1544

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	15th century – 16th century – 17th century
Decades:	1510s 1520s 1530s – 1540s – 1550s 1560s 1570s
Years:	1541 1542 1543 – 1544 – 1545 1546 1547

This article is about the year 1544.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 1544

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

Events [edit]

January 13 – At Västerås, the estates of Sweden swear loyalty to king Gustav Vasa and to his heirs, ending the traditional electoral monarchy in Sweden. Gustav subsequently signs an alliance with the Kingdom of France.
April 11 – Battle of Ceresole: French forces under the Comte d'Enghien defeat forces of the Holy Roman Empire under the Marques Del Vasto near Turin.
May – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, again invades eastern France.
May 3 – Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, with an English army captures Leith and Edinburgh from the Kingdom of Scotland.
June 19–August 18 – Troops of the Holy Roman Empire besiege Saint-Dizier in eastern France.

July – Battle of the Shirts: The Clan Fraser of Lovat and Macdonalds of Clan Ranald fight over a disputed chiefship in Scotland; reportedly, five Frasers and eight Macdonalds survive.
July 19–September 14 – First Siege of Boulogne: King Henry VIII of England besieges and captures Boulogne in northern France during the Italian War of 1542–1546.
September 18 – Peace of Crépy: Peace is declared between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and Francis I of France. 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 – Second Siege of Boulogne: French forces under the Dauphin assault Boulogne, but are ultimately unsuccessful.

Mongols burn the suburbs of Peking.^[1]
The University of Königsberg is founded.
Orto botanico di Pisa botanical garden established by Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, in Italy under the direction of botanist Luca Ghini, who also creates the first herbarium.
Rats make their first appearance in North America.
Portuguese explorers encounter the island of Taiwan and call it Ilha Formosa ("Beautiful Island").

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)

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