1547 was a common year starting on a Saturday in the Julian calendar. It was the 547th year of the 2nd millennium, the 47th year of the 16th century and the 8th year of the 1540s decade.

Summary 
1547 was a year that marked the deaths of two powerful European Kings - Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France. In England, Henry's nine-year-old son took over as Edward VI of England, while in France, Henry II became the next King. Also, during this year, Ivan IV of Russia was crowned Tsar. He later became better known as Ivan the Terrible.

Events 

 January 2 - Giovanni Luigi Fieschi leads a failed revolt in Genoa against Andrea Doria.
 January 16 – Grand Duke Ivan IV of Muscovy  becomes the first Tsar of Russia.
 January 28 – Edward VI succeeds his father Henry VIII as King of England. Henry VIII had been King since 1509.
 February 20 – Edward VI of England is crowned at Westminster Abbey
 March 31 – Henry II succeeds his father Francis I as King of France.
 April 4 - Catherine Parr, widow of Henry VIII of England, secretly marries Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley.
 April 24 – Battle of Mühlberg – Emperor Charles V defeats the forces of the Schmalkaldic League under the Elector John Frederick of Saxony.
 September 10 – Battle of Pinkie. An English army under the Duke of Somerset, Protector of England, defeats a Scottish army under James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran, the Regent. The English seize Edinburgh.

Unknown dates 
 First printed book in the Lithuanian language. writer – Martynas Mazvydas.
 Increased immigration of Huguenots to Kent, especially Canterbury
 Chambre Ardente established in Paris
 John Dee visits the Low Countries to study navigation with Gemma Frisius.

Births 

 January 24 - Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (d. 1578)
 February 24 - Don John of Austria, military leader (d. 1578)
 March 1 - Rudolph Goclenius, German philosopher (d. 1628)
 June 28 - Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian organist and composer (d. 1599)
 September 10 - George I, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (d. 1596)
 September 14 - Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch statesman (d. 1619)
 September 22 - Philipp Nikodemus Frischlin, German philologist and poet (d. 1590)
 September 29 - Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer (d. 1616)
 October 18 - Justus Lipsius, Flemish humanist (d. 1606)
 November 12 - Claude of Valois, daughter of Henry II of France (d. 1575)
 November 26 - Nicolaus Taurellus, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1606)
 December 5 - Ubbo Emmius, Dutch historian and geographer (d. 1625)

Date unknown 
 Matteo Perez d'Aleccio, Italian painter (d. 1616)
 Mateo Alemán, Spanish novelist (d. 1609)
 Peter Bales, English calligrapher (d. 1610)
 Oichi, Japanese noblewoman (d. 1583)
 Krzysztof Mikolaj "the Lightning" Radziwill, Polish nobleman (d. 1603)
 Richard Stanyhurst, English translator (d. 1618)
 Roemer Visscher, Dutch writer (d. 1620)
 Stanislaw Zolkiewski, Polish nobleman (d. 1620)

Deaths 

 January 2 - Giovanni Luigi Fieschi, Genoese politician (b. 1524)
 January 16 - Johannes Schoener, German astronomer and cartographer (b. 1477)
 January 18 - Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal and scholar (b. 1470)
 January 19 - Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, English poet (b. 1517)
 January 28 - King Henry VIII of England (b. 1491)
 February 25 - Vittoria Colonna, marchioness of Pescara (b. 1490)
 February 28 - Philippa of Guelders, Duchess of Lorraine (b. 1467)
 March 31 - King Francis I of France (b. 1494)
 May 22 - Daniel, Metropolitan of Moscow (b. 1492)
 June 21 - Sebastiano del Piombo, Italian painter (b. 1485)
 August 7 - Saint Cajetan (b. 1480)
 December 2 - Hernan Cortes, Spanish conquistador (b. 1485)
 December 28 - Konrad Peutinger, German humanist and antiquarian (b. 1465)

Unknown dates 
 Edward Hall, English chronicler and lawyer (b. 1498)
 Photisarath, King of Laos (b. 1501)