16th century

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600.

Significant people

• Nicolaus Copernicus, developed the heliocentric (Sun-centered) theory using scientific methods (1473 - 1543).
• Henry VII of England, founder of the Tudor dynasty. Introduced ruthlessly efficient mechanisms of taxation which restored the kingdom after a state of virtual bankruptcy due to the effects of the Wars of the Roses (1457 - 1509).
• Michelangelo Buonarroti, Italian painter and sculptor (1475 - 1564).
• Thomas More, English politician and author (1478 - 1535).
• Martin Luther, German religious reformer (1483 - 1546).
• Hernán Cortés, Spanish Conquistador (1485 - 1547).
• King Henry VIII of England, founder of Anglicanism (1491 - 1547).
• King Francis I of France, considered the first Renaissance monarch of his Kingdom (1494 - 1547).
• Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Conqueror and legal reformer (1494 - 1566).
• Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and the first to reign as King of Spain. Involved in almost constant conflict with France and the Ottoman Empire while promoting the Spanish colonization of the Americas (1500 - 1558).
• Cuauhtémoc becomes last Tlatoani of the Aztec, leads the native resistance against the Spanish and is finally defeated in the siege of Tenochtitlan. He is hanged on February 26, 1525 (1502 - 1525)
• Mary I of England. Attempted to counter the Protestant Reformation in her domains. Nick-named Bloody Mary for her Religious persecution (1516 - 1558).
• King Philip II of Spain, self-proclaimed leader of Counter-Reformation (1527 - 1598).
• Queen Elizabeth I of England, central figure of the Elizabethan era (1533 - 1603).
• Oda Nobunaga , daimyo of the Sengoku period of Japanese civil war. First ruler of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1534 - 1582).
• Toyotomi Hideyoshi , daimyo of the Sengoku period of Japanese civil war. Second ruler of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1536 - 1598).
• Edward VI of England, notable for further differentiating Anglicanism from the practices of the Roman Catholic Church (1537 - 1553).
• Lady Jane Grey, Queen regnant of England and Ireland. Notably deposed by popular revolt (1537 - 1554).
• Queen Mary I of Scotland, First female head of the House of Stuart (1542 - 1587).
• Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish author (1547 - 1616).
• King Henry IV of France and Navarre, ended the French Wars of Religion and reunited the kingdom under his command (1553 - 1610).
• William Shakespeare, English author (1564 - 1616).
• John Donne, English metaphysical poet (1572 - 1631)
• Musashi Miyamoto, famous warrior in Japan, author of The Book of Five Rings, a treatise on strategy and martial combat. (1584 - 1645)