* Afonso I of Kongo ( c. 1456 – 1542 or 1543 ), king of Kingdom of Kongo in west central Africa

* 1542 – Turkish-Portuguese War ( 1538-1557 ) – Battle of Wofla: the Portuguese are scattered, their leader Christovão da Gama is captured and later executed.

(; 4 October 1542 – 17 September 1621 ) was an Italian Jesuit and a Cardinal of the Catholic Church.

* 1542 – Mary, Queen of Scots ( d. 1587 )

* 1495 – Nicolas Cleynaerts, Flemish grammarian ( d. 1542 )

* 1542 – Princess Mary Stuart becomes Mary, Queen of Scots.

* 1480 – Girolamo Aleandro, Italian Catholic cardinal ( d. 1542 )

* 1542 – Portuguese under Christovão da Gama capture a Muslim-occupied hill fort in northern Ethiopia in the Battle of Baçente.

It was begun in Venice in 1541 – 1542 by the Guinta.

Girolamo Aleandro ( also Hieronymus or Jerome Aleander ) ( 13 February 1480 – 1 February 1542 ) was an Italian cardinal, and the first cardinal appointed in pectore.

Gasparo Contarini ( 16 October 1483 – 24 August 1542 ) was an Italian diplomat and lay cardinal.

In 1506, Afonso I ( 1506 – 1542 ), a Christian, took over the throne.

Portuguese discoveries | Portuguese expeditions 1415 – 1542: arrival places and dates ; Portuguese spice trade routes in the Indian Ocean ( blue ); territories of the Portuguese empire under King John III of Portugal | King John III rule ( green )

* 1542 – John of the Cross, Spanish mystic and poet ( d. 1591 )

* 1544 – Italian War of 1542 – 1546: the first Siege of Boulogne begins.

* 1542 – Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time.

* Mary, Queen of Scots ( 1542 – 1587 ), mother of James I of England

* 1542 – Battle of Solway Moss: The English army defeats the Scots.

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado assembled an enormous expedition at Compostela in 1540 – 1542 to explore and find the mystical Seven Golden Cities of Cibola as described by Fray Marcos de Niza.

* 1600 – Kuki Yoshitaka, Japanese naval commander ( b. 1542 )

* 1542 – Explorer Cabrillo discovers Santa Catalina Island off the California coast.

* 1542 – Robert Bellarmine, Italian saint ( d. 1621 )

In 1542, following the execution of Henry's fifth wife, Catherine Howard, the unmarried Henry invited Mary to attend the royal Christmas festivities.

** Catherine Howard, Fifth Queen of Henry VIII of England, ( born in between 1518 and 1524 ; d. 1542 )

** Catherine Howard, Fifth Queen of Henry VIII of England, ( born in between 1518 and 1524 ; d. 1542 )

** Catherine Howard, fifth Queen of Henry VIII of England, ( born between 1518 and 1524 ; d. 1542 )

** Catherine Howard, Fifth Queen of Henry VIII of England, ( born in between 1518 and 1524 ; d. 1542 )

** Catherine Howard, Fifth Queen of Henry VIII of England, ( born in between 1518 and 1524 ; d. 1542 )

** Catherine Howard, Fifth Queen of Henry VIII of England, ( born in between 1518 and 1524 ; d. 1542 )

With Cromwell's fall in 1540, the Latimers reclaimed some dignity and as Lord Latimer attended Parliament in 1542 he and Catherine spent time in London that winter.

Catherine spent the winter of 1542 – 1543 nursing her husband.

Denny was part of a circle that gained influence in 1542 after the failure of Henry's marriage to Catherine Howard.

In 1542, Henry sought to execute his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, whom he accused of committing adultery ; the execution was to be authorised not after a trial but by a bill of attainder, to which he would have to personally assent after listening to the entire text.

In England, those executed after the passing of attainders include George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence ( 1478 ), Thomas Cromwell ( 1540 ), Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury ( 1540 ), Catherine Howard ( 1542 ), Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley ( 1549 ), Thomas Howard ( 1572 ), Thomas Wentworth ( 1641 ), Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud ( 1645 ), and the Duke of Monmouth.

* Catherine Howard ( 1525 – 1542 ), fifth wife of Henry VIII of England

** Catherine Des Roches, French poet and author ( born 1542 ), and her mother

Jane was thus condemned to death by an Act of Attainder ( that is, without trial ) and the execution date was set for 13 February 1542, the same day as Catherine Howard's.

Queen Catherine Howard and Lady Jane Rochford were both subsequently executed on 13 February 1542.

Catherine Howard ( c. 1521 – 13 February 1542 ) was Henry's fifth wife between 1540 – 1542, sometimes known as " the rose without a

Hans Holbein the Younger | Hans Holbein, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, c. 1542

Queen Katherine was condemned by a bill of attainder and executed on 13 February 1542. Several other members of the Howard family were sent to the Tower, including Norfolk's stepmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk.

Howard and most of the others were pardoned after Queen Katherine's execution on 13 February 1542.

* Henry Howard, 2nd Viscount Howard of Bindon ( c. 1542 – 1590 )

Image: Holbein-henryhoward01. jpg | Hans Holbein ( German, 1497-1543 ) The poet Henry Howard, Count of Surrey, c. 1542.

Douglas Sheffield ( also spelt Douglass ), Baroness Sheffield, née Howard, ( 1542 / 1543 – 1608 ) was an English noblewoman and the mother of the explorer and cartographer Sir Robert Dudley, illegitimate son of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester.