1590

Events 
 March 14 – Battle of Ivry – Henry IV of France again defeats the forces of the Catholic League under the Duc de Mayenne.
 May – August – Unsuccessful siege of Paris by Henry IV of France. Henry is forced to raise the siege when the Duke of Parma comes to its relief with a Spanish army.
 May 17 – Anne of Denmark is crowned queen of Scotland.
 August 18 – John White, the governor of the Colony of Roanoke, returns from a supply-trip to England and finds his settlement deserted.
 September 15 – Pope Urban VII succeeds Sixtus V.
 December 5 – Pope Gregory XIV succeeds Urban VII.
 Coptic Pope Gabriel VIII succeeds Yoannis XIV.
 Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria Meletius I succeeds Silvester.
 Japan is united by Toyotomi Hideyoshi