1531

Events

• January 26 - Lisbon, Portugal is hit by an earthquake-- thousands die
• October 1 - Battle of Kappel - The forces of Zürich are defeated by the Catholic cantons. Huldreich Zwingli, the Swiss religious reformer, is killed.
• Our Lady of Guadeloupe: The Virgin Mary appears to Aztec convert Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin.
• Andrea Alciato publishes the first part of his Emblemata.
• The Comet Halley appears.
• Conquistador Francisco de Montejo claims Chichen Itza as capital of Spanish ruled Yucatán.

Births

• James Stewart, Earl of Moray, illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland and later regent of Scotland
• Orlandus Lassus, renowned Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance
• Jacobus de Kerle , Franco-Flemish composer

Deaths

• October 1 - Huldreich Zwingli, Reformer
• Andrea Del Sarto, Florentine painter
• Vallabhacarya , Hindu spiritual leader
• Louise of Savoy, mother of Francis I of France