1523

Perhaps I will attract some of the Jews to the Christian faith. For our fools-the Popes, bishops, sophists, and monks the coarse blockheads! have until this time so ill-treated the Jews that if I had been a Jew and had seen such idiots and blockheads ruling and teaching the Christian religion, I would rather have been a sow than a Christian. For they have dealt with the Jews as if they were dogs and not human beings.

Martin Luther, "Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew"

Nothing remains
but flowers and sad songs
in Tlatelolco and Mexico
where once there were
warriors and wise men.

Aztec poem, 1523

In the year 1523...

• Swedish Independence - the Swedes break away from Danish rule, declaring themselves an independent nation and proclaiming Gustavus Vasa their king as Gustavus I.
• Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado invades Guatemala and makes war upon the Quiche Maya, defeating them the following year.
• At the Battle of Villalors, forces loyal to Charles V defeat a league of comuneros rebelling against Charles' policies in Spain.
• Russian Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III forceably annexes Novgorod-Seversky into the growing Russian state.
• A Japanese trading party of the Hosokawa clan loots Ningbo, causing the Ming Dynasty to abrogate their trade agreement with the Japanese.
• Indonesian sultan Ali Mugayat Syah drives the Portuguese out of Pasai.
• Martin Luther writes "Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew" regarding his hopes that the Jews will soon convert to Protestantism.

These people were born in 1523:

• Future queen of Poland Anna the Jagiellonian.
• Italian anatomist Gabriele Falloppio, discoverer of the fallopian tubes.
• Lovelorn Italian poetess Gaspara Stampa.
• French cryptographer Blaise de Vigenère, incorrectly credited with the invention of the Vigenère cipher, although he did invent the autokey cipher.

These people died in 1523:

• Pope Adrian VI, succeeded by Clement VII.
• Two-time Japanese shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane.
• German poet-laureate Ulrich von Hutten.
• Chinese scholar, painter, and poet, Tang Yin.
• Flemish painter Gerard David.
• Italian artist Perugino, the teacher of Raphael.
• Italian painter Luca Signorelli.
• Italian painter Bartolomeo Montagna, founder of the influential School of Vicenza.
• Franz von Sickingen, romanticized by Goethe as the last of the German knights.
• English composer William Cornyshe.

1522 - 1523 - 1524

16th century