The Swiss Confederation defeats the Holy League at the Battle of Ravenna in Italy.
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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.
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Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa reaches the Pacific Ocean after crossing the Isthmus of Panama.
François I of France is crowned king in Reims.
The Habsburg Charles I of Spain becomes the ruler of the Spanish Empire after the death of Ferdinand II of Aragon.
The Ottoman Sultan Selim I occupies Egypt, marking the end of the Mamluk Sultanate.
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 excommunicates Martin Luther from the Catholic Church.
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 Treaty of Brussels is signed, ending the Anglo-French War of 1522–1526.
The Anabaptist movement starts in Zurich, Switzerland, with the first adult baptism by Conrad Grebel.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey is arrested for high treason in England.
Pope Clement VII forbids Henry VIII 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
The Protestant city of Zürich declares independence from the Catholic cantons, leading to the First War of Kappel in Switzerland.
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 by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on the central coast of Peru. Founded on the then Julian Calendar's Catholic holiday of Epiphany, when the Three Kings visited the baby Jesus, and was therefore known as Ciudad de los Reyes or City of the Kings.
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. 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.
Santiago, Chile, is founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia.
England and Scotland sign the Treaty of Greenwich, aiming to unite the two kingdoms through the marriage of King Henry VIII's son, Edward, to Mary, Queen of Scots. The Scottish Parliament rejected the treaty in December 1543.