Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821

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.

Nairne, William, Sir, d. 1811 ; baptized 1731 (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography)

5th Baronet of Dunsinnan; a Scottish judge who became close enough to Samuel Johnson to accompany him during part of his Scottish travels. Nairne was celebrated as highly principled, reputedly once paying for a poor man to take Nairne's own judgment to an appellate court after realizing his original judgment had been mistaken.

Musäus, Johann Karl August, 1735-1787

Musäus's stories were translated and published as Popular Tales of the Germans (1791) by Gothic novelist William Beckford. Musäus anonymously published Physiognomische Reisen, voran ein physiognomisch Tagebuch (1778-1779), a satire of the work of Johann Kaspar Lavater, founder of the pseudo-sciences of physiognomy and animal magnetism. Anne Plumptre translated the satire as Musaeus's Physiognomical Travels, Preceded by a Physiognomical Journal (1800).

Murray, John, 1778-1843

Son of the founder of the publishing house bearing his name. This John Murray was probably the most important among early nineteenth century British publishers, bringing out work by authors that included Jane Austen, Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Walter Scott, Robert Southey, and many others. He helped establish and published the Quarterly Review and participated for a time in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine.

Murphy, Arthur, 1727-1805

A prolific and popular Irish actor, playwright, and eventually barrister, Murphy also translated classical history and modern poetry and plays, contributed to and/or edited a number of journals, and authored biographies on Henry Fielding, Samuel Johnson, and David Garrick. A few of his more notable plays include The Englishman from Paris (1756), The Orphan of China (1759), and The Way to Keep Him (1760).