Category: Biography
Gregor Mendel Gregor Mendel, (1822-84). Austrian botanist, who discovered the basic principles of genetics. The son of a peasant, Mendel became a monk and lived at the Abbey of …
Herman Melville Herman Melville, (1819-91). US novelist. He joined a merchant ship as a cabin boy in 1839 and later served on a whaler and a frigate. His adventures …
Golda Meir Golda Meir, (1898-1978). Israeli politician. Born in Kiev, she travelled with her family to the US in 1906. She became an active Zionist and emigrated with her …
Medici family Medici family. Florentine mercantile family that ruled Florence for most of the period from 1434 to 1737. Giovanni (1360-1429) founded the wealth of the family and was …
Guiseppe Mazzini Guiseppe Mazzini, (1805-72). Italian political thinker and writer, committed to the unification of Italy as a republic. He joined a secret republican society, the Carbonari, but was …
James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell, (1831-79). Scottish physicist. Maxwell worked out the mathematical basis of Faraday’s theory of the relationship between electricity and magnetism. He also formulated an …
Guy de Maupassant Guy de Maupassant, (1850-93). French short-story writer and novelist. During a ten-year period as a clerk in the civil service, he was encouraged and supervised in …
Sir Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, (1915- ). English footballer with a reputation for expert dribbling. The son of a barber, he was recruited by Stoke City while still …
