Ma Yuan was a Chinese general. He was born in 14 BC at Mou-ling, now in Shensiprovince, China and died in 49 AD at Hunan. He helped to establish the Eastern Han dynasty after the usurpation of power by the minister WangMang ended the Western Han dynasty in 25 AD. Research Ma Yuan
Maarten Maartens was the pen-name of Joost Marius van der Poorten Schwartz, a Dutch novelist. He was born in 1858 at Amsterdam. Educated at Bonn and the university of Utrecht., he wrote several novels in English, notably The Sin of Joost Avelingh (1890), God's Fool (1892), The Greater Glory (1894), My Lady Nobody (1895), and Dorothea (1904). Research Maarten Maartens
The Macaroni were a group of 18th century dandies who from 1770 to 1775 led the fashion, and infuriated the church. They imitated extravagant Continental fashions - having derived their fashion in Italy - and were distinguished by wearing an immense knot of artificial hair, a very small cocked hat, jacket, waist-coat, and small clothes all worn very tight against the body and carrying a long walking-stick ornamented with tassels. The Macaronis were infamous for their gambling, drinking and duelling and around 1773 were described as the curse of Vauxhall Gardens. Research Macaroni
Macbeth (Macbeda or Macbethad) was King of Scotland from 1040 until his death in 1057. Macbeth's story was fictitiously told by William Shakespeare in his play Macbeth.
In fact, during the reign of Duncan I Macbeth was 'mormaer' of Moray by inheritance, and by his marriage with Gruoch, grand-daughter of Kenneth IV. The king - Duncan I, Macbeth's cousin - in his attempt to subdue the independent chiefs of the north, was killed by Macbeth at 'Bothgowan,' which is supposed to be near Elgin. By this means Macbeth became king, and, according to all accounts, his reign was fairly successful. In 1050 he is said to have gone on a pilgrimage to Rome. At the death of their father the sons of Duncan had taken refuge with their uncle Siward, earl of Northumberland, and with his aid they invaded Scotland in 1054; a battle was fought at Dunsinane, but it was not until 1057 that Macbeth was finally defeated and killed at Lumphanan in Aberdeen during a battle agains Malcolm the eldest son of Duncan I Research Macbeth
The Maccabees was a name given to the Asmonaegans, a family of Jewish patriots, who headed a religious revolt in the reign of Antiochus IV from 168 to 161 BC, which led to a period of freedom for Israel. During the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes Mattathias slew a Jew who came to the altar to renounce his faith, and then fled to the mountains with his five sons - Johannes, Simon, Judas, Eleazar, and Jonathan. Being joined by numerous patriotic Jews they were able to make successful resistance to the national foe and re-establish the ancient religion. When Mattathias died in 166 BC his sons Judas and Jonathan became successively leaders of the national movement. The last remaining member of the family was Simon, who now carried forward the national cause to a triumphant issue, reduced 'the tower' of Jerusalem, and established the power of the new state. Under his rule trade and agriculture flourished, until in 135 BC he was treacherously murdered by Ptolemy, his own son-in-law. Research Maccabees
The Macedonians were members of a certain Christian religious sect which followed the doctrines of Macedonius, Bishop of Constantinople, in the fourth century. They believed that the Holy Ghost was a creature, like the angels, and a servant of the Father and the Son. Research Macedonian
Madame Albani, maiden name Marie Louise Emma Cecile Lajeunesse, was a Canadian singer. She was born in 1852 near Montreal and died after 1905. Sh was trained at home by her father, and studied also in Paris and Milan. She made her first public appearance in Europe at Messina, in Bellini's La Sonnambula, and in 1872 sang in the Royal Italian Opera in London. Since then she attained the position of one of the world's foremost singers, both in opera and oratorio. She was an especial favourite of Queen Victoria. In 1878 she was married to Ernest Gye, the operatic manager. She adopted the professional name of Albani from Albany, in the United States, where as a girl she sang in the Roman Catholic cathedral. Research Madame Albani
Madame Cresswell was an English eccentric of infamous character. She is famous for bequeathing ten pounds for a funeral sermon in which nothing ill should be said of her. The Duke of Buckingham wrote the sermon which said: 'All I shall say of her is this - she was born well, she married well, lived well and died well; for she was born at Shad-well, married to Cress-well, lived at Clerken-well, and died in Bride-well.' Research Madame Cresswell
Madame D'Arblay (born Frances Burney) was an English writer. She was born in 1752 at Lynn-Regis in Norfolk and died in 1840. She was the second daughter of Dr Burney, author of the History of Music. In 1786 she was appointed one of the keepers of the robes to Queen Charlotte; in 1793 married the Count D'Arblay, a French emigrant artillery officer, with whom she afterwards went to France, and who, on the restoration of the Bourbons, attained the rank of general. She gained considerable celebrity by her literary productions. These were mostly novels, of which she produced four: Evelina, Cecilia, Camilla, and the Wanderer. She published the memoirs of her father, which appeared in 1832, and her Diary, edited by her niece, was also published. Research Madame D'Arblay
Francoise d'Aubigne, Marchioness de Maintenon (Madame de Maintenon) was the wife of Louis XIV. She was born in 1635 in the prison of Niort in Poitou and died in 1719. She was the grand-daughter of Henry IV's friend Theodore Agrippa D'Aubigne. Left quite destitute on the death of her father when she was ten years old, Mademoiselle D'Aubigne spent her youth in dependence on her rich relatives, and was glad to contract a nominal marriage with the famous wit Paul Scarron, a deformed, old, and infirm man. Her beauty, liveliness, and propriety of conduct gained for her powerful friends among those who frequented her husband's house; and on Scarron's death she was intrusted with the charge of the children born to Louis XIV by Madame de Montespan. She assumed this office in 1669, and played her cards so dexterously that the king married her privately, probably in 1685, when she was fifty and he was forty-seven. For the remaining years of his life she was his most confidential adviser. She was a virtuous woman, and a devout and bigoted Catholic, ambitious and resolute, but disinterested and charitable. Her published letters give her a creditable place in French literature. She died at the nunnery or school of Saint Cyr, which she herself had founded. Research Madame de Maintenon
Madame De Pompadour (Jeanne Antoinette Poisson), Marquise de Pompadour, was mistress to king Louis XV of France and patron to Voltaire. She was born in 1721 at Paris and died in 1764.
She was said to be the daughter of the farmer-general Lenormand de Tournehem, who at his death left her an immense fortune. In 1741 she married her cousin, Lenormand d'Etiolles. A few years later she succeeded in attracting the attention of the king, and soon entirely engrossed his favour. In 1745 she appeared at court as the Marquise de Pompadour. Here she at first posed as the patroness of learning and the arts, but with the decay of her charms she devoted her attention to state affairs. Her favourites filled the most important offices, and she is said to have brought about the war with Frederick II. She died at the age of forty-four, hated and reviled by the nation. Research Madame De Pompadour
Madame de Thebes was a French palmist and prophet. She was born in 1845 and died in 1916. She carried on a business as a palmist at her salon in the Avenue de Wagram in Paris, and each year at Christmas published prophecies which enjoyed a wide circulation. She was said to have predicted the Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War. Research Madame de Thebes
Madeleine de Scuderi, was a French writer of romances. She was born in 1697 at Havre and died in 1701. She became one of the most conspicuous figures in the literary circle of the Hotel Rambouillet at Paris, and acquired great fame by her romances, Artameme ou le Grand Cyrus, Ibrahim ou I'lllustre Bassa, Clelie, Almahide, and others of almost interminable length, almost entirely forgotten now, even by name. The secret of their great popularity at that time consists in this, that they were fairly representative of her age, being, in fact, the reflection of the society in which she moved. Her nominal heroes and heroines were classical or oriental personages, but the names of her characters were, in fact, only a transparentmask behind which her readers saw and read themselves. The interminable conversations and meaningless gallantries which make her works dull at present were precisely what gave them interest when all her characters were known; and as she was admired and respected by those she portrayed, it is evident they were flattered by her portraits. After the reunions at the Hotel Rambouillet had been broken up by the troubles of the Fronde, Madeleine de Scuderi opened her own house to a select society of similar tastes. She died in 1701. Research Madeleine de Scuderi
Madeleine Hamilton Smith was a Scottish girl tried in Edinburgh in 1857 for murdering her lover, Pierre Emile L'Angelier.
Pierre Emile L'Angelier and Madeleine Smith met clandestinely for two years before she broke off the relationship and requested the return of letters she had written him, he refused, and threatened to hand the letters over to her father.
Shortly afterwards Pierre Emile L'Angelier informed a friend that he was to meet with Madeleine Smith, and left his lodgings in the evening in normal health, only to be discovered the next morning writhing on his bedroom floor. He recovered and went to Bridge of Allan to recuperate, only to die a few weeks later following another violent paroxysm. The discovery of the letters written to him by Madeleine Smith led to a post mortem being conducted which revealed that Pierre Emile L'Angelier had died of arsenic poisoning. It was proven that Madeleine Smith had purchased arsenic on several occasions around the time, but claimed she used it for her complexion, and the case that she had murdered her former lover was unproven. Research Madeleine Smith
The Madi (Ma'di or Ma'adi) are a tribe native to River Nile in north-western Uganda and the Sudan. They are farmers and also hunters and fishermen, growing millet and also keeping cattle. The tribe is divided into chiefdoms under the rule of Vudupi, which is a hereditary title passed down from father to son. Research Madi
According to a Welsh tradition, Madoc was a son of Owen Gwynned, a Welsh prince, who in 1170 put to sea with ten ships, and discovered land in the west, supposed to be America. He made a second voyage, but finally was lost to the knowledge of his countrymen. Southey has made Madoc the subject of a poem. Research Madoc
Caius Cilnius Maecenas was a distinguished Roman. He was born between 73 and 63 BC and died in 8 BC. He was the companion of the Emperor Augustus in nearly all his campaigns, and his most trustworthy counsellor in political matters. For the three years 18 to 15 BC he was invested with the government of Italy. His great glory, however, was as a patron of learning, and the friend of Virgil and Horace. Research Maecenas
The mafia were originally a Siciliansecret terrorist murderous society comprising people of all classes which became prominent in the 1860s - they described themselves as a Sicillian vendetta society. The members of the Mafia are bound never to carry their suits to the regular courts or to give evidence before them. Murder and robbery, though discountenanced under ordinary conditions, are resorted to without hesitation in the case of informers or specially obnoxious persons. Blackmail is levied from land-owners, who are required to employ none but mafiosi in certain occupations, and the society further makes its power felt by means of the vendetta and an extreme form of boycotting. Criminals are protected and elections controlled by this infamous association, whose authority is greater than tliat of the law among the lower classes in Sicily.
One of their earlier victims was David Hennessy, chief of police in New Orleans who was assassinated on the 15th of October 1890. The subsequent trial of 17 Sicilians for the murder, six of which were acquitted resulted in no verdict for the other nine, and a mob subsequently broke into the gaol and murdered eleven prisoners, two of which were Italian citizens. Italy subsequently recalled its ambassador, and shortly afterwards the American government paid $25000 compensation for the benefit of the heirs of the two murdered Italian citizens, and diplomatic relations were reinstated. Today the mafia are an organised criminal society operating in the USA and wherever there are Italian people. Research Mafia
Magdalena Abakanowicz is a Polishartist. She was born in 1930 at Falenty, Poland. A descendant of Polishnobility, she studied at the School of Fine Arts in Sopot in 1949, and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw in 1954. In 1956 she began working as an independent artist in and initially earned success for large, three-dimensional weavings she named Abakans. From 1965, she taught at the State College of Fine Arts in Poznan, Poland, before becoming a professor in 1979. Research Magdalena Abakanowicz
The Magi were an order of hereditary priests and teachers among the ancient Medes and Persians set apart to manage the sacredrites, and preserve and propagate the sacred traditions, acting also as diviners and astrologers. They had a great deal of political power. On the death of Cambyses, one Magi asserted that he was Smerdis, a son of Cyrus and claimed the throne of Persia. He was disposed by Darius Hystaspes in 521 BC and a massacre of the Magi followed. The name came also to be applied to holy men or sages in the East. Research Magi
Count Magnus Frederick Ferdinand Bjornstjerna was a Swedish statesman and author. He was born in 1779 and died in 1847. Having entered the Swedish army and risen to be colonel, he went with the Swedish troops to Germany in 1813 and took part in the battles of Grossbeeren, Dennewitz, the passage of the Elbe, the storming of Dessau, and the Battle of Leipzig. He also received the surrender of Lubeck and of Maestricht. After the capitulation of Paris he fought in Holstein and in Norway, at length concluding with Prince Christian Frederick at Moss the convention uniting Norway and Sweden. In 1826 he was made a count, and in 1828 plenipotentiary to Great Britain, where he continued until 1846. He published works on British Rule in the East Indies, on the Theogony, Philosophy, and Cosmogony of the Hindus, etc. Research Magnus Bjornstjerna
Mahdi is a name assumed by some of the successors of Mohammed, particularly applied to the twelfth imam, the lineal descendant of Mohammed, born in 868. He mysteriously disappeared, being probably murdered by a rival, and the belief was that he would remain hidden until the last days, when he would reappear, and at the head of the faithful spread Islam over the world.
Many professed Mahdis have appeared from time to time in Africa as well as Asia, the chief being Mohammed Ahmed, the leader of the Soudanese insurrection of 1883 to 1885. He was born at Dongola in 1843 and died in 1885. He studied Mohammedan theology at Khartoum and Berber, and at twenty-five years of age he retired to the island of Aba in the White Nile, where he lived in solitude for fifteen years. At the age of forty he took up the prophetic role, and his short victorious career began. Research Mahdi
Mahlon Dickerson was an American politician. He was born in 1770 and died in 1853. A lawyer by trade, he practised in New Jersey and Pennsylvania before becoming Democratic-Republican governor of New Jersey from 1815 until 1817 and a Senator from that State from that time to 1833. From 1834 until 1838 he was Secretary of the Navy, serving under Jackson and Martin Van Buren. Research Mahlon Dickerson
Mahmud was the Sultan of Ghazna and the founder of the Mohammedan Empire in India. He was born about 970 at Ghazna and died in 1030. His father, Sabaktagin, governor of Ghazna, owned a nominal allegiance to Persia, but was really independent. On his death Mahmud put aside his elder brother; formed an alliance against the Persian monarch, overthrew his kingdom and laid the foundation of an extensive empire in Central Asia in 999. He then turned his attention to India, and in a series of twelve invasions secured a great amount of treasure, and vastly extended his power. He was a patron of literature, and brought many men of learning about his court, among whom was the poet Firdusi. He established large educational institutions at Ghazni, and spent vast sums on public works. Research Mahmud
Mahmud II was Sultan of Turkey. He was born in 1785 and died in 1839. He was placed on the throne by the Janizaries after the murder of his predecessor in 1808. The chief events of his reign were the war with Russia from 1808 to 1812, which cost him Bessarabia and the provinces of Serbia, Moldavia, and Wallachia, as settled by the treaty of Bucharest; the war of Greek independence, which ended in the separation of that country, and the destruction of the Turkish fleet at Navarino, 1820-1828; the extermination of the Janizaries, 1826; the treaty of Adrianople with the Russians, who were on the point of entering Constantinople (Istanbul) in1829; the independence of Egypt under Mehemet Ali, and the new treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi with the Russians, 1832-1833. Research Mahmud II
The Mahrattas are a native Hindu race, said to have migrated from Northern India, who in the reign of Shah Jehan occupied a large tract of Central and Western India. They came into prominence about the middle of the 17th century, when the chief Sevaji, taking advantage of the weakness of the Moguls and the wars of Aurungzebe, extended his conquests in various directions, had himself crowned king in 1674, and established the MahrattaEmpire. After his death long minorities and the incompetency of the sovereigns caused the powers of the state to fall into the hands of the Peishwa or primeminister, who became the acknowledged head of a Mahratta confederacy. This confederacy held together until 1795, but subsequent wars and disturbances reduced the Peishwa to the position of a British dependant, and Scindia, Holkar, and the Rajah of Berar were able to take the position of independent sovereigns. The confederacy came to a final end in 1818, and Scindia, Holkar, the Guicowar of Baroda,and the Rajah of Kolapore became dependent princes under British protection. Research Mahrattas
The Maillotins was a name given to certain citizens of Paris who, in March 1382, violently opposed the collection of new taxes imposed by the Duke of Anjou, the regent. They armed themselves with small iron mallets - taken from the arsenal - and killed the collectors; for which they were severely punished. Research Maillotins
Maimonides, properly Moses Ben Maimon Ben Joseph, was a Jewish scholar. He was born between 1131 and 1139 at Cordova and died between 1201 and 1209. He received an excellent education, studied Jewish and Arabic literature and Greek philosophy, attended the lectures of the Arabic philosophers, and made himself acquainted with the healing art. Driven from Spain by persecution, he ultimately settled at Old Cairo, where he attained the highest place in the estimation of his co-religionists; became physician to the Sultan of Egypt and superintendent of the Jewish communions. He systematized the whole mass of Jewish tradition, and demonstrated the principles on which Judaism is based. His books were widely circulated in Europe by means of Latin translations. His best writings in Arabic are the Guide of the Erring, an exposition of Judaism; a Compendium of Logic; a Commentary on the Mishna; an Exposition of the 613 Laws of Moses, etc. He wrote in Hebrew a complete system of the Talmudic Judaism. Research Maimonides
The Mainotes are the inhabitants of the mountainous district of Maina, the southern extremity of the Morea, in the Grecian province of Laconia. They remained almost independent during the Turkish domination, and were among the first to distinguish themselves in the Greek revolution. Research Mainotes
The Makololo were a large and once powerful tribe in South Africa. They attained considerable eminence during David Livingstone's time, but shortly after 1864 the kingdom was broken up. Research Makololo
The Makua are a people living to the north of the Zambezi River in Mozambique. With the Lomwe people, they make up the country's largest ethnic group. The Makua are mainly farmers, living in villages ruled by chiefs. The
Makua language belongs to the Niger-Congo family, and has about 5 million speakers. Research Makua
A Malagasy is an inhabitant of or native to Madagascar. The Malagasy language has about nine million speakers; it belongs to the Austronesian family. Despite Madagascar's proximity to Africa, Malagasy contains only a small number of Bantu and Arabic loan words. It seems likely that the earliest settlers came by sea, some 1,500 years ago, from Indonesia. Primarily rice farmers, the Malagasy make use both of irrigated fields and swidden (temporary plot) methods. Research Malagasy
Malatesta were a distinguished Italian family the chief branch of which were lords of Rimini from 1295 to 15'26, and celebrated for the active share they took in the stirring events of that period. Research Malatesta
Malays is the name of a race of people inhabiting the MalayPeninsula, and spread over all the Asiatic Archipelago. They claim to have had their native country in the Highlands of Sumatra, where they established the once powerful state of Menangkabo. In physical appearance they are rather under the middle height, light-brown in colour, with black straight hair, high cheek-bones, black and slightly oblique eyes, and scanty or no beard. The modern Malays follow Islam. Research Malays
Sir Malcolm Campbell was a British racing motorist. He was born in 1885 and died in 1949. He set land speed records and speed-boat speed records. Research Malcolm Campbell
Malcolm II was King of Scotland from 1005 to 1034. He suceeded Kenneth II in 1005. In his reign Lothian and Strathclyde became parts of the Scottish kingdom. He was assassinated at Glamis in 1034. He was the last direct male descendant of Kenneth MacAlpine. Research Malcolm II
Malcolm III (Malcolm Canmore) was King of Scotland from 1057 to 1093. He was born around 1031 and died in 1093. Malcolm III was the eldest son of Duncan I, who was killed by Macbeth. Malcolm III lived in exile in England and sought aid from Siward of Northumbria, and was also assisted by Edward the Confessor. On the defeat and killing Macbeth in 1057, he subsequently ascending the Scottish throne. In 1072 he recognised William I as overlord of England, but in 1093 was killed by William II while making a raid into England. In 1068 he granted asylum toEdgar Atheling, his mother, and two sisters (one of whom, Margaret, he married in 1070), with a number of Saxon exiles. His reign, which was mostly taken up with wars with England, had never the less an important bearing on the civilization and consolidation of Scotland. Research Malcolm III
Malcolm Laing was a Scottish historian. He was born in 1762 and died in 1818. He was called to the Edinburghbar in 1785. His best known work is the History of Scotland from the Accession of James VI to the Reign of Queen Anne, with a dissertation proving the participation of Mary Queen of Scots in the murder of Darnley. Research Malcolm Laing
Malte-Brun (properly Malthe Konrad Bruun) was a Danish-born French geographer. He was born in 1775 at Thisted, Jutland and died in 1826. His liberal political opinions caused his banishment from Denmark, and he became a French citizen about 1800. His geographical works include: Geographic Mathematique, Physique et Politique; Tableau de la Pologne; Precis de la Geographic Universelle; etc. Research Malte-Brun
The Mameluke were Turkoman warriors taken to Egypt as slaves to act as bodyguards for the caliphs and sultans. When the Ottoman Turks conquered Egypt in 1250 the Mamelukes became sultans. They were defeated by Napoleon in 1798 and the survivors were massacred by Muhammad Ali in 181. Research Mameluke
The man with the iron mask was an unknown personage kept in various French prisons, who for a long time excited much curiosity. All that is known of him is that he was above middle height, of a fine and noble figure, and delicate brownish skin; that he had a pleasant voice, was well educated, and fond of reading and guitar playing, and that he died in the Bastille in 1703. The mask he wore seems to have been of black velvet, not iron. Conjecture has given him many names. He was stated to be in turn the Count of Vermandois (a natural son of Louis XIV and Louise La Valliere), the Duke of Beaufort, the Duke of Monmouth, the son of Anne of Austria (mother of Louis XIV) by some favourite, and twin-brother of Louis XIV, but all these assertions have been unable to stand the test of thorough investigation.
What seems most probable is that he was Count Girolamo Matthioli, first minister of the Duke of Mantua, who had betrayed the interests of Louis XIV by failing to secure for him, as he had pledged himself to do, in consideration of a large bribe, possession of the fortress of Casale, which gave access to the whole of Lombardy. For this offence the court of Versailles lured him to the French frontier where he was secretly arrested and imprisoned in the fortress of Pignerolo. The secret was observed so carefully, on the supposition that Matthioli was the ill-fated prisoner, because his seizure and detention were flagrant violations of international law. The story of the real prisoner was later used, loosely, as the basis for a novel by Alexandre Dumas, which in turn was made into films. Research Man With The Iron Mask
Manasseh Cutler was an American clergyman, scientist and politician. He was born in 1742 at Connecticut and died in 1823. During the American War of Independence he served as a chaplain, and in 1786 was agent for the Ohio company which founded Marietta. He drafted for Nathan Dane the Ordinance of 1787 which excluded slavery from the Northwest-Territory, and was a Massachusetts Federal Congressman from 1801 to 1805. Research Manasseh Cutler
The Mandans are or were a small tribe of American Indians, numbering about 500 at the end of the 19th century and then dwelling on a reservation in Dakota. They are first heard of about 1772. They then lived on the Missouri, about 1500 miles up from its mouth. They are of light complexion, hence many vain attempts to trace their descent from the supposed Welsh colony of Prince Madoc. Research Mandans
Mandarin is the term applied by Europeans to government officials of every grade in China. The Chinese equivalent is kwan, which signifies literally a public character. Research Mandarin
Mandell Creighton was an English bishop and historian. He was born in 1843 and died in 1901. He was educated at Durham grammar-school and Merton College, Oxford, had a distinguished academical career, was fellow and tutor of his college, took orders, and was vicar of Embleton, Northumberland, for nine years. In 1884 he was appointed Dixie professor of ecclesiastical history at Cambridge, in 1891 was called to be bishop of Peterborough, and in 1897, on Dr. Temple's promotion to the archbishopric of Canterbury, became bishop of London. His chief work is History of the Papacy during the Reformation (published in five volumes between 1882 and 1894). He also wrote Life of Simon de Montfort, The Age of Elizabeth, The Tudors and the Reformation, Life of Cardinal Wolsey; with Historical Essays and Reviews,and Thoughts on Education, edited by his wife. Research Mandell Creighton
The Mandingos are an indigenous people of west Africa living in Mali, Senegal and the Ivory Coast. They speak a Sudanic language, Mandingo. They long impressed European visitors by their clay walled towns and western-style civilisation. Research Mandingos
Manetho was an Egyptian priest and historian, who belonged to the town of Sebennytus in Lower Egypt, and lived in the reign of Ptolemy Soter, about the beginning of the 3rd century BC. His history was divided into three books, and beginning with the fabulous or mythological history of Egypt, ended with the 30th dynasty, when Egypt fell under the rule of Alexander the Great. The history itself is lost, but the lists of the dynasties are preserved in Julius Africanus and Eusebius, and some fragments of the work are to be found in Josephus in his work against Apion. Research Manetho
Manfred was king of the Two Sicilies. He was born in 1231 and died in 1266. A natural son of the Emperor Frederick II, he was regent in Italy first for his brother and then for his nephew, on whose rumoured death he was crowned king. He refused to resign in favour of his nephew, was excommunicated, and his kingdom of the Sicilies given as a papal fief to Charles of Anjou. The latter marched into Naples and gained a victory, in which Manfred was killed. Research Manfred
The Mangoaks were a tribe of American Indians living in North Carolina, into whose country Ralph Lane, commander of Raleigh's colony, in 1586 attempted an expedition, on information of a pearl fishery among them. Research Mangoaks
The Manicheans were a sect founded by Manes in Persia around 261. It spread into Egypt, Arabia and Africa. A rich widow to whom Manes had been a servant, left him a lot of money and he assumed the title of an apostle and composed a system of doctrine from Christianity and the dogma of the ancient fire- worshippers. He was burned alive by Bahram or Varanes, King of Persia in 277 and his followers dispersed and several sects sprang from them. Research Manicheans
Manteo was a friendly American Indian of the Roanoke region. He was helpful to Sir Walter Raleigh's colony of 1585 to 1586, and had visited England with Amidas and Barlow just before. Research Manteo
Manuel Chrysoloras was a Greek teacher. He was born about the middle of the 14th century at Constantinople (Istanbul) and died in 1415. He settled as a teacher of Greek literature at Florence, about 1395. He also taught at Milan, Pavia, and Rome, thus becoming a chief promoter of' the great revival of learning. Research Manuel Chrysoloras
Manuel Faria y Sousa was a Portuguese historian and poet. He was born in 1590, of an ancient and illustrious family and died about 1649. Among his writings are: Discursos Morales y Politicos, Epitome de las Historias Portuguesas; Comentarios sobre la Lusiada; and a collection of poems. Research Manuel Faria y Sousa
Manuel Godoy, Duke of Alcudia, better known as the Prince of the Peace, was a Spanish soldier and politician. He was born in 1767 at Badajoz and died in 1851. He entered the royal body-guards in 1787. His personal qualities soon made him a favourite at the Spanish court, and his promotion was rapid. In 1791 he became adjutant-general of the guards, in 1792 lieutenant-general, Marquis of Alcudia, grandee of Spain of the first class, and prime-minister; and in 1795, as a reward for the part he had taken in concluding peace with France, he was presented with a large and valuable landed estate, and made a knight of the Golden Fleece. It was on this occasion also that he was named by the king Prince of Peace. As he used his vast power in the promotion of French more than Spanish interests, he became extremely unpopular, and the hatred of the people became so great in 1808 that he had to take refuge in France. Having lost everything, he lived for a long time only on the bounty of his royal friends. In 1847 he was permitted to return to Spain and resume his titles. The larger portion of his domains, however, was irrecoverably lost, and he ended his days in obscurity and poverty. Research Manuel Godoy
Manuel Jose Quintana was a Spanish poet. He was born in 1772 at Madrid and died in 1857. He studied at Cordova and Salamanca, became an advocate, and filled various offices connected with government at different times. Almost all the manifestoes in the war against the French were composed by him; he also wrote a series of patriotic poems, entitled Odas a Espana Libre. He was latterly appointed director-general of education, and became a senator. His poetical, critical, and historical works are held in high estimation.
Quintilian
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus was a Roman rhetorician. He was born in Calagurris (Calahorra) in Spain, probably between 35 and 40 AD and died about 118. He began to practise as an advocate at Rome about 69 AD, and subsequently became a teacher of rhetoric. Some of the most eminent Romans were his pupils, and the Emperor Domitian bestowed on him the consular dignity. His work, De Institutione Oratoria, contains a system of rhetoric in twelve books, and includes some important opinions of Greek and Roman authors. Research Manuel Quintana
Mao Tse-Tung (properly Mao Zedong) was a Chinese revolutionary leader. He was born in 1893 at Shao-Shan, HunanProvince and died in 1976. He was a founder member of the Chinese Communist party. Research Mao Tse-Tung
The Maori are a Polynesian people of pre-European New Zealand. Their language, Maori, belongs to the eastern branch of the Austronesian family. The Maori colonized New Zealand from about 850, establishing a flourishing civilization throughout the country. Research Maori
Maormor or mormaer was the name given to the hereditary and native chiefs of the great tribes and territorial divisions into which the Highlands of Scotland was anciently divided. They were next in power and dignity to the king, and became the earls of later days. The term means literally a great steward, the Gaelic elements being mor, great, and maer, maor, a steward. Research Maormor
The Marabouts, or Marabuts are, among the Berbers of Northern Africa, a sort of saints or sorcerers, who are held in high estimation, and who exercise in some villages a despotic authority. They distribute amulets, affect to work miracles, and are thought to exercise the gift of prophecy. The name Marabouts is also used as equivalent to Almoravides. Research Marabout
The Maratha are a Hindu warrior people of western India who in the 17th and 18th centuries led a military revival against Muslimexpansion. The Maratha rose to prominence under the inspired leadership of Sivaji, who, after victories against the Moguls, established a Maratha kingdom in 1674. Their great age was the early 18th century when, after a temporary collapse, they benefited from Mogul decline to sweep over the north and central Deccan. They seemed poised for all-India mastery, but failure in 1761 of their bid to take Delhi (in the battle of Panipat) was followed by increasing internal disunity. Authority had passed from Sivaji's line to a Brahmin family based at Pune, who as hereditary peshwas struggled to hold the dissident chiefs together. Rivalry among these 'confederates', notably the Sindhia, Holkar, Bhonsla, and Gaekwar families, prevented a united stand against expanding British power. Research Maratha
Marc Bohemond was a Norman soldier. He was born about 1056 and died in 1111. The son of the Norman adventurer Robert Guiscard, he rose to be Duke of Apulia and Calabria. After distinguishing himself in Greece and Illyria against Alexius Comnenus, he returned to find that in his absence his younger brother Roger had seized upon the paternal inheritance in 1085. War ensued, but Marc Bohemond, contenting himself with the principality of Tarentum, ultimately threw his energy into the Crusades. He took a leading part in the campaign in Asia Minor, captured Antioch in 1098, and assumed the principality; but was taken prisoner in 1101 and held captive for two years. In 1106 he married Constance, daughter of Philip I of France, and after an unsuccessful renewal of war with Alexius, died at Canossa in 1111. Five of his descendants held in succession the principality of Antioch for over a century and a half. Research Marc Bohemond
Marcellin Pierre Eugene Berthelot was a French chemist and politician. He was born in 1827 and died in 1907. He was the first person to produce organic compounds synthetically. Research Marcellin Berthelot
Marcello Malpighi was an Italian anatomist. He was born in 1628 at Crevalcuore and died in 1694. He was professor of medicine at Pisa, Messina and Bologna, and was one of the first to apply the microscope in anatomical study, making important discoveries as to the structure of the kidneys, lungs, skin and spleen. He also carried out work on the anatomy of plants. Research Marcello Malpighi
Marcion was the founder of an ascetic Gnostic sect, called after him Marcionites. He was born at the beginning of the 2nd century at Sinope. His father being bishop of Sinope, he went to Rome about 140 AD and founded a system which assumed the existence of three original principles - the supreme and invisible, whom Marcion called the Good; the visible God, the Creator; and the Devil, or perhaps matter, the source of evil. The Creator, the God of the Old Testament, was the author of suffering. Jesus was not the Messiah promised by this being, but the son of the unseen God, who took the form, but not the substance of man. Marcion denied the resurrection of the body; he condemned marriage, thinking it wrong to increase a race born in subjection to the harsh rule of the Creator. His sect lasted for several centuries. Research Marcion
Marco Polo was a Venetian traveller. He was born in 1256 and died in 1323. His father Nicolo was the son of AndreaPolo, a patrician of Venice. Shortly before Marco's birth, Nicolo with his brother Matteo set out on a mercantile expedition, and ultimately arrived at Kemenfu, on the frontiers of China, where they were favourably received by Kubilai, the grand-khan of the Mongols. In 1266 the khan sent the brothers on a mission to the pope, and they arrived in Venice in 1269. Two years later they again set out for the East, this time accompanied by the young Marco Polo. After reaching the court of Kubilai, Marco Polo rapidly learned the language and customs of the Mongols, and became a favourite with the khan, who employed him on various missions to the neighbouring princes. Soon afterwards he was made governor of Yang-tchou, in Eastern China, an appointment he held for three years.
In 1292 the three Polos accompanied an escort of a Mongolianprincess to Persia. After arriving at Teheran they heard of Kubilai's death, and resolved to return home. They reached Venice in 1295. In the following year Marco Polo took part in the naval battle of Curzola, in which he was taken prisoner. During his captivity he dictated to a fellow-prisoner, Rustichello or Rusticiano of Pisa, an account of all his travels, which was finished in 1298. After his liberation he returned to Venice, where he died in 1323. His book - known as the Book of Marco Polo - created an immense sensation among the scholars of his time, and was regarded by many as pure fiction. It made known to Europeans the existence of many nations of which they were formerly totally ignorant, and created a passion for voyages of discovery. It has gone through numerous editions in the various European languages, but the best is that of Cololonel Sir Henry Yule, accompanied with a great amount of learned elucidation and illustration. It was originally written in French, but Latin and Italian manuscripts of it are more common. Research Marco Polo
Marco Antonio Raimondi was an Italian engraver. He was born in 1475 at Bologna and died in 1534. Around 1505 he went to Venice where he made copies from Durers works. From 1510 to 1527 he worked at Rome, but retired to Bologna after the capture of Rome by the Constable of Bourbon. Research Marco Raimondi
The Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe who originally dwelt between the Rhine and the Danube; but they expelled the Boii from Bohemia and part of Bavaria early in the Christian era, and founded a kingdom which reached to the Danube. During the reign of Marcus Aurelius they waged war with Rome, until peace was purchased by Commodus. Research Marcomanni
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was a Roman statesman and general. He was born in 63 BC and died in 12 BC. The son-in-law of Augustus he was praetor in 41 BC; consul in 37, 28, and 27; aedile in 33; and tribune from 18 until his death. He commanded the fleet of Augustus in the battle of Actcium. To him Rome is indebted for three of her principal aqueducts, the Pantheon, and several other works of public use and ornament. Research Marcus Agrippa
Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony) was a Roman triumvir. He was born in 83 BC and died in 30 BC. He was connected with the family of Caesar by his mother. Debauchery and prodigality marked his youth. To escape his creditors he went to Greece in 58, and from thence followed the consul Gabinius on a campaign in Syria as commander of the cavalry. He served in Gaul under Caesar in 52 and 51. In 50 he returned to Rome to support the interests of Caesar against the aristocratical party headed by Pompey, and was appointed tribune.
When war broke out between Caesar and Pompey, Antony led reinforcements to Caesar in Greece, and in the battle of Pharsalia he commanded the left wing. He afterwards returned to Rome with the appointment of master of the horse and governor of Italy in 47. In 44 BC he became Caesar's colleague in the consulship. Soon after Caesar was assassinated, and Antony would have shared the same fate had not Brutus stood up in his behalf. Antony, by the reading of Caesar's will, and by the oration which he delivered over his body, excited the people to anger and revenge, and the murderers were obliged to flee. After several quarrels and reconciliations with Octavianus, Caesar's heir, Antony departed to Cisalpine Gaul, which province had been conferred upon him against the will of the senate. But Marcus Cicero thundered against him in his famous Philippics; the senate declared him a public enemy, and entrusted the conduct of the war against him to Octavianus and the consuls Hirtius and Pansa. After a campaign of varied fortunes Antony fled with his troops over the Alps. Here he was joined by Lepidus, who commanded in Gaul, and through whose mediationAntony and Octavianus were again reconciled. It was agreed that the .Roman world should be divided among the three conspirators, who were called triumvirs.
Antony was to take Gaul; Lepidus, Spain; and Octavianus, Africa and Sicily. They decided upon the proscription of their mutual enemies, each giving up his friends to the others, the most celebrated of the victims being Marcus Cicero the orator. Antony and Octavianus departed in 42 for Macedonia, where the united forces of their enemies, Brutus and Cassius, formed a powerful army, which was, however, speedily defeated at Philippi. Antony next visited Athens, and thence proceeded to Asia. In Cilicia he ordered Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, to apologize for her insolent behaviour to the triumviri. She appeared in person, and her charms fettered him for ever. He followed her to Alexandria, where he bestowed not even a thought upon the affairs of the world, until he was aroused by a report that hostilities had commenced in Italy between his own relatives and Octavianus.
A short war followed, which was decided in favour of Octavianus before the arrival of Antony in Italy. A reconciliation was effected, which was sealed by the marriage of Antony with Octavia, the sister of Octavianus. A new division of the Roman dominions was now made in 40, by which Antony obtained the East, Octavianus the West. After his return to AsiaAntony gave himself up entirely to Cleopatra, assuming the style of an eastern despot, and so alienating many of his adherents and embittering public opinion against him at Rome. At length war was declared at Rome against the Queen of Egypt, and Antony was deprived of his consulship and government. Each party assembled its forces, and Antony lost, in the naval battle at Actium in 31 BC, the dominion of the world. He followed Cleopatra to Alexandria, and on the arrival of Octavianus his fleet and cavalry deserted, and his infantry was defeated. Deceived by a false report which Cleopatra had disseminated of her death, he killed himself by falling upon his own sword in 30 BC. Research Marcus Antonius
Marcus Gabius Apicius was a Roman epicure in the time of Augustus and Tiberius, who, having exhausted his vast fortune on the gratification of his palate, and having only about £80,000 left, poisoned himself that he might escape the misery of plain diet. The book of cookery published under the name of Apicius was written by one Caelius, and belongs to a much later date. Research Marcus Apicius
Marcus Eliezer Bloch was a naturalist. He was born in 1723 at Anspach and died in 1799. His main work was on fish, and he wrote 'Natural History Of Fishes' in 1785 which included 432 colour plates. Research Marcus Bloch
Marcus Junius Brutus was a distinguished Roman. He was born in 85 BC. He was at first an enemy of Pompey, but joined him on the outbreak of civil war until the battle of Pharsalia. He then surrendered to Caesar, who made him in the following year governor of Cisalpine Gaul, and afterwards of Macedonia. He soon, however, joined the conspiracy against Julius Caesar, and by his influence ensured its success. After the assassination he took refuge in the East, made himself master of Greece and Macedonia, and with a powerful army joined Cassius in the subjugation of the Lycians and Rhodians. In the meantime the triumvirs, Octavianus, Antony, and Lepidus, had been successful at Rome, and were prepared to encounter the army of the conspirators, which, crossing the Hellespont, assembled at Philippi in Macedonia. Cassius appears to have been beaten at once by Antony; and Brutus, though temporarily successful against Octavianus, was totally defeated twenty days later. He escaped with a few friends; but, seeing that his cause was hopelessly ruined, fell upon the sword held for him by his confidant Strato, and died in 42 BC. Research Marcus Brutus
Marcus Furius Camillus was a Roman patrician. He became famous for delivering the city of Rome from the Gauls and in 396 BC was made dictator during the Veientine War and captured the town of Veil by mining after it had defied the Roman power for ten years. In 394 BC Camillusbesieged the Falerii, and by an act of generosity induced them to surrender. Three years after, the envy and jealousy of enemies caused him to exile himself for a time, and he was living in retirement when the Gauls under Brennus invaded and captured Rome, with the exception of the Capitol. Camillus was now appointed dictator a second time, and was successful in repelling the invaders. After having been four times appointed dictator, a new invasion of the Gauls called Camillus, now eighty years old, again to the front, and for the fifth and last time, being appointed dictator, he defeated and dispersed the barbarians. He died in 365 BC. Research Marcus Camillus
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Caracalla was a Roman emperor. He was born in 188 at Lyons and died in 217. The eldest son of the Emperor Severus, on the death of his father he succeeded to the throne with his brother Antoninus Geta, whom he speedily murdered. To effect his own security upwards of 20,000 other victims were butchered. He was himself assassinated by Macrinus, the pretorian prefect, who succeeded him. Research Marcus Caracalla
Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Censor) was a Roman soldier. He was born in 234 BC at Tusculum and died in 149 BC. He inherited from his father, a plebeian, a small estate in the territory of the Sabines, which he cultivated with his own hands. He served his first campaign, at the age of seventeen, under Fabius Maximus, was present at the siege of Capua in 214 BC; and five years after fought under the same commander at the siege of Tarentum.
After the war was ended he returned to his farm, but by the advice of Valerius Flaccus removed to Rome, where his forensic abilities had free scope. He rose rapidly, accompanied Scipio to Sicily as quaestor in 204 BC, became an aedile in 199, and in 198 was chosen praetor, and appointed to the province of Sardinia. Three years later he gained the consulship, and in 194 for his brilliant campaign in Spain obtained the honour of a triumph. In 191 he served as military tribune against Antiochus, and then, having abundantly proved his soldierly qualities, returned to Rome.
For some years he exercised a practical censorship, scrutinizing the characters of candidates for office, and denouncing false claims, peculations, etc. His election to the censorship in 184 set an official seal to his efforts, the unsparing severity of which has made his name proverbial. From that year until his death, in 149, he held no public office, though zealously continuing his unofficial labours for the state. His hostility to Carthage, the destruction of which he advocated in every speech made by him in the forum, was the most striking feature of his closing years. His incessant Delenda est Carthago (Carthage must be destroyed) did much to further the third Punic war. Of his works his De Re Rusfcica (On Rural Economy) alone survives, though there exist in quotation fragments of his history and speeches.
Marrcus Porcius Cato (Cato of Utica) was a Roman reformer. He was born in 95 BC and died in 46 BC. He formed an intimacy with the StoicAntipater of Tyre, and ever remained true to the principles of the Stoicphilosophy. He distinguished himself as a volunteer in the war against Spartacus, served as military tribune in Macedonia in 67 BC, was made quaestor in 65 BC.
His rigorous reforms won him general respect, and in 63 BC he was chosen tribune of the people. During the troubles with CatilineCato gave Marcus Cicero important aid both by his eloquence and sagacity, and at the same time set himself to thwart the ambitious projects of Pompey, Caesar, and Marcus Crassus. Such success as he had, however, was only temporary, and he failed to prevent the formation of the triumvirate. To get rid of him they sent him to take possession of Cyprus, but, having successfully accomplished his mission, he returned, opposed the Tribonian law for conferring extraordinary powers on the triumvirs, and in 54 BC enforced, as praetor, an obnoxious law against bribery.
On the breach between Pompey and Caesar he threw in his lot with Pompey, and guarded the stores at Dyrrhachium, while Pompey pushed on to Pharsalia. After receiving news of Pompey's defeat he sailed to Cyrene and effected a junction with Metellus Scipio at TJtica, in 47 BC. He took command of that city, but its defence appearing hopeless after the defeat of Scipio at Thapsus, he determined on suicide, and after spending some time in the perusal of the Phaedo of Plato, stabbed himself with his sword. His wounds were bound up by his attendants, but he tore off the bandages and died. Research Marcus Cato
Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman orator, politician and writer. He was born in 106 BC at Arpinum and died in 43 BC. His family was of equestrian rank, and his father, though living in retirement, was a friend of some of the chief public men. He received the best education available, studied philosophy and law, became familiar with Greek literature, and acquired some military knowledge from serving a campaign in the Marsic war.
At the age of twenty-five he came forward as a pleader, and having undertaken the defence of Sextus Roscius, who was accused of parricide, procured his acquittal. He visited Greece in 79 BC, conversed with the philosophers of all the schools, and profited by the instruction of the masters of oratory. Here he formed that close friendship with Atticus of which his letters furnish such interesting evidence. He also made a tour in Asia Minor and remained some time at Rhodes, where he visited the most distinguished orators and took part in their exercises.
On his return to Rome his displays of eloquence proved the value of his Grecian instruction, and he became one of the most distinguished orators in the forum. In 76 BC he was appointed quaestor of Sicily, and behaved with such justice that the Sicilians gratefully remembered him and requested that he would conduct their suit against their governor Verres. He appeared against this powerful robber, and the crimes of Verres were painted in the liveliest colours in his immortal speeches. Seven of the Verrine orations are preserved, but only two of them were delivered, and Verres went into voluntary exile.
After this suit Marcus Cicero was elected to the office of sedile, in 70 BC, became praetor in 67, and consul in 63. It was now that he succeeded in defeating the conspiracy of Catiline, after whose fall he received greater honours than had ever before been bestowed upon a Roman citizen. He was hailed as the saviour of the state and the father of his country (parens patriae), and thanksgivings in his name were voted to the gods. But Marcus Cicero's fortune had now reached the culminating point, and soon was to decline.
The Catilinarian conspirators who had been executed had not been sentenced according to law, and Marcus Cicero, as chief magistrate, was responsible for the irregularity. Publius Clodius, the tribune of the people, raised such a storm against him that he was obliged to go into exile in 58 BC.
On the fall of the Clodian faction he was recalled to Rome, but he never succeeded in regaining the influence he had once possessed. In 52 BC he became proconsul of Cilicia, a province which he administered with eminent success. As soon as his term of office had expired he returned to Rome in 49 BC, which was threatened with serious disturbances owing to the rupture between Caesar and Pompey. He espoused the cause of Pompey, but after the battle of Pharsalia he made his peace with Caesar, with whom he continued to all appearance friendly, and by whom he was kindly treated, until the assassination of the latter in 44 BC.. He now hoped to regain his political influence. The conspirators shared with him the honour of an enterprise in which no part had been assigned him; and the less he had contributed to it himself the more anxious was he to justify the deed and pursue the advantages which it offered.
Antony having taken Caesar's place, Marcus Cicero composed those admirable orations against him, delivered in 43 BC, which are known to us by the name of Philippies (after the speeches of Demosthenes against Philip of Macedon). His implacable enmity towards Antony induced him to favour young Octavianus, who professed to entertain the most friendly feelings towards him. Octavianus, however, having possessed himself of the consulate, and formed an alliance with Antony and Lepidus, Marcus Cicero was proscribed. In endeavouring to escape from Tusculum, where he was living when the news of the proscription arrived, he was overtaken and murdered by a party of soldiers; and his head and hands were publicly exhibited in the forum at Rome. He died in his sixty-fourth year, 43 BC.
Marcus Cicero's eloquence has always remained a model. After the revival of learning he was the most admired of the ancient writers; and the purity and elegance of his style will always place him in the first rank of Roman classics. His works, which are very numerous, consist of orations; philosophical, rhetorical, and moral treatises; and letters to Atticus and other friends. The life of Marcus Cicero was written by Plutarch, and there are modern lives by Middleton, Forsyth, and others. Marcus Cicero left a son of the same name by his wife Terentia. Young Marcus was born in 65 BC, was carefully educated, and distinguished himself in military service. In 30 BC Octavianus (Augustus) assumed him as his colleague in the consulship, and he was afterwards governor of Asia or Syria.
Marcus Cicero had also a daughter, Tullia, who to his great grief died in 45 BC.
Marcus Cicero's younger brother, Quintus was a man of some note both as a public character and as a writer. He was married to a sister of Atticus, and was put to death at the same time as the orator. Research Marcus Cicero
Marcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman triumvir. He was known as Crassus Dives (the rich), on account of his vast riches. He was born about 115 BC and died in 53 BC. He took part with Sulla in the civil war; and as praetor, in 71 BC, he defeated Spartacus and the revolted slaves at Rhegium. In 70 BC he was elected consul, having Pompey as his colleague; and in 60 BC Caesar, Pompey, and Marcus Crassus formed the first triumvirate. Five years later he again became consul, and obtaining Syria for his province he made war on the Parthians, but was defeated and killed. It is said that when his head was sent to Orodes, the Parthian king, he caused melted gold to be poured into the mouth, in scorn of his notorious love of wealth. Research Marcus Crassus
Marcus Curtius (Mettus Curius) was a noble Roman youth. According to the legend, he plunged with horse and armour into a chasm which had opened in the forum in 362 BC, thus devoting himself to death for the good of his country, a soothsayer having declared that the dangerous chasm would only close if what was most precious to Borne was thrown into it. Research Marcus Curtius
Marcus Dods was an English theologian. He was born in 1834 at Belford, Northumberland and died after 1905. He was educated in Edinburgh, where he took his M.A. degree at the age of 20;
in 1858 was licensed as a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, and eight years afterwards was ordained to Renneld Free Church, Glasgow, where he officiated with much acceptance until his appointment in 1889 to the chair of New Testament Exegesis in New College, Edinburgh. Among his published works some of the most important are: The Prayer that Teaches to Pray (1863); Epistles to the Seven Churches (1865); Israel's Iron Age (1874); Mohammed, Buddha, and Christ (1877); Handbook on Genesis (1882); Parables of Our Lord (1883 and 1885); How to become like Christ (1897); Genesis, John, and First Corinthians in the Expositor's Bible; and several articles in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Research Marcus Dods
Marcus Justinianus Justinus was a Latin historian, who probably lived at Rome in the 2nd or 3rd century AD, although some assign him a later date. He made an epitome of the general history of antiquity by Trogus Pompeius, a native of Gaul, who lived in the time of Augustus, and whose work is no longer extant. This epitome, although incorrect in detail, is valuable for its compressed reproduction of the old histories. Research Marcus Justinus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus was a Roman general and five times consul (222,215,214,210, and 208 BC). He was the first Roman who successfully encountered Hannibal in the second Punic War; and the conqueror of Syracuse in 212 BC. He was killed in a skirmish with the Carthaginians in 208 BC. Research Marcus Marcellus
Marcus Valerius Martialis (Martial) was a Roman writer of epigrams. He was born in 43 at Bilbilis, in Spain and died after 104. Educated at Calagurris (Calahorra), the birthplace of his friend Quinctilian. He went to Rome when young, during the reign of Nero, and lived under Galba and the following emperors. Domitian gave him the rank of tribune and the rights of the equestrian order. In 100 he returned to Spain to his native city. His celebrity is founded on fourteen books of epigrams, which for the most part depict with no less good sense than pungent wit the life of imperial Rome. Research Marcus Martialis
Marcus Morton was an American politician. He was born in 1784 and died in 1864. He represented Massachusetts in the US Congress as a Democrat from 1817 to 1821. He was Governor of Massachusetts from 1840 to 1841 and from 1843 to 1844. Research Marcus Morton
Marcus Pacuvius was an ancient Roman tragic poet. He was born in 219 BC at Bruudusium and died in 129 BC. He lived the greater part of his life at Rome, where he became famous both for his poetry and his paintings and retired to Tarentum during his last years. Only fragments of his tragedies exist. Research Marcus Pacuvius
Marcus Aurelius Probus was one of the ablest of the Roman emperors. He was born in 232 at Sirmiumand died in 282. At an early age he attracted the notice of the Emperor Valerian, by whom, after having distinguished himself by military service, he was placed at the head of a legion; and the brilliancy of his subsequent conduct in the African, Persian, Arabian, and Germanic campaigns brought him into still more prominent notice. On the death of the Emperor Tacitus, in 276, the army hailed him as emperor, a selection immediately confirmed by the senate and people of Rome. His chief struggle during his reign was to guard the frontiers of the empire against the barbarians, a task which he carried out with great success both in Europe, Asia, and Africa. He also settled large numbers of barbarians in the frontier provinces, and admitted them to his legions; and devoted himself to the making of roads and draining of marshes. His skilful administration and public virtues did not, however, protect him from enmity; and after a short reign he was murdered in a military insurrection in 282. Research Marcus Probus
Marcus Attilius Regulus was a Roman general, who was made consul a second time in 256 BC, and was engaged in a war with Carthage, in which he destroyed their fleet and landed his army in Africa. In the following year, however, he was defeated and taken prisoner by the Carthaginians. Sent to Rome on parole by his captors to negotiate peace, Regulus treacherously persuaded his countrymen to continue the war and returned to captivity, where he died under torture. Research Marcus Regulus
Marcus Salbius Otho was a Roman emperor. He was born in 32 and died in 69 of suicide. He joined Galba when he rebelled against Nero, and on his accession in 67 Marcus Salvius Otho became his favourite and was made consul; but when Galba appointed Piso as his successor Marcus Salvius Otho bribed the army, had Galba and Piso murdered, and was proclaimed emperor in 69. He was acknowledged by the eastern provinces, but in GermanyVitellius was proclaimed by his legions. The latter having led his army into Italy, overthrew the forces of Marcus Salvius Otho at Bebriacum, who killed himself after reigning for three months and a few days. Research Marcus Salvius Otho
Marcus Annaeus Seneca was a Spanish Roman rhetorician, He was born about 61 BC and died in 37 AD. He went to Rome during the reign of Augustus, and there taught rhetoric with great success for several years. He was the author of a collection of extracts showing the treatment of school themes by contemporary rhetoricians, but of no importance as literature. Research Marcus Seneca
Marcus Stone was an English artist. He was born in 1840 at London and died in 1921. He was a son of Frank Stone, and studied under his father and gained some reputation as an illustrator before specialising in historical genre of both a sentimental and humorous nature. He became ARA in 1877 and RA in 1887. He exhibited his first picture in 1858 in the Academy. Among his better-known pictures are: Claudio accuses Hero (1861); On the Road from Waterloo to Paris (1862); Stealing the Keys (1866); Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn (1870); Sain et Sauf (1875); Il y en a toujours un Autre (1882); A Gambler's Wife (1885); and The First Love Letter (1889). Research Marcus Stone
Marcus Claudius Tacitus was a Roman emperor for seven months between 275 and 276. He was born in 205. He was chosen emperor after the murder of Aurelian but was himself victim of a conspiracy and was succeeded by Marcus Probus. Research Marcus Tacitus
Marcus Terentius Varro was a Roman scholar and miscellaneous writer. He was born in 116 BC at Reate, in the Sabine country and died in 28 BC. He studied at Athens, and distinguished himself at sea in Pompey'a war against the pirates. Having followed Pompey in the civil war, he was pardoned after the battle of Pharsalus, and spent the rest of his long life in study. The most learned and voluminous of Roman authors, he wrote a great work on the political and religious antiquities of Rome, writings on the liberal arts, philosophy, geography, and law, as well as the Saturae Menippeae, a medley of prose and verse. Apart from fragments, valuable for the information they give on Roman institutions, his only extant-works are the philological treatise, De Lingua Latina, and the treatise on agriculture, De ReRustica, Research Marcus Varro
Marcus Whitmas was an American missionary. He was born in 1802 and died in 1847. He was sent to Oregon as a missionary physician in 1836. He reported to the US Government the value of the then disputed territory. His colonization efforts did much to secure that region for the United States. Research Marcus Whitman
Margaret was queen of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. She was born in 1353 at Copenhagen and died in 1412. Called the Northern Semiramis, she was the daughter of Waldemar III, king of Denmark and married to Hakon, king of Norway, in 1363. The death of her husband in 1380 placed Norway in her hands; that of her son Olaf in 1387 enabled her to secure the throne of Denmark, to which she had previously brought about his election; and after defeating Albert, the Swedish king, she also obtained possession of the throne of Sweden. She endeavoured to place the union of the three kingdoms on a permanent basis by the celebrated Act of Union, or Treaty of Calmar in 1397. She died after having raised herself to a degree of power then unequalled in Europe from the time of Charlemagne. Research Margaret
Margaret Eaton (Peggy O'Neill) was the wife of American politician John H Eaton. She was born in 1796 and died in 1879. When John H Eaton became Secretary of War she was refused recognition by the families of the Cabinet members because of her low social background. Her cause was supported by president Andrew Jackson, who attempted to enforce her recognition, which led to the disruption of the Cabinet in 1831. Research Margaret Eaton
MargaretUrsula Mee was an English botanical artist. She was born in 1909 and died in 1988. In the 1950s she went to Brazil, where she accurately and comprehensively painted many plant species of the Amazonbasin. She is thought to have painted more species than any other botanical artist. Research Margaret Mee
Margaret of Anjou was an English queen. She was born in 1425 at Pont-a-Mousson and died in 1482. The daughter of Rene, titular king of Sicily in 1443 she married Henry VI of England. The imbecility of the king made her practically regent, and her power being contested by the Duke of York, a claimant of the throne by an elder line, the protracted wars of the Roses commenced. At first victorious she was afterwards compelled to flee to Scotland, but raising an army in the north, she secured, by the battles of Wakefield in 1460 and St. Albans in 1461, the death of York and the release of the king. Her army, however, was soon afterwards annihilated at Towton in 1461, and Edward (later Edward IV), the son of the late Duke of York, was declared king.
She succeeded in obtaining assistance from Louis XI of France, but was once more defeated, and took refuge in France. Warwick then became embroiled with the young king, and determined to replace Henry on the throne. Edward was in turn obliged to escape to the Continent, but obtaining assistance from the Duke of Burgundy, returned and defeated Warwick at Barnet in 1471. Margaret, collecting her partisans, fought the battle of Tewkesbury in 1471, but was totally defeated. She and her son were made prisoners, and the latter, when led into the presence of the royal victor, was killed. Henry soon after died or was murdered in the Tower, and Margaret remained in prison four years before Louis XI realised her release by paying a ransom of 50,000 crowns. Research Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Navarre was a French aristocrat, writer and patron of science and art. She was born in 1492 at Angouleme and died in 1549. The daughter of Charles of Orleans, she was married in 1509 to the Duke of Alencon and following his death in 1525 to Henri d'Albert, King of Navarre. Research Margaret of Navarre
Margaret of Valois was Queen of Navarre. She was born in 1492 at Angouleme and died in 1549. The sister of Francis I of France, she was brought up at the court of Louis XII, and married the Duke of Alengon in 1509, became a widow in 1525, and in 1527 was espoused to Henry d'Albret, count of Beam and titular king of Navarre.
From this time she resided at Beam, assisting in the development of the resources of the small kingdom, and making it a centre of liberal influence. Many Protestants took refuge in her territories; and her name is closely linked with those of Rabelais, Dolet, Marot, and the leading men of the period. She herself possessed no ordinary culture, being credited with a knowledge of six languages and the authorship of several works, of which the chief were Le Miroir de l'Ame Pecheresse, printed in 1533 and condemned by the Sorbonne for its Protestant tendencies; the Heptameron, a collection of Tales in imitation of the Decamerone of Boccaccio, and first printed in 1559; and a collection of poems published in 1547 under the title of Marguerites de la Marguerite des Princesses. She died in 1549, leaving one child, Jeanne d'Albret, afterwards mother of Henry IV. Research Margaret of Valois
Maragert Sarah Fuller Ossoli was an American author. She was born in 1810 and died in 1850 in a ship wreck. She was remarkable for her precocious and extensive linguistic attainments. She became associated with Emerson and other eminent literary men. In 1840 she started and edited the Dial (a social and philosophical magazine), and in 1844 became a writer to the New York Tribune. She visited Europe in 1846, married in 1847 the Marchese Ossoli. She was in Rome during the siege of 1849, when she acted as superintendent of an hospital for the wounded, and embarked with her husband for New York, but they were wrecked, and both died off Long Island on July the 16th, 1850. She wrote several works (besides translations), including Women in the Nineteenth Century, etc. Research Margaret Ossoli
Margaret Power, Countess of Blessington, was an Irish writer and socialite. She was born in 1789 at Clonmel and died in 1849. She was the daughter of Edmund Power, an improvident man of good family, and at the age of fifteen was married to a Captain Farmer, who died in 1817; and a few months after his death she married Charles John Gardiner, earl of Blessington. In 1822 they went abroad, and continued to reside on the Continent until the earl's death in 1829, when Lady Blessington took: up her abode in Gore House, Kensington. Her residence became the fashionable resort for all the celebrities of the time; and that notwithstanding a doubtful connection which she formed with Count D'Orsay, with whom she lived until her death. She contributed to the New Monthly Magazine, Conversations with LordByron; wrote numerous novels, including The Belle of a Season, The Two Friends, Strathern, and the Victims of Society; and acted as an editor, for several years, of Heath's Book of Beauty, the Keepsake, and the Gems of Beauty. Research Margaret Power
Margaret Todd was a British doctor and author. She was born in 1859 at Glasgow and died in 1918. She was educated at Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Berlin, and, after a period spent in teaching, studied at the Edinburgh school of medicine for women, where she took her medical degrees in 1894. She was for some time assistant medical officer at the Edinburghhospital and dispensary for women and children. Under the name of Graham Travers she published 'Mona Maclean', a novel dealing with the life of a woman doctor, in 1892; 'Fellow Travellers' in 1896 and 'Windyhaugh' in 1898. Her chief literary work is her Life of Dr. Sophia Jex-Blake published in 1918. Research Margaret Todd
Margot Fonteyn (Peggy Hookham) was a British ballerina. She was born in 1919 and died in 1991 of cancer. She spent some of her childhood in China. When she was 14 her family returned to England and she auditioned successfully for the Vic-Wells ballet, making her debut in 1934 as a snowflake in 'Nutcracker'; her first solo role was the Young Treginnis in de Valois's 'The HauntedBallroom'. When Markova, the company's first ballerina, left in 1935, Fonteyn worried with the rest of the dancers, and most of the audience, about who could ever replace her: over the next three years it became apparent that it would be she herself. By the time she was 16 her promise was unmistakable. By the time the war broke out in 1939 she had danced Aurora, Giselle, and Odette/Odile, and - perhaps more importantly - had already created half a dozen roles for Ashton.
After a stormy start caused by mutual incomprehension, she and the choreographer established a happy relationship which over the next 25 years produced most of her greatest roles and his greatest ballets. The company's nomadic wartime existence ended with the invitation take up residence at Covent Garden, and their opening night performance of 'Sleeping Beauty' showed how far Fonteyn, still only 26, had travelled on the path to prima ballerina. 'Symphonic Variations' and 'Cinderella' followed, and the seal on her progress from national treasure to international star was set by her triumph in New York on the company's historic opening night in 1949.
The 1950s saw her taking on Karsavina's role in 'Firebird', and creating Ondine and Chloe - the part in which Ashton said he most missed her when she gave up dancing. In 1956 she married Roberto de Arias, a diplomat from Panama, and for a time had to juggle her commitments as both ballerina and ambassador's wife. By about 1960, though, talk of possible retirement had begun to creep into reviews and interviews. Her most famous partnership - which lasted twenty years - was dancing with Nuryev after he defected from Russia in 1961. She gave her
final performance in the early 1970's, and then retired to Panama to care for her husband, who had been paralysed in a shooting incident. Research Margot Fonteyn
Margrave is a German title (equivalent of marquess) for the 'counts of the March' who guarded the frontier of the empire from Charlemagne's time. Later the title was borne by other territorial princes. Research Margrave
Maria Gaetana Agnesi was an Italian mathematician and linguist. She was born in 1718 at Milan and died in 1799. The daughter of a professor of mathematics at Bologna, at the age of nine she composed a thesis in Latin, and when thirteen knew Greek, Hebrew and several modern languages. In mathematics she wrote two volumes on the analysis of finite quantities and the analysis of infinitesimals, though these were not published until she was in her thirties and not translated into English until 1801. By the authority of Pope Benedict XIV she took her father's place as professor of mathematics at Bologna when her father became ill in 1752. She later entered a sisterhood at Milan where she became a nun. Research Maria Agnesi
MariaAnneEliza Bacciocchi (born Maria Anne Eliza Bonaparte) was the sister of Napoleon. She was born in 1777 at Ajaccio 1777 and died in 1820. A great patroness of literature and art, she married Captain Bacciocchi, who in 1805 was created Prince of Lucca and Piombino. She virtually ruled these principalities herself, and as Grand-duchess of Tuscany she enacted the part of a queen. She fell with the empire. Research Maria Bacciocchi
Maria Meneghini Callas (Sophie Cecelia Kalogeropoulou) was an American opera singer. She was born in 1923 at New York and died in 1977. She left the United States in 1937 to move to Greece. There she studied at the AthensConservatory. She made her professional operatic debut in a major role, Tosca, at the AthensOpera in 1941 going on to triumphant performances at all of the major opera houses. Her last operatic appearance was in 1965 at Covent Garden, again as Tosca. She gave a number of master classes from 1971 to 1972. In the following two years, she toured with Giuseppe diStefano in recitals of arias with pianoaccompaniment. Research Maria Callas
Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini was an Italian composer. He was born in 1760 at Florence and died in 1842. His first opera, Quinto Fabio, was produced in Alessandria in 1780, and in Rome (in an altered form) in 1783, with such success as to spread his fame over Italy. After visiting London he finally settled in Paris, where he became director of the L'ecole Royale in 1822. Among his compositions are Iphigenia in Aulide; Lodoiska, Faniska, Les Deux Journees, etc. In his later years he confined himself almost exclusively to the composition of sacred music, and gained a lasting fame by his Coronation Mass, and more especially his gorgeous Requiem. Research Maria Cherubini
Maria Christina was queen of Spain. She was born in 1806 and died in 1878. The daughter of Francis I of Naples, in 1829 she married Ferdinand VII of Spain. After Ferdinand's death in 1833 she ruled alone as regent for her daughter Isabella, but abdicated in 1840 as a result of the popular disturbances aroused by the Carlists. Research Maria Christina
Maria Theresa Louisa de Savoie-Carignan (Princess de Lamballe) was a French aristocrat. She was born in 1749 at Turin and died in 1792. She married the prince of Lamballe and was the devoted friend and companion of Marie Antoinette, whose sufferings she shared until the 8th of September 1792, when she was murdered. Research Maria de Savoie-Carignan
Maria Edgworth was an English writer. She was in 1767 at Black Bourton, in Oxfordshire and died in 1849. Her first novel, Castle Rackrent, a tale of Irish life, published in 1800, immediately established her reputation. Her later works include Belinda, Moral Tales, Leonora, Popular Tales, Tales of Fashionable Life, Patronage, Harrington, Ormond, and Helen, besides an Essay on Irish Bulls and a work on Practical Education, largely based on Rousseau's Emile. Maria Edgeworth's characteristics are a simple and lucid style and considerable power of observation, but she was not a great creative artist, and her work lacks poetic elevation. Research Maria Edgeworth
Countess Maria Aurora Konigsmark was a German socialite. She was born in 1670 at Bremen and died in 1728. She was celebrated for her beauty and mental accomplishments. She became the mistress of Frederick Augustus, elector of Saxony and king of Poland, and was the mother of Maurice of Saxony (Marshal Saxe), the celebrated French general. She was extravagantly esteemed by Voltaire. Research Maria Konigsmark
Maria Louisa was the second wife of Napoleon I. She was born in 1791 and died in 1847. The eldest daughter of the Emperor Francis I of Austria, her marriage with Napoleon took place in 1810 after the divorce of Josephine, and in 1811 she bore him a son. After his overthrow she received in 1816 the duchies of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, which she governed until her death in 1847. At Napoleon's death she made a morganatic marriage with her chamberlain, Count Neipperg. Research Maria Louisa
Maria Felicita Malibran was a French singer. She was born in 1808 at Paris and died in 1836. She was daughter of a well-known singer and singing-master, Manuel Garcia. She made her debut in 1825 at the opera in London, and the following year went to New York, where she married Malibran, a French banker, from whom she soon separated. She returned to Europe, where her splendid vocal powers and dramatic ability made her an extraordinary favourite in Britain and on the Continent. Having obtained a divorce from her first husband, she married the violinist De Beriot in 1836, but died the same year. Research Maria Malibran
Maria Evarist Miguel was a usurper to the throne of Portugal. He was born in 1802 at Lisbon and died in 1866. A son of John VI, he refused to recognise the constitution of 1822 and headed an unsuccessful insurrection. His brother, Pedro IV of Brazil, on his accession to the throne, betrothed his daughter Maria to Miguel, and in 1826 abdicated in her favour, Miguel acting as regent. In 1828, supported by the nobility and clergy, he proclaimed himself king, but after six years of civil war he was dethroned and in 1834 banished. Research Maria Miguel
Maria Montessori was an Italian educationalist. She was born in 1870 and died in 1952. She developed the Montessori system of education. Research Maria Montessori
Maria Taglioni (Marie Taglioni) was an Italian dancer. She was born in 1809 at Stockholm and died in 1884. The daughter of an Italian balletmaster, she was trained by her father and made her first appearance at Vienna when she was eighteen years old. In 1827 she appeared in Paris, and in 1838 caused a sensation when she appeared in London, and for the next twenty years was the most famous ballet dancer in Europe until she retired from ballet in 1847 but subsequently, losing her savings in speculation, she supported herself in London as a teacher of deportment. Research Maria Taglioni
Maria Theresa was queen of Hungary and German empress. She was born in 1717 at Vienna and died in 1780. For nearly thirty years her father (Charles VI) endeavoured to secure for her the right of succession to the imperial crown. This he did by the Pragmatic Sanction in 1740. She married Francis of Lorraine, whom, when she was crowned at Pressburg in 1741, she nominated joint-regent with herself. Her succession was at once challenged by Charles Albert of Bavaria, supported by the French, by the elector of Saxony, and by the kings of Prussia, Spain and Sardinia. On the success of Charles, who was proclaimed emperor in 1742 as Charles VII, she took refuge in Hungary, and the Magyars helped her to win back her crown in 1748. Silesia, however, during the struggle was taken by the Prussians in 1742 and this gave rise fourteen years later to the Seven Years' War.
In 1772 Poland was partitioned by Catherine II of Russia, Frederick of Prussia and Maria Theresa, who acquired Red Russia. Between 1777 and 1779 Maria Theresa engaged in another war with Prussia. After 1763 the empress instituted many reforms in the army, justice, and education; opened the ports of Trieste and Fiume to trade; expelled the Jesuits and confiscated much church property; and abolished legal torture. With much of her later policy Count Von Kaunitz is associated. In honour of Marshal Leopold Daun's victory over the Prussians at Kolin in 1757, she instituted the military order bearing her name. Research Maria Theresa
Mariano Arista was a Mexican general. He was born in 1802 and died in 1855. In the war with the USA he commanded at Palo Alto and at Resaca de la Palma. He was elected president of Mexico in 1850 but resigned in 1853. Research Mariano Arista
Mariano Fortuny was a Spanish painter. He was born in 1839 near Barcelona and died in 1874. He studied at Madrid, travelled in Morocco, and settled at Rome, where he became the centre of a school of artists in revolt against over-study of the 'masters'. In 1866 he went to Paris, where his pictures, mostly genre subjects from southern and oriental life, had a great success. Amongst the best known are A Spanish Marriage, A Fantasia at Morocco, The Academicians at Arcadia, The Seashore at Portici. Research Mariano Fortuny
Marie Antoinette was Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Louis XVI of France. She was born in 1755 and died in 1793 when she was executed for treason during the French revolution. The youngest daughter of the Emperor Francis I and of Maria Theresa she was married at the age of fifteen to the Dauphin, afterwards Louis XVI, but her manners were ill-suited to the French court, and she made many enemies among the highest families by her contempt for its ceremonies, which excited her ridicule. The freedom of her manners, indeed, even after she became queen, was a cause of scandal. The extraordinary affair of the diamond necklace, in which the CardinalLouis de Holian, the great quack Cagliostro, and a certain Countess de Lamotte were the chief actors, tarnished her name, and added force to the calumnies against her. Though it was proved in the examination which she demanded that she had never ordered the necklace, her enemies succeeded in casting a stigma on her, and the credulous people laid every public disaster to her charge.
There is no doubt she had great influence over the king, and that she constantly opposed all measures of reform. The enthusiastic reception given her at the guards' ball at Versailles on the 1st of October, 1789, raised the general indignation to the highest pitch, and was followed in a few days by the insurrection of women, and the attack on Versailles.
When practically prisoners in the Tuileries it was she who advised the flight of the royal family in June, 1791, which ended in their capture and return. On the 10th of August, 1792, she heard her husband's deposition pronounced by the Legislative Assembly, and accompanied him to the prison in the Temple, where she displayed the magnanimity of a heroine and the patient endurance of a martyr. In January, 1793, she parted with her husband who had been condemned by the Convention; in August she was removed to the Conciergerie; and in October she was charged before the revolutionary tribunal with having dissipated the finances, exhausted the treasury, corresponded with the foreign enemies of France, and favoured the domestic foes of the country. She defended herself with firmness, decision, and indignation; and heard the sentence of death pronounced with perfect calmness - a calmness which did not forsake her when the sentence was carried out the following morning. Her son, eight years of age, died shortly afterwards, as was generally believed by poison, and her daughter was suffered to quit France, and afterwards married her cousin the Duke of Angouleme.
Marie Antoinette was renowned for rarely carrying money with her, and rather borrowing money from her associates for which she earned the nickname 'Madame Deficit'. Research Marie Antoinette
Marie Bashkirtseff was a Russian painter and writer. She was born in 1860 and died in 1884. She was born into a noble family near Poltava and educated mostly outside of Russia, in France, Germany, and Italy. She became an accomplished linguist and musician, and studied art in Paris, attaining high success, but overtaxed her system, with fatal results. She is best known from her journal, an intimate personal record, interesting not only as revealing her own peculiar character and intellectual gifts, but also for notices of the notable personages with whom she came in contact. It has been translated into various languages - into English by Mathilde Blind in 1890, who has also published A Study of Marie Bashkirtseff in 1892. A number of her letters have also been published. Research Marie Bashkirtseff
Marie Francois Xavier Bichat was a French physiologist. He was born in 1771 at Thoirette and died in 1802. He studied at Paris under Dessault and lectured on tissue and formed the basis of modern histology, and in his book 'Anatomie Generale Appliquee' showed the intimate connexion between the brain, heart and lungs. Research Marie Bichat
Marie Anne du Boccage was a French poet. She was born in 1710 and died in 1802. Her writings comprise an imitation of Paradise Lost; The Death of Abel; The Amazons, a tragedy; and a poem called Columbiad. Research Marie Boccage
Marie Francoise Sadi Carnot was a French President. He was born in 1837 and died in 1894. He was a grandson of Lazare Carnot, entered the government service, was returned to the Assembly for Cote d' Or in 1871 and in 1887 was elected President. He successfully countered the Boulangist movement, and in 1892 the scandals arising out of French financial activities in Panama. He was assassinated by an Italian anarchist at Lyons. Research Marie Carnot
Marie Corelli was an English novelist. She was born in 1864 and died in 1924. She first made her name with the work 'The Romance of Two Worlds' published in 1886. Her books are superficial, and popular. Research Marie Corelli
Marie Curie was a French scientist. She was born in 1867 at Warsaw and died in 1934. She and her husband together separated radium in 1902. Research Marie Curie
Marie Jean Antoine Bicolas de Caritat, Marquis de+Condorcet, was a French writer. He was born in 1743 and died in 1794. At the age of twenty-one he presented to the Academy of Sciences an Essai sur le Calcul Integral, and in 1767 his Memoire sur le Probleme des Trois Points appeared, both being afterwards united under the title of Essais d'Analyse. The merit of this work gained for him in 1769 a seat in the Academy of Sciences, of which, after the publication of his Eloges des Academiciens morts avant 1699 (1773), he was appointed perpetual secretary in 1777.
In 1777 his Theory of Comets gained the prize offered by the Academy of Berlin; he enriched the Transactions of many learned societies; and took an active part in the Encyclopedie.
During the troubles of the first French Revolution his sympathies were strongly engaged on the side of the people. By the city of Paris he was elected deputy to the legislative assembly, of which he was soon appointed secretary, and in February, 1792, president. On the trial of Louis he was in favour of the severest sentence not capital and at the same time he proposed to abolish capital punishments, except in case of crimes against the state. The fall of the Girondist party, on May the 31st, 1793, prevented the constitution which he had drawn up from being accepted, and as he freely criticised the constitution which took its place he was denounced as being an accomplice of Brissot. Madame Verney, a woman of noble feelings, secreted him for eight months, during which he wrote his Esquisse d'un Tableau Historique des Progres de l'Esprit Humain. Lest he should endanger her safety, however, he left the house secretly in opposition to her wishes, fled from Paris, and wandered about until he was arrested and thrown into prison, where, on March the 28th, 1794, he was found dead on the floor, having apparently swallowed poison. Research Marie de Caritat
Marie Joseph Blaise De Chenier was a French poet. He was born in 1764 and died in 1811. The brother of Andre-Marie De Chenier, he served as an officer of dragoons, left the service, and devoted himself to literature. His dramas Charles IX, Henry VIII, La Morte de Calas, full of wild democratic declamation, were received with great applause. He was chosen a member of the Convention, and belonged to the party of the most violent Democrats. His works comprise odes, songs, hymns, etc. Research Marie De Chenier
Marie De Flavigny, the Comtesse D'agoult, was a French writer of fiction, history, politics, philosophy, and art. She was born in 1805 at Frankfort and died at Paris in 1876. The daughter of Viscount de Flavigny, she contributed many articles to the Revue des Deux - Mondes, etc, under the name of Daniel Stern, and wrote Histoire de la Revolution de 1848; Trois Journees de la Vie de MarieStuart; Florence and Turin, a series of artistic and political studies; Dante and Goethe; dialogues, and numerous romances, etc. Research Marie de Flavigny
Marie Edme Patrick Maurice de Macmahon was Duke of Magenta and Marshal of France. He was born in 1808 and died in 1893. Educated at the military college of St Cyr, he served with distinction in Algeria; became brigadier-general in 1848; received command of a division during the Crimean War, and assisted in storming the Malakoff; took part in the campaign of 1859 against Austria, and won the Battle of Magenta by his prompt handling of the left wing; and after the war became governor-general of Algeria.
At the outbreak of war between France and Germany in 1870, Macmahon was placed in command of the 1st Army Corps, which was defeated at Weissenburg, Worth, and finally fell back upon Chalons. Here he ralied his forces, and proceeded north-eastward to relieve Bazaine, who was besieged in Metz, but he was pursued by the Germans, shut up by their encircling armies in the town of Sedan, and wounded in the battle before the final surrender. After the armistice with Germany he was employed by the Versailles government in putting down the commune, and in 1873 he was elected president of the republic, a position which he occupied until 1879. Research Marie de Macmahon
Marie de Medici was Queen of France. She was born in 1573 and died in 1642. The daughter of Francis II of Tuscany, in 1600 she married Henry IV of France. On the assassination of Henry IV she became regent, but proved utterly incompetent to rule. Her partiality for unworthy favourites caused her deposition and imprisonment. She became reconciled to her son, the weak Louis XIII, through Richelieu, who had possessed himself of the highest power, but was again imprisoned at Compiegne in 1630. Thence she escaped, and after wandering through several countries died in misery at Cologne in 1642. Research Marie de Medici
Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquis de Savigne, was a French lady of letters. She was born in 1626 at Poaris and died in 1696. In 1644 she married the Marquis de Sevigne, who was killed in a duel in 1651, leaving her the mother of a son and a daughter. She then devoted herself to the education of her children and to the culture of her own mind. In 1669 her daughter, to whom she was extremely attached, married the Count de Grignan, and shortly afterwards accompanied her husband to Provence. A seven years' separation from her daughter gave rise to the greater part of the letters which have gained Madame de Sevigne so much reputation.
After 1687 Madame de Sevigne was rarely severed from her daughter, and in May 1694 went to live with her permanently. The subjects of many of the Letters of Madame de Sevigne are so entirely domestic as to produce little interest; but others abound with court anecdotes, remarks on men and books, and the topics of the day, which are conveyed with great ease and felicity. They are models of the epistolary style, perfectly natural from their expression, lively sentiment and description, and a playfulness which gives grace and interest to trifles. She had a strong admiration for the beauties of nature, a feeling which is characteristic of her letters. Her favourite authors were Virgil, Montaigne, Moliere, Corneille, Pascal, Arnauld, and Nicole. She had a strong sense of religion, but shows callousness in regard to the sufferings of the French Protestants. The first edition of her Letters (which were never intended for publication) appeared at the Hague in 1726. Research Marie de Rabutin-Chantal
Comtesse Marie Jeanne Dubarry was a mistress of Louis XV. She was born in 1746 at Vaucouleurs and died in 1793 being executed as a royalist during the French Revolution. At a young age she went to Paris, became a prostitute, and was presented to the king in 1769, who had her married for form's sake to the Count du Barry. She exercised a powerful influence at court, and
with some of her confidants completely ruled the king. Important offices and privileges were in her gift, and the courtiers abased themselves before her. After the death of Louis XV she was dismissed from court and sent to live in a convent near Meaux. She received a pension from Louis XVI. Research Marie Dubarry
Marie Jean Pierre Flourens was a French physician and physiologist. He was born in 1794 and died in 1867. In 1828 he was elected a. member of the Academy of Sciences, in 1832 was appointed to the chair of comparative anatomy at the Jardin des Plantes, Paris. In 1833 he became permanent secretary to the Academy of Sciences, in 1840 member of the French Academy. In 1846 he was created by Louis Philippe a peer of France. His works include Experiences sur la Systeme Nerveux, Developpement des Os, Anatomie de la Peau, Memoires d'Anatomie et de Physiologie Comparees, De l'Instinct et de 1'Intelligence des Animaux, etc. Research Marie Flourens
Marie Angelica Kaufmann was a Swiss painter. She wa born in 1741 at Coire and died in 1807. She received instruction in drawing and painting from her father, himself a painter, and before the age of twenty she had become famous. The study of the Italian masters perfected her style, and while at Venice she was induced to go to London in 1765, where she had a very successful career. Sir Joshua Reynolds is said to have been in love with her, but she married a Swedish adventurer calling himself Count Hlorn, from whom she afterwards obtained a divorce. In 1781 she married a Venetian landscape-painter named Zucchi, returned the following year to Italy, and finally settled in Rome. She is at her best in ideal figures, her faces are tender and elevating, her grouping and draping excellent, but her design often lacks energy and firmness, while her colouring (the latest paintings excepted) is rather too brilliant. She was one of the original members of the Royal Academy. Research Marie Kaufmann
Marie Louise De la Ramee was an English novelist. She was born in 1839 at Bury St Edmunds and died in 1908. She wrote under the name of Ouida and achieved enormous success with 'Strathmore' written in 1865, 'Under Two Flags' written in 1867 and 'Moths' written in 1880. Research Marie Louise De la Ramee
Marie Marguerite D'aubray, Marchioness of Brinvilliers, was a French murderer. She was born about 1630 and died in 1676. She was married in 1651 to the Marquis of Brinvilliers, but after some seven or eight years of married life a young cavalry officer named Sainte-Croix inspired her with a violent passion, and being instructed by him in the art of preparing poisons, she poisoned in succession her father, her two brothers, and her sisters, chiefly, it is thought, in order to procure the means for living extravagantly with her paramour. The sudden death of Sainte-Croix, caused, it is said, by the falling off of a glassmask which he used to protect himself in preparing poisons, led to the discovery of letters incriminating Madame de Brinvilliers. She fled to England, and finally to Liege, where she was captured, conveyed to Paris, condemned to death and executed. Research Marie Marguerite D'aubray
Marie Jeanne Pjlipon Roland was the wife of Roland de la Platiere. She was born in 1754 at Paris and died in 1793. After her marriage in 1779 she took part in the studies and tasks of her husband, and accompanied him to Switzerland and England. On the appointment of her husband to the ministry she participated in his official duties, and took a share in the political councils of the leaders of the Girondist party. On the fall of her husband she was arrested, and was executed on November the 8th,1793. Her Memoires and Letters have been published. Research Marie Roland
Marie Carmichael Stopes was an English scientist, writer on eugenics and the pioneer of birth control. She was born in 1880 and died in 1958. Educated ay Edinburgh, Munich and London University she was appointed to the science staff of Manchester University in 1904, and in 1907 went to Japan where she spent 18 months collecting fossils. She wrote on botany, and became widely known for her books 'Married Love' and 'Wise Parenthood' published in 1918 which dealt with relations between the sexes. Research Marie Stopes
Marie Joseph Eugene Sue (also known as Eugene Sue) was a French novelist and surgeon. He was born in 1804 at Paris and died in 1857. He served as a naval and military surgeon, seeing service in Spain in 1823 and at Navarino in 1828 before coming into prominence as a contributor to the La Presse newspaper before publishing several novels. In 1850 he became deputy for the Seine and in 1851 a political exile. Research Marie Sue
Marie Tussaud was a Swiss-born French sculptress. She was born in 1760 at Strasbourg and died in 1850. Arriving in Paris in 1766, she grew up fascinated by her uncle's sculpting and modelling in wax, and soon learned the art herself. During the French revolution she was imprisoned, and only spared from death so she could make death masks of the executed aristocrats - many of whom were her friends - from their severed heads. Leaving France she arrived in Dover in 1802 and founded the famous Tussaud's wax works in London, showing her first exhibition of her models there in 1803. Research Marie Tussaud
Marie-Francoise-Sophie Gay (born Nichault de Lavalette) was a French writer. She was born in 1776 at Paris 1776 and died in 1852. She was first married to a financier, Liottier, from whom after six years she was divorced to marry Gay, a receiver-general under the empire. Her salon was a famous resort for the men of letters and artists of the time. Her chief works are Laure d'Estell (1802), Anatole (1815), Le Moqueur Amoureuse (1830), Scenes de Jeunes Ages (1833), La Duchesse de Chateauroux (1834), Les Salons Celebres (1837), and Le Mari Confident (1849). Research Marie-Francoise-Sophie Gay
Marie-Henri Beyle was a French author widely known by his pseudonym de Stendhal. He was born in 1783 at Grenoble and died in 1842. He held civil and military appointments under the empire; took part in the Russian campaign of 1812, thence until 1821 lived at Milan, chiefly occupied with works on music and painting. After nine years' residence at Paris he became in 1830 consul at Trieste, and in 1833 at Civita Vecchia. In 1841 he returned to Paris. The distinguishing feature of his works was the application of acutely analytic faculties to sentiment in all its varieties, his best books being the De l'Amour, 1822; Le Rouge et Ie Noir, 1831;
and La Chartreuse de Parme, 1839. Research Marie-Henri Beyle
Marie-Joseph-Eugene Sue was a French novelist. He was born in 1804 at Paris and died in 1857. He adopted his father's profession of medicine, became a surgeon in the army, and served in Spain in 1823. In 1825 he joined the naval service, and in the capacity of surgeon was present at the battle of Navarino in 1827. On his father's death in 1829 he inherited an immense fortune, and, having abandoned his profession, he devoted himself to literary composition. His first work was a sea novel entitled Kernock le Pirate, which was quickly followed by Plick et Plock, Atar-Gull, La Salamandre, and La Vigie de Koatven. He now entered the departments both of historical fiction and the novel of real life. Of the former description were Latreaumont, JeanCavalier, and Le Commandeur; of the latter were Arthur, L'Hotel Lambert, and Mathilde. But his most famous works are Les Mysteres de Paris and Le Juif Errant, well known in English as The Mysteries of Paris and The Wandering Jew. His later novels are L'Enfant Trouvc, Les Sept Peches Capitaux, and Les Mysteres du Peuple. In 1850 he was elected to the Constituent Assembly, and sat as an advanced radical. After the coup detat by Napoleon III in 1851 he left France and retired to Annecy, where he died in 1857. Research Marie-Joseph-Eugene Sue
Marino Falieri was the doge of Venice who repelled the Hungarians at Zara in 1346 and captured that city. He was born in 1274 and died in 1355 when he was executed for conspiring against the nobles of Venice in the hope of becoming Prince of Venice. Research Marino Falieri
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco was an Italian born American composer. He was born in 1895 and died in 1968. he composed music scores for films including the 1944 'The Return of The Vampire'. Research Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Marion Delorme was a celebrated French beauty who reigned under Louis XIII. The date of her birth is stated at 1611, 1612, and 1615. Her beauty and wit soon made her house the rendezvous of all that was gallant and brilliant in Paris. She espoused the side of the Frondeurs, and Mazarin was about to have her arrested when her sudden death terminated her short career of thirty-nine years. The legend in France is that the death and funeral was a mere pretence; that she escaped to England, returned to Paris, and after marrying three husbands lived to the age of 129. Victor Hugo took her as the subject of one of his dramas. Research Marion Delorme
Marion Elliot (Poly Styrene) is an English songwriter and musician. She was the driving force behind and founder of the 1970's punk rock band X-Ray Spex which disbanded in 1979 after releasing a single album, only to reform in 1991 playing a surprise sell-out concert at London's Brixton Academy venue and release a second album in 1995. Research Marion Elliot
Marion Ravn (also known as Marion Raven) is an American musician. She was born in 1984. A drummer with the band M2M, after the band split up she became a solo performer. Research Marion Ravn
Mariotto Albertinelli was a Florentine painter. He was born in 1474 and died in 1515. He was trained by Cosimo Rosselli, in whose studio he met Fra Bartolommeo. The two went into partnership in 1508, but soon after this Albertinelli abandoned painting to become an inn keeper, saying (according to Vasari ) that he was fed up with criticism and wanted a 'less difficult and more cheerful craft'. Albertinelli's paintings are elegant but rather insipid. His best-known pictures are the Visitation, painted in 1503 and an Annunciation painted in 1510. Research Mariotto Albertinelli
Caius Marius was a Roman general. He was born in 157 BC and died in 86 BC. Of obscure parents, he served with distinction at Numantia in 134 BC under Scipio Africanus; was made tribune of the people in 119, and acquired much popularity by his opposition to the nobles. In 115 BC he was appointed praetor, and a year later propraetor of Spain, which he cleared of robbers; he also increased his influence by his marriage with Julia, the aunt of Julius Caesar.
In 109 BC he accompanied the Consul Q. Caecilius Metellus as his lieutenant to the Jugurthine war. He brought this war and the war in Transalpine Gaul against the Teutons to a victorious close; and was chosen six times consul. On the outbreak of the war against Mithridates, Marius, who had long been jealous of Sulla, endeavoured to deprive him of his command, and in the struggle which followed was compelled to flee from Italy. After hairbreadth escapes he landed in Africa amid the ruins of Carthage, and remained there until recalled by Cinna, who had headed a successful movement in his favour. In company with Cinna he marched against Rome, which was obliged to yield, the entry of Marius and his followers being attended with the massacre of most of his chief opponents. On the completion of the term of Cinna's consulship he declared himself and Marius consuls but the latter died seventeen days later at the age of seventy. Research Marius
Marius Curius Dentatus was an ancient Roman general. In 290 BC he brought to a victorious termination the war with the Samnites, which had lasted for nearly fifty years. In 275 BC he defeated King Pyrrhus at Beneventum, for which he received a magnificent triumph. In 274 BC he was made consul for the third time and conducted to a successful issue the last war with the southern Italians. He died about 270 BC. Research Marius Curius Dentatus
Mark Akenside was an English physician and poet. He was born in 1721 at Newcastle-upon-Tyne and died in 1770. He was the son of a butcher, and was sent to the University of Edinburgh to qualify himself for the Presbyterian ministry, but chose the study of medicine instead. After three years' residence at Edinburgh he went to Leyden, and in 1744 became Doctor of Physic. In the same year he published the Pleasures of Imagination, which he is said to have written in Edinburgh. Having settled in London, he became a fellow of the Royal Society and was admitted into the College of Physicians. In 1759 he was appointed first assistant and afterwards head physician to St Thomas' Hospital. Latterly he wrote little poetry, but published several medical essays and observations. The place of Akenside as a poet is not very high, though his somewhat cumbrous and cloudy Pleasures of Imagination was once considered one of the most pleasing didactic poems in our language. Research Mark Akenside
Sir Mark Isambard Brunel was a French engineer. He was born in 1769 near Rouen and died in 1849. The was the son of a Normandy farmer, he was educated in Rouen, his mechanical genius early displaying itself. In 1786 he entered the French naval service, and in 1793 only escaped proscription by a hasty flight to America, where he joined a French expedition to explore the regions around LakeOntario. He was afterwards employed as engineer and architect in the city of New York, erecting forts for its defence, and establishing an arsenal and foundry. In 1799 he proceeded to England and settled at Plymouth, rapidly winning reputation by the invention of an important machine for making the block-pulleys for the rigging of ships. Among his other inventions were a machine for making seamless shoes, machines for making nails and wooden boxes, for ruling paper and twisting cotton into hanks, and a machine for producing locomotion by means of carbon dioxide gas; but his greatest engineering triumph was the Thames Tunnel, commenced in March, 1825, and opened in 1843. In 1841 the honour of knighthood was conferred on him. Research Mark Brunel
Mark Lemon was an English humorist and dramatic writer. He was born in 1809 at London and died in 1870. He made his first literary essays in the lighter drama, supplying the London stage with more than sixty pieces, farces, melodramas, and comedies. On the establishment of Punch in 1841 he became joint-editor with Henry Mayhew, and two years later sole editor. He was also the literary editor of the Illustrated London News, and an occasional writer for Dickens' Household Words, Once-a-Week, and other periodicals. Among his later productions are some novels of average merit. Research Mark Lemon
Mark Pattison was an English writer. He was born in 1813 and died in 1884. He was educated at Oriel College, Oxford: became a fellow of Lincoln College in 1839; studied theology, was ordained and won the Denyer theological prize. In 1853 he was appointed tutor of his college, and in 1861 became rector (or head) of Lincoln College. He devoted himself to university reform, and for this purpose he made many journeys to Germany, and was assistant-commissioner on the educational commission of the Duke of Newcastle. He was a contributor to the famous Essays and Reviews, and published an edition of Pope's Epistles and Satires in 1869, a work on Isaac Casaubon in 1875, a memoir of Milton in the Men of Letters Series in 1879, the Sonnets of Milton in 1883, and numerous articles in reviews, etc. Research Mark Pattison
Sir Mark Sykes was a British soldier, explorer and politician. He was born in 1879 and died in 1919. Educated at Brussels and Jesus College, Cambridge, he served in the South African War and from 1905 until 1907 was honourable attache at the British embassy at Constantinople (Istanbul) during which time he travelled Asiatic Turkey and mapped north-west Mesopotamia.
During the Great War he raised a battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment, and acted as special emissary to Petrograd and the Caucasus, and later Mesopotamia. He was member of parliament for Central Hull from 1911 until 1919, and was an enthusiastic supporter of Zionism. Research Mark Sykes
Mark Twain (real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens) was an American writer. He was born in 1835 at Hannibal or possibly Florida, Missouri, and died in 1910. He started life as a compositor, in 1851 became a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi river, later taking his pseudonym from the call of the leadsman when reporting the soundings. After being a reporter on a newspaper in Virgina City, Nevada, he tried mining and journalism in San Francisco and in 1866 visited the Sandwich Islands.
He wrote several books based on the Mississippi river, including 'The Adventures of TomSawyer', in 1876 which explored the lawless side of vagrant boyhood and in 1883 'The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn'. His first story, however was 'The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County' which appeared in The Californian in 1867. His first book, 'Innocents Abroad' was published in 1869 and was based upon his first visit to Europe, and established his reputation as a humorist. Research Mark Twain
Mark Wayne Clark was an American general in the Second World War. He was born in 1896 at New York and died in 1984. In 1942 he became Chief of Staff for ground forces, and deputy to General Eisenhower. He led a successful secret mission by submarine to get information in North Africa to prepare for the Allied invasion, and commanded the 5th Army in the invasion of Italy. He remained in this command until the end of the war when he took charge of the US occupation forces in Austria. Research Mark Wayne Clark
Marko Bozzaris was a Greek Patriot. He was born in the end of the 18th century and died in 1823. Bozzaris was a hero of the Greek war of independence against the Turks. After the fall of Suli he retired to the Ionian Islands, from whence he made a vain attempt to deliver his native country. In 1820, when the Turks were trying to reduce their overgrown vassal, Ali Pasha of Janina, to submission, the latter sought aid from the exiledSuliotes, and Marko Bozzaris returned to Epirus. On the outbreak of the war of independence he at once joined the Greek cause, and distinguished himself as much by his patriotism and disinterestedness as by his military skill and personal bravery. In the summer of 1823, when he held the command-in-chief of the Greek forces at Missolonghi, he made a daring night attack on the camp of the Pasha of Scutari, near Karpenisi. The attack was successful; but the triumph of the Greeks was clouded by the fall of the heroic Bozzaris. His deeds are celebrated in the popular songs of Greece. Research Marko Bozzaris
Markus Wolf was the head of the East German (GDR) Foreign Intelligence service for thirty-four years until the disintegration of the German Democratic Republic, where upon he was the only East German spy sentenced to imprisonment by the West German courts. Research Markus Wolf
The Maronites are a sect of eastern Christians, whose origin was a consequence of the Monothelite controversy. On the condemnation of the Monothelites by Anastasius, early in the 8th century, the remnant of this party survived in the Maronites, so named from their founder Maron - a society of monks in Syria, about MountLebanon, which is mentioned as early as the 6th century. They became a warlike mountain people, who defended their political and religious independence boldly against the Muslims.
Their political constitution is that of a military commonwealth. Since the 12th century they have several times submitted to the pope and joined the Roman Catholic Church, without giving up their own peculiarities. Their head is called the Patriarch of Antioch, although his residence is in the monastery of Kanobin, upon MountLebanon; and he gives an account every ten years to the pope of the condition of the Maronito Church. Since 1584 there has been a Maronite college established at Rome for the education of clergymen. At the start of the 20th century the Maronites were supposed to number about 150,000. In consequence of the sanguinary conflicts between the Maronites and Druses, in June 1860, both communities were subject to one governor appointed by the Porte, with the title of governor of the Lebanon. Research Maronites
Maroons was a name given to escaped slaves in Jamaica and South America. When Jamaica was conquered by the English in 1655 about 1500 slaves retreated to the mountains, and, armed by the Spanish, continued to attack the British forces on the island during the late 17th and 18th centuries, leading a resistance to slavery until they were finally subdued in 1795 by the use of blood-hounds. The Jamaican maroons lived mainly in the central mountainous region now known as cockpit country and developed a method of cooking known as 'jerking' peculiar to Jamaica. Research Maroon
Marquess is the second order of nobility. The first marquess was Robert de Vere, who was created
Marquess of Dublin in 1385 by Richard II. A marquessate is rarely created and only for exceptional services to the State. The premier marquess is the Marquess of Winchester, the title having been created in 1551. The marquess' s mantle has three and a half rows of ermine on the cape. His coronet has only four strawberryleaves as opposed to the duke's eight, the four intervening spaces being occupied by four silver balls. The cap is the same as for a duke. A letter should be addressed: To the Most Noble the Marquess of --. Research Marquess
James Graham, the Marquess of Montrose, was a Scottish soldier. He was born in 1612 and died in 1650. he started his military career in 1638 in the Covenanter army commanded by Alexander Leslie. Within a few years he had earned himself a reputation, but had also become disillusioned with the Covenanters and like some others within the army was using the Covenant as a means to achieve his own control in Scotland. During the English Civil War he fought with the Royalists, and following the Royalist defeat escaped to Europe, where, upon hearing of the execution of the king Charles I, he swore revenge and returned with an army to Scotland. His army was all but wiped out in a shipwreck and the few that did land were quickly defeated. After a short time on the run Montrose was captured and taken to Edinburgh where he was publicly hanged in the High Street. His body was not buried for a further eleven years, when he was finally laid to rest in St Giles' Cathedral. Research Marquess of Montrose
Marquis is a title of honour next in dignity to that of duke, first given to those who commanded on the marches or frontiers of countries. The title was first introduced into England by King Richard II in the year 1387, but fell into disuse until the reign of Edward VI, who created the Marquisate of Winchester in 1551. The corresponding female title is marchioness. Research Marquis
The Marquis de Bievre was a French soldier and writer. He was born in 1747 and died in 1789. He served in the corps of the French musketeers, was a life-guard of the King of France, and acquired much reputation by his puns and repartees. He is the author of several amusing publications, including Le Seducteur, a comedy in verse; an Almanach des Calembourgs or collection of puns; and there is also a collection of his jests called Bievriana. Research Marquis de Bievre
The Marquis de Denonville was the French Governor of Canada from 1685 to 1689. He worked zealously against the British settlements and Governor Dongan, but alienated the Indians by his cruelty. Research Marquis de Denonville
The Marquis de Lafayette (Marie Jean Paul Joseph Roche Yves Gilbert du Motier) was a French soldier. He was born in 1757 at Auvergne and died in 1834. A general, he was born of a noble family distinguished in the service of the State. As a boy he was a page to the queen. He was still a mere youth when the outbreak of the American War of Independence excited the sympathy of many high-spirited young Frenchmen, Lafayette among others. Having equipped a ship at his own expense he sailed from Bordeaux, with the nominal disapproval of the French Government, in April, 1777. Landing in South Carolina he proceeded northward, and was in July appointed a major-general, and soon became a fast friend of George Washington. He was wounded at Brandywine, served at Monmouth and in the Rhode Islandcampaign, and sailed for France in 1779, returning in time to sit on the board of judges against Andre.
In 1781 he commanded in Virginia against Arnold and then against Charles Cornwallis, and earned distinction by his conduct of affairs against the able British general. After the war he returned to France, paid in 1784 a short visit to America, and on the breaking out of the French Revolution he was for a time one of the foremost figures. He commanded the National Guard, but by 1792 the Jacobins removed him, as a moderate, from the eastern department; escaping to Belgium he fell into the hands of the Prussians and Austrians and was imprisoned, chiefly at Olmutz, until 1797. He did not accept office during the Napoleonic regime, but was a member of the Chamber of Deputies in the Restoration period. In 1824-25 he visited the United States and was received with the utmost enthusiasm. His last conspicuous service was as commander of the National Guard in the revolutionary days of 1830. Research Marquis de Lafayette
John Manners, the Marquis of Granby , was a popular British general. He was born in 1721 and died in 1770. Many British pubs were named in honour of him. Research Marquis Of Granby
The Marquis of Rockigham (Charles Wentworth) was an English politician. He was born in 1730 and died in 1783. While Prime Minister of England from 1765 to 1766, he secured the repeal of the stamp Act. He became Prime Minister again in 1782 and began the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris with the United States. Research Marquis of Rockingham
Marriot Arbuthnot was a British admiral. He was born in 1711 and died in 1794. He was made vice-admiral and commander-in-chief on the American station in 1779 and co-operated with Sir Henry Clinton in the capture of Charleston in 1780. Research Marriot Arbuthnot
In the USA, a marshal is n officer with certain police duties. The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided for officers called marshals, whose functions with respect to the Federal courts were to be like those of sheriffs with respect to the State courts. In 1790 they were entrusted with the census enumeration, and so frequently with respect to later censuses. In modern times a marshal in the USA is a police officer with responsibility for a designated area. Research Marshal
Marshall Hall was an English physician and physiologist. He was born in 1790 and died in 1857. He studied at Edinburgh and on the European continent, commenced practice at Nottingham in 1815, and removed to London in 1826, where he obtained a large practice. Marshall Hall was distinguished by his medical writings on diagnosis, the circulation of the blood, and female diseases; but particularly by his discoveries made public in his work on the nervous system, and by his method of restoring asphyxiated persons. Research Marshall Hall
Marshall Jewell was an American statesman. He was born in 1825 and died in 1883. He was elected Governor of Connecticut in 1869, 1871 and 1872. He was Minister to Prussia from 1873 to 1874. In 1874 he was appointed Postmaster-General; after introducing numerous reforms, he resigned in 1876. He was a member of the Republican National Convention in 1880, and was elected chairman of the National Republican Committee. Research Marshall Jewell
The Marsi were a people of southern Italy who contested Roman occupation until they were subdued around 301 BC. They subsequently allied with other peoples in 91 BC and rebelled against the Romans demanding the rights of Roman citizenship. These rights they were granted in 87 BC. Research Marsi
Marsilio Ficino was an Italian philosopher. He was born in 1433 at Florence and died in 1499.
His early display of talent attracted the notice of Cosmo de' Medici, who caused him to be instructed in the ancient languages and philosophy, and employed him to aid in establishing a Platonic Academy at Florence about 1460. Marsilio Ficino amply satisfied his patron, and many excellent scholars were formed under his tuition. His exposition of Plato suffers, however, from his confounding the doctrines of Plato and those of Neo-Platonism. Research Marsilio Ficino
Martha Lamb was an American historian. She was born in 1829 at Massachusetts and died in 1893. She was the author of a 'History of the City of New York', and many historical essays for periodicals. From 1883 to 1892 she was editor of the Magazine of American History. Research Martha Lamb
Martha Washington (born Martha Dandridge) was the wife of George Washington. She was born in 1732 at Virginia and died in 1802. She married Daniel Parke Custis in 1749, by whom she had four children. She inherited his vast estates and was one of the wealthiest women in Virginia. In 1759 she married George Washington. She was a competent housekeeper and her wealth enabled them to entertain in magnificentstyle. She fully sympathized with George Washington's revolutionary feelings and suffered many privations for the cause of independence. Research Martha Washington
Marthinus Theunis Steyn was a South African statesman. He was born in 1857 and died in 1916. Educated in Holland and England, he was called to the Inner Temple in 1882. On returning to South Africa he practised law at Bloemfontein, before becoming state attorney in 1889 and later first puisnejudge. In 1896 he was elected president of the Orange Free State and was loyal to Britain until the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899 when he sided with the Transvaal against the British, and declared war. After the Boer defeat he became a staunchsupporter of the British government. Research Marthinus Steyn
Martine Behaim (Martin Behem) was a Belgian mathematician and astronomer. He was born about 1430 at Nurnberg and died in 1506. He went from Antwerp to Lisbon with a high reputation in 1480, sailed in the fleet of Diego Cam on a voyage of discovery from 1484 to 1486, and explored the islands on the coast of Africa as far as the Congo. He colonized the island of Fayal, where he remained for several years, and assisted in the discovery of the other Azores. He was afterwards knighted, and returned to his native country, where, in 1492, he constructed a terrestrial globe, still preserved. Research Martin Behaim
Martin Bucer (real name Martin Kuhorn) was a German social reformer. He was born in 1491 at Schlettstadt, in Alsace and died in 1551. In 1521 he left the Dominican order and became preacher at the court of the Elector Frederick, and afterwards in Strasburg, where he was professor in the university for twenty years. In 1548 Edward VI invited him to Cambridge, where he held the office of professor of theology, and died in 1551. In 1557 Queen Mary caused his bones to be burned. Cardinal Contarini called him the most learned divine among the heretics. He wrote a commentary on the Psalms under the name of Aretius Filinus, and many other works. Research Martin Bucer
Martin Cahill was an Irish gangster. He was born in 1950 at Dublin and died in 1994. Martin Cahill was known as 'The General' and was renowned as a clever, but vicious gangster who was responsible for a number of major robberies including the 1973 £90,000 Rathfranham Shopping Centre robbery and probably the 1983 £2 million Thomas O'Connor and Sons jewelleryrobbery. Martin Cahill was shot dead by the IRA in 1994 while driving his car, 'because of his involvement with, and assistance to pro-British death squads' the IRA claimed. Research Martin Cahill
Martin Chemnitz was a German Protestant theologian. He was born in 1522 and died in 1586. His chief works were Loci Theologici, published in 1591, a commentary on Melanchthon's system of dogmatics, and Examen Consilii Tridentini, on the Council of Trent. Research Martin Chemnitz
Martin Droeshout was an English engraver. He was born in 1620 and died in 1651. He is chiefly remembered for his engraving of William Shakespeare which is prefixed to the first folio edition of the poet's works published in 1623. Research Martin Droeshout
Sir Martin Frobisher was an English navigator. He was born in 1535 near Doncaster and died in 1594. He made three expeditions to the Arctic regions for the purpose of discovering a north-west passage to India, and endeavoured to found a settlement north of Hudson's Bay, hopes of immense wealth to be found in these northern regions having taken the public fancy. In 1585 he accompanied Sir Francis Drake to the West Indies. He distinguished himself against the Spanish Armada when he commanded one of the largest ships in the fleet, and was honoured with knighthood for his services. In 1594 he was sent to the assistance of Henry IV of France, when, in an attack on a fort near Brest, he was mortally wounded. Research Martin Frobisher
Martin Luther was a German Protestant Reformer and translator of the bible. He was born in 1483 at Eisleben, Saxony and died in 1546.
His father, a miner in humble circumstances, soon after his birth moved with his family to Mansfield, where young Martin Luther was brought up, piously and with some severity. At the age of fourteen he was sent to school at Magdeburg, whence he was sent in 1499 to Eisenach. At school he made rapid progress in Latin and other studies. In 1501 he entered the University of Erfurt and in 1505 received the degree of Master. About this time he discovered in the library of the university a LatinBible, and enjoyed it. He was destined by his father to the law, but his more intimate acquaintance with the Bible induced him to turn his attention to the study of divinity, with the view of entering monastic life.
Contrary to the wishes of his father he entered the monastery of the Augustines at Erfurt in 1505. In 1507 he was consecrated a priest, and in 1508, by the influence of his patron, Staupitz, who was provincial of the order, he was made professor of philosophy in the new University of Wittenberg.
In 1510 he visited the court of PopeLeo X at Borne on business connected with the order. Returning to Wittenberg he was made a Doctor of Theology in 1512, and here his profound learning and powerful eloquence drew large audiences. At that time he had no controversy with the pope or the church, but the arrival in 1517 of John Tetzel in Wittenberg selling indulgences for sins roused the fiery energy of Martin Luther, and caused him to draw up his famous protest in ninety-five propositions, which he nailed to the church-door in Wittenberg. The result was that the sale of indulgences ceased, John Tetzel fled, and a great religious commotion spread rapidly through Germany.
Martin Luther was summoned to .Rome to explain his heretical proceedings, but refused to go; nor were the efforts of Cardinal Cajetan able to effect a reconciliation between him and the pope. His dispute with Dr. Eck at Leipzig in 1519, in which he denounced indulgences, and questioned the authority of the pope, was followed in 1520 by a bull of anathema - a document which Martin Luther straightway burned publicly in Wittenberg. This open defiance of Rome required him to vindicate his conduct, which he did in a pamphlet addressed to the Christian Nobles of Germany, with the result that many of the worthiest rallied to his aid. When summoned to appear before the German emperor, Charles V, at the Diet of Worms in 1521, Martin Luther appeared, acknowledged his writings, made an eloquent defence, but refused to recant. When he retired in triumph from Worms he was met by a friendly troop of soldiers belonging to Fredrick the Elector of Saxony, who conveyed him to the castle of Wartburg, where he lay in hiding for nearly a year.
Here he employed his time in translating the New Testament into German, but when he heard that disturbances had been excited in Wittenberg on the question of images, he could no longer bear the restraint of inaction. Returning suddenly, and at great danger to himself, Martin Luther succeeded in quieting the people by means of a wise and patient moderation. In 1524 he resigned as a priest of the Roman Church, and in 1525 married Katharina von Bora, one of nine nuns who had renounced their religious vows under his teaching. The wisdom of this marriage was doubted by his friends, but his home-life and the birth of six children, contributed greatly to the happiness of the reformer.
From the year 1521 Martin Luther had been busy translating the Bible into German with the aid of Melanchthon and others, and the great task was completed in 1534. This important work, taken in connection with the Protestant Confession made at Augsburg in 1530, served to establish the reformer's doctrines in Germany, and closed the important part of his public life. He continued, however, until the end his private work of teaching, preaching, and writing. The massive character of the German reformer lay along simple lines, and found its full and direct expression in his work. The learning of Calvin, and the balanced judgment of Melanchthon were not his, but a vivid practical insight enabled him to mark the abuses of the Roman Church, and his fervid energy urged him to reform them. Behind all the zeal of the reformer he had much lowly humansympathy, humour, tenderness, and a love of homely things. This side of his character is most clearly seen in his Letters and Table-Talk. His German writings were varied and extensive. Research Martin Luther
Martin Opitz (Martin Opitius) was a German poet. He was born in 1597 and died in 1639. He studied at Frankfort-on-the-Oder and at Heidelberg, and having afterwards visited Holland in 1621 he went to the court of the Duke of Liegnitz, whence in about a year he moved to become professor of philosophy and classical literature at the University of Weissenburg. Becoming distinguished for his talents, in 1625 he went to Vienna where the Emperor Ferdinand II bestowed on him the poetical crown and letters of nobility, when he assumed the title of Von Boberfeld. Among his works are a poem on MountVesuvius, Silvae, Epigrams etc but he is more important for the influence of his teaching regarding correctness in poetic style than for his own poems. Research Martin Opitz
Martin Pinzon was a Spanish explorer. He was born in 1441 and died in 1493. He is reported by some to have visited the New World in 1488 and by others to have seen charts of Norman explorers. He aided Columbus in fitting out his expedition, and was given command of La Pinta. He parted from Columbus in the West Indies and allegedly attempted to usurp the honours of the discovery by arriving first at the Court, but was prevented by storms. Research Martin Pinzon
Sir Martin Archer Shee was an Irish portrait-painter. He was born in 1769 at Dublin and died in 1850. He studied drawing at Dublin, and set up as a portrait-painter. In 1788 he went to live in London, and entered the Royal Academy schools in 1790. He progressed rapidly, and became an ARA in 1798, full academician in 1800, and president, on the death of his chief rival, Sir Thomas Lawrence, in 1830, being knighted in the same year. Research Martin Shee
Martin John Sutton was a British agriculturist. He was born in 1850 and died in 1913. His father and uncle founded the firm of Sutton and Sons, at the age of 21 Martin Sutton became a partner in the firm and in 1887 head of the firm. He was made a fellow of the Linnean Society and was a member of the National Agricultural Examinations Board. He wrote a number of papers on agricultural subjects. Research Martin Sutton
Martin Happertzoon Tromp was a Dutch sailor. He was born in 1597 at Briel and died in 1653. He entered the navy in 1607 and rose to admiral in 1637. In 1639 he defeated a Spanish fleet off Gravelines and he served in the campaigns of 1640 to 1641. In 1652 he was defeated by Blake off Dover, but later defeated Blake at the battle of Dungeness. In 1643 he encountered the English off Portland, North Foreland and at Scheveningen where he was killed in action. Research Martin Tromp
Martin Farquhar Tupper was an English author. He was born in 1810 at London and died in 1889. Educated at Charterhouse and at Christ Church, Oxford he wrote 'Proverbial Philosophy' a collection of didactic poems of little value, which enjoyed great popularity selling over one million copies in the USA and 750,000 copies in Britain. Research Martin Tupper
Martin Van Buren was the eighth president of the USA. He was born in 1782 at Kinderhook, New York and died in 1862. He was the son of a tavern keeper, and was called to the Bar in 1813.
He rose to eminence in his State both as a lawyer and as a Democratic politician. He is noted as an adroit party manager, and was styled in his time the 'Little Magician'.
He was a State Senator, US Senator from 1821 until 1828, Governor from 1828 to 1829, and Secretary of State under Jackson from 1829 until 1831. In 1831 President Jackson appointed him US Minister to England, but the Senate refused to confirm the nomination.
He was elected with Jackson for the latter's second term, serving as Vice-President from 1833 until 1837, and was the chosen heir to the succession. Elected by 170 electoral votes over the Whigcandidate, Harrison, in 1836, he inherited the results of Jackson's measures.
The two foremost places in President Martin Van Buren's Cabinet were held by Forsyth in the State and Woodbury in the Treasury Department. Among the features of public interest in his administration, were the disastrous panic of 1837, the independent treasury system and the preemption law. In 1840 he was pitted against his former antagonist, but with the opposite result; he received only sixty electoral votes.
In 1844 former President Martin Van Buren had a majority, but not a two-thirds majority of votes in the Democratic National Convention; he opposed the annexation of Texas, and was discarded for Polk. In 1848 he was the Free Soilcandidate, and diverted enough Democratic votes to defeat Cass and elect Taylor. Research Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Heemskerk was a Dutch painter. He was born in 1498 and died in 1574. He studied in Rome and settled in Harlem. His earlier paintings are marked by the simplicity of the earlier Dutch painters, his later show an increasing amount of mannerism. He was a popular painter, and was also an etcher and designer for wood-carving and glass-painting. Among his works are St. Luke Painting the Madonna, an Ecce Homo, the Crown of Thorns, and The Criticism of Momus. Research Martin Van Heemskerk
Mary Ambree (also Mary Ambry) was an English heroine. She immortalised her name by her valour at the siege of Ghent, in 1584. Her name became proverbial for a Woman of heroic spirit. Research Mary Ambree
Mary Anning was an English paleontologist. She was born in 1799 and died in 1847. As a child she accompanied her father on his fossil-hunts to the cliffs of their home town of Lyme Regis, and after his death she continued to search for fossils and contributed to the science of paleontology. Research Mary Anning
Mary Blackford (Mary Tighe) was an Irish poet. She was born in 1884 at Dublin an dided in 1810. She married Henry Tighe, of Woodstock, MP, in 1793. Her writings were only published after her death. Her chief poem is Psyche, or the Legend of Love, written in the Spenserian stanza. Her other poems are short occasional pieces, frequently of a religious cast. Research Mary Blackford
Mary Elizabeth Braddon (also known as Mrs Maxwell) was an English novelist. She was born in 1837 at London and died after 1905. She was the daughter of a solicitor and after publishing some poems and tales, in 1862 she brought out Lady Audley's Secret, the first of a series of clever sensational novels. She long edited the magazine Belgravia. Research Mary Braddon
Mary Carleton was an English confidence trickster, bigamist, robber, playwright and actress. She was born in 1626 and died in 1663. Married, with two children, and living in Canterbury she became bored with her domestic life and went to Dover where she married a rich German surgeon. Charged with bigamy she fled to Germany and assumed the identity of a German princess. She subsequently tricked many men out of money and valuables, worked as an actress with a German travelling stage company, performing in plays she had written about her own criminal exploits. After returning to England she continued to cheat, trick and rob men of money and valuables until l she was some time later tried for bigamy at the Old Bailey and hanged at Tyburn in 1663. Research Mary Carleton
Mary Ann Cotton was an English district nurse and serial killer. She was born in 1833 and died in 1873. A resident of Bishops Aukland, Durham, she was suspected of having murdered 36 people - 21 of them close to her, and was convicted of the murder of her second stepson by arsenic poisoning. She was hanged in 1873, her execution being bungled and instead of her spine being broken by the drop, she was strangled by the rope, thrashing at the end of it for over three minutes before she passed out and died. Research Mary Cotton
Mary Baker Eddy was the founder of the Christian Science Movement. She was born in 1821 at Bow, New Hampshire and died in 1910. Research Mary Eddy More information about Mary Eddy
Mary Howitt was an English writer. She was born in 1805 and died in 1888. The daughter of a Mr. Botham, a Quaker, she was married in 1823 to William Howitt. Mary Howitt wrote a number of hymns and ballads, several volumes in prose and verse for children, and translated Miss Bremer's works and H. C. Andersen's Improvisatore. Amongst her writings for the young may be mentioned The Children's Year, The Dial of Love, A Treasury of Tales for the Young, etc. In conjunction with her husband she also wrote The Literature and Romance of Northern Europe, and Ruined Abbeys of Great Britain. Shortly before her death she joined the Roman Catholic Church. Research Mary Howitt
Mary I was queen of England from 1553 to 1558. She was born in 1516 and died of cancer in 1558. Mary I was the first Queen Regnant (that is, a queen reigning in her own right rather than a queen through marriage to a king). Courageous and stubborn, her character was moulded by her earlier years: an Act of Parliament in 1533 had declared her illegitimate and removed her from the succession to the throne (she was reinstated in 1544, but her half-brother Edward removed her from the succession once more shortly before his death), whilst she was pressurised to give up the Mass and acknowledge the English ProtestantChurch. Mary restored papal supremacy in England, abandoned the title of Supreme Head of the Church, reintroduced Roman Catholic bishops and began the slow reintroduction of monastic orders. Mary I also revived the old heresy laws to secure the religious conversion of the country; heresy was regarded as a religious and civil offence amounting to treason (to believe in a different religion from the Sovereign was an act of defiance and disloyalty).
As a result, around 300 Protestant heretics were burnt in three years - apart from eminent Protestantclergy such as Thomas Cranmer (a former archbishop and author of two Books of Common Prayer), Latimer and Ridley, these heretics were mostly poor and self-taught people, leading to her being known as 'Bloody Mary'. Apart from making Mary I deeply unpopular, such treatment demonstrated that people were prepared to die for the Protestant settlement established in Henry's reign. The progress of Mary I's conversion of the country was also limited by the vested interests of the aristocracy and gentry who had bought the monastic lands sold off after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and who refused to return these possessions voluntarily as Mary I invited them to do.
Aged 37 at her accession, Mary I wished to marry and have children, thus leaving a Catholic heir to consolidate her religious reforms, and removing her half-sister Elizabeth (a focus for Protestantopposition) from direct succession. Mary I's decision to marry Philip, King of Spain from 1556, in 1554 was very unpopular; the protest from the Commons prompted Mary I's reply that Parliament was 'not accustomed to use such language to the Kings of England' and that in her marriage 'she would choose as God inspired her'. The marriage was childless, Philip spent most of it on the continent, England obtained no share in the Spanish monopolies in New World trade and the alliance with Spain dragged England into a war with France. Popular discontent grew when Calais, the last vestige of England's possessions in France dating from William the Conqueror's reign, was captured by the French in 1558. Dogged by ill health, Mary I died later that year leaving the crown to her half-sister Elizabeth. Research Mary I
Mary II was queen of England from 1689 to 1694. She was born in 1662 and died of smallpox in 1694. She was a Stuart, the elder daughter of James II. She became joint sovereign of Great Britain with her husband, William III (then William of Orange) when the Revolution of 1688 drove her father from the throne and the Dutch invaded. Although the administration was exclusively in the hands of William, it was the queen who made the reign popular by her youth, good heart, and pleasing manners. Research Mary II
Mary Jeffries was an English brothel-keeper. She was born in 1854 and died in 1907. She owned three fashionable brothels in Church Street, Kensington, a flagellation house in Hampstead and a chamber of horrors in Gray's Inn Road. Her clients included the King of Belgium and many rich
and important members of British society, including at least one member of the House of Lords and a titled Guards officer. It is likely that she also operated a white slave house by the river at Kew, from where kidnapped drugged women were exported to foreign countries. Research Mary Jeffries
Mary Henrietta Kingsley was a British traveller and author. She was born in 1862 and died in 1900. The daughter of George Henry Kingsley, and niece of Charles Kingsley, she became fond of natural history, anthropology, etc, and after the death of her parents in 1892 she travelled in West Africa and in the French Congo. In 1900 she proceeded to South Africa, but died the same year at Simon's Town, where she was engaged in nursing Boer prisoners. Her most important books are Travels in West Africa (1897) and West African Studies (1899). Research Mary Kingsley
Mary Russell Mitford was an English writer. She was born in 1786 or 1787 at Alresford and died in 1855. The daughter of a physician, she was a voluminous contributor to the magazines of the day, especially 'The Lady's Magazine'. She also wrote four tragedies which were performed at Covent Garden and Drury Lane, but her best-known work was Our Village, a series of prose sketches descriptive of English country life and scenery, drawn from the village of Three Mile Cross, near Reading. A subsequent work, Bedford Regis, or Sketches of a Country Town, was nearly equally popular. Research Mary Mitford
Mary Moser was a Swiss floral painter. She was born in 1774 and died in 1819. She was much patronised by Queen Caroline and chosen a member of the Academy. Research Mary Moser
Mary O'Hara (Mary Alsop) was an American novelist. She was born in 1885 and died in 1980. She is best known for her book 'My Friend Flicka', which was made into a film in 1943. Research Mary O'Hara
Mary Seacole was a Jamaican nurse and healer. She was born in 1805 at Kingston, Jamaica and died in 1881. The daughter of a Scottish father and Jamaican mother, she was a holistic herbal healer and philanthropist who did much work in cholera and tropical medicine. Refused employment by Florence Nightingale on the grounds of her race, Mary Seacole sold her house in Jamaica and travelled to Russia in 1855 at her own expense to build and work in a hospital she built with her own funds in the Crimea during the Crimean War, also visiting and treating wounded soldiers on the battle field. Mary Seacole was well-liked by the troops, happy to sit up half the night with the patients drinking beer and talking with them. After the Crimean War she returned to England penniless - having insisted her patients pay only what they could afford - and became masseuse to Princess Alexandra and largely forgotten, unlike the wealthy and influential Florence Nightingale who received credit for her nursing work. Research Mary Seacole
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (born Mary Godwin) was an English writer. She was born in 1797 and died in 1851. The second wife of the poet Percy Shelley, she was the daughter of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft. She married Percy Shelley in 1816, after having lived with him two years previously to the death of his first wife. Her romance of Frankenstein, which excited an immense sensation, was published in 1818, when she was at most twenty-one years old. Left by her husband's death, in 1822, with two young children to support, she devoted herself for many years to literary composition, producing Valperga, The Last Alan, and other works. In 1840-1841 she edited Shelley's works, with a preface and biographical notes. Research Mary Shelley
Mary Mitchell Slessor was a Scottish missionary. She was born in 1848 at Aberdeen and died in 1915. She worked as a mill girl in Dundee, and later was trained for missionary work. In 1876 she was sent as a missionary of the Free Church of Scotland to southern Nigeria. Her knowledge of native languages was recognised by her appointment as British consul for the Okoyong province. Research Mary Slessor
Mary Somerville (born Mary Fairfax) was a Scottish technical writer. She was born in 1780 at Jedburgh and died in 1872. A daughter of the admiral Sir William Fairfax, she was a keen scientist who was inspired by the works of Euclid and studied algebra and the classics despite strong disapproval from her family, and mixed with the Edinburgh scientists, and after her second marriage in 1812 to William Somerville with the London scientific crowd.
She first married Samuel Greig, consul for Russia, in 1804 but her husband died three years later and in 1812 she married her cousin, William Somerville, son of the minister of Jedburgh, with whom she settled in Edinburgh, until in 1816, when they went to reside in London. At the request of LordBrougham, and with the object of popularising Laplace's Mecanique Celeste for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, she, in 1827, prepared her first work. Mechanism of the Heavens. It proved above the class for whom it was intended, and was published independently in 1831. This work brought her many honours, including the honorary membership of the Royal Astronomical and other learned societies, and a pension from government.
She wrote a preface to this work on the relation of the sciences, which was afterwards expanded into a separate work - The Connection of the Physical Sciences published in 1834. This work was translated into the principal European languages. Soon after the publication of the latter work, Mary Somerville moved with her family to Italy, where she lived successively at Florence, Rome, and Naples, making the last her permanent residence after the death of her husband. Here she occupied herself with the preparation of a general work on physical geography, which was published in 1848, and enjoyed great popularity. In 1869 she published a new work on Molecular and Microscopic Science. Mary Somerville supported the emancipation and education of women and had Somerville College, Oxford named after her in 1879. Research Mary Somerville
Mary Augusta Ward was an English novelist. She was born in 1851. The granddaughter of Dr. Arnold of Rugby, in 1872 she married Thomas Humphry Ward. Her chief novels include: Robert Elsmere (1888), a novel of religious doubts and perplexities; The History of David Grieve; Marcella; Sir George Tressady; Helbeck of Bannisdale; Lady Rose's Daughter; The Marriage of WilliamAshe. She also wrote plays, and contributed to periodicals, etc. Research Mary Ward
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (born Mary Pierrepont) was an English writer famous for her brilliant letters. She was born in 1689 and died in 1762. She was the eldest daughter of Evelyn Pierrepont, afterwards duke of Kingston. In 1712 she ran away and married Edward Wortley Montagu, a wealthy Whig scholar, who had quarrelled with her father. On the accession of George I in 1714 Edward Wortley Montagu obtained an official position in London, and Lady Mary emerged from the rural seclusion in which she had hitherto spent her life. Her beauty and elegance and her wit and vivacity rapidly gained her admiration and influence, and she became familiarly acquainted with Addison, Congreve, Pope, and other distinguished writers.
In 1716 Edward Wortley Montagu was appointed ambassador to the Porte, and Lady Mary accompanied him to Constantinople (Istanbul), where they remained from January 1717 to May 1718. It was during this period that Lady Mary's famous 'Turkish Letters' were written. On her return to England she resumed her ascendency in the gay world of wit and fashion. She had, however, the misfortune to quarrel with Pope, and a long and keen literary war ensued, which did honour to neither. In 1739, for reasons never satisfactorily explained, Lady Mary left England to spend the remainder of her days on the Continent. She did so with the full concurrence of her husband, and her subsequent correspondence with him betrays neither humiliation nor resentment. Lady Mary remained abroad, living chiefly in Italy, until her husband's death in 1761; but soon after her return to England she herself died of breast cancer.
Her letters are marked by great vivacity and graphic power, together with keen observation and independent judgment. Lady Mary has another claim to remembrance in her adoption of the Turkish practice of inoculation for smallpox in the case of her own children, and for her energy in promoting its introduction into England, in the face of a storm of obstinate opposition. Research Mary Wortley Montagu
Mary Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart) was a British queen. She was born in 1542 at Linlithgow Palace and died in 1587 by beheading. She was the daughter of James V by his queen, Mary of Lorraine, a princess of the family of Guise. Her father dying when she was a few days old, the regency was, after some dispute, vested in the Earl of Arran, who declined Henry VIII's demand for the hand of Mary for his son Edward.
In the summer of 1548 the young queen was sent by her mother to France, where she was educated in a French convent, and in 1558 was married to the dauphin, afterwards Francis II. He died seventeen months after his accession to the crown, in December 1560, and in August 1561 the widowed queen returned to Scotland. Mary had, of course, been educated in France as a Roman Catholic, but when she returned to Scotland she found that the influence of the Presbyterians was paramount in her kingdom. Though inclined to have Roman Catholicism again set up in Scotland, after a vain attempt to influence Knox she resigned herself to circumstances, quietly allowed her half-brother, the Protestant Earl of Moray, to assume the position of first minister, surrounded herself with a number of other Protestant advisers, and dismissed the greater part of her train of French courtiers. She even gave these ministers her active support in various measures that had the effect of strengthening the Presbyterian party; but she still continued to have the mass performed in her own private chapel at Holyrood.
At first her subjects were quiet, she herself was popular, and her court was one of the most brilliant in Europe. The calamities of Mary began with her second marriage, namely, to her cousin, Lord Darnley, whom she married on July the 29th, 1505. Darnley was a Roman Catholic, and immediately after the marriage the Earl of Moray and others of the Protestant lords combined against the new order of things. They were compelled to take refuge in England, and the popularity of Mary began to decline. In addition to this Darnley proved a weak and worthless profligate, and almost entirely alienated the queen by his complicity in the murder of Rizzio on March the 9th, 1506, though a reconciliation seemed to be effected between them about the time of the birth of their son, afterwards James VI of Scotland and James I of England on the 19th of June, 1566.
About the close of the same year, however, Darnley withdrew from the court, and in the meantime the Earl of Bothwell had risen high in the queen's favour. When the young prince James was baptized at StirlingCastle, on the 7th of December, 1566, Bothwell did the honours of the occasion, and Darnley, the father of the prince, was not even present. Once more, however, an apparent reconciliation took place between the king and queen. Darnley had fallen ill, and was lying at Glasgow under the care of his father. Mary visited him, and took measures for his removal to Edinburgh, where he was lodged in a house called Kirk-of-Field, close to the city wall. He was there tended by the queen herself; but during the absence of Mary at a masque at Holyrood the house in which Darnley lay was blown up by gunpowder, and he himself was afterwards found dead with marks of violence on his person on the 9th of February 1567. The circumstances of the crime were poorly investigated, but popular suspicion unequivocally pointed to Bothwell as the ringleader in the outrage, and the queen herself was suspected, suspicion becoming still stronger when she was carried off by Bothwell, with little show of resistance, to his castle of Dunbar, and married to him on the 15th of May.
A number of the nobles now banded together against Bothwell, who succeeded in collecting a force; but on Carberry Hill, where the armies met on the 15th of June, his army melted away. The queen was forced to surrender herself to her insurgent nobles, Bothwell making his escape to Dunbar, then to the Orkney Islands, and finally to Denmark. The confederates first conveyed the queen to Edinburgh, and thence to LochLevenCastle, where she was placed in the custody of Lady Douglas, mother of the Earl of Moray. A few days after, on the 20th of June, a casket containing eight letters and some poetry, all said to be in the handwriting of the queen, fell into the hands of the confederates. The letters, which have come down to us only in the form of a translation appended to Buchanan's Detection, clearly show, if they are genuine, that the writer was herself a party to the murder of Darnley. They were held by the confederates to afford unmistakable evidence of the queen's guilt, and on the 24th of July she was forced to sign a document renouncing the crown of Scotland in favour of her infant son, and appointing the Earl of Moray regent during her son's minority.
After remaining nearly a year in captivity Mary succeeded in making her escape from LochLeven on the 2nd of May 1568, and, assisted by the few friends who still remained attached to her, made an effort for the recovery of her power. Defeated by the Regent's forces at the battle of Langside on May the 13th, 1568, she fled to England, and wrote to Elizabeth I entreating protection and a personal interview; but this the latter refused to grant until Mary should have cleared herself from the charges laid against her by her subjects. For one reason or another Elizabeth I never granted Mary an interview, but kept her in more or less close captivity in England, where her life was passed in a succession of intrigues seeking her rescue.
For more than eighteen years she continued to be the prisoner of Elizabeth I and in that time the place of her imprisonment was frequently changed, her final prison being FotheringhayCastle, Northamptonshire. She was at last accused of being implicated in a plot by one Babington against Elizabeth's life, and having been tried by a court of Elizabeth's appointing, was on the 25th of October, 1586, condemned to be executed. There was a long delay before Elizabeth signed the warrant, but this was at last done on the 1st of February, 1587. Mary received the news with great serenity, and was beheaded a week later, on February 8, 1587, in the castle of Fotheringhay.
Authorities are more agreed as to the attractions, talents, and accomplishments of Mary Stuart than as to her character. Contemporary writers who saw her unite in testifying to the beauty of her person, and the fascination of her manners and address. She was witty in conversation, and ready in dispute. In her trial for alleged complicity in Babington's plot she held her ground against the ablest statesmen and lawyers of England. Besides letters and other prose writings, Mary was the author of some short poems of no great merit. The best is one on the death of her first husband, Francis II The lines beginning 'Adieu, plaisant pays de France,' long ascribed to her, were written by a F'rench journalist of the 18th century. Research Mary Queen of Scots
The Masai are an east African people whose territory is divided between Tanzania and Kenya, and who number about 250,000. They were originally warriors and nomads, breeding humped zebucattle, but some have adopted a more settled life. They speak a Nilotic language belonging to the Nilo-Saharan family. Research Masai
Masakata Terauchi was a Japanese soldier and statesman. He was born in 1852 at Chosu and died in 1919. After joining the army he took part in the civil war of 1878. After leaving the army he went to France to study before returning to Japan and occupying staff posts. During the Chino-Japanese War he was charged with transport arrangements, and as minister of war was head of the department of supplies in the Russo-Japanese War. For his services as minister of war he was made a viscount and continued as minister of war until 1911 when he became governor-general of Korea and was promoted to a count. From 1916 until 1918 he was prime minister and a staunchsupporter of the Allies during the Great War. Research Masakata Terauchi
Masaniello (Tommaso Aniello) was a Neapolitan fisherman. He was born in 1622 at Amalfi and died in 1647. He led the revolt of Naples in 1647 against the cruel exactions of the Spanish government. The Spanish viceroy was forced to promise redress of grievances, and Masaniello laid down his arms and returned to his former role as a fisherman. But as he still appeared dangerous to the viceroy he invited him to his own house, and probably mingled poison with his wine. In delirium the unfortunate Masaniello ran through the streets, shooting his best friends, and committing the greatest crimes. He was now assassinated by some of his companions, but the next day his murderers became victims to the popular rage. Auber's opera Masaniello, or La Muette de Portici, is based on these events. Research Masaniello
Masinissa was king of the Numidians. In the second Punic war he was at first on the Carthaginian side, but afterwards joined the Romans. The Carpathaginians and Syphax, king of the Massylians, pressed him hard until Scipio invaded Africa in 204 BC In 202, at the decisive Battle of Zama,
Masinissa commanded the cavalry on the right wing. After the conquest of Carthage, he received most of Syphax's territory and reigned until 148 BC. Research Masinissa
Maso Finiguerra (Tommaso Finiguerra) was a Florentine goldsmith of the 15th century. He was one of the best workers in niello, a form of decorative art then much in vogue in Italy, and the inventor of the method of taking impressions from engraved plates. Research Maso Finiguerra
At the time of the English settlement of the State of Massachusetts, America, there were five Algonquin tribes, recently decimated by pestilence living in the area. The Nipmucks occupied central Massachusetts, the Pennacooks what is now New Hampshire, the Massachusetts the lands around Massachusetts Bay, the Nausets Cape Cod, while the Pokanokets lived in the South-eastern portion of the State. All except the Nausets were friendly to the settlers, and this tribe entered into a peace with the Plymouth colonists. Missions were begun on Martha's Vineyard in 1644, and in 1651 Indian converts under John Eliot were gathered at Natick. The converts were termed Praying Indians. At length discontent arose which in 1675 led to King Philip's War. Research Massachusetts Indians
Massasoit was chief of the Wampanoag Indians. He was born about 1580 and died in 1660. He made a treaty of peace and mutual protection with the Plymouth colony in 1621, which was kept for over fifty years. He resided in what is now the town of Warren, Rhode Island. He was always friendly to the colonists, and warned them of intended Indian attacks. He was father of King Philip. Research Massasoit
Massimo Taparelli, Marquis D'Azeglio, was an Italian artist, novelist, publicist, statesman, and soldier. He was born in 1798 at Turin and died in 1866. After gaining some reputation in Rome as a painter, he married the daughter of Manzoni, and achieved success in literature by his novels Ettore Fieramosco (1833) and Niccolo di Lapi (1841). These embodied much of the patriotic spirit, and in a short time he devoted himself exclusively to fostering the national sentiment by personal action and by his writings. Many of the reforms of Pius IX were due to him. He commanded a legion in the Italian struggle of 1848, and was severely wounded at Vincenza. Chosen a member of the Sardinian Chamber of Deputies, he was, after the battle of Novara, made president of the cabinet, and in 1859 appointed to the military post of general and commissioner-extraordinary for the Roman States. Research Massimo Taparelli
Until the 19th century the Master of the Buckhounds was an officer of the royal household of Britain, in the master of the horse's department. He was intrusted with all matters connected with the royal hunts, and went out of office on a change of ministry. Research Master of the Buckhounds
The Master of the Horse is one of the great officers of the British Court. He formerly had the management of all the royal stables and bred horses, with authority over all the equerries and pages, coachmen, footmen, grooms, etc. In state cavalcades he rides next behind the sovereign. Research Master of the Horse
The master of the revels was an officer in former times appointed to superintend the revels or amusements, consisting of dancing, masking etc, in the courts of princes, the inns of court, and noblemen's houses, during the twelve Christmas holidays. He was a court official from the time of Henry VIII to that of George III. Research Master of the Revels
Mata Hari (real name Margaretha Gertruida Zelle) was a Dutch exotic dancer. She was born in 1876 and died in 1917. During the Great War she was convicted of spying for the Germans, and was shot. Research Mata Hari
Matteo Bandello was an Italian writer of novelle or tales. He was born about 1480 and died about 1562. He was, in his youth, a Dominican monk, and having been banished from Italy as a partisan of the French, Henry II of France gave him in 1550 the bishopric of Agen. He left the administration of his diocese to the Bishop of Grasse, and employed himself, at the advanced age of seventy, in the completion of his novelle. He also wrote poetry, but his fame rests on his novelle, which are in the style of Boccaccio, and have been made use of by Shakespeare, Massinger, and Beaumont and Fletcher. Research Matteo Bandello
Matteo Maria Boiardo, Count of Scandiano, was an Italian poet, scholar, knight, and courtier. He was born in 1434 near Ferrara and died in 1494. From 1488 he was commander of the city and castle of Reggio, in the service of Ercole d'Este, duke of Modena. His chief poem was his uncompleted Orlando Innamorato (1495), a romanticepic, the principal Italian poem before the OrlandoFurioso of Ariosto, though now chiefly known by the rifacimento of Berni. His other works include a comedy, Il Timone; Sonnetti e Canzoni; Carmen Bucolicon; Cinque Capitoli in terza rima; and translations from Lucian, Apuleius, and Herodotus. Research Matteo Boiardo
Matthaeus Ignazius Van Bree was a Flemish painter. He was born in 1773 and died in 1839. He painted the Death of Cato and other classical subjects, as well as scenes pertaining to modern history, especially the grand picture representing Van der Werff, burgomaster of Leyden, addressing the famishing populace, and telling them that they might share his body among them. Research Matthaeus Van Bree
Matthew Arnold was a British poet. He was born in 1822 at Laleham and died in 1888. The son of a headmaster at Rugby, Matthew Arnold spent a short period as assistantmaster at Rugby before in 1851 becoming one of HM Inspectors of Schools, a post he held until 1886. His first books of poetry were published anonymously in 1849 and 1852 and were unsuccessful, but two later volumes published under his own name caused him to be elected professor of poetry at Oxford, a post he held from 1857 to 1867. Research Matthew Arnold
Matthew Baillie was a Scottish physician and anatomist. He was born in 1761 at Shotts, Lanarkshire and died in 1823. In 1773 he was placed at the University of Glasgow. He afterwards studied anatomy under his maternal uncles John and William Hunter, and entered Oxford, where he graduated as M.D. In 1783 he succeeded his uncle as lecturer on anatomy in London, where he acquired a high reputation as, a teacher and demonstrator, having also a large practice. In 1810 he was appointed physician to George III. His work on The Morbid Anatomy of Some of the Most Important Parts of the HumanBody gave him a European reputation. Research Matthew Baillie
Matthew Boulton was an English mechanical engineer. He was born in 1728 at Birmingham and died in 1809. He engaged in business as a manufacturer of hardware, and invented and brought to great perfection inlaid steel buckles, buttons, watch-chains, etc. In 1762 he added to his premises by the purchase of the Soho, a barrenheath near Birmingham, where he established an extensive manufactory and school of the mechanical arts. The introduction of the steam-engine at Soho led to a connection between Matthew Boulton and James Watt, who became partners in trade in 1769. Research Matthew Boulton
Matthew Carey was an Irish-born American publisher. He was born in 1760 and died in 1839. He went to Philadelphia from Ireland in 1784. In 1796 he was a founder of the first Sunday-school Society. In 1822 he published 'Essays on Political Economy', followed by numerous tracts in the interest of protection. His 'Olive Branch' was an important and influential pamphlet. Research Matthew Carey
Matthew Hale Carpenter was an American politician. He was born in 1824 and died in1881. He settled in Wisconsin in 1848, and soon acquired an extensive law practice. He successfully argued the reconstruction act of 1867 before the US Supreme Court. He was a US Senator from 1869 to 1875 and from 1879 till his death. Research Matthew Carpenter
Matthew F Maury was an American sailor. He was born in 1806 and died in 1873. A naval officer, he wrote a famous Physical Geography of the Seas. In 1861 he commanded in the Confederate navy, and afterwards was Confederate Commissioner in Europe. Research Matthew F Maury
Matthew Flinders was a British navigator. He was born in 1774 and died in 1814. After serving in the Navy he went to Australia in the Reliance and with George Bass, the ship's surgeon, explored much of the Australian coast and Tasmania. In 1801, as commander of the Investigator, he went out in charge of a scientific expedition, and circumnavigated Australia. Returning home he was taken prisoner by the French at Mauritius, and detained until 1810, after which he published his 'Voyage to TerraAustralis'. Flinders Island (off the north-east coast of Tasmania) was named after him. Research Matthew Flinders
Sir Matthew Hale was an eminent English judge. He was was born in 1609 at Alderley, in Gloucestershire and died in 1676. He studied at Oxford, was called to the bar, became a judge of the common bench in 1654, was knighted and made chief baron of the exchequer in 1660, was raised to the chief-justiceship of the King's bench in 1671. After his death appeared his History of the Pleas of the Crown, the Jurisdiction of the Lords' House, and The History of the Common Law of England; of which there have been repeated editions, with comments. He also wrote several religious works. Research Matthew Hale
Matthew Henry was an English Nonconformist divine. He was born in 1662 and died in 1714 of apoplexy. With the view of studying law he entered himself at Gray's Inn; but in 1687 settled as pastor to a dissenting congregation at Chester. He continued there twenty-five years, when he was removed to a larger charge at Hackney, London. Besides his greatest work, Exposition of the Old and New Testament (Romans to the end completed by others after his death), he was the author of A Discourse on Schism, A Saripture Catechism, Family Hymns, Sermons, and religious tracts. Research Matthew Henry
Matthew Hopkins was an infamous witch-finder, who during the middle of the 17th century travelled the eastern counties of England seeking witches who had put to death. Finally he was tested by his own rule, and being thrown into a river where he floated he was himself declared a witch and executed. Research Matthew Hopkins
Matthew Gregory Lewis was an English romancewriter and dramatic author. He was born in 1775 and died in 1818 He was educated at Westminster, and then travelled for some time in Germany, the romantic literature of which gave to him that passion for the marvellous and terrific which chiefly marks his writings. His earliest and most celebrated work was Ambrosio or The Monk (1794), a romance, the first edition of which was suppressed for its licentiousness. Other works were: Feudal Tyrants, a romance; Romantic Tales; Tales of Wonder, in verse; Tales of Terror; the Castle Spectre, a romanticdrama, 1798; Adelmorn the Outlaw, 1800; Alphonso, King of Castile, 1801; a volume of miscellaneous poetry; the Bravo of Venice (a romance translated from the German, 1804), and Timour the Tartar, a melodrama (1812). Matthew Lewis had for some years a seat in parliament. He died at sea in 1818, while on the voyage home from a visit to his West Indian possessions. Research Matthew Lewis
Matthew Lyon was an Irish-born American politician. He was born in 1746 and died in 1822. He went to America from Ireland in 1759. He represented Vermont in the US Congress as an Anti-Federalist and Democrat from 1797 to 1801. He was a US Congressman from Kentucky from 1803 to 1811. A strong Democrat, he was prosecuted under the Sedition Act of 1798. Research Matthew Lyon
Matthew Fontaine Maury was an American naval officer and hydrographer. He was born in 1807 at Virginia and died in 1873. He entered the United States navy in 1824. In 1839 he was lamed by an accident, and left active service afloat for scientific work at the Washington Observatory. He wrote valuable papers on the Gulf Stream, ocean currents, great circle sailing, etc, and his Physical Geography of the Sea, published in 1855, gave him a wide reputation. In 1861 he resigned his appointment at the Washington Observatory and entered the Confederate service, in which he obtained the rank of commodore. After the termination of the war he went to Mexico, Russia, and England, and in 1868 became professor of physics in the Virginia Military Institute. Research Matthew Maury
Matthew of Westminster was the name of the fictitious author of a chronicle entitled Flores Historiarum, written or compiled in the 14th century by monks of St. Albans and Westminster. Luard's edition of 1890 (published in three volumes) is the most important, and in it the true character of the chronicle, which ends with 1325, was first established. Research Matthew of Westminster
Matthew Joseph Bonaventure Orfila was a French physician and chemist. He was born in 1787, at Mahon, in the island of Minorca and
died in 1853. After taking his degree of MD in Paris, he delivered lectures on botany, chemistry, and anatomy, which, along with his medical practice, soon gave him a high reputation and a prominent position. Having been naturalized in France in 1818, he was next year appointed professor of medicine and toxicology at Paris, and in 1823 became professor of medical chemistry and medical jurisprudence. Louis XVIII appointed him his body physician, and Louis Philippe bestowed further honours on him. He wrote several important works on toxicology and medical jurisprudence; his Lecons de Medecine Legale and his Traite de Toxicologie, were translated into most of the languages of Europe. Research Matthew Orfila
Matthew Paris was an English historian. He was born about 1195 and died in 1259. He entered the Benedictinemonastery of St Albans, and in 1235 succeeded Roger of Wendover as chronicler to the monastery. He was very intimate with Henry III, and had a large number of influential friends besides. Tn 1248 he went on an ecclesiastical mission to Norway. He is characterized as at once a mathematician, poet, orator, theologian, painter, and architect. His principal work is his Historia Major (or Chronica Majora), written in Latin, and comprising a sketch of the history of the world down to his own times, the latter portion (1235-59) being, however, the only part exclusively his; the Historia Anglorum, called alao Historia Minor a sort of abridgement of the former; and also Lives of the Abbots of St Albans; Kings of Mercia; etc. Research Matthew Paris
Matthew Parker was Archbishop of Canterbury. He was born in 1504 at Norwich and died in 1575. He was educated at Cambridge, and after having been licensed to preach was appointed dean of Stoke College in Suffolk. He was also made a king's chaplain and a canon of Ely. In 1544 he was appointed Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and elected vice-chancellor of that university the following year. When Queen Mary succeeded to the throne Matthew Parker was deprived of his offices, and remained in concealment until the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558. By royal command he was summoned to Lambeth, and appointed Archbishop of Canterbury. It was while he held this office that he had what is known as the Bishops' Bible translated from the text of Cranmer, and published at his own expense. He was the founder of the Antiquarian Society, a collector of manuscripts., which he presented to his college, and editor of the Chronicles of Walsingham, Matthew Paris, and Roger of Wendover. Research Matthew Parker
Matthew Calbraith Perry was an American sailor. He was born in 1794 and died in 1858. The brother of the victor of Lake Erie, he served as a boy in the War of 1812, and later against the pirates. He rendered important services while in command of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and was promoted to be commodore in 1841. His aid in the capture of Vera Cruz in 1847 was valuable, as was his blockade of the coast. Commodore Perry is best remembered for his connection with Japan. He organized and commanded the military expedition to that country in 1853, and signed a treaty with its government in 1854, thus opening the 'Mikado's Empire' to western influences. Research Matthew Perry
Matthew Poole was an English clergyman and the compiler of the Synopsis Criticorum Biblicorum. He was born about 1624 at York and died in 1679. He studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and took orders. In 1662 he was ejected by the Act of Uniformity from his church of St. Michael-le-Querne in London, and subsequently retired to Holland. He devoted ten years to his Synopsis, which is an attempt to condense into one work all biblical criticisms written previous to his own times. Research Matthew Poole
Matthew Prior was an English poet. He was born in 1664 and died in 1721. The son of a joiner, he was educated at Westminster School. He early found a patron in the Earl of Dorset, through whose good offices he was enabled to enter St John's College, Cambridge in 1682, where he graduated as BA in 1686, and was shortly after chosen fellow. At college he became close friends with Charles Montagu, afterwards Earl of Halifax, together with whom he composed the Country Mouse and City Mouse in 1687 - a parody on Dryden's Hind and Panther. This work brought him into fame, and in 1690 he was appointed secretary to the English embassy at the Hague.
In 1697 he was nominated secretary to the plenipotentiaries who concluded the Peace of Eyswick, and on his return was made secretary to the Lord-lieutenant of Ireland. In 1701 he entered parliament as a Whig, but soon after changed his politics and joined the Tory party. As a result he was excluded from office during the regime of Marlborough and Godolphin, and he employed himself in writing and publishing another volume of poems.
In 1711, when the Tories again obtained the ascendency, he was employed in secretly negotiating at Paris the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht, and he remained in France until 1714, at first as a secret agent, afterwards as ambassador. On the accession of George I, when the Whigs were once more in power, Prior was recalled and examined before the privy-council in respect to his share in negotiating the Treaty of Utrecht, and was kept in custody on a charge of high treason for two years, although ultimately disctiarged without trial. During his imprisonment he wrote Alma, or the Progress of the Mind, which, together with his most ambitious work, Solomon, was published in 1718. Matthew Prior was endowed with much wit and power of satire; and many of his lighter pieces are charming, but his serious performances fail in moving either the feelings or the fancy. Research Matthew Prior
Matthew Charles Probert (Matt Probert, born Paul Steven Farwig) is an English writer and photographer. He was born in 1964 at Brighton, Sussex. The circumstances of his conception, birth and subsequent adoption was somewhat unusual. The accidental product of a chance union between an orthodox British Jew, Michael Solomon, and a slightly younger rebellious woman, Barbara Farwig, upon announcing her pregnancy the mother was spirited away into a home for wayward girls run by the Chichester Moral Welfare Society in Brighton before delivering the child at Brighton General Hospital on her 18th birthday. Upon entering the delivery room with the child, the midwife announced to the mother 'Happy Birthday, Barbara, you have a son'. At the time the pop song 'She Loves You' by the Beatles was playing on the loudspeaker in the room and the mother named her son 'Paul' after the Beatles lead singer, Paul McCartney.
Denied custody of her son by her Nazi-sympathising father who was himself directly descended from the Bromley Farwigs, once wealthy and famous German immigrants - many of whom had left England and returned to Germany after the Great War and subsequently joined the Nazi party - the child's paternal-aunty requested to adopt the child but this was blocked by the maternal-grandfather who not only disallowed his daughter to have any relationship with a Jew, but also refused to allow his grandson to be brought up a Jew. Instead, the Chichester Moral Welfare Society organised an adoption into an ordinary English, suburban, 'Christian' family that it might have a proper upbringing, an adoption which the mother was coerced into by her controlling father, the church and the prevailing social stigma against single-mothers. And so the child was given up on New Years' eve, 1964 and not seen again by its natural mother until some 45 years later when after much searching the then renamed Matthew Probert traced and made contact with his natural mother so as to establish his true genealogy. Research Matthew Probert
Matthew White Ridley (Viscount Ridley) was an English politician. He was born in 1842 at London and died in 1904. He sat in the House of Commons first as the member for Northumberland, and then for the Blackpool division of Lancashire from 1886 to 1900. He was appointed Home Secretary, with a seat in the cabinet in 1895, a position he held until 1900, when he was raised to the peerage as ViscountRidley. He was under-secretary for the Home department from 1878 to 1880 in Lord Beaconsfield's government of 1874 to 1880, and financial secretary in the first Salisbury ministry of 1885 to 1886. Research Matthew Ridley
Matthew Tilghman was an american politician. He was born in 1718 and died in 1790. He was a member of the Maryland General Assembly from 1751 to 1774. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1777. He was president of the Revolutionary Convention which directed the State Government from 1774 to 1777. To him was largely due the drafting and organizing of the government of Maryland. Research Matthew Tilghman
Matthew Tindal was an English deist. He was born in 1653 at Beer Ferris, Devon and died in 1733. Educated at Lincoln College, Oxford, he was elected a fellow of All Souls College in 1678 and became an advocate at Doctors' Commons. About this time he joined the Church of Rome, but returned to the Church of England in 1688. He wrote a number of controversial works, including 'The Rights of The Christian Church Asserted' published in 1706, which the House of Commons ordered to be burnt, and 'Christianity as Old as the Creation' published in 1733. Critics of his works claimed his profession to Christianity was purely politic. Research Matthew Tindal
Captain Matthew Webb was an English sailor. He was born in 1848 at Dawley, Shropshire and died in 1883 while attempting to swim the rapids of Niagara Falls. He joined the merchant navy and became a mastermariner before in 1865 becoming a professional swimmer. Matthew Webb is famous as a long distance swimmer, being the first man to swim the English Channel, completing the feat by swimming from Dover to Calais in 21 hours 44 minutes and 55 seconds setting off on the 24th of August and arriving on the 25th of August 1875. Research Matthew Webb
Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt was an English architect and writer on art. He was born in 1820 and died 1877. He was connected with the great exhibition of 1851 as secretary to the commissioners, was knighted in 1869, and appointed Slade professor of fine arts at Cambridge. Research Matthew Wyatt
Matthias Alexander Castren was a Finnishphilologist and student of the Finnish languages. He was was born in 1813 and died in 1852. Educated at the University of Helsingfors, his attention was turned to the language of his native country. He travelled much among the nations of the Arctic regions, both in Europe and Asia, including the Norwegian and Russian Lapps, and the Samoyeds of Siberia and the coasts of the White Sea. He was appointed in 1851 professor of the Finnish and old Scandinavian languages in the University of Helsingfors, but he died next year. Among his works are a Swedish translation of the Great Finnishepic, the Kalevala; besides grammars, travels, and other works. Research Matthias Castren
Matthias Claudius was a German poet. He was born in 1741 near Liibeck and died in 1815. His works, which are on a great variety of subjects, are all of a popular character, and many of his songs have become a part of the national melodies. In later life he became a convert to religious mysticism, and died at Hamburg in 1815, after having filled several public offices. Research Matthias Claudius
Matthias Corvinus was king of Hungary. He was born in 1443 at Klausenburg and died in 1490. He became king in 1458. He attacked the Emperor Frederick III, who had secured the Hungarian crown, and forced him to resign it in 1463. He next attacked the Turks, who had entered Hungary; and after invading Bosnia, he made a truce with Mohammed II in 1468. For the next ten years Matthias was troubled by a war with Bohemia and Poland, a rebellion in Hungary, and a fresh invasion of the Turks. From 1478 to his death Matthias was in almost continual opposition to the Emperor Frederick III. In 1485 he occupied Vienna, and in 1487 invaded Lower Austria. He collected a large library at Buda, founded a university there, issued a law code, and effected many useful social reforms. Research Matthias Corvinus
Matthieu Dumas was a French soldier and military writer. He was born in 1753 and died in 1837. At a young age he joined the French cavalry, took part in the American War of Independence, and was employed in the Levant and in Holland. At the commencement of the revolution he assisted Lafayette in organizing the national guard. On the triumph of the extreme party in 1797 Matthieu Dumas was proscribed, but made his escape to Holstein, where he wrote the first part of his Precis des Evenements Militaires, a valuable source for the history of the period of which it treats (1798-1807).
He was recalled from exile by Napoleon, who had become first consul. His first employment was to organize the reserve for the army of Italy. In 1802 he was appointed state councillor; in 1805 he became general of division, and was shortly afterwards Neapolitan minister in the service of Joseph Bonaparte. In 1808 he was actively employed in the arrangements for the war against Austria, fought in the battles of Essling and Wagram, and arranged the terms of the armistice of Znaim. He held the office of general intendant of the army in the campaign of 1812. After the restorationLouis XVIII appointed him councillor of state, and gave him several important appointments connected with the army. In 1830 he aided in bringing on the revolution of July, and after the fall of Charles X he obtained the chief command of all the national guards of France, together with a peerage. He published a translation of Napier's History of the Peninsular War. Research Matthieu Dumas
Maurice Augustus, Count of Benyowsky, was a Hungarian soldier. Hre was born in 1741 and died in 1786. He served in the Seven Years' War; and in 1769 was made prisoner while fighting for the Polish Confederacy. Exiled to Kamtchatka, he gained the affections of the governor's daughter, who assisted him to escape with his companions in 1771. They visited Japan, Macao, etc, and then went to France. The French government having requested him to form a colony in Madagascar he sailed thither, and was made king in 1776 by the native chiefs. He broke with the French government, sought private aid in England and America, sailed again to Madagascar in 1785, and was killed fighting against the French in 1786. His memoirs were published in 1790. Research Maurice Augustus
Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice was a British engineer. He was born in 1861 and died in 1924. He built the Rotherhithe tunnel under the Thames in 1908. Research Maurice Fitzmaurice
General Maurice Gustave Gamelin was a French military commander. He was born in 1872 and died in 1958. Commander of the Allied forces on the Western Front during the Great War he was instrumental in the action at the Battle of the Marne. He put forward the notion of defence in warfare, claiming that 'to attack is to lose', only to be proved wrong when his solid defences along the French border were bypassed by the Germans in 1940. Research Maurice Gamelin
Count Maurice Etienne Gerard was a Marshal, and Peer of France. He was born in 1773 and died in 1852. He served as a soldier during the republic and the empire, distinguishing himself at Austerlitz and other battles. In 1813 he was made a general of division and count. He distinguished himself in the battle of Ligny, and at the Battle of Waterloo acted under Grouchy. He took an active part in the revolution of 1830; became war-minister and marshal; commanded the troops which reduced Antwerp in 1832; became primeminister 1834 and commander of the national guard in 1838. Research Maurice Gerard
Maurice Greene was an English composer. He was born about 1696 and died in 1755. He was in turn organist at St Paul's, at the Chapel Royal, and held the chair of music at Cambridge. His works include a Te Deum; several oratorios, a masque, The Judgment of Hercules, an opera, Phoebe (first produced in 1748), and various glees and catches. His collection of Forty Anthems was well known. Research Maurice Greene
Count Maurice Maeterlinck was a Belgian author and dramatist. He was born in 1862 at Ghent and died in 1949. He was educated at Ghent and adopted the law as a profession, but later lived as a literary man in Paris. His first publication was Serres Chaudes, a volume of verse (1889), but he is best known as a dramatist, among his plays being La Princesse Maleine, Les Aveugles, Pelleas et Melisande, and Aglavaine et Selysette, all of which have been translated into English. They betray a pessimistic spirit with tendency to mysticism; but in a later drama, Monna Vanna, he freed himself from this. He was also known as an essayist, and writer of works of a philosophic character, his works in this field including Le Tresor des Humbles and La Vie des Abeilles, both translated into English. He won the Nobel prize for literature in 1911. Research Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice of Nassau was Prince of Orange and stadtholder of the Netherlands. He was born in 1567 and died in 1625. The youngest son of William the Silent, he was elected stadtholder of the provinces of Zeeland and Holland on the assassination of his father in 1585, and subsequently of Utrecht, Overyssel, and Gulderland; and as commander of the army of the Netherlands he carried on war against the Spaniards with extraordinary success, driving them entirely out of the United Provinces.
Previous to the truce of twelve years, concluded in 1609, when Spain was compelled to acknowledge the United Provinces as a free republic, about forty towns and several fortresses had fallen into his hands. He had defeated the Spaniards in three pitched battles, besides the naval victories which were gained by the vice-admirals of the republic on the coasts of Spain and Planders. In 1621 the war with Spain was renewed, but the superior force under Spinola compelled Maurice to act upon the defensive only. He was succeeded by his brother Frederick Henry. Research Maurice of Nassau
Maurice Paul Emmanuel Sarrail was a French General. He Was born in 1856 at Carcassonne and died in 1929. He commanded the French 3rd army in 1914 during the Great War and was responsible for the defence of the Verdun region. From 1915 until 1917 he was in command of Allied forces in the east at Salonica. In 1925 he became High Commissioner of Syria. Research Maurice Sarrail
Maurice Utrillo was a French painter. He was born in 1883 in Paris and died in 1955. He was taught how to paint by his mother, Suzanne Valadon. Research Maurice Utrillo
Flavius Tiberius Mauricius was a Byzantine emperor. He was born about 539 and died in 603. He distinguished himself in war against the Persians, obtaining by his complete victory over them in 581, the honour of a triumph at Constantinople (Istanbul). On the death of the Emperor Tiberius, whose daughter he had married, he ascended the throne in 582. The war with the Persians continued with varying success, but was brought to a close in 591 by the appeal of the Persian king, Chosroes, to the Byzantines for aid against a rebel general. A defeat of the Byzantines by the Avars, and the massacre of the Byzantine prisoners, whom Mauricius declined to ransom, led to a revolt of his troops on the Danube. They marched on Constantinople (Istanbul) under Phocas, who was proclaimed emperor in 602, and Mauricius was seized and executed in 603. Research Mauricius
Max Simon Nordau was a Hungarian writer. He was born in 1849 at Budapest. The son of a Jewish rabbi, after studying medicine, and contributing to various newspapers, he travelled extensively throughout Europe, and then practised as a physician at Budapest in 1878 and at Paris in 1880, settling permanently at the latter place. His publications, which include books of travel, essays, novels, plays, and poems, were in the main a revolt against religious, social, moral, and political conventions, which he characterizes as signs of degeneration. His more important works are; The Conventional Lies of Civilization, Paradoxes, The Disease of the Century, Degeneration, The Drones must Die. Max Nordau also interested himself actively in the cause of Zionism. He was an officer of the French Academy, and Commander of the Royal Hellenic Order of St Saviour. Research Max Nordau
Max Pechstein was a German expressionist painter. He was born in 1881 near Zwickau and died in 1955. Associated with both the Die Brucke group in Dresden and the Neue Sezession in Berlin, he painted landscapes, still lives, portraits, and beach scenes. Inspired by primitive art, he used bright undiluted colours and vigorous brushstrokes. His paintings tended to be more eclectic, more naturalistic, and less innovative than the work of other expressionists. Research Max Pechstein
Max Weber was a German sociologist and economist. He was born in 1864 and died in 1920. He put forward the theory that there is a connection between Protestantism and the development of capitalism. Research Max Weber
Maxentius Aubelius Valerius Maxentius was a Roman emperor, reigning from 306 to 312, AD. He was a son of Maximianus, and son-in-law of Galerius, whom he deposed. He reigned along with his father for a short time; was defeated by Constantine in 312 and in the retreat drowned in the Tiber. Research Maxentius
Marcus Aurelius Valerius Herculius Maximianus was a Roman emperor, who became colleague of Diocletian in the empire 286 AD. He endeavoured to murder his rival Constantine, to whom he had given his daughter Faustina in marriage, and being frustrated by the fidelity of the latter, strangled himself in 310. He was the father and contemporary of Maxentius. Research Maximianus
Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph was Archduke of Austria and king of Mexico. He was born in 1832 and died in 1867. He became prominent for his enlightened administration of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom. In 1863 France called an assembly of notables in Mexico, which approved a monarchical form of government and offered the crown of Mexico to Maximilian. He became emperor in 1864, but his reign was disturbed by a powerful republican faction. He was able to maintain his position only by aid of French troops, which were withdrawn at the demand of the United States. Maximilian was soon afterwards deposed and shot. Research Maximilian
Maximilian I was German emperor. He was born in 1459 at Vienna and died in 1519. He was the son of Frederick III and in 1477 married Mary, the heiress of Burgundy, and in 1493 succeeded Frederick as emperor. Six years later the Swiss established their independence of the empire. Maximilian joined the League of Cambrai against Venice in 1508, and later the Holy League, but gained nothing by doing so. He is chiefly remembered for his efforts to reform the imperial and Austrian administrations. he established the public peace, he divided the empire for administrative purposes into ten circles, and he instituted the imperial chamber and the Aulic Council as supreme tribunals for the empire and Austria respectively. Research Maximilian I
Maximilian Joseph was a King of Bavaria. He was born in 1756 and died in 1825. He married his daughter to Eugene Beauharnais, son of Napoleon's wife Josephine, and had his duchy raised to a kingdom in 1806. In 1813 he joined the league against France. Research Maximilian Joseph
Count Maximilian von Spee was a German sailor. He was born in 1861 at Copenhagen and died in 1914. He was one of the creators of the German navy and in 1914 was in command of the Far Eastern squadron. On the outbreak of the Great War he escaped from Chinese waters and on the 1st of November defeated Admiral Cradock's squadron at Coronel, but on the 8th of December was decisively beaten by Admiral Sturdee at the Battle of The Falkland Islands, he himself going down with his flagship, the Scharnhorst. Research Maximilian von Spee
Maximilien de Bethune (Duc de Sully) was a French statesman. He was born in 1560 at Rosny and died in 1641. A son of the baron of Rosny, Maximilien de Bethune joined the court of Henry IV, then king of Navarre around 1571. He studied in Paris, and during the civil war fought with the Protestants.
In 1597 he became superintendent of finances, and afterwards was Henry IV's chief adviser, a position which gave him real influence to lighten the taxburden and to reform the corrupt and wasteful tax collection system. He instigated a program of road and bridge building, and improved agriculture. He was made a duke in 1606. Soon after the death of Henry IV Maximilien de Bethune resigned and spent the rest of his life in retirement. Research Maximilien de Bethune
Maximilien-Paul-Emile Littre was a French philologist. He was born in 1801 at Paris and died in 1881. He originally studied medicine, then took up philosophy and philology, adopted the positive philosophy of Comte, and published works connected with this subject, as well as works connected with medicine, including a translation of Hippocrates. In 1S62 he brought out his Histoire de la Langue Frangaise. His chief work, a dictionary of the French language was begun in the following year, and completed with supplements in 1877. It was a monument of erudition and industry, and its success was prompt and complete. In 1871 he became a representative in the National Assembly, in 1875 was named senator for life, and next year was admitted a member of the French Academy. Research Maximilien-Paul-Emile Littre
Maximilian Sebastian Foy was a French soldier. He was born in 1775 and died in 1825. Educated at the military school at La Fere, he served with distinction under Dumouriez, Moreau, and Andre Massena, in 1803 received the command of the floating batteries intended for the defence of the coasts of the Channel, and in 1805 commanded the artillery of the second division in the Austrian campaign. In 1807 he took part in the preparations for the defence of Constantinople (Istanbul) against the British. From 1808 to 1812 he was general of division of the army in Portugal. In 1812, after the defeat of the French at Salamanca, he succeeded Marmont as commander-in-chief, and showed much talent in his conduct of the operations on the Douro. He was present in all the battles of the Pyrenees, until he was dangerously wounded at Orthez in 1814. In 1815 he commanded a division at the Battle of Waterloo, where he was wounded for the fifteenth time. In 1819 he was appointed division-inspector of infantry, and the same year was elected deputy by the department of the Aisne. He at once distinguished himself as one of the leading orators of the liberal party and became very popular. Research Maximillian Foy
Caius Julius Verus Maximinus was a Roman emperor. The son of a peasant of Thrace. He entered the Roman army under Septimus Severus before 210, and gradually rose in rank until, on the death of Alexander Severus, he caused himself to be proclaimed emperor, in 235 AD. He was successful in his German campaigns, but his acts of barbarity and tyranny provoked an insurrection, in the attempt to quell which he was assassinated by his own soldiers in 238. The emperor is represented as being of immense stature and strength. Research Maximinus
Maya Anne Evans is an English cook and anti-war protester. She was born in 1980. In October 2005 Maya Evans was arrested after reading out a list of names of British soldiers killed during the American/British invasion of Iraq, at central London's war memorial, the Cenotaph. Maya Evans was arrested and prosecuted - receiving a 12 month conditional discharge and being ordered to pay 100 pounds costs - under Section 132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act which prohibits 'unauthorised demonstrations' within one kilometre of London's Houses of Parliament, and which was passed to try and silence - without success - the anti-Iraq war protester Brian Haw. Research Maya Evans
The Mayas were a race of Indians inhabiting Yucatan and the adjacent regions of Mexico and Central America, believed to be the descendants of those who built the great ruined cities of these parts. Research Mayas
Mayne Reid was an Irish novelist. He was born in 1818 at Ballyroney and died in 1883. Originally called Thomas Mayne Reid he emigrated to America in 1840 and after a roving life asa hunter and trader he joined the US army as a volunteer serving at Chapultepec with distinction during the Mexican War. Settling in London in 1849 he wrote a number of boys' adventure books. such as the Rifle Rangers, Scalp Hunters, the War Trail, the Headless Horseman, etc. Research Mayne Reid
a mayor is the chief magistrate of a city or corporate town in England, Ireland, the British colonies, and the United States; in Scotland the post is called provost. The mayor is elected by the aldermen or councillors, and holds office for a year, but he or she may be re-elected. The Mayors of London, York, Dublin, and two or three other towns, are called 'lord-mayor'; the Lord-mayor of London having also the title of 'right honourable', first allowed in 1354 by Edward III, Mayors are ex officio justices of the peace during both their year of mayoralty and the following one. Research Mayor
Mazarin (Jules Mazarni or Giulio Mazarini) was first minister of Louis XIV and a cardinal. An Italian by origin, he was born in 1602 and died in 1661. He was educated at Home by the Jesuits, thence proceeded to the University of Alcala in Spain; entered the pope's military service, and distinguished himself by diplomatic ability, for which he was rewarded with two canonries, and the appointment of nuncio to the court of France (1634-1636). Here he gained the favour of Richelieu; accepted service from the king, and became a naturalized citizen of France; was made a cardinal in recognition of his diplomatic services in Savoy; and in 1642, when Richelieu died, Mazarin promptly succeeded him.
On the death of Louis XIII the queen, Anne of Austria, became regent for her young son, Louis XIV, and it was thought that Mazarin would be dismissed; but instead
he gained power over the queen-regent, and made himself master of the nation. Two parties in the state rebelled against this usurpation of supreme power by the cardinal. The parliament of Paris denounced his increasing taxation, while the nobility dreaded his supremacy, and the combination of these malcontents resulted in the civil war of the Fronde.
As the immediate result of the conflict, Mazarin had to go into exile, but through means of intrigue he formed a powerful royal party in the state, gained General Turenne to his cause, and finally returned to his position at court in 1653. During the succeeding eight years he remained all-powerful in France; pursued the policy of Richelieu in foreign affairs; made an alliance with Oliver Cromwell; brought the Rhine provinces under the headship of France, and in the treaty of the Pyrenees humiliated Spain, and gained much of French Flanders. Just as his foreign policy was successful, so was his home policy disastrous. He did nothing for the people but increase their taxes to fill an impoverished exchequer. Yet when he died Mazarin left an enormous fortune to his nieces, whom he had married into the most powerful families of Italy and France. Research Mazarin
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