The year 1587 in science and technology included many events, some of which are listed here.
Exploration
c. March – An edition of Peter Martyr d'Anghiera's De Orbe Novo ("On the New World", 1530) edited by Richard Hakluyt is published in Paris with a new map of the Americas.
Mathematics
Franciscus Patricius publishes Della nuova geometria in Ferrara.
Births
January 5 – Xu Xiake, Chinese explorer and geographer (died 1641)