1496
1496 was a
leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the
Gregorian calendar.
*
January 3 -
Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine.
*
March 5 -
England King
Henry VII issued letters patern to
John Cabot and his sons, authorizing them to discover unknown lands.
*
March 10 -
Christopher Columbus leaves
Hispaniola for
Spain, ending his second visit to the
Western Hemisphere.
* July -
Spanish forces under
Gonzalo Hernandez de Cordoba capture
Atella after a siege. Among the prisoners is the
French viceroy of Naples, the
Comte de Montpensier.
Ferrante II is restored to the throne of
Naples.
*
Jesus College (
University of Cambridge) founded.
*
March 28 -
Mary Tudor, queen of
Louis XII of France (d.
1533)
*
May 12 -
Gustav Vasa,
King of Sweden (died
1560)
*
October 20 -
Claude, Duke of Guise, French soldier (died
1550)
*
François Bonivard, Swiss patriot and historian (died
1570)
*
Edward Fox, English churchman
*
Richard Maitland, Scottish poet (died
1586)
*
Clément Marot, French poet (died
1544)
*
Anthony St Leger, Lord Deputy of Ireland
*
Menno Simons, Dutch Anabaptist leader (died
1561)
*
Henry Somerset, 2nd Earl of Worcester (died
1549)
*
March 4 - Archduke
Sigismund of Austria (born
1427)
*
September 7 - King
Ferdinand II of Naples (born
1469)
*
September 25 -
Piero Capponi, Italian soldier and statesman (born
1447)
*
Piero del Pollaiuolo, Italian painter (born
1443)
