1460s

The 1460s decade ran from January 1, 1460, to December 31, 1469.

Events and trends

• 1460
  • The first Portuguese navigators reach the coast of modern Sierra Leone.
  • March 5 – King Christian I of Denmark issues the Treaty of Ribe.
  • May 4 – Portuguese navigators Diogo Gomes and António da Nola discover the islands of Cape Verde.
• 1464
  • Sonni Ali, the first great Songhai king, began to conquer many of his African neighbors.

Significant people

World leaders

• Muhammad ibn Badlay, Sultan of the Adal Sultanate, r. 1445–1471
• Gaston IV, Count of Foix and Co-Prince of Andorra (with the Bishops of Urgell), r. 1436–1472
• Arnau Roger de Pallars, Bishop of Urgell and Co-Prince of Andorra (with Gaston IV), r. 1437–1461
• Jaume de Cardona i de Gandia, Bishop of Urgell and Co-Prince of Andorra (with Gaston IV), r. 1462–1466
• Roderic de Borja i Escrivà, Bishop of Urgell and Co-Prince of Andorra (with Gaston IV), r. 1467–1472
• John II, King of Aragon, r. 1458–1479
• Trailokanat, King of Ayutthaya (modern-day Thailand), r. 1448–1488
• Moctezuma I, Emperor of the Aztec Empire, r. 1440–1469
• Axayacatl, Emperor of the Aztec Empire, r. 1469–1481
• Ewuare the Great, King of the Benin Empire, r. 1440–1473
• George of Bohemia, King of Bohemia, r. 1458–1471
• Omar II, King of the Bornu Empire, r. 1459–1460
• Mohammed IV, King of the Bornu Empire, r. 1460–1465
• Ali Gazi, King of the Bornu Empire, r. 1465–1497
• Stephen Thomas, King of Bosnia, r. 1443–1461
• Stephen Tomašević, last King of Bosnia (conquered in 1463), r. 1461–1463
• Henry IV (the Impotent) of Castile, King of Castile and Leon, r. 1454–1474
• Zhengtong, Emperor of China, r. 1435–1449, 1457–1464
• Chenghua, Emperor of China, r. 1464–1487
• Charlotte, Queen of Cyprus, r. 1458–1464
• James II of Cyprus, King of Cyrus, r. 1464–1473
• Bahlul Khan Lodhi, Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, r. 1451–1489
• Henry VI of England, Lancasterian King of England, r. 1422–1461, 1470–1471
• Edward IV, Yorkist King of England, r. 1461–1470, 1471–1483
• Kwestantinos I, Emperor of Ethiopia, r. 1434–1468
• Baeda Maryam I, Emperor of Ethiopia, r. 1468–1478
• Cosimo de' Medici, Gonfaloniere of Justice and de facto ruler of the Republic of Florence, in office 1434–1464
• Piero di Cosimo de' Medici, Gonfaloniere of Justice and de facto ruler of the Republic of Florence, in office 1464–1469
• Lorenzo de' Medici, Gonfaloniere of Justice and de facto co-ruler (with Giuliano de' Medici) of the Republic of Florence, in office 1469–1492
• Giuliano de' Medici, de facto co-ruler (with Lorenzo de' Medici) of the Republic of Florence, in power 1469–1478
• Charles VII, King of France, r. 1422–1461
• Louis XI, King of France, r. 1461–1483
• George VIII of Georgia, King of Georgia, r. 1446–1465
• Bagrat VI, King of Georgia, r. 1465–1478
• Said, Sultan of Granada, r. 1454–1462, 1462–1464
• Yusuf V, Sultan of Granada, r. 1445–1446, 1462
• Abu l-Hasan Ali, Sultan of Granada, r. 1464–1482, 1483–1485
• Kihanuilulumoku, Alii Aimoku of Hawaii, r. 1435–1465
• Liloa, Alii Aimoku of Hawaii, r. 1465–1495
• Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, r. 1452–1493
• Matthias I, King of Hungary, r. 1458–1490
• Pachacuti, Emperor of the Incan Empire, r. 1438–1471
• Tadodaho, Legendary first eponymous Tadodaho of the Iroquois Confederation (though some believe he could have lived during the Twelfth century. see 1142 for details)
• Go-Hanazono, Emperor of Japan, r. 1428–1464
• Go-Tsuchimikado, Emperor of Japan, r. 1464–1500
• Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Shogun of Japan, s. 1449–1473
• Christian I, King of the Kalmar Union (Denmark, Sweden, Norway), r. 1448–1481 (as King of Denmark), 1448–1449, 1450–1481 (as King of Norway), 1457–1464 (as King of Sweden)
• Janybek Khan (r. 1465–1480) and Kerey Khan (r. 1465–1470), founders and Co-rulers of the Kazakh Khanate
• Mäxmüd, Khan of the Khanate of Kazan, r. 1445–1462
• Xälil, Khan of the Khanate of Kazan, r. 1462–1467
• Ibrahim, Khan of the Khanate of Kazan, r. 1467–1479
• Nkuwu a Ntinu, King of Kongo, r. c.1450–1470
• Sejo, Joseon Dynasty King of Korea, r. 1455–1468
• Yejong, Joseon Dynasty King of Korea, r. 1468–1469
• Seongjong, Joseon Dynasty King of Korea, r. 1469–1494
• Mansur Shah, Sultan of Malacca, r. 1459-1477
• Uli II, King of the Mali Empire, r. c.1450–1481
• Al-Ashraf Sayf-ad-Din Inal, Sultan of the Mamluk Empire, r. 1453–1461
• Al-Muayyad Shihab-ad-Din Ahmad, Sultan of the Mamluk Empire, r. 1461
• Az-Zahir Sayf-ad-Din Khushqadam, Sultan of the Mamluk Empire, r. 1461–1467
• Az-Zahir Sayf-ad-Din Bilbay, Sultan of the Mamluk Empire, r. 1467
• Az-Zahir Timurbugha, Sultan of the Mamluk Empire, r. 1467–1468
• Al-Ashraf Sayf-ad-Din Qait Bay, Sultan of the Mamluk Empire, 1468–1496
• Lamberto Grimaldi, Lord of Monaco, r. 1458–1494
• Markörgis Khan, Great Khan of the Mongols, r. 1454–1465
• Mulan Khan, Great Khan of the Mongols, r. 1465–1466 (throne vacant 1466–1475)
• Abdalhaqq II, Sultan of Morroco, r. 1420–1465 (Throne vacant 1465–1472)
• Matope Nyanhehwe Nebedza, King of Mutapa, r. c.1450–1480
• Mehmed II (the Conqueror), Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, r. 1444–1446, 1451–1481
• Pius II, Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States, p. 1458–1464
• Paul II, Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States, p. 1464–1471
• Casimir IV, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, r. 1440(Lithuania), 1447(Poland)–1492(both)
• Afonso V, King of Portugal, r. 1438–1481
• Vasily II (the Blind), Grand Prince of Moscow, r. 1425–1462
• Ivan III (the Great), Grand Prince of Moscow and "Grand Prince of all Russia", r. 1462–1505
• Shō Taikyū, King of Ryukyu, r. 1454–60
• Shō Toku, King of Ryukyu, r. 1461–69
• James II of Scotland, King of Scotland, r. 1437–1460
• James III of Scotland, King of Scotland, r. 1460–1488
• Sunni Silman Dandi, King of the Songhai Empire, r. c.1440–1464
• Sonni Ali, King of the Songhai Empire, r. 1464–1492
• Carl VIII, King of Sweden, r. 1448–1457, 1464–1465, 1467–1470
• Pasquale Malipiero, Doge of the Republic of Venice, d. 1457–1462
• Cristoforo Moro, Doge of the Republic of Venice, d. 1462–1471
• Nghi Dan, Usurper Emperor of Vietnam, r. 1459–1460
• Lê Thánh Tông, Emperor of Vietnam, r. 1460–1497
• Mallikarjuna Raya, King of the Vijayanagara Empire, r. 1446–1465
• Virupaksha Raya II, King of the Vijayanagara Empire, r. 1465–1485
• Vlad III (the Impaler), Prince of Wallachia, r. 1448, 1456–1462, 1476
• Radu cel Frumos, Prince of Wallachia, r. 1462–1473, 1473–1474, 1474, 1474–1475

Important personalities

• Charles I (the Bold) (1433–1477), Duke of Burgundy, r. 1467–1477
• Leonardo Da Vinci of Florence (1452–1519), scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer
• Jean Fouquet of France (1420-1481), painter
• Francis II (1433–1488), Duke of Brittany, r. 1458–1488
• Gendun Drup of Tibet (1391–1474), First Dalai Lama
• Diogo Gomes of Portugal (1420-1485), navigator, explorer and writer
• Johannes Gutenberg of Mainz (1395?–1468), printer and inventor of the movable type printing press
• Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460), Portugese prince and patron of exploration
• William Herbert of Wales (1423–1469), Pro-York nobleman
• Sir Thomas Malory of England (1405?–1471), soldier, member of Parliament, political prisoner, and author of Le Morte d'Arthur
• Richard Neville of England (1428–1471), nobleman, administrator, and military commander
• Demetrios Palaiologos of Morea (1407–1470), Byzantine Prince and Despot of Morea
• Thomas Palaiologos of Morea (1409–1465), Byzantine Prince and Despot of Morea
• Philip III (the Good) (1396–1467), Duke of Burgundy, r. 1419–1467
• Richard York, Duke of Gloucester (1452–1483), English Prince, Yorkist commander, and future King of England
• Mar Shimun IV, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East (Patriachate then based in Mosul), held position 1437–1497
• Jasper Tudor of Wales (c.1431–1495), nobleman and adventurer
• Owen Tudor of Wales (c.1400–1461), soldier and courtier at the court of the English Kings
• Andrea del Verrocchio of Florence (1435–1488), painter, sculptor, and goldsmith

Contemporaries yet to gain fame

• Richard Amerike of England (c.1445–1503), merchant and Exploratory invester (most notably the funder of John Cabot's voyage to North America)
• Hector Boece of Scotland (1465–1536), future historian and philosopher
• John Cabot of Venice (1450?–1498?), Mariner and future explorer
• Pedro Álvares Cabral of Portugal (1467?–1520), future explorer
• Christopher Columbus of Genoa, (1451–1506), future explorer
• Vasco Da Gama of Portugal (1469?–1524), future explorer
• Bartolomeu Dias of Portugal (1451–1500), future explorer
• Desiderius Erasmus (1466?–1536), future Dutch Catholic priest, writer, scholar, and philosopher
• Ferdinand of Aragon (1452–1516), Aragonese Prince and future monarch of Aragon and Castile
• Isabella of Castile (1451–1504), Castilian Princess and future monarch of Castile and Aragon
• Guru Nanak Dev of India (1469-1539), future founder of Sikhism
• Niccolò Machiavelli of Florence (1469–1527), future philosopher, writer, and politician
• Henry Tudor of Wales (1457–1509), son of Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, Nephew of Jasper Tudor, grandson of Owen Tudor, and future King of England
• Amerigo Vespucci of Florence (1454–1512), future cartographer and explorer