12th May » French Wars of Religion: Henry III of France flees Paris after Henry of Guise enters the city and a Day of the Barricades known as spontaneous uprising occurs.
28th May » The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, heading for the English Channel. (It will take until May 30 for all ships to leave port.)
30th May » The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.
19th July » Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) known as Anglo-Spanish War: Spanish Armada Battle of Gravelines e.g Battle of Gravelines The Spanish Armada is sighted in the English Channel.
29th July » Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) Anglo-Spanish War: Spanish Armada Battle of Gravelines Battle of Gravelines English Royal Navy naval forces under the command of Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeat the Span
31st July » The Spanish Armada is spotted off the coast of England.
Famous Birthdays in 1588
12th January » John Winthrop, English-American lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (d. 1649)
27th March » Celestyn Myślenta, Prussian-Polish theologian and academic (d. 1653)
5th April » Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (d. 1679)
15th April » Claudius Salmasius, French scholar (d. 1653)