16th Century

00s
- 1501
  - Birth of Pietro Andrea Mattioli
- 1504
  - Birth of Pope Pius V
  - Birth of Stanislaus Hosius
- 1507
  - Birth of Duke of Alba
  - Birth of Jerome de Oleastro
- 1509
  - Birth of John Calvin
- 1600
  - Death of Luis de Molina
10s
- 1516
  - Birth of Conrad Gesner
- 1519
  - Birth of Jan van Gorp
  - Birth of Pope Innocent IX
20s
- 1520
  - Birth of Matthias Flacius Illyricus
  - Birth of Sixtus of Siena
- 1521
  - Birth of Pope Sixtus V
  - Birth of Pope Urban VII
- 1522
  - Birth of Laurentius Surius
  - Birth of Ulisse Aldrovandi
- 1527
  - Birth of Philip II of Spain
30s
- 1534
  - Death of Thomas de Vio Cajetan
- 1535
  - Birth of Benedictus Pererius (approximate date)
  - Birth of Luis de Molina
  - Birth of Pontus Heuterus
  - Birth of Pope Gregory XIV
  - Death of St. John Fisher
  - Death of St. Thomas More
- 1536
  - Birth of Pope Clement VIII
- 1537
  - Birth of Francisco de Ribera
- 1538
  - Birth of Christopher Clavius
  - Birth of St. Charles Borromeo
40s
- 1540
  - Death of Francesco Giorgi
  - Death of Peter Galatinus
- 1542
  - Birth of St. Robert Bellarmine
- 1546
  - Death of Martin Luther
- 1547
  - Death of Francois Vatable
  - Death of Henry VIII of England
- 1548
  - Death of Agostino Steuco
- 1549
  - Birth of Gregory of Valencia
50s
- 1551
  - Birth of Martin Delrio
- 1552
  - Birth of Andreas Schottus
- 1553
  - Death of Ambrosius Catharinus
- 1554
  - Death of Johann Ferus
- 1556
  - Death of St. Ignatius of Loyola
- 1558
  - Death of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
- 1559
  - Birth of Archduke Albert of Austria
60s
- 1560
  - Birth of Adrianus Scrieckius (approximate date)
- 1561
  - Birth of Charles Scribani
- 1563
  - Birth of Mutius Vitelleschi
  - Death of Jerome de Oleastro
- 1564
  - Birth of Shakespeare
  - Death of John Calvin
- 1565
  - Death of Conrad Gesner
  - Death of Pope Pius IV
- 1567
  - Birth of Cornelius a Lapide
  - Birth of Henry Francis Van der Burch
- 1569
  - Death of Sixtus of Siena
70s
- 1572
  - First sack of Mechlin by heretics during the Dutch Revolt; Van der Burch's father imprisoned and financially ruined
  - Death of Jan van Gorp
  - Death of Pope Pius V
- 1575
  - Death of Matthias Flacius Illyricus
- 1577
  - Death of Pietro Andrea Mattioli
- 1578
  - Death of Laurentius Surius
- 1579
  - Death of Stanislaus Hosius
80s
- 1580
  - Second sack of Mechlin by heretics during the Dutch Revolt; Van der Burch's father's house pillaged and wife ransomed for thousands of florins
- 1582
  - Death of Duke of Alba
- 1584
  - Death of St. Charles Borromeo
90s
- 1590
  - Death of Pope Sixtus V
  - Death of Pope Urban VII
- 1591
  - Death of Francisco de Ribera
  - Death of Pope Gregory XIV
  - Death of Pope Innocent IX
- 1592
  - Cornelius a Lapide entered the Society of Jesus, 8 July
  - Pope Clement VIII issued the bull Cum Sacrorum on the Vulgate, 9 November
- 1598
  - Death of Philip II of Spain