Monday, April 22, 2013

Roman History in Italian Melodrama --- Ezio -- Verdi's "Attila" -- ... five operas on J. Caesar, and more... ****

Speranza



 
Alexander the Great who appears as a character in over seventy operas, including two by George Frideric Handel


This is a list of historical figures who have been characters in opera or operetta.
Historical accuracy in such works has often been subject to the imperatives of dramatic presentation. Consequently, in many cases:
  • historical characters appear alongside fictional characters
  • historical characters who never met, or whose lives did not even overlap, appear on stage together
  • historical events depicted are transported to earlier or later times or to different places
  • historical people are seen participating in entirely fictional events, or vice-versa
  • the actions of historical people are attributed to other persons
For the purposes of this list, Biblical characters are generally taken to be fictional, unless there is clear evidence of their historicity.
Operas appear in bold when the historical figure is also the title role.

[edit] List of historical figures

[edit] A

Abdisho IV Maron, Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church
Peter Abelard, French priest, scholar, theologian
John Quincy Adams, American President
Gabriele Adorno, fifth Doge of Genoa
*******************************************************************
Flavius Aetius, Roman general
Giuseppe Gazzaniga: Ezio
George Frideric Handel: Ezio
Gaetano Latilla: Ezio
Giuseppe Verdi: Attila


Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, German alchemist, writer
****************************************
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Roman statesman and general
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, Roman consul (32 BC)
Pharaoh Akhenaten of Egypt
3rd Duke of Alba, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands
Albert of Mainz, Elector and Archbishop of Mainz
Buzz Aldrin, American astronaut
***************************
Alexander the Great, King of Macedon
(He appears in about 70 other operas set to the same text by Metastasio as used by Pacini, including one by Leonardo Vinci.)
Emperor Alexander Severus of Rome
Tsar Alexander I of Russia
Brigadier General Edward Porter Alexander, American military commander
Tsarina Alexandra of Russia, consort of Tsar Nicholas II
Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia, son of Peter the Great
Saint Alexius of Rome
Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, husband of Lucrezia Borgia
Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara
King Alfonso XI of Castile
King Alfred the Great, legendary Anglo-Saxon king
Dante Alighieri: see under Dante
Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir, aka Almanzor, de facto ruler of al-Andalus
Pedro de Alvarado, Spanish conquistador
Amalasuntha, Queen of the Ostrogoths
Anacreon, Greek lyric poet
Jacob Johan Anckarström, Swedish military officer, assassin of Gustav III
Tommaso Aniello: see under Masaniello
Anna of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Rome and Bavaria
Queen Anne of Great Britain
Queen Anne (Boleyn), second consort of Henry VIII of England
Saint Anthony the Great
Susan B. Anthony, American women’s rights activist
Antiochus I Soter, King of the Seleucid Empire
Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, British socialite and sexual celebrity
Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt, Finnish-Swedish diplomat, possible lover of Gustav III of Sweden
Arminius, Germanic chieftain
Artabanus of Persia, political figure
King Artaxerxes I of Persia
(He appears in over 40 other operas set to the same text from Metastasio's libretto Artaserse)
King Arthur, legendary king of Britain
Chester A. Arthur, American President
Ulrica Arfvidsson, Swedish fortune-teller
Emanuele d'Astorga, Italian composer
Atahualpa, Inca sovereign emperor
Attila the Hun
Atys, son of King Croesus of Lydia
Caesar Augustus, Roman Emperor
Aurelian, Emperor of Rome
Pharaoh Ay of Egypt

[edit] B

Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian prince and general
Brigitte Bardot, French actress
Pyotr Fyodorovich Basmanov, Russian boyar
Daisy Bates, Irish-Australian indigenous welfare worker and anthropologist
Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I "The Thunderbolt"
Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright
Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury
Belisarius, Byzantine general
Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general
Belshazzar, Prince of Babylon
Olga Benário Prestes, German-Brazilian communist militant
Levin August, Count von Bennigsen, German general
Queen Berenice III of Egypt
Louis-Alexandre Berthier, Marshall of France
Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States
Otto von Bismarck, first Chancellor of Germany
Harman Blennerhassett, Irish-American lawyer
Blondel de Nesle, French troubador
Boabdil, last Nasrid ruler of Granada
Francisco de Bobadilla, Spanish colonial administrator
Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian writer, poet
Simone Boccanegra, first Doge of Genoa
George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, brother of Anne Boleyn
Simón Bolívar, South American revolutionary
Caroline Bonaparte, Queen Consort of Naples and Sicily, sister of Napoleon
Pauline Bonaparte, Princess of France, sister of Napoleon
Lizzie Borden, American celebrity and possible axe-murderer
Jorge Luis Borges, Argentinian writer
Saint Francis Borgia, 4th Duke of Gandía, Spanish Superior-General of the Jesuits
Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI
Saint Charles Borromeo, Italian cardinal
Đurađ Branković, Serbian despot
Prince Braslav of Pannonian Croatia
Gian Francesco Brogni, Italian cardinal
John Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton, British memoirist and politician
John Brown, Sergeant of the Second Battalion, Boston Light Infantry Volunteer Militia
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Flemish painter
Antonín Brus z Mohelnice, Archbishop of Prague
Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger, Roman politician, co-assassin of Julius Caesar
William Jennings Bryan, American Secretary of State, presidential candidate
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English poet, statesman
Gautama Buddha
Johannes Bureus, Swedish scholar
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, English statesman, adviser to Elizabeth I
Aaron Burr, third Vice President of the United States
Anne Isabella Byron, Baroness Byron, wife of Lord Byron
Lord Byron, English poet

[edit] C

Cacamatzin, Aztec king
Alessandro Cagliostro (Giuseppe Balsamo), Italian adventurer and imposter
Maria Callas, American-Greek opera singer
Luís de Camões, Portuguese poet
Lorenzo Campeggio, Cardinal Protector of England
Canek, Aztec High Priest
Wolfgang Capito, German religious reformer
Carlos, Prince of Asturias, son of Philip II of Spain
Julian Carlton, American murderer of Mamah Cheney, mistress of Frank Lloyd Wright
Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor
Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and libertine
Servilius Casca, co-assassin of Julius Caesar
Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman politician, co-assassin of Julius Caesar
Fidel Castro, Cuban leader
Inês de Castro, lover and lawful wife of King Peter I of Portugal
Empress Catherine I of Russia
Empress Catherine II "The Great" of Russia
Queen Catherine (of Aragon), first wife of Henry VIII of England
Queen Catherine (Parr), sixth and last wife of Henry VIII
Pierre Cauchon, French bishop
Armand Augustin Louis de Caulaincourt, French general
Guido Cavalcanti, Florentine poet
Arthur Cecil, English actor, theatre manager
Benvenuto Cellini, Italian sculptor, goldsmith, artisan
Beatrice Cenci, Italian noblewoman, protagonist of a famous murder trial
Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer
Lindy Chamberlain and Michael Chamberlain, Australian parents wrongly convicted of the murder of their daughter Azaria
Charles Chaplin, British actor
Charlemagne, King of the Franks
King Charles II of England
King Charles II of Spain
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
King Charles VI of France
King Charles VII of France
King Charles XI of Sweden
Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy
Charles Martel, Duke and Prince of the Franks
Charmian, servant to Cleopatra
Thomas Chatterton, English poet and forger
Geoffrey Chaucer, English author, poet, philosopher, courtier and diplomat
Edwin Cheney, American electrical engineer
Mamah Cheney, wife of Edwin Cheney, murdered mistress of Frank Lloyd Wright
André Chénier, French journalist
Frédéric Chopin, Polish-French composer
Chou En-lai: see under Zhou Enlai
Christina, Queen of Sweden
Saint Christopher, revered but legendary saint
Tillius Cimber, co-assassin of Julius Caesar
Helvius Cinna, Roman poet
Lucius Cornelius Cinna, Roman consul
Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, Marquis of Cinq-Mars, French royal favourite of Louis XIII
Emperor Claudius of Rome
Cleitus the Black, Macedonian soldier
Pope Clement VII
Cleopatra VII, Pharaoh of Egypt
Henry Clifford, 10th Baron de Clifford, English military commander
Hillary Rodham Clinton, American First Lady, Senator, Secretary of State
Olivier de Clisson, Breton soldier
Cloelia, early Roman figure, possibly legendary
Howell Cobb, American political figure
Walter Cocking, dean at the University of Georgia, the focus of the "Cocking affair"
Horatius Cocles, Roman military officer
Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, Roman consul, husband of Lucretia
Stefano Colonna (1265–1348), Roman political figure
Christopher Columbus, Genoese explorer of the New World
Anthony Comstock, American morals campaigner
Emperor Constantine I "The Great" of Rome
Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish scientist
Charlotte Corday, French Girondin revolutionary
Saint Corentin of Quimper, Breton patron saint of seafood
Gaius Marcius Coriolanus, legendary Roman leader
Catherine Cornaro, consort of James II of Cyprus
Giorgio Cornaro, Italian nobleman, father of Catherine Cornaro
Jeronimus Cornelisz, Dutch apothecary and merchant
Hernán Cortés, Spanish conquistador
Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
Marcus Licinius Crassus, Roman general and politician
Flavius Julius Crispus, Caesar of the Roman Empire
Croesus, King of Lydia
Oliver Cromwell, English Puritan leader
Cuauhtémoc, Aztec king
Sir Henry Cuffe, English politician
Cyrano de Bergerac, French dramatist and duellist
Cyrus the Great, King of Persia

[edit] D

Salvador Dalí, Spanish painter
Dalibor of Kozojed, Czech knight
Dante Alighieri, Italian poet
Georges Danton, French revolutionary figure
Jacques d'Arc, French farmer, father of Joan of Arc
King Darius III of Persia
Sir William Davenant, English poet and playwright
Louis-Nicolas Davout, Marshall of France
Gotse Delchev, Macedonian revolutionary figure
Marion Delorme, French courtesan
Camille Desmoulins, French revolutionary journalist, politician
Bernal Díaz del Castillo, Spanish conquistador
Jimena Díaz, wife of El Cid, ruler of Valencia
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, "El Cid"
Georgi Dimitrov, Bulgarian Communist leader
Emperor Diocletian of Rome
Tsar Dmitri Ioannovich of Russia, the so-called "False Dmitriy I"
Dmitry Donskoy, Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Vladimir
Dobrynya Nikitich, legendary Kievan bogatyr
Publius Cornelius Dolabella, Roman general
Saint Dominic, Domingo de Guzman, founder of the Dominicans
James Douglas, Lord of Douglas, Scots soldier, known as the "Black Douglas"
György Dózsa, Hungarian leader of peasant revolt
Sir Francis Drake, English adventurer, pirate, politician
John Dryden, English poet
King Duncan I of Scotland

[edit] E

Ana de Mendoza, Princess of Éboli, Spanish aristocrat
Nelson Eddy, American tenor, actor
King Edward II of England
King Edward III of England
Albert Einstein, German-American scientist
Emperor Elagabalus of Rome (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus)
Eleanor of Austria, Queen Consort of Portugal and France
Eleanor of Guzman, mistress of King Alfonso XI of Castile and mother of Henry II
Elisabeth, Queen of Bohemia
Elisabeth Farnese, Queen Consort to Philip V of Spain
Elisabeth of Valois, daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici, wife of Philip II of Spain
Elisiv of Kiev
Queen Elizabeth I of Castile see: Queen Isabella I of Castile
Queen Elizabeth I of England
Fanny Elssler, Austrian ballerina
Ninon de l'Enclos, French courtesan
Enzio of Sardinia, king of Sardinia
Erasistratus, Greek anatomist, physician
King Eric V of Denmark
José de Espronceda, Spanish poet
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, Elizabethan courtier and royal favourite
Frances, Countess of Essex, English noblewoman
Eufrosinia, daughter of Yaroslav Osmomysl, Prince of Halych

[edit] F

Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice
Farinelli, Italian castrato singer
Fausta Flavia Maxima, Empress of Rome, second wife of Constantine the Great
Charles Simon Favart, French dramatist
Marie Favart, French opera singer, actress
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
King Ferdinand I of León and Castile
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
KIng Ferdinand II of Aragon (and Ferdinand V of Castile)
King Ferdinand VI of Spain
Roger de Flor, German-born soldier serving Aragon kings
Francesco Foscari, Doge of Venice
Joseph Fouché, Duke of Otranto
Francesca da Rimini, contemporary and literary subject of Dante
Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscans
King Francis I of France
Anne Frank, Dutch diarist
Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
Fredegund, Merovingian Queen Consort
Frederick I "Barbarossa", Holy Roman Emperor
King Frederick II "The Great" of Prussia
Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg
Jean Froissart, French chronicler
Georg von Frundsberg, South German knight
Tsar Fyodor II of Russia, son of Boris Godunov

[edit] G

Galileo Galilei, Italian scientist
Vasily Vasilyevich Galitzine, Russian statesman
Galla Placidia, Roman regent, daughter of Emperor Theodosius I
Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer
Count Peter Gamba, associate of Lord Byron
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Indian freedom advocate
Garcilaso de la Vega, Spanish poet and soldier
Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian freedom fighter
Margaret "Peggy" Garner, American slave who killed her own daughter rather than allow the child to be returned to slavery
Antoni Gaudí, Catalan architect
Paul Gauguin, French painter
King George III of the United Kingdom
Priscilla German Reed, English singer and actress
Thomas German Reed, English composer and theatre manager
Carlo Gesualdo, Italian composer and murderer
Allen Ginsberg, American poet
Lisa del Giocondo, Italian woman, subject of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa
Salvatore Giuliano, Sicilian peasant
Godfrey of Bouillon, Frankish knight, leader of the First Crusade
Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia
Xenia Borisovna Godunova, daughter of Boris Godunov
Sir Eugene Goossens, English conductor and composer
  • Drew Crawford: Eugene & Roie
Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, English harpsichordist
St Maria Goretti, 20th century Catholic martyr
Francisco Goya, Spanish painter
Princess Grace of Monaco, American-born actress (as Grace Kelly)
Antonio Gramsci, Italian political theorist
Urbain Grandier, French priest
Julia Dent Grant, American First Lady
Ulysses S. Grant, American President
Thomas Gray, English poet
Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer
Nina Grieg, Norwegian singer, cousin and wife of Edvard Grieg
Gen Leslie Groves, American military officer
Matthias Grünewald, German renaissance painter
Teresa, Contessa Guiccioli, Italian mistress of Lord Byron
Guinevere, wife of King Arthur of Britain
Francis, Duke of Guise, French nobleman
Günther von Schwarzburg, German king
Saint Guntram, King of Burgundy
King Gustav I of Sweden
King Gustav III of Sweden
Nell Gwyn, English actress, mistress of King Charles II

[edit] H

Hadrian, Roman emperor
Emma, Lady Hamilton, English mistress of Horatio, Lord Nelson
Sir William Hamilton, British diplomat, husband of Emma, Lady Hamilton
Hannibal, Carthaginian ruler
King Harald III of Norway
Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, British sea captain, commander of HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar
Harold Godwinson (Harold II), Anglo-Saxon King of England
Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid Caliph
Hasdrubal Gisco, Carthaginian general
Wiebbe Hayes, Dutch soldier
Heloïse, French nun associated with Peter Abelard
Sally Hemings, American mixed-race slave owned by Thomas Jefferson
Henri, Prince of Condé, French noble
Henrietta Maria of France, queen consort of Charles I of England
King Henry II of England
King Henry III of Castile
King Henry III of France also as Henri de Valois, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania
King Henry IV of France
King Henry V of England
King Henry VIII of England
Henry the Fowler, Duke of Saxony, King of the Germans
Henry the Lion, German prince (Henry III of Saxony, Henry XII of Bavaria)
Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles, French revolutionary politician
Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia
E. T. A. Hoffmann, German author
Fanny Holland, English singer and actress
Clasina Maria "Sien" Hoornik (1850–1904), Dutch alcoholic prostitute, sometime lover of Vincent van Gogh
Pharaoh Horemheb of Egypt
Count Claes Fredrik Horn, co-conspirator with Anckarström in the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden
Harry Houdini, Hungarian-American escapologist
László Hunyadi, Hungarian statesman
Stig Andersen Hvide, Danish marshall, later an outlaw
Queen Hypsicratea of Pontus, consort of Mithradates VI

[edit] I

Muhammad al-Idrisi, Andalusian cartographer, traveller
Gwen Ifill, American television journalist
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish knight, founder of the Society of Jesus
Igor Svyatoslavich, Prince of Putivl, Novgorod-Seversk and Chernigov
Jaakko Ilkka, Finnish peasant leader
Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden
John Ireland, Dean of Westminster
Isabeau of Bavaria, Queen Consort of Charles VI of France
Isabel Moctezuma (Teutile), daughter of Moctezuma II
Queen Isabella I of Castile
Isabella of France, Queen Consort of Edward II of England and mother of Edward III
Isabella of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress, Queen Consort of Aragon and Castile
Tsar Ivan IV of Russia, "Ivan the Terrible"
Izumi Shikibu, Japanese poetess

[edit] J

Jack the Ripper, unidentified murderer of English prostitutes
King James II of Cyprus "James the Bastard of Lusignan"
King James V of Scotland
Lady Jane Grey, disputed Queen of England
Queen Jane (Seymour), third consort of Henry VIII of England
Thomas Jefferson, American President
Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia
Jesus of Nazareth and his apostles
Jiang Qing Chinese figure, 4th wife of Mao Zedong
St Joan of Arc, French saint
Joan I of Naples, Queen of Naples
Joanna of Castile, Queen of Castile and Aragon
Patriarch Job of Moscow, Russian Orthodox prelate
John, Prince of Asturias, Spanish prince, son of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile
King John of England
Don John of Austria, Bavarian soldier in Spanish service, son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
John of Leiden, Dutch Anabaptist leader
Andrew Johnson, American President
Ben Jonson, English poet
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joséphine de Beauharnais, Consort of Napoleon I
********************************************************
Julia Caesaris,
daughter of Julius Caesar, 4th wife of Pompey the Great
    Francesco Cavalli: Pompeo Magno
******************************************************
Julius Caesar, Consul and Dictator of Rome
****************************************

[edit] K

Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter
Christoph Kaufmann (or Kauffman), associate of Jakob Lenz
Grace Kelly: see Princess Grace of Monaco
John F. Kennedy, American President
Johannes Kepler, German astronomer, mathematician
Ivan Andreyevich Khovansky, "Taratui" (chatter box), Russian boyar
Edgar Ray Killen, KKK leader, murderer
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Henry Kissinger, American Secretary of State
Aleksis Kivi, Finnish writer
Leon Klinghoffer, American ship passenger murdered by terrorists
Vasily Kochubey, Cossack hetman, associate of Ivan Mazepa
Konchak, Polovtsian khan
Konchakovna, his daughter
Kublai Khan, Grand Khan of the Mongol Empire
Mikhail Kutuzov, Russian Field-Marshall

[edit] L

Ladislaus I of Poland: see Władysław I the Elbow-high
Ladislaus the Posthumous, Duke of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia
Lady Caroline Lamb, lover of Lord Byron
Anne Françoise Elisabeth Lange, French actress, known as "Mademoiselle Lange"
Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress
(Eleanor) Agnes Lee, daughter of Robert E. Lee
Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of Robert E. Lee
General Robert E. Lee
François Joseph Lefebvre, Marshal of France, Duke of Danzig
His wife, née Cathérine Hubscher, later Duchess of Danzig
Guillaume Le Gentil, French astronomer
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, English courtier, favourite of Elizabeth I
Augusta Leigh, half-sister and incestuous over of Lord Byron
Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz, German writer
Pope St Leo I "The Great"
Brother Leo, friend and confidant of Francis of Assisi
Leonidas of Epirus
(i) Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Roman triumvir
(ii) Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, heir to Emperor Caligula of Rome
Leszek I the White, High Duke of Poland 1194-1227
Li Bai or Li Po, Chinese poet
Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii
Abraham Lincoln, American President
Mary Todd Lincoln, American First Lady
Charles Lindbergh, American pioneer aviator
  • Paul Hindemith and Kurt Weill: Der Lindberghflug (Lindbergh's Flight). This was later changed by removal of Hindemith's contribution, renaming it to Der Ozeanflug (The Flight across the Ocean), and removal of Lindbergh's name. The opening line was changed from “My name is Charles Lindbergh” to “My name is of no account”.
Judah Loew ben Bezalel, Bohemian Talmudic scholar
King Louis V of France
King Louis VI of France
King Louis XII of France
King Louis XIII of France
King Louis XIV of France
King Louis XV of France
King Louis XVI of France
Lucan, Roman poet
Lucretia, Roman noblewoman raped by Sextus Tarquinius (legendary)
Martin Luther, initiator of the Protestant Reformation

[edit] M

Douglas MacArthur, American general
Jeanette MacDonald, American soprano, actress
Sir John A. Macdonald, first Prime Minister of Canada
William McDougall, Canadian politician
Ralph McGill, American anti-segregationist journalist
Wilmer McLean, American Civil War figure
Colin McPhee, Canadian composer and musicologist
King Macbeth of Scotland
Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, Roman general, natural father of Scipio Aemilianus
Gaius Maecenas, political adviser to Octavian (Caesar Augustus)
Saint Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney
Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer
Marion Mahony, American architect and artist, wife of Walter Burley Griffin
Giovanni Malatesta, husband and murderer of Francesca da Rimini
Malatestino Malatesta, Lord of Rimini
Paolo Malatesta, brother-in-law and lover of Francesca da Rimini
La Malinche, Aztec mistress of Hernán Cortés
Mao Zedong, Chinese leader
Madame Mao: see Jiang Qing
Jean-Paul Marat, Jacobin leader
Benedetto Marcello, Italian composer
Alexey Maresyev, Russian fighter pilot
Margaret of Anjou, Queen consort to Henry VI of England
Marguérite de Valois, consort of Henry IV of France/Henry III of Navarre
Maria Carolina of Austria
Sister Maria Celeste, Italian nun, illegitimate daughter of Galileo Galilei
Maria Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier, Infanta of Spain
Marie Antoinette, Queen Consort of Louis XVI of France
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, wife of Napoleon I
Marie Louise Gonzaga, French Queen consort to 2 Polish kings
Empress Maria Theresa of Austria
Guadalupe Marín, Mexican model and novelist, second wife of Diego Rivera
Mark Antony, Roman politician and general
Auguste de Marmont
Martyrs of Compiègne, a group of French Carmelite nuns
Saint Mary of Egypt, patron saint of penitents
Mary, Queen of Scots
Queen Mary I of England "Bloody Mary"
Mary Tudor, Queen of France, sister of Henry VIII, husband of Louis XII
Masaniello (Tommaso Aniello), Neapolitan fisherman, revolutionary leader
Masinissa, first King of Numidia
Mata Hari, Dutch spy
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
Maurice, Elector of Saxony
Maurice de Saxe
Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius, aka Maximian, Roman ruler
Maximinian, co-Emperor of Rome
Ivan Mazepa, Cossack hetman, military leader
Cosimo de' Medici, ruler of Florence
Giuliano de' Medici, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent
Lorenzo de' Medici, "Lorenzo the Magnificent", Italian statesman
Lorenzino de' Medici, Italian writer and assassin
Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II
Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov, Russian statesman
Valeria Messalina, Roman Empress
Caecilia Metella Dalmatica, fourth wife of Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Cornelia Metella, Pompey's second wife
Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich
John Milton, English poet
Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto, Scottish diplomat, Governor-General of India
King Mithridates VI of Pontus
Marina Mniszech, Polish noble and Russian political adventurer
Moctezuma II, Aztec ruler
King Mojmír II of Great Moravia
Marilyn Monroe, American actress
Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola, Anglo-Italian condottiero
Thomas Moore, Irish poet, songwriter
Mordred, legendary Arthurian character
Thomas Morton, American colonist of New England
Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy, Elizabethan figure
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer
Gaius Mucius Scaevola, Roman figure
Muhammad XII of Granada, aka Boabdil, last Nasrid ruler of Granada
Ottoman Sultan Murad II
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish Baroque painter
John Murray II, British publisher
Eadweard Muybridge, English pioneer photographer

[edit] N

Emperor Napoleon I of France (Napoleon Bonaparte)
Emperor Napoleon II of France
Louis, comte de Narbonne-Lara
Carrie Nation, American temperance advocate and vandal
Nebuchadnezzar II, ruler of Babylon
Nefertiti, wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten of Egypt
Adam Albert von Neipperg, Austrian general
Frances Nelson, Lady Nelson, wife of Lord Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, British admiral, naval hero
Emperor Nero of Rome
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
Nitocris, Queen of Egypt, maybe legendary
Pat Nixon, American First Lady
Richard Nixon, American President
Rikard Nordraak, Norwegian composer
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, English politician, uncle to two of Henry VIII’s wives
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, English nobleman
Rosaleen Norton, so-called "Witch of Kings Cross", Sydney occultist
  • Drew Crawford: Eugene & Roie
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, English admiral and statesman

[edit] O

J. F. Oberlin, Alsatian pastor, philanthropist
Empress Claudia Octavia of Rome, consort of Nero
Octavia the Younger, fourth wife of Mark Antony
King Olaf I Tryggvason of Norway
King Olaf II of Norway (St. Olaf)
Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American First Lady, wife of John F. Kennedy, then of Aristotle Onassis
J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist
Sallustia Orbiana, wife of Emperor Alexander Severus of Rome
Pylyp Orlyk, associate of Ivan Mazepa
Pier Francesco Orsini, Italian condottiero
Emperor Marcus Salvius Otho of Rome

[edit] P

María de Padilla, mistress and secret wife of Peter of Castile
Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist and composer
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer
Sarah Palin, American politician, Governor of Alaska, vice-presidential candidate
Papantzin, Aztec princess, sister of Moctezuma II
Johan Papegoja, Governor of New Sweden
Ely S. Parker, American Seneca native, Commissioner of Indian Affairs
Boris Pasternak, Russian novelist
Francisco Pelsaert, Dutch merchant, naval commander
Samuel Pepys, English diarist
Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland
Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, Castilian nobleman, known as Guzmán el Bueno
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer
Pericles, Athenian statesman
Saint Peter, Christian apostle
King Peter III of Aragon, "Peter the Great"
King Peter of Castile, "Peter the Cruel"
Tsar Peter I "The Great" of Russia
Peter the Hermit, priest and leader of the First Crusade
Gaius Petronius Arbiter, Roman courtier, writer
Michele Pezza, Neapolitan guerilla leader, known as "Fra Diavolo"
King Pharnaces II of Pontus
Phidias, Greek sculptor
King Philip II of Spain
King Philip V of Spain
Gaspare Pisciotta, Sicilian peasant
Gaius Calpurnius Piso, Roman senator
Pope Pius IV
Edgar Allan Poe, American writer
Poliziano (Angelo Ambrogini), Italian renaissance poet, scholar
Marco Polo, Italian adventurer
Saint Polyeuctus
Lorenz Truchsess von Pommersfelden
Madame de Pompadour, French courtier, mistress of Louis XV
Pompey the Great, Roman military and political leader
Empress Poppaea Augusta Sabina, consort of Roman Emperors Nero and Otho
Lars Porsena, King of Etruria
Porus, King of Paurava
Sister Helen Prejean, American nun, death penalty abolitionist
Přemysl, the Ploughman, first ruler of Bohemmia
John of Procida, Italian medieval physician and diplomat
John Proctor, a tavern keeper in 17th century Massachusetts who was hanged for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials
Chevalier de Prokesch-Osten
Marcel Proust, French novelist
Pharaoh Ptolemy IX Lathyros of Egypt
Pharaoh Ptolemy XI Alexander II of Egypt
Publius Valerius Publicola, Roman consul
Yemelyan Pugachev, Russian pretender to the throne

[edit] Q

Qin Shi Huang, first Emperor of unified China
Vasco de Quiroga, member of the second Audiencia in Mexico and first bishop of Michoacán

[edit] R

Nikolay Raevsky, Russian general
Elizabeth Raleigh, wife of Sir Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh, English explorer and courtier
Raphael, Italian painter
Grigori Rasputin, Russian mystic, confidant of Tsarina Alexandra
King Rastislav of Great Moravia
John Aaron Rawlins, American general, Secretary of War
Stenka Razin, cossack leader
Wilhelm Reich, Austrian-American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst
Count Adolf Ludvig Ribbing, co-conspirator with Anckarström in the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden
Penelope Rich, Lady Rich, English noblewoman
King Richard I "Coeur de Lion" of England
King Richard II of England
King Richard III of England
Rafael del Riego, Spanish general
Louis Riel, executed Canadian rebel
Cola di Rienzo, Roman tribune
Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian poet
Arthur Rimbaud, French poet
Diego Rivera, Mexican painter
King Robert I of Scotland, "Robert the Bruce"
Robert I, Duke of Normandy
Maximilien Robespierre, French revolutionary figure
Robin Hood (legendary)
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English writer, libertine
Roderic, Visigothic King of Hispania
King Roger II of Sicily
Rogneda of Polotsk, consort of Vladimir I of Kiev
Salvator Rosa, Italian painter and poet
Roxana, wife of Alexander the Great
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II, Count Palatine of the Rhine
Paavo Ruotsalainen, Finnish farmer and lay preacher
Lillian Russell, American actress and singer
Rustichello da Pisa, Italian writer

[edit] S

Hans Sachs, German meistersinger
Oliver Sacks, British neurologist, writer
Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, French revolutionary figure
Ōtomo no Sakanoe no Iratsume, Japanese poet
Antonio Salieri, Italian-Austrian composer
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, Elizabethan minister
Sappho, ancient Greek poet
Sardanapalus, king of Assyria
Girolamo Savonarola, Florentine heretic and book-burner
Diane Sawyer, American television journalist
Sylvester von Schaumberg
Hans and Sophie Scholl, sibling co-founders of non-violent resistance movement The White Rose
Kurt Schwitters, German painter
Scipio Aemilianus, aka Scipio Africanus the Younger, Roman general, nephew and adopted son of Scipio Africanus the Elder
Scipio Africanus, aka Scipio Africanus the Elder, Roman general
King Sebastian of Portugal
Seleucus I Nicator, King of Syria, founder of the Seleucid Empire
Seneca the Younger, Roman philosopher, dramatist
Sesostris, legendary king of Egypt
Sextus Pompey, Roman general, son of Pompey the Great
William Shakespeare, English playwright
Fyodor Shaklovity, Russian diplomat
Andrey Shchelkalov, Russian administrator, official
Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet
John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, English soldier
George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, English statesman
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
George Kastrioti Skanderbeg, Albanian national hero
Bengt Skytte, Swedish official
Mark Smeaton, English courtier
Socrates, Greek philosopher
Solon, Greek philosopher
Sophonisba, Carthaginian noblewoman, daughter of Hasdrubal Gisco
Agnès Sorel, mistress of King Charles VII of France
Edmund Spenser, English poet
Arthur Stace, Australian citizen who over 35 years chalked the word "Eternity" over 500,000 times on the footpaths of Sydney
Stanisław I Leszczyński, King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Stateira, consort of Darius III of Persia
Gertrude Stein, American writer
King Stephen I of Hungary (St. Stephen)
Thaddeus Stevens, American politician
Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury
Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer
Stratonice, wife of Seleucus I Nicator, King of Syria
Johann Strauss I, Viennese waltz composer (father)
Johann Strauss II, Viennese waltz composer (son)
Giuseppina Strepponi, operatic soprano
Nikola Šubić Zrinski, Croatian general
Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent
Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Roman general and dictator
Louis Sullivan, American architect
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, English aristocrat, poet
Ivan Susanin, Russian folk hero and martyr
King Svatopluk I of Great Moravia
King Svatopluk II of Great Moravia
Syphax, king of the Libyan tribe of Masaesyli
Erzsébet Szilágyi, Hungarian noblewoman, wife of János Hunyadi

[edit] T

Horace Tabor, American businessman, politician
Alexandre-Antonin Taché, Canadian Catholic prelate
Rabindranath Tagore, Indian writer
Eugene Talmadge, Governor of Georgia
Tamerlane: see under Timur
Tancred, Prince of Galilee, Norman Crusade leader
Tannhäuser, Medieval German poet
Lucius Tarquinius, one of 3 kings of Rome
Sextus Tarquinius, son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, King of Rome
Torquato Tasso, Italian poet
John Taverner, 16th century English composer
Dame Elizabeth Taylor, British-US actress
William Tell, Swiss national hero (disputed historical authenticity)
Edward Teller, Hungarian-American physicist
Beatrice di Tenda, Italian noblewoman
Saint Teresa of Ávila, Spanish mystic and theologian
Nikola Tesla, Croatian scientist
Themistocles, Athenian general and politician
James Thomson, Scottish poet
Virgil Thomson, American composer and critic
François Auguste de Thou, French magistrate
Thusnelda, wife of Arminius
Tigranes the Great, Emperor of Armenia
Timur, aka Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid dynasty
King Tiridates I of Armenia
Emperor Titus of Rome
Tiye, mother of Pharaoh Akhenaten of Egypt
Leo Tolstoy, Russian novelist
Tomyris, Queen of the Massagetae
Titus Manlius Torquatus, Roman dictator
François Leclerc du Tremblay, "Père Joseph", the original eminence grise
Olegas Truchanas, Lithuanian-Australian wilderness photographer
Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet
Wat Tyler, English leader of peasant revolution

[edit] U

Pope Urban VIII

[edit] V

Valdemar IV of Denmark, King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375
Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor
Theo van Gogh, Dutch art dealer, brother of Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter
Publius Quinctilius Varus, Roman general
Tsar Vasily IV (Shuisky) of Russia
Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer
Johannes Vermeer, Dutch painter
Lucius Verus, see Vologases IV of Parthia
Micaela Villegas, "La Perricholi", Peruvian actress and singer
François Villon, French poet and vagabond
Francesc de Vinatea, Valencian nobleman, opposed to Alfonso IV of Aragon
Gaius Iulius Vindex, Roman general
Filippo Maria Visconti, ruler of Milan, husband of Beatrice di Tenda
Vladimir I, Grand Prince of Kiev
Vladimir III Igorevich, Prince of Putivl and Halych
Vladimir Yaroslavich, Prince Galitsky, son of Yaroslav Osmomysl, Prince of Halych
Vologases IV of Parthia, king
Voltaire, French writer

[edit] W

Konrad von Wallenrode, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
Albrecht von Wallenstein, Bohemian military commander
Walther von der Vogelweide, Medieval German poet
Princess Wanda, legendary Polish queen
Andy Warhol, American artist
Daniel Webster, American statesman
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
William the Conqueror (King William I of England)
William the Silent (William I, Prince of Orange)
Robert R. Wilson, American physicist
Władysław I the Elbow-high (aka Ladislaus I), King of Poland 1320-33
Wolfram von Eschenbach, Medieval German poet
Thomas Wolsey, English cardinal
Catherine "Kitty" (Tobin) Wright (1871–1959), American socialite, social worker, first wife of Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect
Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, aka "Joe the Plumber", American plumber, television celebrity

[edit] X

Malcolm X, African-American human rights activist
King Xerxes I "The Great" of Persia
Xiphares, son of Mithridates VI of Pontus

[edit] Y

Yaghi-Siyan, Governor of Antioch
Ōtomo no Yakamochi, Japanese poet, diplomat
Yaroslav I the Wise, Grand Prince of Kiev
Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov, Russian general
Yuri II, Grand Prince of Vladimir

[edit] Z

Emiliano Zapata, Mexican leader
Zeno, Byzantine emperor
Zenobia, Queen of the Palmyrene Empire
Zhou Enlai, Chinese political leader
Zoroaster
Venerable Zosimas of Palestine
Nikola Šubić Zrinski: see under Šubić Zrinski

[edit] Further reading


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