1553

Year 1553 (MDLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. May – The first Royal Charter is granted to St Albans, in England. June – The first of the five Battles of Kawanakajima, the "Battle of the Fuse," commences in Japan between Takeda Shingen of Kai Province and Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo Province, part of a major series of conflicts during the Japanese Sengoku Period. June 26 – Two new schools, Christ's Hospital and King Edward's School, Witley, are created by Royal Charter in accordance with the will of King Edward VI of England; St Thomas' Hospital, London, in existence since the 12th century, is named in the same charter. July 9 – Battle of Sievershausen: Prince-elector Maurice of Saxony defeats the Catholic forces of Margrave Albert of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. Maurice is mortally wounded. July 10 – Four days after the death of her cousin King Edward VI of England, Lady Jane Grey is proclaimed Queen of England – a position she holds for the next nine days. July 19 – The Lord Mayor of London proclaims Mary I the rightful Queen, following a change of allegiance by the Privy Council; Lady Jane Grey voluntarily abdicates. August – English explorer Richard Chancellor enters the White Sea and reaches Arkhangelsk, going on to the court of Ivan IV of Russia, opening up trade between England and Russia. August 3 – Queen Mary I of England arrives in London from East Anglia. August 18 – John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, is tried and convicted of treason for his role in putting his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, on the throne. September – Anglican bishops in England are arrested, and Roman Catholic bishops are restored. October 6 – Şehzade Mustafa, oldest son of Suleiman the Magnificent, is executed in Konya by order of his father. September 23 – The Sadians consolidate their power in Morocco, by defeating the last of their enemies. October 27 – Geneva's governing council burns Michael Servetus at the stake, as a heretic.