The Battle of Nancy takes place on January 5, 1477. It was the decisive final battle of the Burgundian Wars, where Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, was defeated and killed by René II, Duke of Lorraine, and Swiss forces, marking the end of Burgundian power and leading to significant shifts in European borders.
Browse Historical Events by Month:
What Happened in January?
Tragic deaths, ravaged cities, and great acts of heroism. Discover what happened this month in history and the defining moments that shaped the world. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
Note: Sources for the historical content shown, include research and reviews of relevant Online History Resources or printed material. When possible, we show a link to a source which provides additional or unique perspective about the event.
We do our best to provide accurate information but would appreciate being notified if any incorrect information is found. You may do so by using our Feedback link.
King Richard III convenes the only Parliament of his reign from January 23 to February 20, 1484. The session, held at Westminster, was dominated by two main issues: legally affirming Richard's claim to the throne and punishing rebels from the recent uprising.
The Parliament also enacted some measures to combat corruption and protect the common people. After Richard's death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, the Titulus Regius was repealed by the first Parliament of Henry VII, which restored the legitimacy of Edward IV's children.
Granada, the last stronghold of Moorish ruler, Sultan Boabdil (Muhammad XII) in Spain surrenders to the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II and Isabella I; ending the nearly 800-year Moorish rule in Spain.
Spanish explorer Vicente Yáñez Pinzón makes the first recorded European sighting of the Brazilian coast on January 26, 1500, while captaining a ship in a fleet led by Pedro Álvares Cabral.is recognized for landing near present-day Pernambuco. He named the area Cabo de Santa María de la Consolación and explored the mouth of the Amazon River.
Portuguese explorer Gaspar de Lemos reaches the Bay of Guanabara in Brazil on January 1, 1502 and mistaking the bay's entrance for a river, named it "Rio de Janeiro" (River of January). The name was given to honor the month of their arrival.
The name stuck for the bay and eventually that eventually developed there. Lemos was part of a larger Portuguese expedition led by Amerigo Vespucci that explored the coast.
Louis XII of France is forced to cede Naples to Spain and signs the Treaty of Lyon on January 31, 1504 as he faced a coalition gathered by Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II of Aragon and military defeats.
Louis had conquered the Duchy of Milan in 1500 and pushed forward to the Kingdom of Naples, which fell to him in 1501.
The Swiss Confederation defeats the Holy League at the Battle of Ravenna in Italy.
François I of France is crowned king in Reims.
The Habsburg Charles I of Spain (also known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) becomes the ruler of the Spanish Empire on January 23, 1516, after the death of his grandfather, Ferdinand II of Aragon. He was proclaimed King of Castile and Aragon on March 14, 1516, jointly with his mother, Joanna.
The Ottoman Sultan Selim I occupies Egypt, marking the end of the Mamluk Sultanate following the decisive Battle of Ridaniya on January 22, 1517.
Cardinal Wolsey becomes Lord Chancellor of England under Henry VIII.
Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I dies on Jan 12, 1519 and his grandson Charles V becomes the new Holy Roman Emperor on June 28, 1519.
Charles had to secure the support of the seven electors and defeated rivals like Francis I of France through extensive bribery, funded by the Fugger banking family. Charles's election united his inherited Spanish, Burgundian, and Austrian territories and marked a new era of Habsburg dominance in Europe.
Pope Leo X, excommunicated Martin Luther from the Catholic Church, after Luther refused to recant his teachings, which challenged church practices like selling indulgences, marking a pivotal moment in the Protestant Reformation.
The Diet of Worms, called by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to address Luther's religious views, begins in Germany on January 23, 1521.
Martin Luther arrived on April 16, making his famous defense of his beliefs on April 17 and 18, 1521 and refusing to recant his writing unless they can be proven wrong by the Bible or reason. On May 25, 1521: The Edict of Worms is issued, declaring Luther an outlaw and a heretic.
The Anabaptist movement starts in Zurich, Switzerland, on January 21, 1525, when Conrad Grebel and others performed the first modern adult baptism (rebaptism) in defiance of the city council.
The radical wing of the Reformation focused on believer's baptism and church-state separation, leading to persecution and the spread of the movement.
Pope Clement VII sends a letter to Henry VIII on January 5, 1531, forbidding him from remarrying until his first marriage is resolved; threatening excommunication if he did so.
Henry, who was seeking to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn, ignored the Pope's warning and went on to secretly marry Anne Boleyn in 1532. This defiance ultimately led to Henry VIII's excommunication and the English Reformation, as England broke away from the authority of the Catholic Church. More
King Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn in a formal wedding. It is believed that he had previously married her secretly on November 14,1532, shortly after their return from Calais, possibly to legitimize their relationship as Anne was already pregnant.
The wedding lead to the English Reformation and the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. Catherine of Aragon was stripped of her titles, exiled, and confined to Kimbolton Castle, where she died on January 7, 1536, at the age of 50 potentially from cancer. Her grave in Peterborough Cathedral was initially marked with her lesser title of Princess Dowager of Wales, but was later changed to "Queen of England" in the 20th century.
The city of Lima, Peru, is founded on January 18, 1535 by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on the central coast of Peru. The city was known as "Ciudad de Los Reyes" or "City of the Kings" because in the Julian calendar. in use at that time, the date corresponded to the holiday of Epiphany, when the Three Kings visited the baby Jesus,
Cathedral of Lima, Peru. (1854) - The Cathedral Foundation Stone was laid by Francisco Pizarro (1535)
Source: Exploration of the Valley of Amazon vol.1 by Lieutenant William Lewis Herndon, U.S.N. Author William Lewis Herndon (1813–1857)
Spain annexes Cuba.
King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves, his fourth wife on January 6, 1540,. The marriage was declared unconsummated and was annulled after a few months. Anne was not crowned queen consort.
It is believed that the marriage took place because Henry VIII thought he needed to form a political alliance with her brother, William, a leader of the Protestants of Western Germany, to strengthen his position against potential attacks from Catholic France and the Holy Roman Empire. Following the annulment, Henry gave her a generous settlement and Anne was thereafter known as the King's Beloved Sister. Remaining in England, she lived to see the reigns of Henry's children, Edward VI and Mary I, and attended Mary's coronation in 1553. Anne outlived the rest of Henry's wives.