2nd March » Mendoza, Argentina is founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro del Castillo.
31st March » The city of San Cristóbal, Táchira is founded.
2nd July » Menas of Ethiopia e.g Menas, Emperor of Ethiopia, defeats a revolt in Emfraz.
19th August » Mary, Queen of Scots, who was 18-years-old, returns to Scotland after spending 13 years in France.
24th August » William the Silent or Willem of Orange marries duchess Anna of Saxony.
9th September » The ultimately unsuccessful Colloquy at Poissy opens in an effort to reconcile Roman Catholicism in France known as French Catholics and Huguenots named Protestants.
10th September » Battles of Kawanakajima e.g Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima Takeda Shingen defeats Uesugi Kenshin in the climax of their ongoing conflicts.
Famous Birthdays in 1561
6th January » Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (d. 1656)
22nd January » Francis Bacon, English philosopher (d. 1626)
11th July » Luis de Góngora, Spanish poet (d. 1627)
24th July » Maria of the Palatinate-Simmern (d. 1589)
20th August » Jacopo Peri, Italian composer (d. 1633)
25th August » Philippe van Lansberge, Dutch astronomer and mathematician (d. 1632)
10th September » Hernando Arias de Saavedra, Paraguayan-Argentinian soldier and politician (d. 1634)
29th September » Adriaan van Roomen, Flemish priest and mathematician (d. 1615)
24th October » Anthony Babington, English leader of the Babington Plot (d. 1586)
7th December » Kikkawa Hiroie, Japanese daimyo (d. 1625)
9th December » Edwin Sandys (died 1629) named Edwin Sandys, English politician (d. 1629)
Famous Deaths in History for 1561
31st January » Bairam Khan, Mughalan general (b. 1501)
31st January » Menno Simons, Dutch minister and theologian (b. 1496)
26th February » Jorge de Montemor, Spanish author and poet (b. 1520)
27th October » Lope de Aguirre, Spanish explorer (b. 1510)