1581 in France
Events from the year 1581 in France.
Incumbents
Events
- King Henry III established a secret inner council to conduct state affairs in private, this council brought two men, Anne de Joyeuse and Jean Louis de la Valette to prominence in French politics.
- October 15 -The Ballet Comique de la Reine was performed in the great hall of the Petit Bourbon.
Births
Date unknown
- Jean du Vergier de Hauranne, Catholic priest
- Claude Bouthillier, statesman
- Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, mathematician, linguist and poet
- Jean-Baptiste d'Ornano, nobleman and Marshall of France
- Achille Harlay de Sancy, diplomat
- Clément Métezeau, engineer
- Jean Chalette, painter
Deaths
- September 6 – Guillaume Postel, linguist
- September 30 – Hubert Languet, French diplomat and reformer