1580 in England


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Events from the 1580s in England.

1 Incumbents
2 Events
3 Births
4 Deaths
5 References
6 See also

Incumbents

Monarch - Queen Elizabeth I

Events

1580
- March - Thomas Legge's Richardus Tertius, the first known history play performed in England, is acted at St John's College, Cambridge.
- 6 April - Dover Straits earthquake.^[1]^[2]
- June - England signs a commercial treaty with the Ottoman Empire.^[3]
- 6 July - New building banned within three miles of the City of London.^[1]
- 7 July - Robert Parsons and Edmund Campion begin a Jesuit mission in an attempt to restore Roman Catholicism to England, having landed the previous month.^[3]
- 26 September - Francis Drake returns to Plymouth from his voyage of circumnavigation (westabout) on the Golden Hind,^[4] the first made by an Englishman.
- First recorded appearance of the ballad Greensleeves.^[5]
1581
- March - Act against Reconciliation to Rome establishes heavy fines for recusancy or attending Catholic Mass.^[1]
- 4 April - Drake knighted by Queen Elizabeth I^[4] aboard the Golden Hind at Deptford.
- 1 December - Execution of the Jesuit priest Edmund Campion for treason.^[3]
1582
- May–August - Robert Browne and his Brownist congregationalist companions are obliged to leave England and go to Middelburg in the Netherlands.^[6]
- 29 November - Marriage of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway at Temple Grafton.
- Publication of Richard Hakluyt's Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America.
- Publication of the first part of Richard Mulcaster's textbook on the teaching of English, the Elementarie.
1583
- 10 March - Queen Elizabeth's Men troupe of actors founded.
- August - John Whitgift enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury.
- 5 August - Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in what is now the city of St John's, Newfoundland, claims the island of Newfoundland on behalf of England.^[4]
- December - Francis Throckmorton's plot to invade England with the assistance of Henry I, Duke of Guise, and replace Elizabeth with Mary, Queen of Scots, is discovered by Francis Walsingham.^[3]
- 10 December - Great fire of Nantwich in Cheshire breaks out.^[7]
- Lord Chamberlain's Men troupe of actors formed.^[1]
- Publication of Philip Stubbs' tract The Anatomie of Abuses.
1584
- 11 January - Sir Walter Mildmay is granted a royal licence to found Emmanuel College, Cambridge.^[3]^[8]
- 10 July - Execution of Francis Throckmorton.^[3]
- 19 October - Bond of Association: thousands pledge to defend Queen Elizabeth, and avenge any successful assassination attempt.^[1]
- December - Jesuits and seminary priests banned.^[1]
- The landmark decision in Heydon's Case introduces the mischief rule into the interpretation of statutes by the courts.^[9]
- Publication of the cookbook A Booke of Cookry.
1585
- 6 January - Walter Ralegh knighted.^[10]
- 2 March - William Parry executed for plotting Queen Elizabeth's murder.^[1]
- 19 May - Spain seizes English ships in Spanish ports.^[1]
- 7 July - England establishes the Roanoke Colony in North America.^[1]
- 8 August - English explorer John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in Baffin Island in his quest for the Northwest Passage.
- 14 August - Queen Elizabeth establishes a protectorate over the Netherlands.^[1]
- 20 August - The Treaty of Nonsuch is signed, committing England to support for the Dutch Revolt against Habsburg rule.^[3]
1586
- 4 February - Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester accepts the title governor of the Netherlands.
- July - Thomas Cavendish sets out on a voyage of circumnavigation.
- 1 July - Treaty of Berwick agreed between Queen Elizabeth I of England and King James VI of Scotland.^[1]
- 17 July - Walsingham uncovers the Babington Plot to murder Elizabeth.^[3]
- 28 July - Thomas Harriot returns from a voyage to Colombia with the first potatoes.^[4]
- 20 September - Execution of Anthony Babington, John Ballard, Chidiock Tichborne, Thomas Salisbury and the other conspirators in the Babington Plot.^[3]
- 22 September - Philip Sidney mortally wounded at the Battle of Zutphen; he dies on 17 October.^[3]
- 15 October to 25 October - Mary, Queen of Scots, placed on trial for corresponding with Babington and sentenced to death.^[1]
- William Camden publishes his pioneering antiquarian study Britannia.^[1]
- William Warner first publishes his long historical poem Albion's England.^[11]
- Oxford University Press is recognised by decree of the Star Chamber.^[12]
- From about this date an informal College or Society of Antiquaries begins to meet.^[13]
1587
- 8 February - Mary, Queen of Scots, is beheaded at Fotheringay Castle.^[4]
- 1 March - Sir Anthony Cope and Sir Peter Wentworth are imprisoned for attempting to bring forward Parliamentary legislation interfering with the Queen's ecclesiastical prerogative.^[1]
- 19 April (29 April New Style) - "Singeing the King of Spain's Beard": On an expedition against Spain, privateer Sir Francis Drake leads a raid in the Bay of Cádiz, sinking at least 23 ships of the Spanish fleet and delaying the sending of the Spanish Armada.^[3]
- 22 July - Roanoke Colony: A group of English settlers arrive on Roanoke Island off North Carolina to re-establish the deserted colony.
- 21 December - Lord Howard of Effingham given command of both army and navy in the war against Spain.^[1]
- Late (probable date) - The first part of Christopher Marlowe's drama Tamburlaine the Great is performed in London^[14] by the Admiral's Men with Edward Alleyn playing the lead.
- The Rose theatre is founded in London by Philip Henslowe.
1588
- 1 January - The Children of Paul's act at the court of Queen Elizabeth, probably performting John Lyly's Gallathea.
- 28–30 May - The Spanish Armada sets sail from the Tagus estuary for an attempted invasion of England.^[1]
- 19 July - The Armada is sighted off The Lizard in Cornwall; the news is relayed to London via a series of beacons built along the south coast.^[1]
- 21 July - The first engagement between the English and Spanish fleets, off Plymouth, results in an English victory. The English fleet is under the command of Lord Howard of Effingham with Sir Francis Drake as Vice Admiral.
- 23 July - The English and Spanish fleets meet again, off Portland; the English again have the better of it.
- 28 July - The English send fire ships into the French fleet, now anchored off Calais, breaking their formation.
- 29 July - The English fleet defeats the Armada at the Battle of Gravelines.^[15]
- 2 August - The fleeing Spanish fleet sails past the Firth of Forth and the English call off their pursuit. Much of the Spanish fleet will be destroyed by storms as it sails for home around Scotland and Ireland.
- 9 August - Queen Elizabeth makes her speech to the Troops at Tilbury.^[4]
- 1 October - Oaten Hill Martyrs: four Catholics are hanged, drawn and quartered at Canterbury.^[16]
- October–November - The Marprelate Controversy, a war of pamphlets between Presbyterians and supporters of the established church, breaks out with publication of the Epistle by "Martin Marprelate" on Robert Waldegrave's secret press at Molesey and Fawsley.^[3]^[17]
- George Gower paints the Armada Portrait of Queen Elizabeth.
- Nicholas Hilliard paints the portrait miniature Young Man Among Roses.
- First record of marbles being played at Tinsley Green, West Sussex.^[18]
- 1588–1589 - Earliest probable date for the composition and first performance of Christopher Marlowe's The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus in London.
1589
- 13 April - An English Armada led by Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Norreys and largely financed by private investors sets sail to attack the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic coast^[3] but fails to achieve any naval advantage.
- Publication of first edition of Richard Hakluyt's The Principal Navigations, Voiages, Traffiques and Discoueries of the English Nation.

Births

1580
- February - John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol, diplomat (died 1653)
- 8 April - William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, courtier (died 1630)
- 15 April - George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, politician and colonizer (died 1623)
- 18 April - (baptism) Thomas Middleton, playwright (died 1627)
- 24 August - John Taylor, poet (died 1654)
- 4 December - Samuel Argall, adventurer and naval officer (died 1626)
- Edward Fairfax, translator (died 1635)
1581
- Edmund Gunter, mathematician (died 1621)
- Thomas Overbury, poet and essayist (died 1613)
1582
- 28 May - William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele, statesman (died 1662)
- John Bainbridge, astronomer (died 1648)
- Richard Corbet, poet (died 1635)
- William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh (died 1643)
- Phineas Fletcher, poet (died 1650)
- William Juxon, Archbishop of Canterbury (died 1663)
- Thomas Moulson, Lord Mayor of London (died 1638)
- Francis Windebank, politician (died 1646)
1583
- 3 March - Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, diplomat, poet and philosopher (died 1648)
- 17 December - Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey, adventurer and soldier (killed in battle) (died 1642)
- 25 December - Orlando Gibbons, composer (died 1625)
- John Beaumont, poet (died 1627)
- Philip Massinger, dramatist (died 1640)
- Aurelian Townshend, poet (died 1643)
1584
- 29 March - Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, parliamentary general (died 1648)
- 13 August - Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, politician (died 1640)
- 16 December - John Selden, jurist (died 1654)
- William Baffin, explorer (died 1622)
- Francis Beaumont, dramatist (died 1616)
- John Hales, theologian (died 1656)
- Robert Pierrepont, 1st Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull (died 1643)
- John Pym, parliamentarian (died 1643)
1585
- October - John Ball, puritan divine (died 1640)
1586
- 17 April - John Ford, dramatist and poet (died 1640)
- 7 July - Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, courtier (died 1646)
- 14 August - William Hutchinson, founder of Rhode Island (died 1642)
- Giles Fletcher, poet (died 1623)
- Gerard de Malynes, merchant (died 1641)
- John Mason, explorer (died 1635)
1587
- 5 June - Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, colonial administrator and admiral (died 1658)
- July - George Yeardley, colonial administrator in America (died 1627)
- Nathan Field, dramatist and actor (died 1620)
- Francis Kynaston, courtier and poet (died 1642)
- Robert Sanderson, Bishop of Lincoln (died 1663)
- Virginia Dare, Roanoke colonist
1588
- 5 April - Thomas Hobbes, philosopher (died 1679)
- 11 June - George Wither, poet and satirist (died 1667)
- 18 June - Robert Crowley, printer and poet
- 10 September - Nicholas Lanier, composer (died 1666)
- John Danvers, politician (died 1655)
- Robert Filmer, political writer (died 1653)
- Accepted Frewen, churchman (died 1664)

Deaths

1580
- 24 February - Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel, nobleman (born 1511)
- 3 May - Thomas Tusser, poet and farmer (born 1524)
- 30 November - Richard Farrant, composer (born 1530)
- John Heywood, dramatist (born 1497)
1581
- 22 July - Richard Cox, bishop (born 1500)
- 1 December
  - Edmund Campion, Jesuit (executed) (born 1540)
  - Alexander Briant, Jesuit priest (executed) (born 1556)
  - Ralph Sherwin, Catholic priest (executed) (born 1550)
- Nicholas Sanders, Catholic priest and historian (born 1530)
1583
- 9 June - Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland (born 1525)
- 6 July - Edmund Grindal, Archbishop of Canterbury (born 1519)
- 9 September - Humphrey Gilbert, English explorer (born c. 1537)
1584
- 10 March - Thomas Norton, politician and writer (born 1532)
- 10 July - Francis Throckmorton, conspirator against Queen Elizabeth I (born 1554)
- 12 July - Steven Borough, explorer (born 1525)
- 23 July - John Day, Protestant printer (born 1522)
1585
- 16 January - Edward Fiennes Clinton, admiral (born 1512)
- 6 February - Edmund Plowden, legal scholar (born 1518)
- 3 April - Thomas Goldwell, ecclesiastic
- 21 June – Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland (born 1532)
- 6 July - Thomas Aufield, Catholic martyr (born 1552)
- 28 July – Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (born 1527)
- 23 November - Thomas Tallis, English composer (born c. 1510)
1586
- 24 March - Margaret Clitherow, Catholic saint and martyr (born 1556)
- 5 May - Henry Sidney, Lord Deputy of Ireland (born 1529)
- 12 July - Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley (born 1525)
- 20 September
  - Sir Anthony Babington, Catholic conspirator (executed) (born 1561)
  - Chidiock Tichborne, conspirator and poet (executed) (born 1558)
- 17 October - Sir Philip Sidney, English poet, courtier, and soldier (born 1554)
1587
- January - Thomas Seckford, official (born 1515)
- 30 March - Ralph Sadler, statesman (born 1507)
- 8 April - John Foxe, author (born 1516)
- 14 April - Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland (born 1548)
- 16 April - Anne Stanhope, Duchess of Somerset (born 1497)
- Dudley Fenner, puritan divine (born c. 1558)
- George Whetstone, writer (born 1544)
1588
- 18 June - Robert Crowley, London stationer (born 1517)
- 30 August - Margaret Ward, saint (year of birth unknown)
- 3 September - Richard Tarlton, actor (born 1530)
- 4 September - Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, politician (born 1532)
- 1 October - Edward James, Catholic martyr, executed at Chichester (born c. 1557)
- Edwin Sandys, prelate (born 1519)
1589
- 21 February - Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick (born c. 1528)

References

v t e Years in England (927–present)

10th Century	927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 936 937 938 939 940 941 942 943 944 945 946 947 948 949 950 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 958 959 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 969 970 971 972 973 974 975 976 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 986 987 988 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 1000

11th Century	1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 1079 1080 1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100

12th Century	1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111 1112 1113 1114 1115 1116 1117 1118 1119 1120 1121 1122 1123 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130 1131 1132 1133 1134 1135 1136 1137 1138 1139 1140 1141 1142 1143 1144 1145 1146 1147 1148 1149 1150 1151 1152 1153 1154 1155 1156 1157 1158 1159 1160 1161 1162 1163 1164 1165 1166 1167 1168 1169 1170 1171 1172 1173 1174 1175 1176 1177 1178 1179 1180 1181 1182 1183 1184 1185 1186 1187 1188 1189 1190 1191 1192 1193 1194 1195 1196 1197 1198 1199 1200

13th Century	1201 1202 1203 1204 1205 1206 1207 1208 1209 1210 1211 1212 1213 1214 1215 1216 1217 1218 1219 1220 1221 1222 1223 1224 1225 1226 1227 1228 1229 1230 1231 1232 1233 1234 1235 1236 1237 1238 1239 1240 1241 1242 1243 1244 1245 1246 1247 1248 1249 1250 1251 1252 1253 1254 1255 1256 1257 1258 1259 1260 1261 1262 1263 1264 1265 1266 1267 1268 1269 1270 1271 1272 1273 1274 1275 1276 1277 1278 1279 1280 1281 1282 1283 1284 1285 1286 1287 1288 1289 1290 1291 1292 1293 1294 1295 1296 1297 1298 1299 1300

14th Century	1301 1302 1303 1304 1305 1306 1307 1308 1309 1310 1311 1312 1313 1314 1315 1316 1317 1318 1319 1320 1321 1322 1323 1324 1325 1326 1327 1328 1329 1330 1331 1332 1333 1334 1335 1336 1337 1338 1339 1340 1341 1342 1343 1344 1345 1346 1347 1348 1349 1350 1351 1352 1353 1354 1355 1356 1357 1358 1359 1360 1361 1362 1363 1364 1365 1366 1367 1368 1369 1370 1371 1372 1373 1374 1375 1376 1377 1378 1379 1380 1381 1382 1383 1384 1385 1386 1387 1388 1389 1390 1391 1392 1393 1394 1395 1396 1397 1398 1399 1400

15th Century	1401 1402 1403 1404 1405 1406 1407 1408 1409 1410 1411 1412 1413 1414 1415 1416 1417 1418 1419 1420 1421 1422 1423 1424 1425 1426 1427 1428 1429 1430 1431 1432 1433 1434 1435 1436 1437 1438 1439 1440 1441 1442 1443 1444 1445 1446 1447 1448 1449 1450 1451 1452 1453 1454 1455 1456 1457 1458 1459 1460 1461 1462 1463 1464 1465 1466 1467 1468 1469 1470 1471 1472 1473 1474 1475 1476 1477 1478 1479 1480 1481 1482 1483 1484 1485 1486 1487 1488 1489 1490 1491 1492 1493 1494 1495 1496 1497 1498 1499 1500

16th Century	1501 1502 1503 1504 1505 1506 1507 1508 1509 1510 1511 1512 1513 1514 1515 1516 1517 1518 1519 1520 1521 1522 1523 1524 1525 1526 1527 1528 1529 1530 1531 1532 1533 1534 1535 1536 1537 1538 1539 1540 1541 1542 1543 1544 1545 1546 1547 1548 1549 1550 1551 1552 1553 1554 1555 1556 1557 1558 1559 1560 1561 1562 1563 1564 1565 1566 1567 1568 1569 1570 1571 1572 1573 1574 1575 1576 1577 1578 1579 1580 1581 1582 1583 1584 1585 1586 1587 1588 1589 1590 1591 1592 1593 1594 1595 1596 1597 1598 1599 1600

17th Century	1601 1602 1603 1604 1605 1606 1607 1608 1609 1610 1611 1612 1613 1614 1615 1616 1617 1618 1619 1620 1621 1622 1623 1624 1625 1626 1627 1628 1629 1630 1631 1632 1633 1634 1635 1636 1637 1638 1639 1640 1641 1642 1643 1644 1645 1646 1647 1648 1649 1650 1651 1652 1653 1654 1655 1656 1657 1658 1659 1660 1661 1662 1663 1664 1665 1666 1667 1668 1669 1670 1671 1672 1673 1674 1675 1676 1677 1678 1679 1680 1681 1682 1683 1684 1685 1686 1687 1688 1689 1690 1691 1692 1693 1694 1695 1696 1697 1698 1699 1700

18th Century	1701 1702 1703 1704 1705 1706 1707 1708 1709 1710 1711 1712 1713 1714 1715 1716 1717 1718 1719 1720 1721 1722 1723 1724 1725 1726 1727 1728 1729 1730 1731 1732 1733 1734 1735 1736 1737 1738 1739 1740 1741 1742 1743 1744 1745 1746 1747 1748 1749 1750 1751 1752 1753 1754 1755 1756 1757 1758 1759 1760 1761 1762 1763 1764 1765 1766 1767 1768 1769 1770 1771 1772 1773 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800

19th Century	1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900

20th Century	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

21st Century	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

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1580 in England

1580 in England

Contents

Incumbents

Events

Births

Deaths

References

See also

Suggestions

List of years in the Kingdom of England

Encyclopedia Article