Timeline October 1587

Events in October 1587 3

• 1541 – 1587 Francesco I de' Medici (1541-1587) Died 19 October 1587, aged 46 Francesco I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, died suddenly at his villa in Poggio a Caiano, with contemporaries suspecting poison though modern analysis points to malaria. A patron of the arts and sciences, he supported early opera and established workshops that became the Uffizi Gallery.
• 1548 – 1587 Bianca Cappello (1548-1587) Died 20 October 1587, aged 39 Bianca Cappello, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and second wife of Francesco I de' Medici, died one day after her husband under similarly suspicious circumstances. Their near-simultaneous deaths fueled lasting rumors of poisoning by Francesco's brother and successor, Ferdinando I.
• 1587 Battle of Coutras Huguenot victory in the French Wars of Religion Henry of Navarre's Huguenot army decisively defeated the royalist Catholic force led by the Duke of Joyeuse near Coutras in southwestern France. It was one of the few major Huguenot battlefield victories of the Wars of Religion and strengthened Henry's claim to the French throne.