Henry is struck in the eye by a splinter from Montgomery's lance and fatally injured.[4] Henry survives for 10 days without treatment until dying from sepsis.
July 25 – The Articles of Leith are signed in Edinburgh between the Protestant Lords of the Congregation and the Roman Catholic representatives the Scottish regent, Mary of Guise, the widow of King James V, who is ruling on behalf of her daughter, the 17-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots. The Lords, who have occupied Edinburgh since June, withdraw their troops in return for the Scottish crown's agreement to not interfere with the practice of Protestantism in Scotland.[7]
August 18 – Pope Paul IV, leader of the Roman Catholic Church since 1555, dies at the age of 83 after a reign of four years. The office of the Pope remains vacant until almost the end of the year before a successor is chosen.
September 4 – Gorkha state is established by Dravya Shah, beating local Khadka kings, which is the origin of the current country of Nepal.
September 19 – Just weeks after arrival at Pensacola, the Spanish missionary colony is decimated by a hurricane that kills hundreds, sinks five ships, with a galleon, and grounds a caravel; the 1,000 survivors divide to relocate/resupply the settlement, but suffer famine & attacks, and abandon the effort in 1561.
September 25 – At the age of 12, Petru cel Tânăr (Peter the Younger) is named as the new Prince of Wallachia at the capital, Târgoviște (now in Romania) after the death of his father, Mircea the Shepherd. In response, members of Wallachian nobility (boyars) opposed to Mircea's rule launch the first of three attempts to take the throne, fighting battles at Românești, Șerpătești and Boiani.
October–December
October 24 – Backed by Ottoman Empire troops, the army of Wallachia defeats the boyars at the battle of Boiani. The Ottoman central government at Constantinople confirms Petru as the rightful ruler of the principality within the Empire.
November 6 – The Ottoman Empire ends its attempt to wrest control of the island of Bahrain from Portuguese control, after a siege of Manama Castle that began on July 2.[12]
Jean Nicot, French ambassador to Portugal, introduces tobacco to the French court in the form of snuff, and describes its medicinal properties. The active ingredient in tobacco is later named "nicotine" in his honor.[15]
^Svat Soucek (2008):"The Portuguese and Turks in the Persian Gulf", in Revisiting Hormuz: Portuguese Interactions in the Persian Gulf Region in the Early Modern Period, p.37 copies archived on January 2, 2021 on the Wayback Machine website
^Derek W. H. Thomas; John W. Tweeddale, eds. (2019). John Calvin : for a new reformation. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway. ISBN978-1-4335-1281-0. OCLC1091236732.