1556 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1556.
Events
- Unknown dates
- *The first printing press in India is introduced by Jesuits at Saint Paul's College, Goa.
- *The first written evidence of Yakshagana dance-drama is found on an inscription at the Lakshminarayana Temple, Hosaholalu in India.
- *Augustus, Elector of Saxony, establishes a royal state library in Dresden, predecessor of the Saxon State and University Library Dresden.
New books
Prose
- Georg Bauer – De re metallica
- John Ponet – ''A Short Treasure of Politic Power''
Poetry
- Pierre de Ronsard – ''Les Hymnes''
Births
- March 7 – Guillaume du Vair, French lawyer and philosopher
- April 27 – François Béroalde de Verville, French novelist and poet
- July 25 – George Peele, English dramatist and poet
- August 10 – Philipp Nicolai, German poet and composer
- November 15 – Jacques Davy Duperron, French poet, cardinal and politician
- November 25 – John Heminges, English actor and editor of the First Folio
- Unknown date – John Paul Nazarius, Italian theologian
Deaths
- April 26 – Valentin Friedland, German scholar and teacher
- May 7 – Hieronymus Andreae, German printer and publisher
- July 31 – Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish theologian, founder of the Jesuits
- October 21 – Pietro Aretino, Italian satirist
- October 31 – Johannes Sleidanus, Luxembourgeois historian
- November 14 – Giovanni della Casa, Florentine poet
- December 23 – Nicholas Udall, English dramatist
- Unknown dates
- *Fuzûlî, Ottoman poet and philosopher
- *Oddur Gottskálksson, Icelandic translator