John Calvin
© National Portrait Gallery, London
John Calvin
by Unknown artist
woodcut, 1581
11 3/8 in. x 8 1/4 in. (288 mm x 208 mm) paper size
Given by Henry Witte Martin, 1861
Reference Collection
NPG D48084
Subjects & Themesback to top
Events of 1581back to top
Current affairs
Sir Francis Drake is knighted on board his ship the Golden Hind.The heir to the French crown, François, Duke of Anjou comes to England to finalise marriage negotiations with Elizabeth I. He returns home unsuccessful the following year.
Parliament passes legislation against Catholicism.
The Jesuit missionary Edmund Campion is executed for treason.
Art and science
The mathematician Norman Robert publishes a pioneering study of magnetism The Newe AttractiveThe first ballet Ballet Comique de la Reine by Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx is performed in Paris.
International
The Oath of Abjuration - the seven northern, Protestant provinces of the Netherlands formally renounce their allegiance to Philip II of Spain and become an independent republic, the United Provinces .Stephen Báthory of Poland invades Russia as part of the Livonian war.
Akbar, Mughal Emperor of India, conquers Kabul (in present-day Afghanistan).
Arjan Dev becomes the fifth of the ten Sikh Gurus.
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