September 13, 1501 – Michelangelo begins work on his statue of David.

October 30, 1501 – Ballet of Chestnuts – a banquet held by Cesare Borgia in the Papal Palace where fifty prostitutes or courtesans are in attendance for the entertainment of the guests.

November 4, 1501 – Catherine of Aragon (later Henry VIII’s first wife) meets Arthur Tudor, Henry VIII’s older brother – they would later marry.

January 16, 1501 – Anthony Denny, confidant of King Henry VIII of England (d. 1559)

January 17, 1501 – Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (d. 1566)

May 6, 1501 – Pope Marcellus II (d. 1555)

July 18, 1501 – Isabella of Burgundy, wife of Christian II of Denmark (d. 1526)

September 24, 1501 – Gerolamo Cardano, Italian mathematician (d. 1576)

November 25, 1501 – Yi Hwang, Korean Confucian scholar (d. 1570)