Famous People Who Died In 1557

The 16th-century Hindu mystic poet, Mirabai, was a devotee of Lord Krishna. In the North Indian Hindu tradition, she is a celebrated Bhakti saint. While millions of devotional hymns in praise of Lord Krishna are attributed to Mirabai, only a few hundreds are believed to be actually composed by her. Several temples are dedicated to her memory.

Lautaro was a Mapuche war leader best remembered for spearheading the indigenous resistance against the conquest of Chile by the Spanish. He led the warriors of Mapuche to a series of triumphs against the Spanish. He was killed at the Battle of Mataquito in his early 20s. Lautaro is credited with developing tactics that were used even after his death.

An ideal elite Renaissance woman, Bona Sforza was the queen of Poland and the wife of Sigismund I the Old. She is remembered for her fiery resistance to the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I, when he suggested Bona be planted as a Habsburg spy to counter the Jagiellonian dynasty.

Pontormo was an Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine School. His style was remarkably different from what characterized the art of the Florentine Renaissance. Orphaned young, he struggled for several years before he was able to establish his painting career. He painted many altarpiece canvases and frescoes, of which only a few survive today. 

Mikael Agricola was a Finnish Lutheran clergyman. Referred to as the father of literary Finnish, Agricola is credited with founding literary Finnish. Mikael Agricola is also credited with translating the New Testament into Finnish and producing the hymns and prayer book used regularly in Finland's new Lutheran Church. 

Officially the Archbishop of Uppsala, Olaus Magnus is remembered more as an established author and cartographer. Born Olof Månsson in southern Sweden, he spent the greater part of his life in exile, leaving behind several monumental works on Nordic countries including the History of the Northern People and Carta Marina, a map that is treasured even by modern oceanographers

Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia was the first to apply math to the science of ballistics. During the French invasion of Brescia, his jaw was sliced by a sword, causing him a speech difficulty, and thus gaining him the nickname Tartaglia, or "Stammerer." His Nova Scientia remains a significant work on mechanics.

The 17th-century ruler of Bijapur, Muhammad Adil Shah is known for helping the Mughals fight the Ahmednagar Sultanate. He is believed to have built the Gol Gumbaz, a structure with the second-largest tomb in the world, as a mausoleum for himself, and was buried in it.

Anne of Cleves was the Queen of England for 6 months in 1540, as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Their unconsummated marriage deprived led to the annulment of the marriage, following which she received a settlement and came to be known as the King's Beloved Sister.