Italian philosopher, poet, and rhetorician. Among other works, he published Congiura del conte Fieschi in 1629 and Arte istorica in 1636.

Forced to flee to England after being deposed from rule over a fractious Scotland, the great niece of Henry VIII of England and mother of James I of England was beheaded as a threat to the throne of her distant cousin, Elizabeth I.

Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning alongside husband William III. Mary legitimated her husband's rule as the daughter of King James II. Mary sided with her husband in the overthrow of her catholic father's rule, as she wished for more protestant policies.

Known as Mary Tudor or "Bloody Mary," Mary I was the first queen to rule England in her own right. Mary I was termed "Bloody Mary" for her persecution of Protestants in a failed attempt to restore Roman Catholocism to England following her father, Henry VIII's, initiation of the English Reformation.

Novelist, social theorist, and literary critic. Martineau was born to a Unitarian textile manufacturing family of Huguenot ancestry. From her early childhood, Martineau experienced health problems that included partial deafness that increased in severity as she aged. In 1829, upon the failure of her family's textile business, Martineau turned to her writing to support herself and her family. Martineau remained unmarried throughout her life and was one of few female writers of her time able to earn enough to support herself.

Author of A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland (1703).

A British customs official, Martin (or Martyn) is described by Richard Steele as a chief contributor to the Spectator.

English dramatist, poet, and satirist, largely writing plays to be performed by children's companies, organized groups of exclusively boy actors.

Author and literary theorist Jean François Marmontel's philosophical novel Bélisaire (1765) caused an uproar amongst the religious establishment for its advocacy of religious tolerance. Les Incas, ou la destruction de l'empire du Pérou (1777) denounces the fanaticism of the conquistadors. He also authored Contes Moreaux (1755-65). His Éléments de littérature collects his essays on literary theory (1787). His Mémoires were published 1792-4.

Playwright, poet, translator, and alleged spy, the volatile Christopher Marlowe was a significant influence on the work of Shakespeare. Marlowe's major plays include The Tragedie of Dido, Queene of Carthage (in collaboration with Thomas Nashe, 1594); Tamburlaine (1590); Edward II (1594); Dr. Faustus (1604); and The Jew of Malta (1633); He was stabbed to death in a tavern argument for reasons that remain unclear to this day.