Macusis
Magistrate
Makua
Malagasy
Malcolm I
Malcolm II
Malcolm III
Malcom IV
Mameluke
Manuel de Falla
Mao Tse-Tung
Maori
Marc Chagall
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Proust
Marcellin Berthelot
Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
Marcus Bloch
Marcus Cicero
Margaret
Maria Montessori
Marie Antoinette
Marie Bichat
Marie Corelli
Marie Curie
Marie Stopes
Marie Tussaud
Marino Falieri
Mark Twain
Maroon
Marranos
Marshal Henri Petain
Marsilio Ficino
Martin Luther
Martin Tupper
Martin Van Buren
Martinus Steyn
Mary Eddy
Mary Godwin
Mary Hamilton
Mary I
Mary II
Mary Shelley
Mary Slessor
Mary Stuart
Mary Tudor
Masaccio
Masai
Mathias Grunewald
Matthew Boulton
Matthew Flinders
Matthew Locke
Maurice Fitzmaurice
Maurice Ravel
Maurice Sarrail
Maurice Utrillo
Max Planck
Maxim Gorky
Meindert Hobbema
Meleager
Mende
Merchants of the Steelyard
Merlin
Meskhetian
Michael Collins
Michael Davitt
Michael Faraday
Michel de Montaigne
Michel Ney
Mihail Eminescu
Mikhail Fokine
Mikhail Glinka
Miles Coverdale
Minangkabau
Mirabeau
Miskito
Modest Moussorgsky
Modocs
Moeso-Goths
Mohammed
Mohammed Sadat
Mohawk
Mohican
Moliere
Mon
Mongol
Mongoloid
Monk
Monks
Montenegrin
Montgolfier
Montgomery
Moors
Mordvin
Moses
Mossi
Mother Shipton
Mountstuart Elphinstone
MP
Mpongwa
Muhammad
Munda
Muslim
Mutsuhito
Muzio Clementi
Naga
Nahua
Nahuatl
Naiman
Nanak
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I
Napoleon II
Napoleon III
Natchez
Navaho
Navajo
Nazi
Neanderthal
Negrito
Negroid
Neil Armstrong
Neil Kinnock
The Macusis are a South American indian tribe still found in Guyana.
A Magistrate is a "junior judge", they serve in lower courts of law and hear minor offences.
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.
A Malagasy is an inhabitant of or native to Madagascar. The Malagasy language has about 9 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.
Malcolm I was King of Scotland from 943 to 954.
Malcolm II was King of Scotland from 1005 to 1034.
Malcolm III was King of Scotland from 1057 to 1093.
Malcolm IV was King of Scotland from 1153 to 1165.
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 1811
Manuel de Falla was a Spanish composer. He was born in 1876 at Cadiz and died in 1946.
Mao Tse-Tung was a Chinese revolutionary leader. He was born in 1893 at Kunan Province. He was a founder member of the Chinese Communist party.
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.
Marc Chagall was a Russian painter. He was born in 1887 at Vitebsk.
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist. He was born in 1887 and died in 1968.
Marcel Proust was a French novelist. He was born in 1871 at Paris and died in 1922.
Marcellin Pierre Eugene Berthelot was a French chemist and politician. He was born in 1827, dying in 1907. He was the first person to produce organic compounds synthetically.
Marco Polo was a Venetian explorer. He was born in 1254 and died in 1324.
Marco Polo was a Venetian traveller. He was born in 1256, dying in 1323. He travelled through various eastern countries.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was a Roman Emperor. He was born in 121 and died in 180.
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.
Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman orator, politician and writer. He was born in 106BC and died in 43BC.
Margaret was queen of Scotland from 1286 to 1290.
Maria Montessori was an Italian educationalist. She was born in 1870 and died in 1952. She developed the Montessori system of education.
Marie Antoinette was 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.
Marie Francois Xavier Bichat was a French physiologist. He was born in 1771 and died in 1802. He studied tissue and formed the basis of modern histology.
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.
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.
Marie Carmichael Stopes was the English pioneer of birth control. She was born in 1880, dying in 1958. Her book married love was published in 1918.
Marie Tussaud was born in 1760 in Switzerland. She died in 1850. She founded the famous Tussaud's wax works in London.
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.
Mark Twain was an American writer. He was born in 1835 at Hannibal and died in 1910. He wrote "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer".
The Maroon were escaped slaves in Jamaica who were armed by the Spanish to attack the British forces on the island during the late 17th and 18th centuries. They lived mainly in the mountainous region now known as cockpit country and developed a method of cooking known as "jerking" peculiar to Jamaica.
see "Crypto-Jews"
Marshal Henri Philippe Petain was a French soldier. He was born in 1856 at Normandy and died in 1951. He headed the Vichy government which collaborated with the Germans after the fall of France during the second World War.
Marsilio Ficino was an Italian philosopher. He was born in 1433 and died in 1499. In 1482 he translated Plato.
Martin Luther was a German Protestant Reformer and translator of the bible. He was born in 1483 at Saxony and died in 1546.
Martin Tupper was an English author. He was born in 1810 and died in 1889. He wrote "Proverbial Philosophy" a collection of didactic poems of little value, which enjoyed great popularity.
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the USA. He was born in 1782 and died in 1862. He was the son of a tavern keeper, and was called to the Bar in 1813. He became a State Senator in 1812 and held the position until 1821 when he was elected to the Senate and in 1835 he was elected President.
Martinus Theunis Steyn was a South African statesman. He was born in 1857 and died in 1916. In 1896 he was elected president of the Orange Free State and on the outbreak of the Boer War sided with Transvaal against the British.
Mary Baker Eddy was the founder of the Christian Science Movement. She was born in 1821 and died in 1910.
see "Mary Shelley"
Mary Hamilton was tried in 1746 for marrying with her own sex.
Mary I was queen of Scotland from 1542 to 1567.
Mary I was Queen of England from 1553 to 1558. She was born in 1516 and died of cancer in 1558.
She was known as Bloody Mary because of the religious persecutions of her reign, and also called Mary Tudor, she was the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.
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, when the Revolution of 1688 drove her father from the throne. 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.
Mary Shelley (Mary Godwin) was the daughter of William Godwin. She was born in 1797, dying in 1851. She is remembered for writing Frankenstein.
Mary Slessor was a Britsh missionary. She was born in 1848 and died in 1915.
see "Mary II"
see "Mary I"
Masaccio was an Italian painter. He was born in 1401 and died in 1428.
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 zebu cattle, but some have adopted a more settled life. They speak a Nilotic language belonging to the Nilo-Saharan family.
Mathias Grunewald was a German religious painter. He was born in 1480 and died in 1530.
Matthew Boulton was an English mechanical engineer. He was born in 1728 at Birmingham and died in 1809. In 1769 he formed a partnership with James Watt.
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.
Matthew Locke was an English composer. He was born in 1630 at Exeter and died in 1677.
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.
Maurice Ravel was a French composer. He was born in 1875 at Cibourne and died in 1937.
Maurice Sarrail was a French General. He Was born in 1856 at Carcassonne. He commanded the French 3rd army in 1914 during the Great War and was responsible for the defence of the Verdun region. In 1925 he became High Commissioner of Syria.
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.
Max planck was a German scientist. He was born at Kiel in 1858, dying in 1947. He won the nobel prize for physics in 1918.
Maxim Gorky was a Russian writer. He was born in 1868 and died in 1936.
Meindert Hobbema was a Dutch artist. He was born in 1638 and died in 1709. He is remembered for his landscapes.
Meleager was an ancient Greek poet who wrote epigrams.
The Mende are a west African people living in the rainforests of central east Sierra Leone and west
Liberia. They number approximately 1 million. The Mende are farmers as well as hunter-
gatherers, and each of their villages is led by a chief and a group of elders. The Mende
language belongs to the Niger-Congo family.
The Merchants of the Steelyard were a league of German merchants established in London in the 13th century. Their headquarters, the Steelyard, stood near London Bridge. They were expelled in 1578.
Merlin was a magician who aided Arthur.
The Meskhetian are a community of Turkish descent that formerly inhabited Meskhetia, on the then
Turkish-Soviet border.
Michael Collins was an Irish politician. He was born in 1890 and died in 1922 when he was ambushed and shot. He took part in the Easter rising in Dublin of 1916 and was elected Sinn Fein member for Cork in 1918.
Michael Davitt was an Irish Nationalist. He was born in 1846 in County Mayo and died in 1906. he joined the Fenians and was sentanced to 15 years penal servitude in 1865 on a charge of importing arms into Ireland. On his release in 1879 he returned to Ireland and with Parnell started the Land League, an anti-landlord organisation.
Michael Faraday was a British chemist. He was born in 1791. He died in 1867. He discovered electrical currents and invented the dynamo. The farad is named after him.
Michel de Montaigne was a French essayist. He was born in 1533 at Bordeaux and died in 1592.
Michel Ney was a French general. He was born in 1769 and died in 1815. He served under Napoleon at Jena, Borodino and Waterloo.
Mihail Eminescu was a Romanian poet. He was born in 1849 and died in 1889. He studied philosophy, started life as a teacher and was then appointed to the University Library at Jassy. He later became the editor of Timpul, a Romanian Conservative paper. In 1883 he developed signs of aleged madness and was killed by a fellow inmate in an institution in 1889.
Mikhail Fokine was a Russian dancer. He was born at St Petersburg in 1880. He died in 1942. He is famous for his work with ballet.
Mikhail Glinka was a Russian composer. He was born in 1803 at Smolensk and died in 1857.
Miles Coverdale was an English bishop. He was born in 1488 at Yorkshire, dying in 1568. He translated the bible in 1535.
Minangkabau are an Indonesian people of west Sumatra. In addition to approximately 3 million Minangkabau in west Sumatra, there are sizeable communities in the major Indonesian cities. The Minangkabau language belongs to the Austronesian family.
Mirabeau was a French orator. He was born in 1749 and died in 1791.
The Miskito are an American Indian people of Central America, living mainly in the area that is
now Nicaragua.
Modest Petrovich Moussorgsky was a Russian composer. He was born in 1835 at St. Petersburg and died in 1881.
The Modocs are an American Indian tribe. They lived on the south shore of Klamath Lake in California.
The Moeso-Goths were a tribe of Goths who settled in Moesia on the Lower Danube and devoted themselves to architecture under the protection of the Roman emperors.
Mohammed (Mahomet, Mehmet, Muhammad) was the founder of the religion of Islam. He was born in 570 at Mecca and died in 632.
Mohammed Anwar el Sadat was presidant of Egypt. He was born in 1919, dying in 1981 when he was assassinated.
The Mohawk are a North American Indian people, part of the Iroquois confederation, who lived in
the Mohawk Valley, New York, and now live on reservations in Ontario, Quebec, and New
York State, as well as among the general population. Their language belongs to the Macro-
Siouan group.
The Mohican are a North American Indian people, speaking an Algonquian language, who
formerly occupied the Hudson Valley.
Jean Baptiste Poquelin (Moliere) was a French dramatist. He was born in 1622 and died in 1673.
The Mon are a minority ethnic group living in the Irrawaddy delta region of lower Myanmar
(Burma) and Thailand. The Mon language belongs to the Mon-Khmer branch of the Austro-Asiatic family. They are
Buddhists, but also retain older animist beliefs.
Mongols are any of the various Mongol (or Mongolian) ethnic groups of Central Asia. Mongols
live in Mongolia, Russia, Inner Mongolia (China), Tibet, and Nepal. The Mongol language
belongs to the Altaic family; some groups of Mongol descent speak languages in the Sino-
Tibetan family, however.
The Mongols are primarily pastoral nomads, herding sheep, horses, cattle, and camels.
Traditionally the Mongols moved with their animals in summer to the higher pastures,
returning in winter to the lower steppes.
Mongoloid refers to one of the three major races of humans,
including the indigenous peoples of Asia, the Indians of the Americas, Polynesians, and the
Eskimos and Aleuts. General physical traits include dark eyes with epicanthic folds; straight
to wavy dark hair; little beard or body hair; fair to tawny skin; low to medium-bridged noses;
thin to medium lips.
A Monk is a man who retires from the world to live in a monastery as a member of some religious order. Originally all monks were laymen, but after the 8th century the seniors and by degrees the other member were admitted to holy orders.
see "Monk"
The Montenegrin are Slavic inhabitants of Montenegro whose culture has much in common with the
Serbs.
The Montgolfier brothers made a hot air balloon, in which Jean francois pilatre de rozier and the marquis d'ariandes made the world's first aerial voyage over paris on november the 21st 1783.
Montgomery was a British soldier. He was born in 1887 at County Donegal in Ireland. He entered the army in 1908 and served in the Great War. In 1939 he was Divisional Commander. He took part in the evacuation of Dunkirk and in 1942 took over command of the Eight Army in North Africa. In 1944 he led the 21st Army Group in Normandy to the Rhine.
The Moors were dark skinned people of North Africa who under the influence of Islam conquered an empire stretching from the Pamirs to the Pyrenees in the 9th century. Their occupation of Spain lasted from 711 until 1492.
The Mordvin are a Finnish people inhabiting the middle Volga Valley in west Asia. They are known to have lived in
the region since the 1st century. There are 1 million speakers of Mordvin scattered
throughout west Russia, about one-third of whom live in the Mordvinian republic. Mordvin is a
Finno-Ugric language belonging to the Uralic family.
Moses was the founder and legislator of the Israelite nation. He delivered his people from Egypt.
The Mossi are the majority ethnic group living in Burkina Faso. Their social structure, based on a
monarchy and aristocracy, was established in the 11th century. The Mossi have been
prominent traders, using cowrie shells as currency. There are about 4 million speakers of
Mossi, a language belonging to the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo family.
Mother Shipton was an English prophetess. She was born around 1487 Ursula Southill and lived in Knaresborough, Yorkshire. She was popularly believed to have occult powers and to have foretold the Great Fire of London.
Mountstuart Elphinstone was an English statesman and historian. He was born in 1779 and died in 1859. In the service of the East India Company he helped to spread Britain's influence in India, serving as aide-de-camp to Wellesley and in 1803 being sent as Envoy to Kabul. In 1841 he wrote a History of India.
MP is an abbreviation for member of parliament. An MP is a politician.
The Mpongwa are a native tribe of the Gabon.
see "Mohammed"
The Munda are any one of several groups living in north east and central India, numbering about 5
million (1983). Their most widely spoken languages are Santali and Mundari, languages of
the Munda group, an isolated branch of the Austro-Asiatic family. The Mundas were formerly
nomadic hunter-gatherers, but now practise shifting cultivation. They are Hindus, but retain
animist beliefs.
A Muslim is someone who professes the religion of Islam.
Mutsuhito was Emperor of Japan from 1867 until 1912. He was born in 1852 and died in 1912. He abolished the feudal system and modernised Japan with state schools, conscription and the Western calendar. Under his rule Japan became a world naval and military power. In 1889 he introduced a constitution.
Muzio Clementi was an Italian composer. He was born in 1752 and died in 1832. He is best known for his Gradus ad Parnassum pianoforte studies. He was a brilliant pianist, competing with Mozart in a contest at Vienna in 1781. After a brilliant career as a concert pianist he established in London the music-publishing and pianoforte manufacturing business which became Collard & Collard.
The Naga are the various peoples who inhabit the highland region near the
Indian/Myanmar (Burma) border; they number approximately 800,000. These peoples do not
possess a common name; some of the main groups are Ao, Konyak, Sangtam, Lhota, Sema,
Rengma, Chang, and Angami. They live by farming, hunting, and fishing. Their languages
belong to the Sino-Tibetan family.
The nahua are an indigenous people of Mexico.
The Nahuatl are a group of Mesoamerican Indian peoples, of
which the best-known group were the Aztecs. The Nahuatl are the largest ethnic group in
Mexico, and their languages, which belong to the Uto-Aztecan (Aztec-Tanoan) family, are
spoken by over a million people today.
The Naiman are a tribe of the Uzbeg people.
Nanak was an Indian guru who formed the religion of Sikhism. He was born in 1469 and died in 1539.
Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I) was emperor of France. He was born in 1769 and died in 1821. In 1799 he overthrew the Directory and appointed himself dictator. He became emperor in 1804 and reigned until 1815. From 1803 he conquered most of Europe. He was finally overthrown following his defeat at Waterloo at the hands of Wellington's army and was exiled on the Island of St Helena.
see "Napoleon Bonaparte"
Napoleon II was the titular king of Rome. He was born in 1811 and died in 1832.
Napoleon III was President of France from 1848 - 1852 and Emperor of France from 1852 - 1870. He was born in 1808 and died in 1873.
The Natchez are an American Indian tribe of the Mississippi area. They were almost wiped out by the French in 1731. Today a few survive in Oklahoma.
The Navaho are a peaceable agricultural North American Indian people related to the Apache;
population about 200,000. Like the Apache, they speak a Southern Athabaskan language.
The Navajo are an American Indian tribe.
The nazis were a German fascist political party led by Hitler.
The Naenderthal were early human beings of the Palaeolithic period. The first Neanderthal skeleton was found in the Rhineland in 1857. They became extinct in 30,000 BC.
The Negrito are several groups living on various islands in south east Asia. The Negritos are long-
established inhabitants of the region. They include the cave-dwelling Vedda of Sri Lanka, the
Andamanese of the Andaman Islands, and the Semang of Malaysia.
Negroid refers to one of the three major races of humans,
mainly the indigenous peoples of Subsaharan Africa and some of the nearby islands in the
Indian Ocean and the west Pacific. General physical traits include dark eyes, tightly curled dark
hair, brown to very dark skin, little beard or body hair, low to medium-bridged wide noses, and
wide or everted lips.
Neil Armstrong was the first man to step onto the moon in 1969.
Neil Gordon Kinnock is a British MP. He was born in 1942 in Wales. He was secretary of state for employment between 1974 and 1975.