AD 1540
| Millennium: | 2nd millennium |
|---|---|
| Centuries: | 15th century – 16th century – 17th century |
| Decades: | 1510s 1520s 1530s – 1540s – 1550s 1560s 1570s |
| Years: | 1537 1538 1539 – 1540 – 1541 1542 1543 |
| Gregorian calendar | 1540 MDXL |
| Ab urbe condita | 2293 |
| Armenian calendar | 989 ԹՎ ՋՁԹ |
| Assyrian calendar | 6290 |
| Balinese saka calendar | 1461–1462 |
| Bengali calendar | 947 |
| Berber calendar | 2490 |
| English Regnal year | 31 Hen. 8 – 32 Hen. 8 |
| Buddhist calendar | 2084 |
| Burmese calendar | 902 |
| Byzantine calendar | 7048–7049 |
| Chinese calendar | 己亥年 (Earth Pig) 4236 or 4176 — to — 庚子年 (Metal Rat) 4237 or 4177 |
| Coptic calendar | 1256–1257 |
| Discordian calendar | 2706 |
| Ethiopian calendar | 1532–1533 |
| Hebrew calendar | 5300–5301 |
| Hindu calendars | |
| - Vikram Samvat | 1596–1597 |
| - Shaka Samvat | 1461–1462 |
| - Kali Yuga | 4640–4641 |
| Holocene calendar | 11540 |
| Igbo calendar | 540–541 |
| Iranian calendar | 918–919 |
| Islamic calendar | 946–947 |
| Japanese calendar | Tenbun 9 (天文９年) |
| Javanese calendar | 1458–1459 |
| Julian calendar | 1540 MDXL |
| Korean calendar | 3873 |
| Minguo calendar | 372 before ROC 民前372年 |
| Nanakshahi calendar | 72 |
| Thai solar calendar | 2082–2083 |
| Tibetan calendar | 阴土猪年 (female Earth-Pig) 1666 or 1285 or 513 — to — 阳金鼠年 (male Iron-Rat) 1667 or 1286 or 514 |
1540 (MDXL) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar, the 1540th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 540th year of the 2nd millennium, the 40th year of the 16th century, and the 1st year of the 1540s decade. As of the start of 1540, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which was the dominant calendar of the time.
Events
- January 6 – Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves, his fourth wife.