Ferdinand the Catholic, most commonly known as "Ferdinand of Aragon," reigned as King of Aragon (as Ferdinand II) from 1479 to his death, as well as joint sovereign of Spain alongside wife Queen Isabella I from 1474-1504. His reign saw the unification of the Spanish kingdoms and the beginnings of Spanish imperialism.

English biographer, translator, and poet. He is best remembered for his collaboration with Alexander Pope and William Broome on a translation of the Odyssey. His other significant works include his collection Poems on Several Occasions, his Life of John Milton, and the tragedy Mariamne.

As preceptor for Louis, duc de Bourgogne, grandson of Louis XIV, Fénelon wrote Les Avantures de Télémaque, fils d'Ulysse (1699), to impart his liberal political views to his pupil. On the surface, the didactic romance narrates the voyage of Telemachus in the Odyssey as he searches for his father accompanied by the goddess Minerva, who teaches him the virtues of an enlightened monarch, while incorporating at the same time a critique on Louis XIV's ideology of monarchy by divine right.

A lieutenant in the English army who assassinated George Villiers, First Duke of Buckingham. After leading multiple failed military expeditions, thereby damaging the reputation of Charles I, Villiers was hated by the public, who rejoiced at the news of his assassination.

Important Dublin bookseller.

Born in Northern Ireland, playwright George Farquhar was best known for his comic plays including The Constant Couple (1699) and The Recruiting Officer (1706). He died at the age of 29 only days after his successful play The Beaux' Stratagem premiered. Other plays, several of which are adaptations from the work of other authors, include Love and a Bottle (1698), Sir Harry Wildair (1701), The Stage-Coach (1702), The Inconstant (1702), and The Twin-Rivals (1702).

A fictional knight appearing in three of Shakespeare's plays: King Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Sir John Falstaff is the friend of Prince Hal, the future King Henry V, and is characterized by his vanity and fatness. Falstaff spends much of his time drinking with petty criminals, and he largely lives off of stolen money. Although the character does not appear in the play, Falstaff's death at the Battle of Agincourt is mentioned in King Henry V.

Translated Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata as Godfrey of Bulloigne; or, the Recoverie of Jerusalem (1600).

A late fifteenth-century London sheriff who redacted a number of sources on events in British history into The Concordance of Chronicles. Also known as Robert Fabian.

Italian writer, author of Delle lettere familiari d'alcuni Bolognesi del nostro secolo (1744).