February 14–Queen consort Mary of Hungary, named as regent for the kingdom upon the August 29 death of her husband Louis II, asks permission from the Hungarian Diet to step down as the regent for the newly elected Frederick of Habsburg, but is denied.
July 25– The Battle of Sződfalva is fought near Szeged in modern-day Hungary, with an army of Hungarians and Romanian Transylvanians defeating a Serbian army led by Jovan Nenad, the self-proclaimed Emperor of the Serbs. The next day, Nenad is assassinated for his failure in battle.
Diet of Odense (Denmark): King Frederick I declares religious tolerance for Lutherans, permits marriage of priests and forbids seeking papal pallium (approval) for royal appointments of Church officials.
October 31– Spanish conquistador Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón departs from Zihuatanejo in modern-day Mexico on a voyage of exploration of the Pacific Ocean, along with three ships, Saavedra's flagship La Florida, and the vessels Espiritu Santo and Santiago.
December 6–Pope Clement VII, held prisoner at the Castel Sant'Angelo since the sack of Rome in May, is released after seven months of captivity, along with 16 Roman Catholic cardinals.
December 15– Two of the three ships of Álvaro de Saavedra are separated from his own vessel, La Florida, during a storm. The Espiritu Santo and Santiago, sailing ahead of La Florida, are never heard from again.
The Ming dynasty government of China greatly reduces the quotas for taking grain, severely diminishing the state's capacity to relieve famines through a previously successful granary system.