Editing 1502 (section)

=== April&ndash;June ===
* [[April 2]] &ndash; [[Arthur, Prince of Wales]], the 15-year-old  Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester, heir to the English throne as eldest son of [[Henry VII of England|King Henry VII]], dies after a long illness less than five months after marrying [[Catherine of Aragon]]. Arthur's 10-year-old brother, [[Henry VIII|Henry, Duke of York]], becomes the new heir to the throne and will later succeed his father as King Henry VIII.<ref>Alison Weir, ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' (Grove Press, 2007) p. 37</ref>
* [[April 11]] &ndash; [[Dmitry Ivanovich (grandson of Ivan III)|Dmitry Ivanovich Vnuk]], who had been the teenage co-ruler of the [[Grand Duchy of Moscow]] since 1498 with his grandfather [[Ivan III of Moscow|Ivan III]], is arrested along with his mother, [[Elena of Moldavia]] on suspicion of conspiracy.<ref>"The Dynastic Crisis 1497-1502", by J. L. I. Fennell, in ''The Slavonic and East European Review'' (December 1960) pp. 8-9</ref> Ivan designates his son (and Dmitry's uncle) [[Vasili III of Moscow|Vasili Ivanovich]] as the new heir to the throne of Moscow. 
* [[April 14]] &ndash; The formal coronation of [[Ivan III of Moscow|Ivan the Great]] as [[List of Russian monarchs#Grand Princes of Moscow|Grand Prince of Moscow]] (encompassing most of the [[Russian people]]'s territory) to reflect that he is the nation's sole ruler. Ivan had been co-ruler of Moscow from 1449 to 1462, ruler from 1462 to 1471 and 1490 to 1498, and co-ruler with his eldest son (Ivan the Young, 1471-1490) and his grandson, Dmitry Ivanovich from 1498 onward.
* [[May 3]] &ndash; [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portuguese]] navigator [[João da Nova]] discovers the uninhabited island of [[Saint Helena]].<ref>The traditional May 21 date is the [[Protestant]] feast day for Saint [[Helena (empress)]], and would not have been marked this day by the Portuguese, because they were members of the [[Catholic Church]], and also because the island was discovered before the [[Reformation]] started. The discovery date is quoted as 3 May during the 16th/17th centuries, corresponding to the Catholic Feast day of the [[True Cross]], a date that is closely linked to the name of Saint Helena. {{cite journal|first=Ian|last=Bruce|title=St Helena Day|journal=Wirebird: The Journal of the Friends of St Helena|issue=44|year=2015|pages=32–46|url=http://sainthelenaisland.info/sthelenadayarticleianbruce.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://sainthelenaisland.info/sthelenadayarticleianbruce.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[May 9]] &ndash; [[Christopher Columbus]] leaves [[Cadiz, Spain|Cadiz]] in [[Spain]] for his [[Christopher Columbus#Fourth voyage (1502–1504)|fourth]] and final trip to the [[New World]], taking with him 147 men on his flagship, ''Capitana'' and the companion ships ''Gallega'', ''Vizcaína'', and ''Santiago de Palos''.<ref name=Bergreen>Lawrence Bergreen, ''Columbus: The Four Voyages, 1493–1504'' (Penguin Group, 2011) pp.298-299</ref> He explores Central America, and discovers the [[Isthmus of Panama]] and the land now occupied by [[Honduras]], and [[Costa Rica]], and possibly the island of [[St. Lucia]] as well <ref>{{cite web|title=History of St. Lucia|url=http://aboutstlucia.sluhoo.com/The%20history%20of%20stlucia.html|access-date=May 6, 2011}}</ref>
* [[May 26]] &ndash; Columbus and his men complete the rescue of stranded Portuguese soldiers in [[Morocco]], then depart [[Asilah]]  for a crossing of the Atlantic in 20 days.<ref name=Bergreen/>
* [[June 15]] &ndash; Columbus and his crew land on the island of [[Martinique]] and land at [[Le Carbet]].<ref name=Bergreen/>
* [[June 29]] &ndash; Columbus and his crew attempt to land at [[Santo Domingo]] in order to avoid being caught in a [[hurricane]], despite being ordered not to return to [[Hispaniola]]. [[Nicolás de Ovando]], the Spanish Viceroy, refuses to let Columbus sail into harbor and does not believe the warnings of the hurricane, which strikes two days later.