The year 1579 in science and technology included a number of events, some of which are listed here.

Exploration

• June 17 – Francis Drake, during his circumnavigation of the world, lands in what is now California, which he claims for Queen Elizabeth I of England as Nova Albion.

Physiology and medicine

• Hieronymus Fabricius discovers the membranous folds that serve as valves in the veins.^[1]

Births

• January 12 (bapt.) – Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist (died 1644)
• July 13 – Arthur Dee, English physician and alchemist (died 1651)

Deaths

• June 17 – Johannes Stadius, Flemish mathematician and astronomer (born c. 1527)
• approx. date – Hans Staden, German adventurer (born c. 1525)