List of historical opera characters

Historical accuracy in such works has often been subject to the imperatives of dramatic presentation.

Consequently, in many cases: For the purposes of this list, Biblical characters are generally taken to be fictional, unless there is clear evidence of their historicity.

Abdisho IV Maron, Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church Peter Abelard, French priest, scholar, theologian John Quincy Adams, American President Adelaide of Aquitaine, queen consort of France by marriage to Hugh Capet Gabriele Adorno, fifth Doge of Genoa Flavius Aetius, Roman general Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, German alchemist, writer Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Roman statesman and general Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, Roman consul (32 BC) Pharaoh Akhenaten of Egypt 3rd Duke of Alba, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands Albert of Mainz, Elector and Archbishop of Mainz Buzz Aldrin, American astronaut Alexander the Great, King of Macedon (He appears in about 70 other operas set to the same text by Metastasio as used by Pacini, including one by Leonardo Vinci.)

Emperor Alexander Severus of Rome Tsar Alexander I of Russia Brigadier General Edward Porter Alexander, American military commander Tsarina Alexandra of Russia, consort of Tsar Nicholas II Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia, son of Peter the Great Saint Alexius of Rome Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, husband of Lucrezia Borgia Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara King Alfonso XI of Castile King Alfred the Great, legendary Anglo-Saxon king Dante Alighieri: see Dante Almanzor (Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir), de facto ruler of al-Andalus Pedro de Alvarado, Spanish conquistador Amalasuntha, Queen of the Ostrogoths Anacreon, Greek lyric poet Jacob Johan Anckarström, Swedish military officer, assassin of Gustav III Tommaso Aniello: see Masaniello Anne of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Rome and Bavaria Queen Anne of Great Britain Queen Anne (Boleyn), second consort of Henry VIII of England Queen Anne (Neville), consort of Richard III of England Saint Anthony the Great Susan B. Anthony, American women's rights activist Antiochus I Soter, King of the Seleucid Empire Rodrigo Ponce de León, 4th Duke of Arcos, Spanish grandee, Viceroy of Naples Alice Arden, English murderer, and her husband/victim: Thomas Arden, English Mayor Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, British socialite and sexual celebrity Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt, Finnish-Swedish diplomat, possible lover of Gustav III of Sweden Arminius, Germanic chieftain Edwin H. Armstrong, American radio pioneer, inventor of FM radio transmission Artabanus of Persia, political figure King Artaxerxes I of Persia (He appears in over 40 other operas set to the same text from Metastasio's libretto Artaserse) King Arthur, legendary king of Britain Chester A. Arthur, American President Ulrica Arfvidsson, Swedish fortune-teller Emanuele d'Astorga, Italian composer Atahualpa, Inca sovereign emperor Attila the Hun Atys, son of King Croesus of Lydia Caesar Augustus, Roman Emperor Aurelian, Emperor of Rome Pharaoh Ay of Egypt Francis Bacon, Irish painter Cardinal Maffeo Barberini: see Pope Urban VIII Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian prince and general Brigitte Bardot, French actress Pyotr Fyodorovich Basmanov, Russian boyar Daisy Bates, Irish-Australian indigenous welfare worker and anthropologist Bayezid I "The Thunderbolt", Ottoman Sultan Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury Belisarius, Byzantine general Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general Belshazzar, Prince of Babylon Olga Benário Prestes, German-Brazilian communist militant Levin August, Count von Bennigsen, German general Queen Berenice III of Egypt Boris Berezovsky, Russian business oligarch Louis-Alexandre Berthier, Marshal of France Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States Otto von Bismarck, first Chancellor of Germany Harman Blennerhassett, Irish-American lawyer Blondel de Nesle, French troubador Boabdil: see Muhammad XII of Granada Francisco de Bobadilla, Spanish colonial administrator Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian writer, poet Simone Boccanegra, first Doge of Genoa George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford, brother of Anne Boleyn Simón Bolívar, South American revolutionary Caroline Bonaparte, Queen Consort of Naples and Sicily, sister of Napoleon Pauline Bonaparte, Princess of France, sister of Napoleon John Wilkes Booth, American presidential assassin Lizzie Borden, American celebrity and possible axe-murderer Jorge Luis Borges, Argentinian writer Saint Francis Borgia, 4th Duke of Gandía, Spanish Superior-General of the Jesuits Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI Saint Charles Borromeo, Italian cardinal Đurađ Branković, Serbian despot Prince Braslav, Duke of Lower Pannonia Ed Broadbent, Canadian politician Gian Francesco Brogni, Italian cardinal John Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton, British memoirist and politician John Brown, Sergeant of the Second Battalion, Boston Light Infantry Volunteer Militia Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Flemish painter Antonín Brus of Mohelnice, Archbishop of Prague Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger, Roman politician, co-assassin of Julius Caesar William Jennings Bryan, American Secretary of State, presidential candidate Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (1st creation) George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (2nd creation), English poet, statesman Gautama Buddha Johannes Bureus, Swedish scholar William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, English statesman, adviser to Elizabeth I Aaron Burr, third Vice President of the United States Anne Isabella Byron, Baroness Byron, wife of Lord Byron Lord Byron, English poet Cacamatzin, Aztec king Alessandro Cagliostro (Giuseppe Balsamo), Italian adventurer and imposter Maria Callas, American-Greek opera singer Luís de Camões, Portuguese poet Kim Campbell, Prime Minister of Canada Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, British socialite Lorenzo Campeggio, Cardinal Protector of England Canek, Aztec High Priest Wolfgang Capito, German religious reformer Gerolamo Cardano, Italian mathematician and physician Carlos, Prince of Asturias, son of Philip II of Spain Julian Carlton, American murderer of Mamah Cheney, mistress of Frank Lloyd Wright Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and libertine Servilius Casca, co-assassin of Julius Caesar Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman politician, co-assassin of Julius Caesar Fidel Castro, Cuban leader Inês de Castro, lover and lawful wife of King Peter I of Portugal Sir William Catesby Empress Catherine I of Russia Empress Catherine II "The Great" of Russia Queen Catherine (of Aragon), first wife of Henry VIII of England Queen Catherine (Parr), sixth and last wife of Henry VIII Pierre Cauchon, French bishop Armand Augustin Louis de Caulaincourt, French general Guido Cavalcanti, Florentine poet Arthur Cecil, English actor, theatre manager Cecily Neville, Duchess of York Benvenuto Cellini, Italian sculptor, goldsmith, artisan Beatrice Cenci, Italian noblewoman, protagonist of a famous murder trial Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer Lindy Chamberlain and Michael Chamberlain, Australian parents wrongly convicted of the murder of their daughter Azaria Charles Chaplin, British actor Charlemagne, King of the Franks King Charles II of England King Charles II of Spain Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor King Charles VI of France King Charles VII of France King Charles XI of Sweden Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy Charles Martel, Duke and Prince of the Franks Charmian, servant to Cleopatra Thomas Chatterton, English poet and forger Geoffrey Chaucer, English author, poet, philosopher, courtier and diplomat Danny Chen, American army private who committed suicide in Afghanistan Edwin Cheney, American electrical engineer Mamah Cheney, wife of Edwin Cheney, murdered mistress of Frank Lloyd Wright André Chénier, French journalist Sir Richard Cholmondeley, Lieutenant of the Tower of London Frédéric Chopin, Polish-French composer Chou En-lai: see Zhou Enlai Jean Chrétien, Canadian Prime Minister Christina, Queen of Sweden Saint Christopher, revered but legendary saint Tillius Cimber, co-assassin of Julius Caesar Helvius Cinna, Roman poet Lucius Cornelius Cinna, Roman consul Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, Marquis of Cinq-Mars, French royal favourite of Louis XIII George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence Emperor Claudius of Rome Cleitus the Black, Macedonian soldier Pope Clement VII Cleopatra VII, Pharaoh of Egypt Henry Clifford, 10th Baron de Clifford, English military commander Bill Clinton, US President Hillary Clinton, American First Lady, Senator, Secretary of State Olivier de Clisson, Breton soldier Cloelia, early Roman figure, possibly legendary Robert Coates, Canadian politician Howell Cobb, American political figure Walter Cocking, dean at the University of Georgia, the focus of the "Cocking affair" Horatius Cocles, Roman military officer Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, Roman consul, husband of Lucretia Stefano Colonna (1265–1348), Roman political figure Christopher Columbus, Genoese explorer of the New World Anthony Comstock, American morals campaigner Emperor Constantine I "The Great" of Rome John Connally, Governor of Texas Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish scientist Charlotte Corday, French Girondin revolutionary Saint Corentin of Quimper, Breton patron saint of seafood Gaius Marcius Coriolanus, legendary Roman leader Catherine Cornaro, consort of James II of Cyprus Giorgio Cornaro, Italian nobleman, father of Catherine Cornaro Jeronimus Cornelisz, Dutch apothecary and merchant Hernán Cortés, Spanish conquistador Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury Marcus Licinius Crassus, Roman general and politician Flavius Julius Crispus, Caesar of the Roman Empire Croesus, King of Lydia Oliver Cromwell, English Puritan leader Cuauhtémoc, Aztec king Sir Henry Cuffe, English politician Cyrano de Bergerac, French dramatist and duellist Cyrus the Great, King of Persia Salvador Dalí, Spanish painter Dalibor of Kozojed, Czech knight Dante Alighieri, Italian poet Georges Danton, French revolutionary figure Jacques d'Arc, French farmer, father of Joan of Arc King Darius III of Persia Sir William Davenant, English poet and playwright Louis-Nicolas Davout, Marshal of France John Dee, British alchemist, astrologer, royal adviser Gotse Delchev, Macedonian revolutionary figure Marion Delorme, French courtesan Camille Desmoulins, French revolutionary journalist, politician Bernal Díaz del Castillo, Spanish conquistador Jimena Díaz, wife of El Cid, ruler of Valencia Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, "El Cid" Georgi Dimitrov, Bulgarian Communist leader Emperor Diocletian of Rome Tsar Dmitri Ioannovich of Russia, the so-called "False Dmitriy I" Dmitry Donskoy, Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Vladimir Dobrynya Nikitich, legendary Kievan bogatyr Publius Cornelius Dolabella, Roman general Saint Dominic, Domingo de Guzman, founder of the Dominicans Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, English writer, lover of Oscar Wilde James Douglas, Lord of Douglas, Scots soldier, known as the "Black Douglas" Frederick Douglass, African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman György Dózsa, Hungarian leader of peasant revolt Sir Francis Drake, English adventurer, pirate, politician John Dryden, English poet King Duncan I of Scotland Ana de Mendoza, Princess of Éboli, Spanish aristocrat Nelson Eddy, American tenor, actor King Edward II of England King Edward III of England King Edward IV of England King Edward V of England (as Prince Edward) King Edward VI of England Adolf Eichmann, German Nazi SS Head Albert Einstein, German-American scientist Emperor Elagabalus of Rome (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus) Eleanor of Austria, Queen Consort of Portugal and France Eleanor of Guzman, mistress of King Alfonso XI of Castile and mother of Henry II Elisabeth, Queen of Bohemia Elisabeth Farnese, Queen Consort to Philip V of Spain Elisabeth of Valois, daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici, wife of Philip II of Spain Elisiv of Kiev Queen Elizabeth I of Castile: see Queen Isabella I of Castile Queen Elizabeth I of England (see also Category:Operas about Elizabeth I) Queen Elizabeth (Woodville), consort of King Edward IV of England Fanny Elssler, Austrian ballerina Ninon de l'Enclos, French courtesan Enzio of Sardinia, king of Sardinia Louise d'Épinay, French diarist, memoirist Erasistratus, Greek anatomist, physician King Eric V of Denmark José de Espronceda, Spanish poet Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, Elizabethan courtier and royal favourite Frances, Countess of Essex, English noblewoman Eufrosinia, daughter of Yaroslav Osmomysl, Prince of Halych Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice Farinelli, Italian castrato singer Philo Farnsworth, American television pioneer Fausta Flavia Maxima, Empress of Rome, second wife of Constantine the Great Charles Simon Favart, French dramatist Marie Favart, French opera singer, actress Dianne Feinstein, American politician Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor King Ferdinand I of León and Castile Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor King Ferdinand II of Aragon (and Ferdinand V of Castile) King Ferdinand VI of Spain Roger de Flor, German-born soldier serving Aragon kings Errol Flynn, Australian-American film actor James Forrestal, US Secretary of Defense Francesco Foscari, Doge of Venice Joseph Fouché, Duke of Otranto Francesca da Rimini, contemporary and literary subject of Dante Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscans King Francis I of France Anne Frank, Dutch diarist Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria John Allen Fraser, Canadian politician Fredegund, Merovingian Queen Consort Frederick I "Barbarossa", Holy Roman Emperor King Frederick II "The Great" of Prussia Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg Friedrich Friesen, German gymnast and soldier Jean Froissart, French chronicler Fruela I of Asturias, Fruela(or Froila) the Cruel, King of Asturias from 757 until his assassination in 768 Georg von Frundsberg, South German knight Tsar Fyodor II of Russia, son of Boris Godunov Galileo Galilei, Italian scientist Vasily Vasilyevich Galitzine, Russian statesman Galla Placidia, Roman regent, daughter of Emperor Theodosius I Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer Count Peter Gamba, associate of Lord Byron Mahatma Gandhi, Indian freedom advocate Garcilaso de la Vega, Spanish poet and soldier Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian freedom fighter Margaret "Peggy" Garner, American slave who killed her own daughter rather than allow the child to be returned to slavery Antoni Gaudí, Catalan architect Paul Gauguin, French painter Artemisia Gentileschi, Florentine painter King George III of the United Kingdom Priscilla German Reed, English singer and actress Thomas German Reed, English composer and theatre manager Carlo Gesualdo, Italian composer and murderer Allen Ginsberg, Americangn poet Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American jurist Lisa del Giocondo, Italian woman, subject of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa Salvatore Giuliano, Sicilian peasant Godfrey of Bouillon, Frankish knight, leader of the First Crusade Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia Xenia Borisovna Godunova, daughter of Boris Godunov Sir Eugene Goossens, English conductor and composer Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, English harpsichordist St Maria Goretti, 20th century Catholic martyr Sidney Gottlieb, Francisco Goya, Spanish painter Princess Grace of Monaco, American-born actress (as Grace Kelly) Antonio Gramsci, Italian political theorist Urbain Grandier, French priest Julia Dent Grant, American First Lady Ulysses S. Grant, American President Thomas Gray, English poet Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer Nina Grieg, Norwegian singer, cousin and wife of Edvard Grieg Gen Leslie Groves, American military officer Matthias Grünewald, German renaissance painter Teresa, Contessa Guiccioli, Italian mistress of Lord Byron Guinevere, wife of King Arthur of Britain Francis, Duke of Guise, French nobleman Günther von Schwarzburg, German king Saint Guntram, King of Burgundy King Gustav I of Sweden King Gustav III of Sweden Nell Gwyn, English actress, mistress of King Charles II Hadrian, Roman emperor Emma, Lady Hamilton, English mistress of Horatio, Lord Nelson Sir William Hamilton, British diplomat, husband of Emma, Lady Hamilton Hannibal, Carthaginian ruler King Harald Hardrada (Harald III of Norway) Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, British sea captain, commander of HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar Harold Godwinson (Harold II), Anglo-Saxon King of England Frank Harris, Irish-American journalist, publisher Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid Caliph Hasdrubal Gisco, Carthaginian general William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings Richard Hauptmann, American convicted murderer Harry Hawk, American actor Wiebbe Hayes, Dutch soldier Heloïse, French nun associated with Peter Abelard Sally Hemings, American mixed-race slave owned by Thomas Jefferson Henri, Prince of Condé, French noble Henrietta Maria of France, queen consort of Charles I of England Henry I, Duke of Guise King Henry II of England King Henry III of Castile King Henry III of France also as Henri de Valois, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania King Henry IV of France King Henry V of England King Henry VII of England (as Henry, Duke of Richmond) King Henry VIII of England Henry the Fowler, Duke of Saxony, King of the Germans Henry the Lion, German prince (Henry III of Saxony, Henry XII of Bavaria) Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles, French revolutionary politician Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia E. T. A. Hoffmann, German author Fanny Holland, English singer and actress Clasina Maria "Sien" Hoornik (1850–1904), Dutch alcoholic prostitute, sometime lover of Vincent van Gogh Pharaoh Horemheb of Egypt Count Claes Fredrik Horn, co-conspirator with Anckarström in the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden Harry Houdini, Hungarian-American escapologist Hugh Capet, King of the Franks from 987 to 996, the founder and first king from the House of Capet Ladislaus Hunyadi, Hungarian statesman Stig Andersen Hvide, Danish marshal, later an outlaw Queen Hypsicratea of Pontus, consort of Mithradates VI Muhammad al-Idrisi, Andalusian cartographer, traveller Gwen Ifill, American television journalist Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish knight, founder of the Society of Jesus Igor Svyatoslavich, Prince of Putivl, Novgorod-Seversk and Chernigov Jaakko Ilkka, Finnish peasant leader Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden John Ireland, Dean of Westminster Isabeau of Bavaria, Queen Consort of Charles VI of France Isabel Moctezuma (Teutile), daughter of Moctezuma II Queen Isabella I of Castile Isabella of France, Queen Consort of Edward II of England and mother of Edward III Isabella of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress, Queen Consort of Aragon and Castile Tsar Ivan IV of Russia, "Ivan the Terrible" Izumi Shikibu, Japanese poet Jack the Ripper, unidentified murderer of English prostitutes King James II of Cyprus "James the Bastard of Lusignan" King James V of Scotland Lady Jane Grey, disputed Queen of England Queen Jane (Seymour), third consort of Henry VIII of England Thomas Jefferson, American President Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia Jesus of Nazareth and his apostles Jiang Qing Chinese figure, 4th wife of Mao Zedong St Joan of Arc, French saint (see also Category:Operas about Joan of Arc) Joan I of Naples, Queen of Naples Joanna of Castile, Queen of Castile and Aragon Juana I de Castilla, Queen of Castile and Aragon Patriarch Job of Moscow, Russian Orthodox prelate John, Prince of Asturias, Spanish prince, son of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile King John of England Don John of Austria, Bavarian soldier in Spanish service, son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor John of Leiden, Dutch Anabaptist leader Andrew Johnson, American President Lyndon B. Johnson, American President Ben Jonson, English poet Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Joséphine de Beauharnais, Consort of Napoleon I Julia Caesaris, daughter of Julius Caesar, 4th wife of Pompey the Great Julius Caesar, Consul and Dictator of Rome Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter Christoph Kaufmann (or Kauffman), associate of Jakob Lenz Sir Edward Kelley, English occultist Grace Kelly: see Princess Grace of Monaco Ned Kelly, Australian outlaw and folk hero John F. Kennedy, American President Rosemary Kennedy, member of the Kennedy family Johannes Kepler, German astronomer, mathematician Ivan Andreyevich Khovansky, "Tararui" (chatterbox), Russian boyar Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet leader Edgar Ray Killen, KKK leader, murderer Larry King, American talk-show host Martin Luther King Jr. Henry Kissinger, American Secretary of State Aleksis Kivi, Finnish writer Leon Klinghoffer, American ship passenger murdered by terrorists Vasily Kochubey, Cossack hetman, associate of Ivan Mazepa Konchak, Polovtsian khan Konchakovna, his daughter Theodor Körner, German poet and soldier Maria Korp, Australian murder victim Tadeusz Kościuszko, Polish revolutionary hero Anne Kronenberg, American political administrator Kublai Khan, Grand Khan of the Mongol Empire Mikhail Kutuzov, Russian field marshal Ladislaus I of Poland: see Władysław I the Elbow-high Ladislaus the Posthumous, Duke of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia Lady Caroline Lamb, lover of Lord Byron Anne Françoise Elisabeth Lange, French actress, known as "Mademoiselle Lange" Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress Eleanor Agnes Lee, daughter of Robert E. Lee Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of Robert E. Lee General Robert E. Lee François Joseph Lefebvre, Marshal of France, Duke of Danzig Guillaume Le Gentil, French astronomer Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, English courtier, favourite of Elizabeth I Augusta Leigh, half-sister and incestuous lover of Lord Byron Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz, German writer Pope St Leo I "The Great" Brother Leo, friend and confidant of Francis of Assisi Leonidas of Epirus (i) Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Roman triumvir (ii) Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, heir to Roman emperor Caligula Leszek I the White, High Duke of Poland 1194-1227 Ada Leverson, British novelist Li Bai or Li Po, Chinese poet Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii Abraham Lincoln, American President Mary Todd Lincoln, American First Lady Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American writer and aviator Charles Lindbergh, American pioneer aviator Alexander Litvinenko, murdered Russian-British security operative Judah Loew ben Bezalel, Bohemian Talmudic scholar King Louis V of France King Louis VI of France King Louis XII of France King Louis XIII of France King Louis XIV of France King Louis XV of France King Louis XVI of France Francis Lovell, 1st Viscount Lovell Lucan, Roman poet Lucretia, Roman noblewoman raped by Sextus Tarquinius (legendary) Andrey Lugovoy, Russian businessman, politician Martin Luther, initiator of the Protestant Reformation Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow, Prussian general Douglas MacArthur, American general Jeanette MacDonald, American soprano, actress Sir John A. Macdonald, first Prime Minister of Canada William McDougall, Canadian politician Ralph McGill, American anti-segregationist journalist Wilmer McLean, American Civil War figure Colin McPhee, Canadian composer and musicologist King Macbeth of Scotland Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, Roman general, natural father of Scipio Aemilianus Gaius Maecenas, political adviser to Octavian (Caesar Augustus) Saint Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer Marion Mahony, American architect and artist, wife of Walter Burley Griffin Giovanni Malatesta, husband and murderer of Francesca da Rimini Malatestino Malatesta, Lord of Rimini Paolo Malatesta, brother-in-law and lover of Francesca da Rimini La Malinche, Aztec mistress of Hernán Cortés Mao Zedong, Chinese leader Madame Mao: see Jiang Qing Jean-Paul Marat, Jacobin leader Benedetto Marcello, Italian composer Alexey Maresyev, Russian fighter pilot Margaret of Anjou, Queen consort to Henry VI of England Marguérite de Valois, consort of Henry IV of France/Henry III of Navarre Maria Carolina of Austria Sister Maria Celeste, Italian nun, illegitimate daughter of Galileo Galilei Maria Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier, Infanta of Spain Marie Antoinette, Queen Consort of Louis XVI of France Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, wife of Napoleon I Marie Louise Gonzaga, French Queen consort to 2 Polish kings Empress Maria Theresa of Austria Guadalupe Marín, Mexican model and novelist, second wife of Diego Rivera Mark Antony, Roman politician and general Auguste de Marmont Martyrs of Compiègne, a group of French Carmelite nuns Saint Mary of Egypt, patron saint of penitents Mary, Queen of Scots Queen Mary I of England "Bloody Mary" Mary Tudor, Queen of France, sister of Henry VIII, husband of Louis XII Masaniello (Tommaso Aniello), Neapolitan fisherman, revolutionary leader Masinissa, first King of Numidia Mata Hari, Dutch spy Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary Maurice, Elector of Saxony Maurice de Saxe Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius, aka Maximian, Roman ruler Maximinian, co-Emperor of Rome Ivan Mazepa, Cossack hetman, military leader Joseph McCarthy, American politician, demagogue Col. Robert R. McCormick, American newspaper publisher Catherine de' Medici Cosimo de' Medici, ruler of Florence Giuliano de' Medici, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent Lorenzo de' Medici, "Lorenzo the Magnificent", Italian statesman Lorenzino de' Medici, Italian writer and assassin Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov, Russian statesman Bartolomeo Merelli, Italian impresario and librettist Valeria Messalina, Roman Empress Caecilia Metella Dalmatica, fourth wife of Lucius Cornelius Sulla Cornelia Metella, Pompey's second wife Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich Harvey Milk, American politician and gay activist Christina Miller, Scottish chemist John Milton, English poet Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto, Scottish diplomat, Governor-General of India King Mithridates VI of Pontus Marina Mniszech, Polish noble and Russian political adventurer Moctezuma II, Aztec ruler King Mojmír II of Great Moravia Marilyn Monroe, American actress Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola, Anglo-Italian condottiero Thomas Moore, Irish poet, songwriter Mordred, legendary Arthurian character Thomas Morton, American colonist of New England George Moscone, Mayor of San Francisco Moses, biblical character Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy, Elizabethan figure Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer Gaius Mucius Scaevola, Roman figure Muhammad XII of Granada, aka Boabdil, last Nasrid ruler of Granada Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada Mila Mulroney, Canadian First Lady Ottoman Sultan Murad II Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish Baroque painter John Murray II, British publisher Eadweard Muybridge, English pioneer photographer Emperor Napoleon I of France (Napoleon Bonaparte) Emperor Napoleon II of France Louis, comte de Narbonne-Lara Carrie Nation, American temperance advocate and vandal Nebuchadnezzar II, ruler of Babylon Nefertiti, wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten of Egypt Adam Albert von Neipperg, Austrian general Frances Nelson, Lady Nelson, wife of Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, British admiral, naval hero Emperor Nero of Rome Tsar Nicholas II of Russia Nitocris, Queen of Egypt, maybe legendary Pat Nixon, American First Lady Richard Nixon, American President Rikard Nordraak, Norwegian composer Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, English politician, uncle to two of Henry VIII's wives Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, English nobleman Rosaleen Norton, so-called "Witch of Kings Cross", Sydney occultist Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, English admiral and statesman J. F. Oberlin, Alsatian pastor, philanthropist Empress Claudia Octavia of Rome, consort of Nero Octavia the Younger, fourth wife of Mark Antony King Olaf I Tryggvason of Norway King Olaf II of Norway (St. Olaf) Frank Olson, American biochemist Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American First Lady, wife of John F. Kennedy, then of Aristotle Onassis J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist Sallustia Orbiana, wife of Emperor Alexander Severus of Rome Pylyp Orlyk, associate of Ivan Mazepa Pier Francesco Orsini, Italian condottiero Emperor Marcus Salvius Otho of Rome María de Padilla, mistress and secret wife of Peter of Castile Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist and composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer Sarah Palin, American politician, Governor of Alaska, vice-presidential candidate Papantzin, Aztec princess, sister of Moctezuma II Johan Papegoja, Governor of New Sweden Ely S. Parker, American Seneca native, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Boris Pasternak, Russian novelist Francisco Pelsaert, Dutch merchant, naval commander Samuel Pepys, English diarist Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, Castilian nobleman, known as Guzmán el Bueno Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer Pericles, Athenian statesman Saint Peter, Christian apostle King Peter III of Aragon, "Peter the Great" King Peter of Castile, "Peter the Cruel" Tsar Peter I "The Great" of Russia Peter the Hermit, priest and leader of the First Crusade Gaius Petronius Arbiter, Roman courtier, writer Michele Pezza, Neapolitan guerilla leader, known as "Fra Diavolo" King Pharnaces II of Pontus Phidias, Greek sculptor King Philip II of Spain King Philip V of Spain Mariana de Pineda, Spanish liberalist heroine.

Gaspare Pisciotta, Sicilian peasant Gaius Calpurnius Piso, Roman senator Pope Pius IV Sylvia Plath Edgar Allan Poe, American writer Anna Politkovskaya, Russian journalist, human rights activist Poliziano (Angelo Ambrogini), Italian renaissance poet, scholar Marco Polo, Italian adventurer Saint Polyeuctus Lorenz Truchsess von Pommersfelden Madame de Pompadour, French courtier, mistress of Louis XV Pompey the Great, Roman military and political leader Empress Poppaea Augusta Sabina, consort of Roman Emperors Nero and Otho Lars Porsena, King of Etruria Porus, King of Paurava Charles E. Potter, American politician Sister Helen Prejean, American nun, death penalty abolitionist Přemysl, the Ploughman, first ruler of Bohemia John of Procida, Italian medieval physician and diplomat John Proctor, a tavern keeper in 17th century Massachusetts who was hanged for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials Chevalier de Prokesch-Osten Marcel Proust, French novelist Pharaoh Ptolemy IX Lathyros of Egypt Pharaoh Ptolemy XI Alexander II of Egypt Publius Valerius Publicola, Roman consul Yemelyan Pugachev, Russian pretender to the throne Qin Shi Huang, first Emperor of unified China Vasco de Quiroga, member of the second Audiencia in Mexico and first bishop of Michoacán Nikolay Raevsky, Russian general Gilles de Rais, French soldier and serial killer of children Elizabeth Raleigh, wife of Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh, English explorer and courtier Raphael, Italian painter Grigori Rasputin, Russian mystic, confidant of Tsarina Alexandra Rastislav of Moravia, second ruler of Moravia Sir Richard Ratcliffe John Aaron Rawlins, American general, Secretary of War Stenka Razin, cossack leader Nancy Reagan, US First Lady Ronald Reagan, President of the United States Wilhelm Reich, Austrian-American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Count Adolf Ludvig Ribbing, co-conspirator with Anckarström in the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden Penelope Rich, Lady Rich, English noblewoman King Richard I "Coeur de Lion" of England King Richard II of England King Richard III of England Prince Richard (Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York) Rafael del Riego, Spanish general Louis Riel, executed Canadian rebel Cola di Rienzo, Roman tribune Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian poet Arthur Rimbaud, French poet Diego Rivera, Mexican painter King Robert I of Scotland, "Robert the Bruce" Robert I, Duke of Normandy Maximilien Robespierre, French revolutionary figure Robin Hood (legendary) John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English writer, libertine Roderic, Visigothic King of Hispania King Roger II of Sicily Rogneda of Polotsk, consort of Vladimir I of Kiev Theodore Roosevelt, American President Salvator Rosa, Italian painter and poet Gioachino Rossini Roxana, wife of Alexander the Great Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, Count Palatine of the Rhine Paavo Ruotsalainen, Finnish farmer and lay preacher Lillian Russell, American actress and singer Rustichello da Pisa, Italian writer Hans Sachs, German meistersinger Oliver Sacks, British neurologist, writer Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, French revolutionary figure Ōtomo no Sakanoe no Iratsume, Japanese poet Antonio Salieri, Italian-Austrian composer Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, Elizabethan minister Sappho, ancient Greek poet Sardanapalus, king of Assyria William Sargant, British psychiatrist David Sarnoff, American television pioneer Girolamo Savonarola, Florentine heretic and book-burner Diane Sawyer, American television journalist Antonin Scalia, American jurist Sylvester von Schaumberg Hans and Sophie Scholl, sibling co-founders of non-violent resistance movement The White Rose Kurt Schwitters, German painter Scipio Aemilianus, aka Scipio Africanus the Younger, Roman general, nephew and adopted son of Scipio Africanus the Elder Scipio Africanus, aka Scipio Africanus the Elder, Roman general King Sebastian of Portugal Seleucus I Nicator, King of Syria, founder of the Seleucid Empire Seneca the Younger, Roman philosopher, dramatist Sesostris, legendary king of Egypt Sextus Pompey, Roman general, son of Pompey the Great William Shakespeare, English playwright Fyodor Shaklovity, Russian diplomat Andrey Shchelkalov, Russian administrator, official Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, English soldier George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, English statesman Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor George Kastrioti Skanderbeg, Albanian national hero Bengt Skytte, Swedish official Mark Smeaton, English courtier Anna Nicole Smith, American actress and model Scott Smith, American gay activist Dame Ethel Smyth, English composer Socrates, Greek philosopher Solon, Greek philosopher Sophonisba, Carthaginian noblewoman, daughter of Hasdrubal Gisco Agnès Sorel, mistress of King Charles VII of France Sidney Souers, American admiral and intelligence expert Edmund Spenser, English poet Arthur Stace, Australian citizen who over 35 years chalked the word "Eternity" over 500,000 times on the footpaths of Sydney Stanisław I Leszczyński, King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Stateira, consort of Darius III of Persia Gertrude Stein, American writer King Stephen I of Hungary (St. Stephen) Thaddeus Stevens, American politician Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer Stratonice, wife of Seleucus I Nicator, King of Syria Johann Strauss I, Viennese waltz composer (father) Johann Strauss II, Viennese waltz composer (son) Giuseppina Strepponi, operatic soprano Nikola Šubić Zrinski, Croatian general Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Roman general and dictator Louis Sullivan, American architect Sun Yat-sen, Chinese revolutionary leader Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, English aristocrat, poet Ivan Susanin, Russian folk hero and martyr King Svatopluk I of Great Moravia King Svatopluk II of Great Moravia Syphax, king of the Libyan tribe of Masaesyli Erzsébet Szilágyi, Hungarian noblewoman, wife of János Hunyadi Augusta Tabor, American philanthropist and first wife of Horace Tabor Horace Tabor, American businessman, politician Alexandre-Antonin Taché, Canadian Catholic prelate Rabindranath Tagore, Indian writer Eugene Talmadge, Governor of Georgia Tamerlane: see Timur Tancred, Prince of Galilee, Norman Crusade leader Tannhäuser, Medieval German poet Lucius Tarquinius, one of 3 kings of Rome Sextus Tarquinius, son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, King of Rome Torquato Tasso, Italian poet John Taverner, 16th century English composer Dame Elizabeth Taylor, British-US actress William Tell, Swiss national hero (disputed historical authenticity) Edward Teller, Hungarian-American physicist Beatrice di Tenda, Italian noblewoman Saint Teresa of Ávila, Spanish mystic and theologian Nikola Tesla, Serbian American inventor Themistocles, Athenian general and politician James Thomson, Scottish poet Virgil Thomson, American composer and critic François Auguste de Thou, French magistrate Thusnelda, wife of Arminius Tigranes the Great, Emperor of Armenia Timur, aka Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid dynasty King Tiridates I of Armenia Emperor Titus of Rome Tiye, mother of Pharaoh Akhenaten of Egypt Leo Tolstoy, Russian novelist Tomyris, Queen of the Massagetae Titus Manlius Torquatus, Roman dictator François Leclerc du Tremblay, "Père Joseph", the original eminence grise Georges de la Trémoille, French soldier, favourite of Charles VII Olegas Truchanas, Lithuanian-Australian wilderness photographer Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada Harry S. Truman, American President Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet Harriet Tubman, American abolitionist and former slave John Turner, Prime Minister of Canada Wat Tyler, English leader of peasant revolution Pope Urban VIII Valdemar IV of Denmark, King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375 Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Californio general, statesman Martin van Buren, American President Theo van Gogh, Dutch art dealer, brother of Vincent van Gogh Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter Publius Quinctilius Varus, Roman general Tsar Vasily IV (Shuisky) of Russia Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer Johannes Vermeer, Dutch painter Lucius Verus: see Vologases IV of Parthia Micaela Villegas, "La Perricholi", Peruvian actress and singer François Villon, French poet and vagabond Francesc de Vinatea, Valencian nobleman, opposed to Alfonso IV of Aragon Gaius Iulius Vindex, Roman general Filippo Maria Visconti, ruler of Milan, husband of Beatrice di Tenda Vladimir I, Grand Prince of Kiev Vladimir III Igorevich, Prince of Putivl and Halych Vladimir Yaroslavich, Prince Galitsky, son of Yaroslav Osmomysl, Prince of Halych Vologases IV of Parthia, king Voltaire, French writer Jacob Wallenberg, Swedish banker Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat who rescued many Jews Konrad von Wallenrode, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Albrecht von Wallenstein, Bohemian military commander Francis Walsingham, English royal adviser, spymaster Walther von der Vogelweide, Medieval German poet Princess Wanda, legendary Polish queen Andy Warhol, American artist Booker T. Washington, American educator & civil rights leader Daniel Webster, American statesman Dan White, American politician, assassin of George Moscone and Harvey Milk George Hunter White, American CIA operative Patrick White, Australian novelist Brett Whiteley, Australian painter Wendy Whiteley, his muse and sometime wife Arkie Whiteley, their daughter Walt Whitman Oscar Wilde, Irish writer Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands William the Conqueror (King William I of England) William the Silent (William I, Prince of Orange) Sir Alfred Wills, English judge Robert R. Wilson, American physicist Władysław I the Elbow-high (aka Ladislaus I), King of Poland 1320-33 Wolfram von Eschenbach, Medieval German poet Thomas Wolsey, English cardinal Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect Catherine "Kitty" (Tobin) Wright (1871–1959), American socialite, social worker, first wife of Frank Lloyd Wright Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, aka "Joe the Plumber", American plumber, television celebrity Malcolm X, African-American human rights activist King Xerxes I "The Great" of Persia Xiphares, son of Mithridates VI of Pontus Yaghi-Siyan, Governor of Antioch Ōtomo no Yakamochi, Japanese poet, diplomat Ralph Yarborough, American politician Yaroslav I the Wise, Grand Prince of Kiev Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov, Russian general Yuri II, Grand Prince of Vladimir Emiliano Zapata, Mexican leader Zeno, Byzantine emperor Zenobia, Queen of the Palmyrene Empire Zhou Enlai, Chinese political leader Zoroaster Venerable Zosimas of Palestine Nikola Šubić Zrinski: see Šubić Zrinski