British Prime Minister from 1770 to 1782 whose insufficient leadership contributed to the loss of the American colonies in the American Revolution.

Constantine Henry Phipps, the first marquess of Normanby, began his career as a reform-leaning Member of Parliament. In 1820 he left for Italy, where he wrote the stories that made up the three volumes of The English in Italy (1825). Subsequent works included a collection of essays and tales entitled The English in France (1828) and four novels, Matilda (1825), Yes and No (1828), Clorinda (1829), and The Contrast (1832). Normanby served in various administrative and diplomatic capacities at locations such as Jamaica, Ireland, and France.

Profoundly influential mathematician and natural scientist. His writings were voluminous, with his most important publications being Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687), which included his formulation of the law of universal gravitation, Opticks: or, A Treatise of the Reflexions, Refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light (1704), and Arithmetica Universalis (1707).

Playwright, philosopher, memoirist, and fiction writer, Margaret Cavendish is probably best remembered for her CCXI Sociable Letters (1664). She first published Poems, and Fancies in 1653, subsequently revising and republishing it several times. In addition to the poems, it is notable for its preface, which overtly intervenes to negotiate the publishing of her own work, an unconventional step for a woman of her class and time.

Elder statesman and eventually King of Pylos in Homer's Illiad and Odyssey. Wise but often long-winded and rather boastful, his portrayal includes an undercurrent of humor.

In Greek myth, the personification of anger.

Director General of Finance under Louis XVI, Necker had much of the responsibility for the late eighteenth-century French financial crisis that precipitated the events leading to the French revolution. He was father to Germaine de Staël.

Elizabethan pamphleteer, poet, playwright, and author of the first English picaresque novel, The Unfortunate Traveller; or, The Life of Jacke Wilton, a collaboration with Marlowe. Nashe's collaboration with Ben Jonson on their satirical play, The Isle of Dogs, resulted in the prosecution of both men.

Author of various selections and editions of drama, poetry, opera, and prose, including Scelta di Lettere familiari, degli Autori pieù Celebri (1800).

Born in Corsica, Napoleon Bonaparte began his career in the French army, rising to the rank of General for his success during the wars following the French Revolution. In 1799 he brought about a coup d'etat, assuming the title of First Consul of the French Republic. In 1804 he was crowned Emperor of France, leading the French to military conquest over most of Europe. He reigned as Emperor until April 1814, when he was forced by the allied European armies to abdicate.