1491

This article is about the year 1491. For the history book by Charles C. Mann, see 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. For other uses, see 1491 (disambiguation).

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	14th century 15th century 16th century
Decades:	1470s 1480s 1490s 1500s 1510s
Years:	1488 1489 1490 1491 1492 1493 1494

1491 in various calendars

Gregorian calendar	1491 MCDXCI
Ab urbe condita	2244
Armenian calendar	940 ԹՎ ՋԽ
Assyrian calendar	6241
Balinese saka calendar	1412–1413
Bengali calendar	898
Berber calendar	2441
English Regnal year	6 Hen. 7 – 7 Hen. 7
Buddhist calendar	2035
Burmese calendar	853
Byzantine calendar	6999–7000
Chinese calendar	庚戌年 (Metal Dog) 4188 or 3981     — to — 辛亥年 (Metal Pig) 4189 or 3982
Coptic calendar	1207–1208
Discordian calendar	2657
Ethiopian calendar	1483–1484
Hebrew calendar	5251–5252
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	1547–1548
- Shaka Samvat	1412–1413
- Kali Yuga	4591–4592
Holocene calendar	11491
Igbo calendar	491–492
Iranian calendar	869–870
Islamic calendar	896–897
Japanese calendar	Entoku 3 (延徳３年)
Javanese calendar	1408–1409
Julian calendar	1491 MCDXCI
Korean calendar	3824
Minguo calendar	421 before ROC 民前421年
Nanakshahi calendar	23
Thai solar calendar	2033–2034
Tibetan calendar	阳金狗年 (male Iron-Dog) 1617 or 1236 or 464     — to — 阴金猪年 (female Iron-Pig) 1618 or 1237 or 465

Year 1491 (MCDXCI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Events

January–December

• February 20 – The "Comet of 1491" comes 873,784 miles (1,406,219 km) away from earth, the closest ever recorded.
• May 3 – The ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo, Nkuwu Nzinga, is baptised by Portuguese missionaries, adopting the baptismal name of João I.
• November – Perkin Warbeck begins a campaign to take the English throne with a landing in Ireland.
• November 16 – An auto-da-fé held in Brasero de la Dehesa (outside Ávila) concludes the case of the Holy Child of La Guardia with the execution of several Jewish and converso suspects.
• November 25 – The siege of Granada, last stronghold of the Moors in Spain, begins.
• December 6 – King Charles VIII of France marries Anne of Brittany, forcing her to break her marriage with Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, thus incorporating Brittany into the kingdom of France.
• December 21 – Truce of Coldstream secures a 5-year peace between Scotland and England.

Date unknown

• Bread and Cheese Revolt breaks out in North Holland.
• A major fire breaks out in Dresden.
• In the Russian territory of Komi (now the Komi Republic), annexed by Russia in 1478, copper and silver ores are discovered, and the territory gains importance as a mining and metallurgical center.
• Nicolaus Copernicus enters the University of Kraków.

Births

• June 28: King Henry VIII of England (d. 1547)
• November 11: Martin Bucer, German Protestant reformer (d. 1551)
• October 26: Zhengde Emperor of China (d. 1521)
• November 8: Teofilo Folengo, Italian poet (d. 1544)
• December 24: Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish founder of the Society of Jesus (d. 1556)
• December 26: Friedrich Myconius, German Lutheran theologian (d. 1546)
• December 31: Jacques Cartier, French explorer (d. 1557)
• date unknown
  • Lapu-Lapu, Filipino king (d. 1542)
  • Azai Sukemasa, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1546)
• probable
  • George Blaurock, Swiss founder of Anabaptism (d. 1529)
  • Antonio Pigafetta, Italian explorer (d. 1534)

Deaths

• March 6: Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers
• July 13: Afonso, Prince of Portugal (b. 1475)
• October 5: Jean Balue, French cardinal and statesman (b. c. 1421)
• October 12: Fritz Herlen, German artist (b. 1449)
• December 28: Bertoldo di Giovanni, sculptor (b. c. 1435)
• date unknown: John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk (b. 1442)