French magistrate and friend of literary figures including Boileau, Molière, and Voltaire.

Living from 106-43 B.C.E., Cicero was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, Academic Skeptic, writer, and orator. Cicero's writings strove to uphold republican ideals toward the end of the civil wars which would destroy the Roman Republic.

Son of the successful actor, playwright, and theatre owner Colley Cibber and husband of popular tragic actress Susannah Cibber, Theophilus Cibber was an actor, author, and playwright whose limited abilities and scandalous private life earned him a poor reputation with the public. His memories of his theatrical career provide substantial if not always accurate content for his The Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland (1753).

Second wife to Theophilus Cibber and said to be the greatest actress of eighteenth century London, Susannah Cibber was known for her ability to emotionally move her audiences by both her expressive singing voice and her acting skills. At the time of her death, Susannah Cibber was the highest-paid actress in England.

Actor, playwright, and poet laureate after 1730, Cibber was especially known for his theatrical comedies, the most notable of which include She Would and She Would Not (1702) and The Careless Husband (1704). He was also the hero of Alexander Pope's Dunciad.

English poet, pamphleteer, courtier, protégé of the Earl of Surrey, and mercenary soldier. Churchyard's most notable work is his contribution to the collection A Mirror for Magistrates.

The 2nd Duchess of Marlborough, Henrietta Churchill was the daughter of the famous general John Churchill and Sarah Jennings, a friend and business manager to Queen Anne. She became Lady Henrietta Godolphin through marriage in 1698 and subsequently Viscountess Rialton in 1706 and Countess of Godolphin in 1712. It was rumoured that Henrietta's fifth child, Mary, was the result of her affair between Henrietta and William Congreve. Upon his death in 1729, Congreve left his entire fortune to Henrietta.

A premiere English satirist and poet. His best known work, The Rosciad (1761), made him a household name.

King of Denmark and Norway from 1513 until 1523, and Sweden from 1520 until 1521. He was the last monarch of the Scandinavian Kalmar Union, losing his position as King of Sweden to Gustav Vasa.

Character in Corneille's Le Cid.