1516 e.v.

Italian explorer Rafael Perestrello, a cousin of Christopher Columbus, commands an expedition from Portuguese Malacca to land on the shores of mainland southern China, and trade with Chinese merchants at Guangzhou, during the Ming Dynasty. The fall of the Nantan meteorite is possibly observed near the city of Nantan, Nandan County, Guangxi (China).
Portuguese soldier Fernão Lopes becomes the first known permanent inhabitant of Saint Helena.
Leonardo da Vinci accepts Francis I's invitation to France.
The predecessor of the Royal Mail, known as the Master of the Posts, is established by Henry VIII of England. Gillingham School is founded, the oldest in Dorset, England.
Fuggerei is established in Augsburg (Bavaria), as the world's oldest social housing complex still in use.
Antonio Bernieri, Italian painter during the Renaissance period, is born (will die in 1565). Giuliano da Sangallo, Florentine sculptor and architect, dies (was born in 1443)
John Foxe, biographer, is born (will die in 1587)
Manco Inca Yupanqui, ruler of the Inca, is born (will die in 1544)
Canghali of Kazan, khan of Qasim and Kazan, is born (will die in 1535)
Margaretha Coppier, Dutch heroine, is born (will die in 1597)
Shri Gusainji, son of Shri Vallabhacharyaji, is born.
James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, is born (will die in 1572)
== January ==
Juan Díaz de Solís "discovers" the Río de la Plata (in future Argentina).
=== 1st ===
Margaret Leijonhufvud, queen of Gustav I of Sweden, is born (will die in 1551)
=== 14th ===
Herluf Trolle, Danish admiral, is born (will die in 1565)
=== 16th ===
Bayinnaung, King of Burma, is born (will die in 1581)
=== 20th ===
Juan Díaz de Solís, Spanish navigator and explorer, dies (was born in 1470)
==== 23rd ====
With the death of Ferdinand II of Aragon, his grandson, Charles of Ghent, becomes King of Spain; his mother Queen Joanna of Castile also succeeds as Queen of Aragon and co-monarch with Carlos, but remains confined at Tordesillas.
== February ==
=== 2nd ===
Girolamo Zanchi, Italian theologian, is born (will die in 1590)
=== 4th ===
Anthony of Supraśl, Polish Orthodox priest and saint, dies.
=== 16th ===
Prospero Spani, Italian sculptor, is born (will die in 1584)
=== 18th ===
Queen Mary I of England, daughter of King Henry VIII of England and Queen Catherine of Aragon, is born (will die in 1558)
== March ==
=== 1st ===
Desiderius Erasmus publishes a new Greek edition of the New Testament, Novum Instrumentum omne, in Basel.
=== 13th ===
Vladislaus II, king of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia, dies (was born in 1456)
=== 15th ===
Alqas Mirza, Safavid prince, is born (will die in 1550)
=== 17th ===
Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours, ruler of Florence, dies (was born in 1449)
=== 26th ===
Conrad Gessner, Swiss naturalist, is born (will die in 1565)
=== 29th ===
The Venetian Ghetto is instituted in the Republic of Venice.
== April ==
=== 16th ===
Tabinshwehti, King of Burma, is born (will die in 1550)
=== 23rd ===
The Reinheitsgebot is instituted in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, regulating the purity of beer permissible for sale. Georg Fabricius, Protestant German poet, is born (will die in 1571)
=== 25th ===
John Yonge, English diplomat, dies (will be born in 1467)
== June ==
=== 14th ===
King John III of Navarre dies (was born in 1469)
=== 28th ===
Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy, English courtier and patron of learning, is born (will die in 1544)
== July ==
Selim I of the Ottoman Empire declares war on the Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo and invades Syria.
=== 10th ===
Alice FitzHugh, English heir, dies (was born in 1448)
=== 27th ===
Emilie of Saxony, German nobleman, is born (will die in 1591)
=== 28th ===
William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, German nobleman, is born (will die in 1592)
=== 30th ===
Johann V of Nassau-Vianden-Dietz, Dutch count, dies (was born in 1455)
== August ==
=== 9th ===
Hieronymus Bosch, Dutch painter, dies (will be born in 1450)
=== 13th ===
The Treaty of Noyon is signed. Francis I of France recognizes Charles I of Spain's claim to Naples, and Charles recognizes Francis's claim to Milan.
Hieronymus Wolf, German historian, is born (will die in 1580)
=== 18th ===
King Francis I of France and Pope Leo X sign the Concordat of Bologna, agreeing on the relationship between church and state in France.
=== 21st ===
John III of Egmont, Dutch count, dies (was born in 1438)
=== 24th ===
Battle of Marj Dabiq (Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–17)): The Ottoman Sultan Selim I defeats the Mamluk forces commanded by the sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri (who dies).
== September ==
=== 2nd ===
Francis I, Duke of Nevers, is born (will die in 1561)
=== 21st ===
Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, is born (will die in 1571)
== October ==
=== 4th ===
Archangelo de' Bianchi, Italian cardinal, is born (will die in 1580)
=== 23rd ===
Charlotte of Valois, French princess, is born (will die in 1524)
=== 27th ===
Ruy Gómez de Silva, Portuguese noble, is born (will die in 1573)
=== 28th ===
Battle of Yaunis Khan (Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–17)): Ottoman forces under the Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha defeat the Mamluks near Gaza.
== November ==
=== 5th ===
Martin Helwig, German cartographer of Silesia, is born (will die in 1574)
=== 26th ===
Giovanni Bellini, Venetian painter, dies (was born in 1430)
== December ==
Thomas More's most famous work, Utopia, completed this year, is published in Leuven (in Latin).
=== 4th ===
Treaty of Brussels: Peace is declared between the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire.
=== 13th ===
Johannes Trithemius, German scholar and cryptographer, dies (was born in 1462)
=== 21st ===
Giuseppe Leggiadri Gallani, Italian poet and dramatist, is born (will die in 1590)
== The Symphony That Never Ends ==
John III ascends Spanish throne.
Category:Year
Category:2nd millennium era vulgaris
Category:16th century era vulgaris
Category:1510s era vulgaris