Editing 1556 (section)

=== January&ndash;March ===
* [[January 4]] &ndash; In Japan, [[Saitō Yoshitatsu]], the eldest son of [[Saitō Dōsan]], arranges the murders of his two younger brothers, Magoshiro and Kiheiji, and forces his father to flee from the Sagiyama Castle.
* [[January 16]] &ndash; [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] abdicates the thrones of the [[Spanish Empire]] (including his colonies in the New World) in favor of his son, [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]], and retires to a monastery.<ref>{{cite book|author=Allied Powers (1919- ). Reparation Commission|title=Belgian Claims to the Triptych of Saint Ildephonse and the Treasure of the Order of the Golden Fleece|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eDQ6AQAAMAAJ|year=1921|page=35|language=en}}</ref>
* [[January 23]] &ndash; The [[1556 Shaanxi earthquake|Shaanxi earthquake]], the deadliest earthquake in history, occurs with its [[epicenter]] in [[Shaanxi]] province, China; 830,000 people may have been killed.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Feng |first1=X. |last2=Ma |first2=J. |last3=Zhou |first3=Y. |last4=England |first4=P. |last5=Parsons |first5=B. |last6=Rizza |first6=M. A. |last7=Walker |first7=R. T. |title=Geomorphology and Paleoseismology of the Weinan Fault, Shaanxi, Central China, and the Source of the 1556 Huaxian Earthquake |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth |date=December 2020 |volume=125 |issue=12 |pages=1–23 |doi=10.1029/2019JB017848 |bibcode=2020JGRB..12517848F |s2cid=228829854 |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019JB017848 |access-date=10 October 2023 |language=en |issn=2169-9313}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=颤抖的地球: 地震科学 |date=2005 |publisher=清华大学出版社有限公司 |isbn=978-7-302-10694-4 |page=35 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0_2bizzqvFEC&q=1556 |access-date=10 October 2023 |language=zh}}</ref>
* [[January 24]] &ndash; In India, at the [[Sher Mandal]] in [[Delhi]], the Mughal Emperor [[Humayun]] trips while descending the stairs from his library and strikes the side of his head against a stone step, sustaining a fatal injury. He never regains consciousness and dies seven days later.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.532498|title=History of Mughal architecture.|last=Nath|first=Ram|publisher=Abhinav|year=1982|isbn=039102650X|oclc=59153735|author-link=Ram Nath}}{{page needed|date=June 2019}}</ref> 
* [[February 5]] &ndash; [[Truce of Vaucelles]]: Fighting temporarily ends between [[Kingdom of France|France]] and [[Spanish Empire|Spain]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Italian Wars 1494-1559: War, State and Society in Early Modern Europe |date=11 June 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-89939-6 |page=272 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KnnJAwAAQBAJ&dq=truce+of+vaucelles+%225+february+1556%22&pg=PA272 |access-date=10 October 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[February 14]] &ndash; [[Akbar the Great]] ascends the throne of the [[Mughal Empire]] in [[India]] at age 13; he will rule until his death in [[1605]], by which time most of the north and centre of the [[Indian subcontinent]] will be under his control.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Parameswaran |first1=Dr S. Pari |title=ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY: AN EAGLE'S VIEW FOR CIVIL SERVICES AND OTHER EXAMS |date=13 January 2023 |publisher=MJP Publisher |isbn=978-93-5528-240-8 |page=95 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GWWnEAAAQBAJ&dq=Akbar+13+%2214+february+1556%22&pg=PA95 |access-date=10 October 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[March 21]] &ndash; In [[Oxford]], [[Thomas Cranmer]], the former [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], is burned at the stake for treason for his role in the [[English Reformation]] as chief bishop of the Anglican Church.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Acs |first1=Pal |title=Thomas Cranmer's Martyrdom as Parable |url=http://real.mtak.hu/72109/1/acs_thomas_cranmer.pdf |website=mtak.hu |access-date=10 October 2023}}</ref>
* [[March 22]] &ndash; [[Reginald Pole]], a [[Roman Catholic]] [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|Cardinal]], is appointed by Queen Mary of England as the new [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] and head of the Catholic Archdiocese of Canterbury.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Duffy |first=Eamon |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1npq81 |title=Fires of Faith: Catholic England under Mary Tudor |date=2009 |publisher=Yale University Press |jstor=j.ctt1npq81 |isbn=978-0-300-15216-6}}</ref>