text:
Much of what we know about the Early Modern era comes from the writings of that time. With the proliferation of the printing press and a somewhat more literate population, much more literature of this period is preserved (as opposed to earlier times). Whether from a novel, play, travel journal or scientific paper, these writings add greatly to our knowledge of our history.
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Ninon de l'Enclos
aka: Ninon de Lenclos, Ninon de Lanclos
1620, Nov 10 1705, Oct 17
a French author, courtesan, freethinker, and patron of the arts. She became a popular figure in the salons, and her own drawing room became a centre for the discussion and consumption of the literary arts. This life and her opinions on organized religion caused her some trouble, and she was imprisoned in the Madelonnettes Convent. In response, as an author s...
a French author, courtesan, freethinker, and patron of the arts. She became a popular figure in the salons, and her own drawing room became a centre for the discussion and consumption of the literary arts. This life and her opinions on organized religion caused her some trouble, and she was imprisoned in the Madelonnettes Convent. In response, as an author she defended the possibility of living a good life in the absence of religion, notably in 1659's La coquette vengée ("The Flirt Avenged"). She was also noted for her wit; among her numerous sayings and quips.
Claude de L'Estoile
1602 1652, May
a French playwright and poet. He was a founder member of the Académie française. Third son of Pierre de L'Estoile he inherited fortune, he devoted himself entirely to poetry and belles-lettres and he is the author of odes and stanzas, two plays, and other writings.
1616, Dec 17 1639-1702 1704, Dec 11
an English pamphleteer, author and staunch defender of Royalist claims. L'Estrange was involved in political controversy throughout his life. Perhaps his best known polemical pamphlet was An Account of the Growth of Knavery, which ruthlessly attacked the parliamentary opposition, placing them as "dissenting fanatics" and truly beyond the pale.
François Tristan l'Hermite
aka: Tristan l'Hermite
1601 ca 1655, Sep 7
a French dramatist. He was born at the Château de Soliers in the Haute Marche. His adventures began early, for he killed his enemy in a duel at the age of thirteen, and was obliged to flee to England. The story of his childhood and youth he embroiders in a burlesque novel, the Page disgracie. He was, in succession, poet to Gaston d'Orléans, to the duchesse...
a French dramatist. He was born at the Château de Soliers in the Haute Marche. His adventures began early, for he killed his enemy in a duel at the age of thirteen, and was obliged to flee to England. The story of his childhood and youth he embroiders in a burlesque novel, the Page disgracie. He was, in succession, poet to Gaston d'Orléans, to the duchesse de Chaulnes and the duke of Guise.
Laurent Angliviel de la Beaumelle
1726, Jan 28 1773, Nov 17
a French Protestant writer. Most of his writings bear a polemical, pamphlet-like character or speculate (as contained in the 'Mémoires letters of Madame de Maintenon') on the audience's curiosity.
aka: La Bruyère
1645, Aug 16 1696, May 11
a French philosopher and moralist. La Bruyère's Caractères appeared in 1688, and at once he made many readers and many enemies. His unpopularity was, however, chiefly confined to the subjects of his sarcastic portraiture, and to the hack writers of the time, of whom he was wont to speak with a disdain only surpassed by that of more
a French philosopher and moralist. La Bruyère's Caractères appeared in 1688, and at once he made many readers and many enemies. His unpopularity was, however, chiefly confined to the subjects of his sarcastic portraiture, and to the hack writers of the time, of whom he was wont to speak with a disdain only surpassed by that of Alexander Pope.
Jean de La Chapelle
1651, Oct 24 1723, May 29
a French writer and dramatist. He was born at Bourges, France, was elected to the Académie française in 1688, and died in Paris. Benefiting from a sizeable personal fortune, La Chapelle wrote and staged mediocre tragedies inspired by classical antiquity at the Comédie-Française. La Chapelle also published two novels.
Vincent La Chapelle
a French master cook to Phillip Dormer Stanhope, fourth Earl of Chesterfield, to William IV, Prince of Orange, to John V of Portugal then to Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV of France. La Chapelle traveled to Spain and Portugal and wrote The Modern Cook while in Chesterfield's employment (a French edition was published in 1735). An Eighte...
a French master cook to Phillip Dormer Stanhope, fourth Earl of Chesterfield, to William IV, Prince of Orange, to John V of Portugal then to Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV of France. La Chapelle traveled to Spain and Portugal and wrote The Modern Cook while in Chesterfield's employment (a French edition was published in 1735). An Eighteenth-century classic of the culinary arts, it exercised a strong influence on aristocratic cuisine in England.
Madame de La Fayette
aka: Marie-Madeleine Pioche de La Vergne, comtesse de La Fayette
1634, Mar 18 1693, May 25
a French writer, the author of La Princesse de Clèves, France's first historical novel and one of the earliest novels in literature. It was an immense success, the work is often taken to be the first true French novel and a prototype of the early psychological novel.
the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional languages.
Jean-Francois de La Harpe
aka: Jean-François
1739, Nov 20 1803, Feb 11
a French playwright, writer and critic. In 1763, his tragedy of Warwick was played before the court. This, his first play, was perhaps the best he ever wrote. The many authors whom he afterwards offended were always able to observe that the critic's own plays did not reach the standard of excellence he set up. Timoleon (1764) and Pharamond
a French playwright, writer and critic. In 1763, his tragedy of Warwick was played before the court. This, his first play, was perhaps the best he ever wrote. The many authors whom he afterwards offended were always able to observe that the critic's own plays did not reach the standard of excellence he set up. Timoleon (1764) and Pharamond (1765) were box-office and critical failures. Mélanie was a better play, but was never represented. The success of Warwick led to a correspondence with Voltaire, who conceived a high opinion of La Harpe, even allowing him to correct his verses.
Cross-listed in Military
Francois de la Noue
aka: François, Bras-de-Fer (Iron Arm)
one of the Huguenot captains of the 16th century. He was born near Nantes in 1531, of an ancient Breton family. He served in Italy under Marshal Brissac, and in the first Huguenot war, but his first great exploit was the capture of Orléans at the head of only fifteen cavaliers in 1567, during the second war. It was in captivity that he wrote his celebrated ...
one of the Huguenot captains of the 16th century. He was born near Nantes in 1531, of an ancient Breton family. He served in Italy under Marshal Brissac, and in the first Huguenot war, but his first great exploit was the capture of Orléans at the head of only fifteen cavaliers in 1567, during the second war. It was in captivity that he wrote his celebrated Discours politiques et militaires, a work which was then published at Basel in 1587, La Rochelle in 1590, London (in English) in 1587, Frankfurt on Main (in German) 1592 and 1612 and had an immense influence on the soldiers of all nations.
Pierre de La Primaudaye
a French writer. La Primaudaye came from a large Protestant family in Anjou. He is known particularly for L'Academie Française, which was influential in English translations, from 1584 onwards, particularly The French Academie of 1618. He published a large variety of books on intellectual topics, most notably L'Academie Française, which summarised philosop...
a French writer. La Primaudaye came from a large Protestant family in Anjou. He is known particularly for L'Academie Française, which was influential in English translations, from 1584 onwards, particularly The French Academie of 1618. He published a large variety of books on intellectual topics, most notably L'Academie Française, which summarised philosophical and scientific knowledge of the era.
Sophie von La Roche
aka: Maria Sophie von La Roche, Maria Sophie Gutermann von Gutershofen
1730, Dec 6 1807, Feb 18
a German novelist. She was born in Kaufbeuren and died in Offenbach am Main. La Roche's first novel, published by Wieland in 1771, was her most successful. However, she wrote several other novels. Her works were meant to be morally instructive for young women. Some lwere written against the background of the post-revolutionary period.
Anne de La Roche-Guilhem
1644, Jul 24 1710
a French writer and translator. Daughter of Charles and Marie-Anne Guilhen of Azémar, she was, by her mother, niece of the poet Saint-Amant. Anne de La Roche-Guilhem became known in the republic of letters by several works of fiction.
aka: Prince de Marcillac, François
1613, Sep 15 1680, Mar 17
a noted French author of maxims and memoirs. It is said that his world-view was clear-eyed and urbane, and that he neither condemned human conduct nor sentimentally celebrated it. Born in Paris on the Rue des Petits Champs, at a time when the royal court was vacillating between aiding the nobility and threatening it, he was considered an exemplar of the acco...
a noted French author of maxims and memoirs. It is said that his world-view was clear-eyed and urbane, and that he neither condemned human conduct nor sentimentally celebrated it. Born in Paris on the Rue des Petits Champs, at a time when the royal court was vacillating between aiding the nobility and threatening it, he was considered an exemplar of the accomplished 17th-century nobleman.
Charles Armand Rene de La Tremoille
aka: 6th duc de Thouars, Charles Armand René de La Trémoille
1708, Jan 14 1741, May 23
a French soldier and president of the States of Brittany. He joined the military at a young age and became a colonel of the Champagne regiment at the age of eighteen. Later, he became governor of Île-de-France. La Trémoille was the author of some works and was elected a member of the Académie française on 13 February 1738.
Cross-listed in Performers
Francois Pierre La Varenne
aka: François
the author of Le Cuisinier françois (1651), one of the most influential cookbooks in early modern French cuisine. La Varenne broke with the Italian traditions that had revolutionised medieval and Renaissance French cookery in the 16th century and early 17th century. La Varenne was the foremost member of a group of French chefs, writing for a professional au...
the author of Le Cuisinier françois (1651), one of the most influential cookbooks in early modern French cuisine. La Varenne broke with the Italian traditions that had revolutionised medieval and Renaissance French cookery in the 16th century and early 17th century. La Varenne was the foremost member of a group of French chefs, writing for a professional audience, who codified French cuisine in the age of King Louis XIV. The others were Nicolas Bonnefon, Le Jardinier françois (1651) and Les Délices de la campagne (1654), and François Massialot, Le Cuisinier royal et bourgeois (1691), which was still being edited and modernised in the mid-18th century. The cookbook was still used in France until the French Revolution.
Cross-listed in Physicians
Louis-Elisabeth de La Vergne de Tressan
aka: Louis-Élisabeth
1705, Nov 4 1783, Oct 31
a French soldier, physician, scientist, medievalist and writer, best known for his adaptations of "romans chevaleresques" of the Middle Ages, which contributed to the rise of the Troubadour style in the French arts. A friend of Voltaire and Buffon, he frequented th...
a French soldier, physician, scientist, medievalist and writer, best known for his adaptations of "romans chevaleresques" of the Middle Ages, which contributed to the rise of the Troubadour style in the French arts. A friend of Voltaire and Buffon, he frequented the salon of Mme de Tencin and composed several odes as well as adaptations of chivalric romances, which he translated and adapted from Spanish and Old French. He was also the author of one of the first treatises on electricity in French, and collaborated on volumes VI and VII of the Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot and D'Alembert.
Cross-listed in Explorers • Scientists
Jean-Baptiste Labat
a French clergyman, botanist, writer, explorer, ethnographer, soldier, engineer, and landowner. Labat was born and died in Paris. In 1693, determined to devote himself to foreign missionary work, he received permission from the general of his order to travel to the West Indies, then under French domination. In 1696 he travelled to Guadeloupe, and was appoint...
a French clergyman, botanist, writer, explorer, ethnographer, soldier, engineer, and landowner. Labat was born and died in Paris. In 1693, determined to devote himself to foreign missionary work, he received permission from the general of his order to travel to the West Indies, then under French domination. In 1696 he travelled to Guadeloupe, and was appointed procurator-general of all the Dominican convents in the Antilles (Procureur syndic des îles d'Amérique) upon his return to Martinique. He traveled to Paris in 1716. He lived in the convent on Rue Saint-Honore until his death. During these years, Labat commenced a long contemplated history of the West Indies. The work was finally published in six volumes at Paris, in 1722, as well as several other books.
Alexandre de Laborde
1773, Sep 17 1842, Oct 20
a French antiquary, liberal politician and writer, a member of the Académie des Sciences morales et politiques (1832), under the rubric political economy. A mere list of Laborde's publications is an indication of the range of his interests, above all the works that diffused in Europe a realistic view of picturesque Spain, suffused with the interpretations o...
a French antiquary, liberal politician and writer, a member of the Académie des Sciences morales et politiques (1832), under the rubric political economy. A mere list of Laborde's publications is an indication of the range of his interests, above all the works that diffused in Europe a realistic view of picturesque Spain, suffused with the interpretations of Romanticism. His topographic itinerary Itinéraire descriptif de l'Espagne proved unexpectedly useful in Napoleon's invasion of Spain.
Barthelemy de Laffemas
aka: Barthélemy
an economist, born in Beausemblant, France. He is known as the first person to write about underconsumption. In 1598 Laffemas continued writing his ideas on trade and manufacture. Writing his ideas may have been required to receive support from Henry IV. They acte...
an economist, born in Beausemblant, France. He is known as the first person to write about underconsumption. In 1598 Laffemas continued writing his ideas on trade and manufacture. Writing his ideas may have been required to receive support from Henry IV. They acted as a balance to those of Sully, more interested in agriculture. In the same year Laffemas published Les Trésors et richesses pour mettre l'Estat en splendeur, which blasted those who frowned on French silks because the industry created employment for the poor. This is the first known mention of Underconsumption Theory, which is later refined by John Maynard Keynes.
Lai Zhide
a Ming period Neo-Confucian philosopher. He introduced into Chinese philosophy the well-known "Yin and Yang symbol", the taijitu (a "diagram of the great ultimate"). Lai Zhide is the author of an I Ching commentary, the Explanation of the Classic of Change Annotated by Mr Lai.
Cross-listed in Astronomers
Jerome Lalande
aka: Jérôme
1732, Jul 11 1807, Apr 4
a French astronomer, freemason and writer. He communicated more than one hundred and fifty papers to the French Academy of Sciences, edited the Connoissance de temps (1759–1774), and again (1794–1807), and wrote the concluding two volumes of the 2nd edition of Montucla's Histoire des mathématiques (1802).
Cross-listed in Military • Scientists
1744, Aug 1 1829, Dec 18
a French naturalist. He was a soldier, biologist, academic, and an early proponent of the idea that evolution occurred and proceeded in accordance with natural laws. He gave the term biology a broader meaning by coining the term for special sciences, chemistry, meteorology, geology, and botany-zoology. In 1801, he published Système des animaux sans vert�...
a French naturalist. He was a soldier, biologist, academic, and an early proponent of the idea that evolution occurred and proceeded in accordance with natural laws. He gave the term biology a broader meaning by coining the term for special sciences, chemistry, meteorology, geology, and botany-zoology. In 1801, he published Système des animaux sans vertèbres, a major work on the classification of invertebrates, a term he coined. In an 1802 publication, he became one of the first to use the term biology in its modern sense. Lamarck continued his work as a premier authority on invertebrate zoology. He is remembered, at least in malacology, as a taxonomist of considerable stature.
a French writer, poet and politician who was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic and the continuation of the Tricolore as the flag of France. Lamartine made his entrance into the field of poetry by a masterpiece, Les Méditations Poétiques (1820), and awoke to find himself famous. He was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1...
a French writer, poet and politician who was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic and the continuation of the Tricolore as the flag of France. Lamartine made his entrance into the field of poetry by a masterpiece, Les Méditations Poétiques (1820), and awoke to find himself famous. He was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1825. He worked for the French embassy in Italy from 1825 to 1828.
aka: Elia
1775, Feb 10 1798-1833 1834, Dec 27
an English writer and essayist, best known for his Essays of Elia and for the children's book Tales from Shakespeare, which he produced with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764–1847). He also wrote a number of poems, and was part of a literary circle in England, along with more
an English writer and essayist, best known for his Essays of Elia and for the children's book Tales from Shakespeare, which he produced with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764–1847). He also wrote a number of poems, and was part of a literary circle in England, along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth, whom he befriended. He has been referred to by E. V. Lucas, his principal biographer, as "the most lovable figure in English literature".
Cross-listed in Clergy • Legal
William Lamb [1]
aka: William Paniter
1493 ca 1537-1550 1550
a Scottish cleric, lawyer, and author. William Lamb wrote Ane Resonyng of ane Scottis and Inglis merchand betuix Rowand and Lionis in 1549. It was an answer to English propaganda published during the war of the Rough Wooing. Unlike the Complaynt of Scotland, (1549), Lamb's book was not published but survived in manuscript.
John Lambert [1]
an English Parliamentary general and politician. He fought during the English Civil War and then in Oliver Cromwell's Scottish campaign (1650–51), becoming thereafter active in civilian politics until his dismissal by Cromwell in 1657. During this time he wr...
an English Parliamentary general and politician. He fought during the English Civil War and then in Oliver Cromwell's Scottish campaign (1650–51), becoming thereafter active in civilian politics until his dismissal by Cromwell in 1657. During this time he wrote the Instrument of Government, Britain's only codified constitution, and was influential in bringing about the Protectorate. He remained inactive from politics until after the resignation of Richard Cromwell, when he was re-appointed to a position in the army in 1659.
Cross-listed in Artists
Dominicus Lampsonius
a Flemish humanist, poet and painter. A secretary to various Prince-Bishops of Liège, he maintained an extensive correspondence with humanists and artists at home and abroad. Lampsonius dedicated himself for some time successfully to the art of painting. He was assisted in his efforts by Lambert Lombard, the eminent Renaissance painter of Liège. HIs writin...
a Flemish humanist, poet and painter. A secretary to various Prince-Bishops of Liège, he maintained an extensive correspondence with humanists and artists at home and abroad. Lampsonius dedicated himself for some time successfully to the art of painting. He was assisted in his efforts by Lambert Lombard, the eminent Renaissance painter of Liège. HIs writings on Netherlandish artists formed an important contribution to the formation of the so-called Netherlandish canon. Lampsonius wrote numerous poems and epigrams in Latin.
Claude Lancelot
Born in Paris, later to become a Jansenist monk and grammarian. Helped to establish the Petites écoles de Port-Royal in May 1638 (run by Jean Duvergier de Hauranne, the abbot of Saint-Cyran). Lancelot supervised the education of the duke of Chevreuse and of the princes of Conti. In early 1660, Lancelot was forced to leave the abbey, and was ultimately exile...
Born in Paris, later to become a Jansenist monk and grammarian. Helped to establish the Petites écoles de Port-Royal in May 1638 (run by Jean Duvergier de Hauranne, the abbot of Saint-Cyran). Lancelot supervised the education of the duke of Chevreuse and of the princes of Conti. In early 1660, Lancelot was forced to leave the abbey, and was ultimately exiled to Brittany. He died near the Holy-Cross Abbey, in Quimperle, in 1695.
aka: L.E.L.
an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L. E. L. Her first poem was published under the single initial "L" in the Gazette in 1820, when Landon was 18. Landon served as the Gazette's chief reviewer as she continued to write poetry; her second collection, The Improvisatrice, appeared in 1824. By 1826, Landon's high reputation began to...
an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L. E. L. Her first poem was published under the single initial "L" in the Gazette in 1820, when Landon was 18. Landon served as the Gazette's chief reviewer as she continued to write poetry; her second collection, The Improvisatrice, appeared in 1824. By 1826, Landon's high reputation began to suffer as rumours circulated that she had had affairs or secretly borne children.
Walter Savage Landor
an English writer and poet. His best known works were the prose Imaginary Conversations, and the poem Rose Aylmer, but the critical acclaim he received from contemporary poets and reviewers was not matched by public popularity. As remarkable as his work was, it was equalled by his rumbustious character and lively temperament.
Cross-listed in Clergy
1802, Oct 7 1880, Oct 8
a Norwegian parish priest and provost, psalmist and poet who published the first collection of authentic Norwegian traditional ballads in 1853. This work was criticized for unscientific methods, but today it is commonly accepted that he contributed significantly to the preservation of the traditional ballads.
Thomas Langley
unknown 1581
an English churchman and canon of Winchester Cathedral. After twelve years' study he was admitted B.D. at Oxford on 15 July 1560, without having previously taken his master's degree. In 1563 Langley was instituted to the vicarage of Wanborough, Wiltshire, on the presentation of the dean and chapter of Winchester, and held this license until his death
Adrien Languillat
a French Jesuit and missionary in China. He was titular bishop of Sergiopolis (1856–1878) and vicar apostolic of Southeastern Chi-Li (1856–1864) and Kiangnan (1864–1878). He wrote several books documenting his travels in Asia.
aka: Lanyer, Amelia, Aemilia Bassano
1569, Jan 27 1600s-1610s 1645, Apr 3
the first Englishwoman to assert herself as a professional poet through her single volume of poems, Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum (1611). Born Aemilia Bassano and part of the Lanier family, she was a member of the minor gentry through her father's appointment as a royal musician, and was apparently educated in the household by Susan Bertie, Countess of Kent. She ...
the first Englishwoman to assert herself as a professional poet through her single volume of poems, Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum (1611). Born Aemilia Bassano and part of the Lanier family, she was a member of the minor gentry through her father's appointment as a royal musician, and was apparently educated in the household by Susan Bertie, Countess of Kent. She was for several years the mistress of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, first cousin of Elizabeth I of England. She was married to her first cousin, court musician Alfonso Lanier, in 1592 when she became pregnant by Hunsdon, and the marriage was reportedly unhappy.
Cross-listed in Astronomers • Governance • Scientists
Pierre-Simon Laplace
aka: Marquis de Laplace
1749, Mar 23 1771-1827 1827, Mar 5
an influential French scholar whose work was important to the development of mathematics, statistics, physics, and astronomy. He summarized and extended the work of his predecessors in his five-volume Mécanique Céleste (Celestial Mechanics) (1799–1825).
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Cross-listed in Educators
Rebecca Hammond Lard
1772, Mar 7 1786-1850s 1855, Sep 28
called by some critics "the first poet in Indiana". Her poetry reflects on the lives of the early people in Indiana and the colonists in Vermont. Lard's works are mainly religious and meditative in tone, but draw their inspiration in part from the Bucolics and Georgics of Virgil. She is best known for Indiana's first book of poetry, On the Banks of the Oh...
called by some critics "the first poet in Indiana". Her poetry reflects on the lives of the early people in Indiana and the colonists in Vermont. Lard's works are mainly religious and meditative in tone, but draw their inspiration in part from the Bucolics and Georgics of Virgil. She is best known for Indiana's first book of poetry, On the Banks of the Ohio, a poem she is believed to have written.
Manuel de Lardizabal y Uribe
aka: Lardizábal y Uribe
a Novohispanic penologist who was an academician of the Real Academia Española de la Lengua from 1775 to 1820. He seems to have been the successor to chair C of his father in law, Academician from 1746 to 1775 Francisco Antonio de Angulo. Acevedo published in 1770 a dissertation against torture, as being in conflict with Nature Rights and public decency wi...
a Novohispanic penologist who was an academician of the Real Academia Española de la Lengua from 1775 to 1820. He seems to have been the successor to chair C of his father in law, Academician from 1746 to 1775 Francisco Antonio de Angulo. Acevedo published in 1770 a dissertation against torture, as being in conflict with Nature Rights and public decency within the Social Body, as well as several other works.
Bernardino de Laredo
a physician and Franciscan mystical writer. Laredo has left us three works. He wrote two medical works in Castilian, but with Latin titles: Metaphora medicinae (Seville 1522 and 1536) and Modus faciendi cum ordine medicandi (Seville 1527, 1534, 1542, 1627). He is most remembered, though, for his spiritual treatise entitled Ascent of Mount Sion (Subida del Mo...
a physician and Franciscan mystical writer. Laredo has left us three works. He wrote two medical works in Castilian, but with Latin titles: Metaphora medicinae (Seville 1522 and 1536) and Modus faciendi cum ordine medicandi (Seville 1527, 1534, 1542, 1627). He is most remembered, though, for his spiritual treatise entitled Ascent of Mount Sion (Subida del Monte Sión).
Bartolome de las Casas
aka: Bartolomé
1484 ca 1566, Jul 18
a 16th-century Spanish historian, social reformer and Dominican friar. He became the first resident Bishop of Chiapas, and the first officially appointed "Protector of the Indians". His extensive writings, the most famous being A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies and Historia de Las Indias, chronicle the first decades of colonization of the West...
a 16th-century Spanish historian, social reformer and Dominican friar. He became the first resident Bishop of Chiapas, and the first officially appointed "Protector of the Indians". His extensive writings, the most famous being A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies and Historia de Las Indias, chronicle the first decades of colonization of the West Indies and focus particularly on the atrocities committed by the colonizers against the indigenous peoples.
1800, Oct 22 1876, May 8
a Norwegian-German orientalist. In Bonn, Lassen acquired a sound knowledge of Sanskrit. He spent three years in Paris and London, engaged in copying and collating manuscripts, and collecting materials for future research, especially with reference to Hindu drama and philosophy. During this period he published, jointly with Eugène Burnouf, his first work, Es...
a Norwegian-German orientalist. In Bonn, Lassen acquired a sound knowledge of Sanskrit. He spent three years in Paris and London, engaged in copying and collating manuscripts, and collecting materials for future research, especially with reference to Hindu drama and philosophy. During this period he published, jointly with Eugène Burnouf, his first work, Essai sur le Pâli (Paris, 1826).
Margrethe Lasson
1659, Mar 1738, Mar
a Danish novelist, the first novelist in Denmark. She was the author of the famous poem to the Norwegian poet Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, whom she defends and admires. In 1715, she writes the novel Den beklædte Sandhed, which is published in 1723 and became the first novel in Denmark. Her psedonym was "det danske Sprogs inderlige Elskerinde Aminda", and s...
a Danish novelist, the first novelist in Denmark. She was the author of the famous poem to the Norwegian poet Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, whom she defends and admires. In 1715, she writes the novel Den beklædte Sandhed, which is published in 1723 and became the first novel in Denmark. Her psedonym was "det danske Sprogs inderlige Elskerinde Aminda", and she wrote inspired by Madeleine de Scudéry. She died in Odense.
Filip Lastric
aka: Martin Jakovovic, Philippus de Occhievia
a Bosnian writer and friar of the Franciscan Province of Bosna Argentina. His works include the first overview of the geography and history of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The surviving works by Filip Lastric include a philosophy manual (preserved in manuscript) composed during his stay in Požega, four sermon collections, as well as an overview of the history of...
a Bosnian writer and friar of the Franciscan Province of Bosna Argentina. His works include the first overview of the geography and history of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The surviving works by Filip Lastric include a philosophy manual (preserved in manuscript) composed during his stay in Požega, four sermon collections, as well as an overview of the history of Bosna Srebrena.
Richard Latewar
an English churchman and academic, known as a neo-Latin poet. Latewar was a famous preacher, and a Latin poet. John Stow refers to his poetic gifts. Samuel Daniel speaks of him as his friend, and in the "Apology" to his Philotas mentions that Latewar told him that he himself "had written the same argument and caused it to be presented in St. John's College, ...
an English churchman and academic, known as a neo-Latin poet. Latewar was a famous preacher, and a Latin poet. John Stow refers to his poetic gifts. Samuel Daniel speaks of him as his friend, and in the "Apology" to his Philotas mentions that Latewar told him that he himself "had written the same argument and caused it to be presented in St. John's College, Oxon., where, as I afterwards heard, it was worthily and with great applause performed." Latewar contributed verses to the Oxford Exequi on Sir Philip Sidney, as well as to some other books.
William Latymer
an English evangelical clergyman, Dean of Peterborough from 1560. He was chaplain to Anne Boleyn, and is best known for his biography of her, the Chronickille of Anne Bulleyne. The Chronickille was written for Elizabeth I of England, and concentrates on the religious aspects of her mother Anne Boleyn's life. Prominent in the Queen's 1564 visit to Camb...
an English evangelical clergyman, Dean of Peterborough from 1560. He was chaplain to Anne Boleyn, and is best known for his biography of her, the Chronickille of Anne Bulleyne. The Chronickille was written for Elizabeth I of England, and concentrates on the religious aspects of her mother Anne Boleyn's life. Prominent in the Queen's 1564 visit to Cambridge, he was Clerk of the Closet and D.D.
Cross-listed in Legal
John Lauder
aka: 2nd Baronet, Lord Fountainhall
1646, Jul/Aug 1722, Sep 20
one of Scotland's leading jurists who remains to this day an oft consulted authority. He was knighted in 1680 and matriculated his Arms with the Lyon Court on 15 June 1699. Lord Fountainhall left a large collection of legal opinions and papers, including some that record Court of Session proceedings from 1678 to 1712, which also note the transactions of the ...
one of Scotland's leading jurists who remains to this day an oft consulted authority. He was knighted in 1680 and matriculated his Arms with the Lyon Court on 15 June 1699. Lord Fountainhall left a large collection of legal opinions and papers, including some that record Court of Session proceedings from 1678 to 1712, which also note the transactions of the Privy Council of Scotland, and those of the Courts of Justiciary and Exchequer, works compiled with anecdotes of the times and much characteristic ingenuity of observation, to which professional lawyers still turn today.
Friedrich Laun
1770, Jun 1 1849, Sep 4
a German novelist, who wrote under the pen name Friedrich Laun. Schulze was born in Dresden. His first novel, Der Mann, auf Freiersfüssen (1801), was favorably received. He wrote many volumes, and with Johann August Apel edited a ghost story anthology Das Gespensterbuch ("The Ghost Book") (1811–1815).
Etienne Laureault de Foncemagne
aka: Étienne Lauréault
1694, May 8 1779, Sep 26
a French churchman and scholar. An Oratorian and professor, he was elected to the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres in 1722 and to the Académie française in 1736. "Choosing him did not much enrich us, but at least it didn't make the public groan" commented the abbé d'Olivet, who called him "A man little-charged with literature, but he passes fo...
a French churchman and scholar. An Oratorian and professor, he was elected to the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres in 1722 and to the Académie française in 1736. "Choosing him did not much enrich us, but at least it didn't make the public groan" commented the abbé d'Olivet, who called him "A man little-charged with literature, but he passes for knowing quite a bit about French history.".
Sylvestre de Laval
a French Roman Catholic theologian. He lived most of life in Paris, France. He was the author of two controversial books. He was a teacher of theology and philosophy. He did a lot of missionary work as well.
Cross-listed in Scientists
1743, Aug 26 1794, May 8
a French nobleman and chemist central to the 18th-century chemical revolution and had a large influence on both the history of chemistry and the history of biology. He is widely considered in popular literature as the "father of modern chemistry". This label, however, is more a product of Lavoisier's eminent skill as a self-promoter and underplays his depend...
a French nobleman and chemist central to the 18th-century chemical revolution and had a large influence on both the history of chemistry and the history of biology. He is widely considered in popular literature as the "father of modern chemistry". This label, however, is more a product of Lavoisier's eminent skill as a self-promoter and underplays his dependence on the instruments, experiments, and ideas of other chemists. He wrote many scientific papers on a variety of topics.
Sir William Lawrence
aka: 1st Baronet
1783, Jul 16 1867, Jul 5
an English surgeon who became President of the Royal College of Surgeons of London and Serjeant Surgeon to the Queen. In his mid thirties he published two books of his lectures which contained pre-Darwinian ideas on man's nature and, effectively, on evolution. He was forced to withdraw the second (1819) book after fierce criticism; the Lord Chancellor ruled...
an English surgeon who became President of the Royal College of Surgeons of London and Serjeant Surgeon to the Queen. In his mid thirties he published two books of his lectures which contained pre-Darwinian ideas on man's nature and, effectively, on evolution. He was forced to withdraw the second (1819) book after fierce criticism; the Lord Chancellor ruled it blasphemous. Lawrence's transition to respectability occurred gradually, and his surgical career was highly successful.
Cross-listed in Explorers
John Lawson
an English explorer, naturalist and writer. He played an important role in exploring the interior of colonial North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, publicizing his expeditions in a book. He founded two settlements in North Carolina: Bath and New Bern, both at the coast. He was killed by Tuscarora people, who were beginning to resist European encroachme...
an English explorer, naturalist and writer. He played an important role in exploring the interior of colonial North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, publicizing his expeditions in a book. He founded two settlements in North Carolina: Bath and New Bern, both at the coast. He was killed by Tuscarora people, who were beginning to resist European encroachment.
Austen Henry Layard
1817, Mar 5 1894, Jul 5
an English traveller, archaeologist, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, collector, author, politician and diplomat, best known as the excavator of Nimrud and of Niniveh, where he uncovered in 1851 the library of Ashurbanipal. He wrote many books about his discoveries.
Jean-Jacques-Francois Le Barbier
aka: Jean-Jacques-François
1738, Nov 11 1826, May 7
a writer, illustrator and painter of French history. He was born in Rouen and died in Paris. There is little additional information available about the details of his life. His most famous work was a representation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen he made in 1789. He was the father of artist Élise Bruyère.
Michel Le Clerc
1622 1691, Dec 8
a French lawyer and dramatist. After studying under the Jesuits, he established himself in Paris, where he became a lawyer to the parliament of Paris. Like his co-student Claude Boyer, he wrote tragedies and "pièces des circonstance"; he produced his Virginie romaine in 1645, the same year as Boyer produced his Porcie romaine. He was elected to the Académi...
a French lawyer and dramatist. After studying under the Jesuits, he established himself in Paris, where he became a lawyer to the parliament of Paris. Like his co-student Claude Boyer, he wrote tragedies and "pièces des circonstance"; he produced his Virginie romaine in 1645, the same year as Boyer produced his Porcie romaine. He was elected to the Académie française in 1662.
1814, Aug 28 1873, Feb 7
an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was a leading ghost-story writer of the nineteenth century and was central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era. Le Fanu worked in many genres but remains best known for his mystery and horror fiction. He was a meticulous craftsman and frequently reworked plots and ideas from his earlier ...
an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was a leading ghost-story writer of the nineteenth century and was central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era. Le Fanu worked in many genres but remains best known for his mystery and horror fiction. He was a meticulous craftsman and frequently reworked plots and ideas from his earlier writing in subsequent pieces. Many of his novels, for example, are expansions and refinements of earlier short stories. He specialised in tone and effect rather than "shock horror", and liked to leave important details unexplained and mysterious.
Charles-Georges Le Roy
aka: Leroy
a French man of letters during the Age of Enlightenment and the author of one of the first books on animal behavior. Le Roy was a lieutenant of the royal hunt and a friend of the encyclopedists Denis Diderot, d'Alembert and d'Holbach, regularly attending d'Holba...
a French man of letters during the Age of Enlightenment and the author of one of the first books on animal behavior. Le Roy was a lieutenant of the royal hunt and a friend of the encyclopedists Denis Diderot, d'Alembert and d'Holbach, regularly attending d'Holbach's salon. Le Roy's publications began as texts on the behaviour and sensitivity of animals, published under the pseudonym of "the physician of Nuremberg." These appeared in the Encyclopédie méthodique in 1764.
Francois de La Mothe Le Vayer
aka: François, Orosius Tubero
1588, Aug 1672, May 9
a French writer who was known to use the pseudonym Orosius Tubero. He was admitted to the Académie française in 1639, and was the tutor of Louis XIV. His Considérations sur l'éloquence française (1638) procured him admission to the Académie française, and ...
a French writer who was known to use the pseudonym Orosius Tubero. He was admitted to the Académie française in 1639, and was the tutor of Louis XIV. His Considérations sur l'éloquence française (1638) procured him admission to the Académie française, and his De l'instruction de Mgr. le Dauphin (1640) attracted the attention of Richelieu. Modest, sceptical, and occasionally obscene in his Latin pieces and in his verses, he made himself a persona grata at the French court, where libertinism in ideas and morals was hailed with relish.
Cross-listed in Artists • Composers
1812, May 12/13 1888, Jan 29
an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, and is known now mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limericks, a form he popularised. His principal areas of work as an artist were threefold: as a draughtsman employed to illustrate birds and animals; making coloured drawings during his journeys, which he reworke...
an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, and is known now mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limericks, a form he popularised. His principal areas of work as an artist were threefold: as a draughtsman employed to illustrate birds and animals; making coloured drawings during his journeys, which he reworked later, sometimes as plates for his travel books; as a (minor) illustrator of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poems. As an author, he is known principally for his popular nonsense collections of poems, songs, short stories, botanical drawings, recipes, and alphabets. He also composed and published twelve musical settings of Tennyson's poetry.
Georges-Louis Leclerc
aka: Comte de Buffon
1707, Sep 7 1788, Apr 16
a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopédiste. His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier. Buffon published thirty-six quarto volumes of his Histoire Naturelle during his lifetime; with additional volumes based on his notes and further research being published in the...
a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopédiste. His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier. Buffon published thirty-six quarto volumes of his Histoire Naturelle during his lifetime; with additional volumes based on his notes and further research being published in the two decades following his death
Leconte de Lisle
aka: Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle
1818, Oct 22 1894, Jul 17
a French poet of the Parnassian movement. He is traditionally known by his surname only, Leconte de Lisle. As a writer he is most famous for his three collections of poetry: Poèmes antiques (1852), Poèmes barbares (1862), Poèmes tragiques (1884). He is also known for his translations of Ancient Greek tragedians and poets, such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Eu...
a French poet of the Parnassian movement. He is traditionally known by his surname only, Leconte de Lisle. As a writer he is most famous for his three collections of poetry: Poèmes antiques (1852), Poèmes barbares (1862), Poèmes tragiques (1884). He is also known for his translations of Ancient Greek tragedians and poets, such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Horace.
John Ledyard
1751, Nov 1770s-1789 1789, Jan 10
an American explorer and adventurer. In June 1776, Ledyard joined Captain James Cook's third and final voyage as a British marine. Explored Australasia, Oceania, and Russia. Ledyard was sent to Canada to fight in the American Revolution. Instead he deserted, returne...
an American explorer and adventurer. In June 1776, Ledyard joined Captain James Cook's third and final voyage as a British marine. Explored Australasia, Oceania, and Russia. Ledyard was sent to Canada to fight in the American Revolution. Instead he deserted, returned to Dartmouth, and began to write his Journal of Captain Cook's Last Voyage. It was published in 1783, five years after he had visited Hawaii, and was the first work to be protected by copyright in the United States.
Hannah Farnham Sawyer Lee
An American essayist and miscellaneous writer, wife of George Gardiner Lee of Boston; born in Newburyport, MA, 1780; died in Boston, 1865. Her works are: 'Grace Seymour' (1835); 'Three Experiments in Living' (1838); 'The Huguenots in France and America' (1842); 'Memoir of Pierre Toussaint' (1853).
1757 1851, Aug 1
an English novelist and playwright. In 1786, she published The Errors of Innocence, a novel in five volumes, written in epistolary form. A comedy, The New Peerage, or our Eyes may deceive us, was performed at Drury Lane on 10 Nov. 1787, and, although acted nine times, was not successful enough to encourage her to continue writing for the stage. Clara Lennox,...
an English novelist and playwright. In 1786, she published The Errors of Innocence, a novel in five volumes, written in epistolary form. A comedy, The New Peerage, or our Eyes may deceive us, was performed at Drury Lane on 10 Nov. 1787, and, although acted nine times, was not successful enough to encourage her to continue writing for the stage. Clara Lennox, a novel in two volumes, was published in 1797 and translated into French in the following year.
Sophia Lee
an English novelist, dramatist and educator. Her novel The Recess, or a Tale of other Times (1783–85) was a historical romance; and the play Almeyda, Queen of Grenada (1796) was a long tragedy in blank verse, which opened at Drury Lane on 20 April 1796 but ran for only five nights. With her sister Harriet Lee, Sophia also wrote a series of
an English novelist, dramatist and educator. Her novel The Recess, or a Tale of other Times (1783–85) was a historical romance; and the play Almeyda, Queen of Grenada (1796) was a long tragedy in blank verse, which opened at Drury Lane on 20 April 1796 but ran for only five nights. With her sister Harriet Lee, Sophia also wrote a series of Canterbury Tales (1797).
Valentin Lefebvre
aka: Lefèvre
Not much is known of the life of the Flemish artist Valentin Lefebvre. The fundamental influence on his work, clear also in the present sheet, is the Venetian artist Paolo Veronese (1528-1588), but it has also been pointed out that Giovanni Coli and Filippo Gherardi were significant.1 Both those painters were working in Venice between 1663-68, in the Library...
Not much is known of the life of the Flemish artist Valentin Lefebvre. The fundamental influence on his work, clear also in the present sheet, is the Venetian artist Paolo Veronese (1528-1588), but it has also been pointed out that Giovanni Coli and Filippo Gherardi were significant.1 Both those painters were working in Venice between 1663-68, in the Library of San Giorgio Maggiore, where Lefebvre was also active around the same period. As an artist Lefebvre mainly concentrated on engravings for illustrations and he is the author of the Opera Selectiora, published in 1682.
Jean Baptiste Lefebvre de Villebrune
a French philologist, physician and translator. He was born in Senlis, Oise, and died in Angoulême. There is very little additional information about the details of his life. He also translated from ancient Greek, Latin, Spanish, English, German and various Eastern languages ??into French. He was appointed professor of Hebrew and Syriac at the College de Fr...
a French philologist, physician and translator. He was born in Senlis, Oise, and died in Angoulême. There is very little additional information about the details of his life. He also translated from ancient Greek, Latin, Spanish, English, German and various Eastern languages ??into French. He was appointed professor of Hebrew and Syriac at the College de France in 1792, and Director of the National Library in 1793.
Thomas Legge
an English playwright, prominently known for his play Richardus Tertius, which is considered to be the first history play written in England. He attended Trinity College, where he received a B.A. in 1556. He then went on to attend Oxford in 1566, where he received his master's degree. In 1568 Legge became a member of the faculty at Jesus College, Cambridge, ...
an English playwright, prominently known for his play Richardus Tertius, which is considered to be the first history play written in England. He attended Trinity College, where he received a B.A. in 1556. He then went on to attend Oxford in 1566, where he received his master's degree. In 1568 Legge became a member of the faculty at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he was known to be an active tutor and a proponent of the old way of thinking in religious matters.
Gerard Legh
an English lawyer, known as a writer on heraldry. He served an apprenticeship to his father and became a member of the Drapers' Company. Subsequently he became a member of the Inner Temple. He travelled in France, and in 1562 was preparing for a journey to Venice. He died of the plague. Legh's only work, entitled The Accedens of Armory, London, 1562 (later e...
an English lawyer, known as a writer on heraldry. He served an apprenticeship to his father and became a member of the Drapers' Company. Subsequently he became a member of the Inner Temple. He travelled in France, and in 1562 was preparing for a journey to Venice. He died of the plague. Legh's only work, entitled The Accedens of Armory, London, 1562 (later editions 1568, 1572, 1576, 1591, 1597, and 1612), is written in form of a colloquy between 'Gerarde the Herehaught and Legh the Caligat Knight.'
Cross-listed in Inventors • Scientists
aka: von Leibniz
1646, Jun 21 1716, Nov 14
a German polymath and philosopher who occupies a prominent place in the history of mathematics and the history of philosophy, having developed differential and integral calculus independently of Isaac Newton. Leibniz's notation has been widely used ever since it ...
a German polymath and philosopher who occupies a prominent place in the history of mathematics and the history of philosophy, having developed differential and integral calculus independently of Isaac Newton. Leibniz's notation has been widely used ever since it was published. He became one of the most prolific inventors in the field of mechanical calculators. Leibniz's contributions to this vast array of subjects were scattered in various learned journals, in tens of thousands of letters, and in unpublished manuscripts. He wrote in several languages, but primarily in Latin, French, and German.
William Leigh
an English clergyman and royal tutor. He is now remembered for his sermon series Queene Elizabeth paraleld from 1612, which includes the first published text record for the queen's speech to the troops at Tilbury from 1588. He took holy orders, and was known as a preacher at Oxford and elsewhere. On 24 July 1584 he asked the university authorities for a prea...
an English clergyman and royal tutor. He is now remembered for his sermon series Queene Elizabeth paraleld from 1612, which includes the first published text record for the queen's speech to the troops at Tilbury from 1588. He took holy orders, and was known as a preacher at Oxford and elsewhere. On 24 July 1584 he asked the university authorities for a preaching license, to enable him to preach at St. Paul's Cross. In 1586 he was presented by Bishop William Chaderton to the rectory of Standish, near Wigan, Lancashire, which he held till his death.
Cross-listed in Composers
an Elizabethan composer and editor who published The Teares and Lamentatacions of a Sorrowfull Soule (1614) which comprised 55 pieces by 21 composers (among them John Bull, William Byrd, John Dowland and Martin Peerson), including eight by himself. There is a mode...
an Elizabethan composer and editor who published The Teares and Lamentatacions of a Sorrowfull Soule (1614) which comprised 55 pieces by 21 composers (among them John Bull, William Byrd, John Dowland and Martin Peerson), including eight by himself. There is a modern edition published by Stainer and Bell and a modern facsimile. Several radio broadcasts have been made but no commercial recording has been carried out yet. The book is historically important because it has parts for an instrumental accompaniment of broken consort and introduces the term "consort song".
Karl Gottfried Ritter von Leitner
aka: Carl
1800, Nov 18 1890, Jun 20
an Austrian author and publicist from Graz, Styria, Austria. From 1837 to 1854 he was the first Secretary to the Estates in Styria. He was the editor of the newspaper "Steiermark Zeitschrift" (Styria Times). Karl was the curator of the Landesmuseum Joanneum (Joanneum National Museum) in Graz, Austria from 1858 to 1864, and ge co-founded the Historical Associ...
an Austrian author and publicist from Graz, Styria, Austria. From 1837 to 1854 he was the first Secretary to the Estates in Styria. He was the editor of the newspaper "Steiermark Zeitschrift" (Styria Times). Karl was the curator of the Landesmuseum Joanneum (Joanneum National Museum) in Graz, Austria from 1858 to 1864, and ge co-founded the Historical Association for Styrian Friendship with Peter Rosegger. Some of his ballads were set to music by Franz Schubert.
John Leland
aka: Leyland
1503, Sep 13 1552, Apr 18
an English poet and antiquary. Leland has been described as "the father of English local history and bibliography". His Itinerary provided a unique source of observations and raw materials for many subsequent antiquaries, and introduced the county as the basic unit for studying the local history of England, an idea that has been influential ever since. Lelan...
an English poet and antiquary. Leland has been described as "the father of English local history and bibliography". His Itinerary provided a unique source of observations and raw materials for many subsequent antiquaries, and introduced the county as the basic unit for studying the local history of England, an idea that has been influential ever since. Leland's writings are an invaluable primary source, not only for the local history and the geography of England, but also for literary history, archaeology, social history, and economic history.
Nicolas Lemery
a French chemist, was born at Rouen. He was one of the first to develop theories on acid-base chemistry. Lemery did not concern himself much with theoretical speculations, but holding chemistry to be a demonstrative science, confined himself to the straightforward exposition of facts and experiments. In consequence, his lecture-room was thronged with people ...
a French chemist, was born at Rouen. He was one of the first to develop theories on acid-base chemistry. Lemery did not concern himself much with theoretical speculations, but holding chemistry to be a demonstrative science, confined himself to the straightforward exposition of facts and experiments. In consequence, his lecture-room was thronged with people of all sorts, anxious to hear a man who shunned the barren obscurities of the alchemists, and did not regard the quest of the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life as the sole end of his science. Of his Cours de chymie (1675) he lived to see 13 editions, and for a century it maintained its reputation as a standard work.
Adolphe Lemoine
aka: Lemoine-Montigny, Montigny
a French comédien and playwright. He was also the director of the Théâtre du Gymnase. He married the comic-actress Rose Chéri. He was the uncle of the comic-actress Anna Judic. He wrote seven plays between the years of 1832 and 1836. His breakthrough performance was Honore de Balzac Mercadet 1851, when he set a table in the middle of the stage, which pre...
a French comédien and playwright. He was also the director of the Théâtre du Gymnase. He married the comic-actress Rose Chéri. He was the uncle of the comic-actress Anna Judic. He wrote seven plays between the years of 1832 and 1836. His breakthrough performance was Honore de Balzac Mercadet 1851, when he set a table in the middle of the stage, which prevented the actors in placing themselves in the traditional semicircle in front of the ramp.
Anna Maria Lenngren
1754, Jun 18 1817, Mar 8
a Swedish poet. She is one of the most famous poets in Swedish history. Anna Maria Lenngren debuted as a writer of poems for funerals and weddings, and her earliest work has a tone of the ecstatic passion common in the religious circles of her father. This was however quickly replaced by a more sober tone in line with the scientific sense and realism of the ...
a Swedish poet. She is one of the most famous poets in Swedish history. Anna Maria Lenngren debuted as a writer of poems for funerals and weddings, and her earliest work has a tone of the ecstatic passion common in the religious circles of her father. This was however quickly replaced by a more sober tone in line with the scientific sense and realism of the age of enlightenment. As a writer, Lenngren frequently used satire, sarcasm, and irony, and she often made parodied the genre of pastoral, opera and ballad. Her verse was often short, portraying everyday life, almost always in a city environment, and she criticized artificiality and lack of genuine value behind the facade.
1798, Jun 29 1837, Jun 14
an Italian poet, philosopher, essayist and philologist. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most radical and challenging thinkers of the 19th century. Although he lived in a secluded town in the ultra-conservative Papal States, he came in touch with the main thoughts of the Enlightenment, and, by his own literary evolution, created a remarkable and re...
an Italian poet, philosopher, essayist and philologist. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most radical and challenging thinkers of the 19th century. Although he lived in a secluded town in the ultra-conservative Papal States, he came in touch with the main thoughts of the Enlightenment, and, by his own literary evolution, created a remarkable and renowned poetic work, related to the Romantic era. The extraordinarily lyrical quality of his poetry made him a central protagonist in the European and international literary and cultural landscape.
Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont
1711, Apr 26 1780, Sep 8
a French author who wrote the best known version of Beauty and the Beast. She had a relationship with the spy for the British, Thomas Pichon (1757–1760). Her first work, the moralistic novel The Triumph of Truth (Le Triomphe de la vérité), was published in 1748. She published approximately seventy volumes during her literary career Most famous were the c...
a French author who wrote the best known version of Beauty and the Beast. She had a relationship with the spy for the British, Thomas Pichon (1757–1760). Her first work, the moralistic novel The Triumph of Truth (Le Triomphe de la vérité), was published in 1748. She published approximately seventy volumes during her literary career Most famous were the collections she called "magasins," instructional handbooks for parents and educators of students from childhood through adolescence. She was one of the first to include folk tales as moralist and educational tools in her writings.
Mikhail Lermontov
1814, Oct 3 1841, Jul 15
a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucasus", the most important Russian poet after Alexander Pushkin's death in 1837 and the greatest figure in Russian Romanticism. His influence on later Russian literature is sti...
a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucasus", the most important Russian poet after Alexander Pushkin's death in 1837 and the greatest figure in Russian Romanticism. His influence on later Russian literature is still felt in modern times, not only through his poetry, but also through his prose, which founded the tradition of the Russian psychological novel.
Alain-Rene Lesage
aka: Alain-René, Le Sage
1668, May 6 1695-1743 1747, Nov 17
a French novelist and playwright. Lesage is best known for his comic novel The Devil upon Two Sticks (1707, Le Diable boiteux), his comedy Turcaret (1709), and his picaresque novel Gil Blas (1715–1735). Lesage began by translating plays chiefly from Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla and Lope de Vega. In 1707, his farce, Crispin riv...
a French novelist and playwright. Lesage is best known for his comic novel The Devil upon Two Sticks (1707, Le Diable boiteux), his comedy Turcaret (1709), and his picaresque novel Gil Blas (1715–1735). Lesage began by translating plays chiefly from Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla and Lope de Vega. In 1707, his farce, Crispin rival de son maître, was well received, and Le Diable boiteux [ (with a frontispiece by Louise-Magdeleine Horthemels) was published and ran to several editions.
Gotthold Lessing
1729, Jan 22 1781, Feb 15
a German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature. He is widely considered by theatre historians to be the first dramaturg in his role at Abel Seyler's Hamburg National The...
a German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature. He is widely considered by theatre historians to be the first dramaturg in his role at Abel Seyler's Hamburg National Theatre.
Francois Leuret
1797, Dec 29 1851, Jan 5
a French anatomist and psychiatrist who was a native of Nancy. He studied medicine under Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol (1772–1840), and was later chief physician at the Bicêtre in Paris. Two of his better known students were Paul Broca (1824–1880) and Louis Pierre Gratiolet (1815–1865). Leuret was also chief-editor of Annales d'hygiène publique ...
a French anatomist and psychiatrist who was a native of Nancy. He studied medicine under Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol (1772–1840), and was later chief physician at the Bicêtre in Paris. Two of his better known students were Paul Broca (1824–1880) and Louis Pierre Gratiolet (1815–1865). Leuret was also chief-editor of Annales d'hygiène publique et de médecine légale, an influential journal of hygiene and forensic medicine.
Eliphas Levi
aka: Alphonse Louis Constant
1810, Feb 8 1875, May 31
a French occult author and ceremonial magician. "Éliphas Lévi", the name under which he published his books, was his attempt to translate or transliterate his given names "Alphonse Louis" into the Hebrew language. When Constant published his first radical writing, La Bible de la liberté (1841, The Bible of Liberty), he was sentenced to an eight-month pris...
a French occult author and ceremonial magician. "Éliphas Lévi", the name under which he published his books, was his attempt to translate or transliterate his given names "Alphonse Louis" into the Hebrew language. When Constant published his first radical writing, La Bible de la liberté (1841, The Bible of Liberty), he was sentenced to an eight-month prison term and a high fine. Contemporaries saw in him the most notorious "disciple" of Lamennais, although the two men do not seem to have established a personal contact. In the following years, Constant would describe his ideology as communisme néo-catholique and publish a number of socialist books and pamphlets. Like many socialists, he propagated socialism as "true Christianity" and denounced the Churches as corruptors of the teachings of Christ.
George Henry Lewes
1817, Apr 18 1878, Nov 30
an English philosopher and critic of literature and theatre. He became part of the mid-Victorian ferment of ideas which encouraged discussion of Darwinism, positivism, and religious skepticism. However, he is perhaps best known today for having openly lived with Mary Ann Evans, who wrote under the pen-name George Eliot, as soulmates whose life and writings ...
an English philosopher and critic of literature and theatre. He became part of the mid-Victorian ferment of ideas which encouraged discussion of Darwinism, positivism, and religious skepticism. However, he is perhaps best known today for having openly lived with Mary Ann Evans, who wrote under the pen-name George Eliot, as soulmates whose life and writings were enriched by their relationship, despite never marrying.
Alethea Lewis
1749, Dec 19 1827, Nov
an English novelist, born at Acton, near Nantwich, Cheshire. She also used the pseudonym Eugenia de Acton. Her subject-matter centred on her profound Christianity and the rewards of virtue. Lewis's themes mostly centre on her profound Christianity and the rewards of virtue. Her work is self-conscious and shows great erudition. Some works were published under...
an English novelist, born at Acton, near Nantwich, Cheshire. She also used the pseudonym Eugenia de Acton. Her subject-matter centred on her profound Christianity and the rewards of virtue. Lewis's themes mostly centre on her profound Christianity and the rewards of virtue. Her work is self-conscious and shows great erudition. Some works were published under the pseudonym "Eugenia de Acton". Her plots have been described as "overcrowded and creaky," but with "a strain of creative unconventionality."
1775, Jul 9 1818, May 16
an English novelist and dramatist, often referred to as "Monk" Lewis, because of the success of his 1796 Gothic novel, The Monk. In March 1792, Lewis translated the French opera Felix and sent it to Drury Lane, hoping to earn money for his mother. While he tried to write a novel like more
an English novelist and dramatist, often referred to as "Monk" Lewis, because of the success of his 1796 Gothic novel, The Monk. In March 1792, Lewis translated the French opera Felix and sent it to Drury Lane, hoping to earn money for his mother. While he tried to write a novel like Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, he mainly adhered to theatre, writing The East Indian, but seven years elapsed before it appeared onstage at Drury Lane. In Germany, he even translated Wieland's Oberon, a difficult work of poetry which earned him the respect of his acquaintance Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Li Kaixian
a Chinese writer, playwright and literary critic of the Ming Dynasty. He was retired from the government at age 39, and then devoted his life to literature and Chinese opera. He was a member of the circle of intellectuals gathered folk songs and ballads. His first play Sword was written in the style chuanqi. The play is based on the plot of the novel Water M...
a Chinese writer, playwright and literary critic of the Ming Dynasty. He was retired from the government at age 39, and then devoted his life to literature and Chinese opera. He was a member of the circle of intellectuals gathered folk songs and ballads. His first play Sword was written in the style chuanqi. The play is based on the plot of the novel Water Margin, but the story of Lin Chong had been changed.
Liang Fa
the second Chinese Protestant convert and the first Chinese Protestant minister and evangelist. He was ordained by Robert Morrison, the first Protestant missionary in the Qing Empire. His tract Good Words to Admonish the Age was influential on Hong Xiuquan, who went on to lead the Taiping Rebellion. Liang Fa wrote under the pen name "Student of the Good" or ...
the second Chinese Protestant convert and the first Chinese Protestant minister and evangelist. He was ordained by Robert Morrison, the first Protestant missionary in the Qing Empire. His tract Good Words to Admonish the Age was influential on Hong Xiuquan, who went on to lead the Taiping Rebellion. Liang Fa wrote under the pen name "Student of the Good" or "Retired Student of the Good".
Richard Lichfield
a barber surgeon in Cambridge, England, during the late 16th and early 17th century. In 1597 he wrote a pamphlet sharply criticising the writer Thomas Nashe, which for many years was believed to be the work of Gabriel Harvey. Although not a member of the academic community Lichfield belonged to the property-owning middle class, and had a local reputation as ...
a barber surgeon in Cambridge, England, during the late 16th and early 17th century. In 1597 he wrote a pamphlet sharply criticising the writer Thomas Nashe, which for many years was believed to be the work of Gabriel Harvey. Although not a member of the academic community Lichfield belonged to the property-owning middle class, and had a local reputation as a humorist. His humour took the form of parodies of learned speeches, complete with phony Latinisms, evidently a popular genre at Cambridge and one in which other barbers are also said to have excelled.
Francis Lieber
aka: Franz
1798/1800, Mar 18 1872, Oct 2
a German-American jurist, gymnast and political philosopher. He edited an Encyclopaedia Americana. He was the author of the Lieber Code during the American Civil War, also known as Code for the Government of Armies in the Field (1863). The Lieber Code is considered the first document to comprehensively outline rules regulating the conduct of war, and laid th...
a German-American jurist, gymnast and political philosopher. He edited an Encyclopaedia Americana. He was the author of the Lieber Code during the American Civil War, also known as Code for the Government of Armies in the Field (1863). The Lieber Code is considered the first document to comprehensively outline rules regulating the conduct of war, and laid the foundation for the Geneva Conventions.
Richard Ligon
a British author, lost his fortune as a royalist during the English Civil War (1642-1651), and during this turbulent time in England he found himself, as he notes in his narrative, a "stranger in my own country." On 14 June 1647, he left for Barbados to gain his fortune in the New World, like many of his fellow countrymen. Ligon purchased half of a sugar pla...
a British author, lost his fortune as a royalist during the English Civil War (1642-1651), and during this turbulent time in England he found himself, as he notes in his narrative, a "stranger in my own country." On 14 June 1647, he left for Barbados to gain his fortune in the New World, like many of his fellow countrymen. Ligon purchased half of a sugar plantation in Barbados. After two years residence on the island he was attacked by a fever, and returned to England in 1650. He was soon afterward put into prison by his creditors. There are conflicting reports as to whether his narrative was conceived of in prison as a way to pay off his creditors and gain his freedom, or before his imprisonment at the urging of Abraham Duppa, bishop of Salisbury. His work, A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes and was published in London in 1657 and again in 1673.
John Lilburne
aka: Freeborn John
an English political Leveller before, during and after the English Civil Wars 1642–1650. He coined the term "freeborn rights", defining them as rights with which every human being is born, as opposed to rights bestowed by government or human law. In his early life he was a Puritan, though towards the end of his life he became a Quaker. His works have been ...
an English political Leveller before, during and after the English Civil Wars 1642–1650. He coined the term "freeborn rights", defining them as rights with which every human being is born, as opposed to rights bestowed by government or human law. In his early life he was a Puritan, though towards the end of his life he became a Quaker. His works have been cited in opinions by the United States Supreme Court.
Cross-listed in Clergy • Cartographers
George Lily
an English Roman Catholic priest, humanist scholar, biographer, topographer and cartographer. Lily was a major contributor to the Descriptio Britanniae, Scotiae, Hyberniae et Orchadum, a chorography of the British Isles conceived by Paolo Giovio, Bishop of Nocera, which was published in Venice in 1548. Lily has also been credited as author of "Catalogus sive...
an English Roman Catholic priest, humanist scholar, biographer, topographer and cartographer. Lily was a major contributor to the Descriptio Britanniae, Scotiae, Hyberniae et Orchadum, a chorography of the British Isles conceived by Paolo Giovio, Bishop of Nocera, which was published in Venice in 1548. Lily has also been credited as author of "Catalogus sive Series Pontificorum et Caesarum Romanorum" (a catalogue of Roman Popes and Emperors) and others.
Ling Mengchu
a Chinese writer of the Ming Dynasty. He is best known for his vernacular short fiction collections Slapping the Table in Amazement, I and II. Ling's short stories were a detailed study of his 17th century moral world. Ling was strongly influenced by Feng Menglong, whose success emboldened him to publish commercially. In the prefatory material to his first...
a Chinese writer of the Ming Dynasty. He is best known for his vernacular short fiction collections Slapping the Table in Amazement, I and II. Ling's short stories were a detailed study of his 17th century moral world. Ling was strongly influenced by Feng Menglong, whose success emboldened him to publish commercially. In the prefatory material to his first short story collection he insisted it was infinitely more difficult to paint a likeness of a dog or horse one had actually seen than to render a ghost or goblin one had never observed.
Cross-listed in Clergy • Educators
John Lingard
1771, Feb 5 1851, Jul 17
an English historian, the author of The History of England, From the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of Henry VIII, an 8-volume work published in 1819. In 1793 where he concluded his theological studies and was ordained. He then taught philos...
an English historian, the author of The History of England, From the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of Henry VIII, an 8-volume work published in 1819. In 1793 where he concluded his theological studies and was ordained. He then taught philosophy and, in 1805, wrote a series of letters which, after their publication in a periodical, were collected as Catholic Loyalty Vindicated.
Anton Tomaz Linhart
aka: Anton Tomaž Linhart
1756, Dec 11 1795, Jul 14/15
a Carniolan playwright and historian, best known as the author of the first comedy and theatrical play in general in Slovene, Županova Micka (Micka, the Mayor's Daughter). He is also considered the father of Slovene historiography, since he was the first historian to write a history of all Slovenes as a unit, rejecting the previous concept which focused on ...
a Carniolan playwright and historian, best known as the author of the first comedy and theatrical play in general in Slovene, Županova Micka (Micka, the Mayor's Daughter). He is also considered the father of Slovene historiography, since he was the first historian to write a history of all Slovenes as a unit, rejecting the previous concept which focused on single historical provinces. He was the first one to define the Slovenes as a separate ethnic group and set the foundations of the Slovene ethnography.
aka: Carolus Linnæus, Carolus a Linné, Carl von Linné
1707, May 23 1778, Jan 10
a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who formalised the modern system of naming organisms called binomial nomenclature. He is known by the epithet "father of modern taxonomy". One of the first scientists Linnaeus met in the Netherlands was Johan Frederik Gronovius to whom Linnaeus showed one of the several manuscripts he had brought with him from Sw...
a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who formalised the modern system of naming organisms called binomial nomenclature. He is known by the epithet "father of modern taxonomy". One of the first scientists Linnaeus met in the Netherlands was Johan Frederik Gronovius to whom Linnaeus showed one of the several manuscripts he had brought with him from Sweden. The manuscript described a new system for classifying plants. When Gronovius saw it, he was very impressed, and offered to help pay for the printing. With an additional monetary contribution by the Scottish doctor Isaac Lawson, the manuscript was published as Systema Naturae (1735).
Eliza Lynn Linton
1822, Feb 10 1898, Jul 14
the first female salaried journalist in Britain, and the author of over 20 novels. Despite her path breaking role as an independent woman, many of her essays took a strong anti-feminist slant. Linton arrived in London in 1845 as the protégée of poet Walter Savage Landor. In the following year she produced her first novel, Azeth, the Egyptian, which was suc...
the first female salaried journalist in Britain, and the author of over 20 novels. Despite her path breaking role as an independent woman, many of her essays took a strong anti-feminist slant. Linton arrived in London in 1845 as the protégée of poet Walter Savage Landor. In the following year she produced her first novel, Azeth, the Egyptian, which was succeeded by Amymone (1848), and Realities (1851), followed. None of these had any great success, and she became a journalist, joining the staff of the Morning Chronicle, and Household Words.
Thomas Lister
aka: Thomas Butler
an English Jesuit writer. Difficulties had broken out among the English Catholic clergy, the so-called archpriest controversy, amounting to the refusal of certain among them to recognize the authority of the newly appointed archpriest, Dr. George Blackwell. Lister was at this point consulted by one of the priests as to the conduct of those who refused obedie...
an English Jesuit writer. Difficulties had broken out among the English Catholic clergy, the so-called archpriest controversy, amounting to the refusal of certain among them to recognize the authority of the newly appointed archpriest, Dr. George Blackwell. Lister was at this point consulted by one of the priests as to the conduct of those who refused obedience. His reply took the form of a small treatise entitled Adversus factiosos in ecclesia, in which their conduct was vigorously censured. They are declared to have ipso facto have fallen into schism, and to have incurred excommunication and irregularity. It is doubtful whether this tractate was published; but it was widely circulated in manuscript, and proved divisive.
William Lithgow
a traveler, writer and alleged spy. He claimed at the end of his various peregrinations to have tramped 36,000 miles on foot. Prior to 1610 he had visited Shetland, Switzerland, and Bohemia. In that year he set out from Paris for Rome on the 7 March, where he remained for four weeks before moving on to other parts of Italy: Naples, Ancona, before moving on t...
a traveler, writer and alleged spy. He claimed at the end of his various peregrinations to have tramped 36,000 miles on foot. Prior to 1610 he had visited Shetland, Switzerland, and Bohemia. In that year he set out from Paris for Rome on the 7 March, where he remained for four weeks before moving on to other parts of Italy: Naples, Ancona, before moving on to Athens, Constantinople, and others. After a three-month stay in Constantinople, he sailed to other Grecian localities and then on to Palestine, arriving in Jerusalemon Palm Sunday 1612, and later on to Egypt.
a Chinese prose master and official from Macheng in Huanggang. He was a figure in the Ming Dynasty's Jingling school of Chinese prose literature in contrast to the Gongan school and the well known Yuan Hongdao and his brothers. He is credited with the Dijing Jingwulue. His Dijing Jingwulue is thought to actually to have been a travel guide to the historical...
a Chinese prose master and official from Macheng in Huanggang. He was a figure in the Ming Dynasty's Jingling school of Chinese prose literature in contrast to the Gongan school and the well known Yuan Hongdao and his brothers. He is credited with the Dijing Jingwulue. His Dijing Jingwulue is thought to actually to have been a travel guide to the historical and geographical attractions of Beijing. The work includes mention of the Catholic cathedral and the tomb of the Jesuit Matteo Ricci. Its inclusion of anecdote and unusual detail make it an invaluable study of Beijing in the early 17th century.
Liu Xizai
a major Chinese literati of Qing Dynasty. He was regarded as the Hegel (Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel) of the East. The book, The Record of Xing Hua remains the primary source of bibliographical material on Liu Xizai. Liu Xizai was born in Xingh...
a major Chinese literati of Qing Dynasty. He was regarded as the Hegel (Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel) of the East. The book, The Record of Xing Hua remains the primary source of bibliographical material on Liu Xizai. Liu Xizai was born in Xinghua. When he was ten years old, his father died. Several years later, his mother also died. The young Xizai read extensively and engaged in studying. He finished his autobiography when he was very old. In 1881, he died at the age of 69. Most of his works focus on criticizing literature. They are considered important to the development of Chinese culture.
Liu Zhi
a Chinese Muslim scholar of the Qing dynasty from the traditionalist Gedimu sect of Islam. He was from Nanjing. He learned Arabic and was versed in Buddhism and Daoism. He also wrote several works on Islam in 1674, 1710, and 1721.His writings became part of the Han Kitab, a collection of literature which synthesized Islam and Confucianism. He said that Musli...
a Chinese Muslim scholar of the Qing dynasty from the traditionalist Gedimu sect of Islam. He was from Nanjing. He learned Arabic and was versed in Buddhism and Daoism. He also wrote several works on Islam in 1674, 1710, and 1721.His writings became part of the Han Kitab, a collection of literature which synthesized Islam and Confucianism. He said that Muslims were allowed to believe in the Mandate of Heaven and serve the Emperor, because Allah allowed the Mandate of Heaven to exist.
Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi
aka: José Joaquín Fernández
a Mexican writer and political journalist, best known as the author of El Periquillo Sarniento (1816), translated as The Mangy Parrot in English, reputed to be the first novel written in Latin America. In his journalism, Lizardi turned from the light social criticism of his earlier broadsheets to direct commentary on the political problems of the day, attack...
a Mexican writer and political journalist, best known as the author of El Periquillo Sarniento (1816), translated as The Mangy Parrot in English, reputed to be the first novel written in Latin America. In his journalism, Lizardi turned from the light social criticism of his earlier broadsheets to direct commentary on the political problems of the day, attacking the autocratic tendencies of the viceregal government and supporting the liberal aspirations represented by the Cortes in Spain.
Aurora Ljungstedt
aka: Claude Gérard
1821, Sep 2 1908, Feb 21
a Swedish writer. She is regarded to be the first crime novel author of her country and has been referred to as Sweden's Edgar Allan Poe. Ljungstedt displayed talent early on but her mother disapproved of a literary career as unsuitable as this would make her ...
a Swedish writer. She is regarded to be the first crime novel author of her country and has been referred to as Sweden's Edgar Allan Poe. Ljungstedt displayed talent early on but her mother disapproved of a literary career as unsuitable as this would make her a public person. After having married, she was free to write with the support of her spouse. She debuted in the 1840s and wrote anonymously until her pseudonym was unintentionally exposed in the 1870s.
Juan Antonio Llorente
1756, Mar 30 1823, Feb 5
a Spanish historian. His 1810 project for a division of Spain in prefectures and subprefectures (under the French revolutionary inspiration) was never brought into practice because of the war. On the return of King Ferdinand VII to Spain in 1814, he retreated to France, where he published his great work, Histoire critique de l'Inquisition espagnole (Paris, 1...
a Spanish historian. His 1810 project for a division of Spain in prefectures and subprefectures (under the French revolutionary inspiration) was never brought into practice because of the war. On the return of King Ferdinand VII to Spain in 1814, he retreated to France, where he published his great work, Histoire critique de l'Inquisition espagnole (Paris, 1817-1818). His works "were the first fully documented accounts of the Inquisition to have seen the light of day in over three hundred years of the tribunal's existence."
Humphrey Llwyd
aka: Lhuyd
a Welsh cartographer, author, antiquary and Member of Parliament. He was a leading member of the Renaissance period in Wales along with other such men as Thomas Salisbury and William Morgan. His library, together with those of his patron, the Earl of Arundel and his brother-in-law, Lord Lumley, formed the basis of the Royal Collection of books; currently hou...
a Welsh cartographer, author, antiquary and Member of Parliament. He was a leading member of the Renaissance period in Wales along with other such men as Thomas Salisbury and William Morgan. His library, together with those of his patron, the Earl of Arundel and his brother-in-law, Lord Lumley, formed the basis of the Royal Collection of books; currently housed at the British Library. His motto was Hwy pery klod na golyd ("Fame lasts longer than wealth").
Morgan Llwyd
a Welsh Puritan preacher, poet and prose writer. Morgan Llwyd came to prominence during Oliver Cromwell's rule, and wrote about the psychology of spiritual experience. His most influential book was Llyfr y Tri Aderyn ("The Book of the Three Birds") in 1653. Th...
a Welsh Puritan preacher, poet and prose writer. Morgan Llwyd came to prominence during Oliver Cromwell's rule, and wrote about the psychology of spiritual experience. His most influential book was Llyfr y Tri Aderyn ("The Book of the Three Birds") in 1653. This is in the form of a dialogue between an eagle (representing secular authority, particularly Cromwell); a dove (representing the Puritans); and a raven (representing the Anglican establishment). Morgan Llwyd is credited with being the first Nonconformist minister in Wrexham. He died there and is buried in the Dissenters' Burial Ground in Rhosddu, Wrexham.
Ambrosius Lobwasser
a German humanist and translator, born in Saxony. He served as professor of jurisprudence at the University of Königsberg from 1563 until his retirement in 1580, but is best known for his Psalter des Königlichen Propheten David, published in 1573 (Leipzig). This metrical psalter, a translation of the Genevan Psalter, became one of the standard psalm-books ...
a German humanist and translator, born in Saxony. He served as professor of jurisprudence at the University of Königsberg from 1563 until his retirement in 1580, but is best known for his Psalter des Königlichen Propheten David, published in 1573 (Leipzig). This metrical psalter, a translation of the Genevan Psalter, became one of the standard psalm-books used by the evangelical churches of the German-speaking lands, including Switzerland (the Genevan Psalter had been written in French). The Lobwasser psalter was widely reprinted into the 1800s.
Anne Locke
an English poet, translator and Calvinist religious figure. She was the first English author to publish a sonnet sequence, A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner (1560). Scholars now agree that Anne Locke published the first sonnet sequence in English, A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner; it comprises 26 sonnets based on Psalm 51. Her other works include a short, f...
an English poet, translator and Calvinist religious figure. She was the first English author to publish a sonnet sequence, A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner (1560). Scholars now agree that Anne Locke published the first sonnet sequence in English, A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner; it comprises 26 sonnets based on Psalm 51. Her other works include a short, four-line Latin poem that appears in a 1572 manuscript of Doctor Bartholo Sylva's Giardino cosmographico coltivato alongside many other dedicatory poems. The manuscript was compiled for presentation to Robert Dudley by Locke, her second husband Edward Dering, and the five Cooke sisters, all staunch supporters of the Protestant cause.
1632, Aug 29 1704, Oct 28
an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism". Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Sir Francis Bacon,...
an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism". Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Sir Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social contract theory. His work greatly affected the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American revolutionaries. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence.
Matthew Locke
1621 ca 1677, Aug
an English Baroque composer and music theorist. Locke, with Christopher Gibbons (the son of Orlando), composed the score for Cupid and Death, the 1653 masque by Caroline-era playwright James Shirley. Their score for that work is the sole surviving score for a dramatic work from that era. Locke was one of the quintet of composers who provided music for The Si...
an English Baroque composer and music theorist. Locke, with Christopher Gibbons (the son of Orlando), composed the score for Cupid and Death, the 1653 masque by Caroline-era playwright James Shirley. Their score for that work is the sole surviving score for a dramatic work from that era. Locke was one of the quintet of composers who provided music for The Siege of Rhodes (1656), the breakthrough early opera by Sir William Davenant. Locke wrote music for subsequent Davenant operas, The Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru (1658) and The History of Sir Francis Drake (1659). He wrote the music for the processional march for the coronation of Charles II. In 1673 Locke's treatise on music theory, Melothesia, was published.
aka: Joseph-Philippe Simon
1803, Feb 17 1891, Jan 19
a French actor and playwright. Born in Turin as the son of Baron General Henri Simon, who forbade his son's use of his surname in an artistic career, Joseph-Philippe Simon began as an actor under the pseudonym Lockroy at the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe and the Comédie-Française in Paris before devoting himself entirely to writing. For a few months in 1848...
a French actor and playwright. Born in Turin as the son of Baron General Henri Simon, who forbade his son's use of his surname in an artistic career, Joseph-Philippe Simon began as an actor under the pseudonym Lockroy at the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe and the Comédie-Française in Paris before devoting himself entirely to writing. For a few months in 1848 he served as provisional administrator of the Comédie-Française.
Cross-listed in Pirates • Physicians
Thomas Lodge
an English physician and author during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Lodge, disregarding the wishes of his family, took up literature. When the penitent Stephen Gosson had (in 1579) published his Schoole of Abuse, Lodge responded with Defence of Poetry, Music and Stage Plays (1579 or 1580), which shows a certain restraint, though both forceful and le...
an English physician and author during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Lodge, disregarding the wishes of his family, took up literature. When the penitent Stephen Gosson had (in 1579) published his Schoole of Abuse, Lodge responded with Defence of Poetry, Music and Stage Plays (1579 or 1580), which shows a certain restraint, though both forceful and learned. The pamphlet was banned, but appears to have been circulated privately. It was answered by Gosson in his Playes Confuted in Five Actions; and Lodge retorted with his Alarum Against Usurers (1585)—a "tract for the times" which may have resulted from personal experience.
Charlotta Lofgren
aka: Löfgren
1720, Jan 1784, Feb 14
a Swedish lady of letters and poet. She married in 1738 to the vicar Petrus Lagerman (1706-1790), who occasionally wrote poems as well. She lived in Norrköping from 1746, where she was a local literary celebrity and wrote poems for festive public occasions. Charlotta Löfgren was published both in name and anonymously, which means that a significant amount ...
a Swedish lady of letters and poet. She married in 1738 to the vicar Petrus Lagerman (1706-1790), who occasionally wrote poems as well. She lived in Norrköping from 1746, where she was a local literary celebrity and wrote poems for festive public occasions. Charlotta Löfgren was published both in name and anonymously, which means that a significant amount of her poems are unidentified. She is believed to be author behind the name "C.C.L", who published numerous poems in the period of 1742-1764.
John Lofland
aka: the Milford Bard
a prolific and widely read writer of prose, verse, and speeches. He grew up and spent much of his life in "The Towers" on North West Front Street in Milford. Later in his life he moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he associated with Edgar Allan Poe. Lofland wa...
a prolific and widely read writer of prose, verse, and speeches. He grew up and spent much of his life in "The Towers" on North West Front Street in Milford. Later in his life he moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he associated with Edgar Allan Poe. Lofland wasn't the brightest child at school. His mother had to teach him at home. It took John longer than usual to learn how to read. After that his learning abilities improved significantly. He developed a love for reading and became a voracious reader. The first books he read were mostly English literature.
William Loftus
1820, Nov 13 1858, Nov 27
a British geologist, naturalist, explorer and archaeological excavator. He discovered the ancient Sumerian city of Uruk in 1849. He is credited with the discovery of the Apadana, later excavated by the French amateur archaeologist Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy. Engaged in 1853 by the newly founded Assyrian Excavation Fund to conduct excavations in Warka, Loftus w...
a British geologist, naturalist, explorer and archaeological excavator. He discovered the ancient Sumerian city of Uruk in 1849. He is credited with the discovery of the Apadana, later excavated by the French amateur archaeologist Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy. Engaged in 1853 by the newly founded Assyrian Excavation Fund to conduct excavations in Warka, Loftus worked at the site from January to April 1854, uncovering the famous coloured clay cone wall and some tablets written in cuneiform script. In October of the same year he transferred to Nineveh, and also worked at Nimrud, where in February 1855 he found the so-called "Burnt Palace" of the Assyrian king Assurnasirpal II and a hoard of exquisite ivories.
Hedvig Lofwenskiold
aka: Löfwenskiöld
a Swedish writer, lady of letters and poet. She was the daughter of the official and poet Henrik Anders Löfvenskiöld and the niece of the poet Charlotta Löfgren. The correspondence between her and her colleagues Charlotta Löfgren, Samuel Älf and Hedwig Walldorff is preserved. She was a member of the literary society Apollini Sacra, a daughter academy of...
a Swedish writer, lady of letters and poet. She was the daughter of the official and poet Henrik Anders Löfvenskiöld and the niece of the poet Charlotta Löfgren. The correspondence between her and her colleagues Charlotta Löfgren, Samuel Älf and Hedwig Walldorff is preserved. She was a member of the literary society Apollini Sacra, a daughter academy of the Utile Dulci. In one poem, she states that the intellectual inferiority of females was the consequence of the lack of education and knowledge and that given the same schooling, the intellect of the genders would be equal.
Deborah Norris Logan
an early 19th century American Quaker historian and memoirist. In the attics at Stenton, Deborah found a neglected collection of old letters between William Penn and James Logan. Recognizing the letters' potential historical significance, she started transcribin...
an early 19th century American Quaker historian and memoirist. In the attics at Stenton, Deborah found a neglected collection of old letters between William Penn and James Logan. Recognizing the letters' potential historical significance, she started transcribing and annotating the Penn-Logan correspondence in 1814. In order to avoid conflicts with her household duties, she would rise at dawn to work on the letters. The fruits of this labor ran to 11 manuscript volumes. Logan was ambivalent about publishing any of it, fearing criticism more than she desired immediate recognition. Yet eventually she gave in and allowed the first volume to be published, after which she began to be sought out as a reader or editor for other publications.
Iain Lom
a Scottish Gaelic poet. His dates of birth and death are unknown, but we know that he was present at (and composed a song about) the Battle of Inverlochy (1645) as an adult, and the Treaty of Union (1707); this would presume a birthdate in the early-mid-1620s (if not earlier), and a death in the early 18th century. Most of the few details we have of his life...
a Scottish Gaelic poet. His dates of birth and death are unknown, but we know that he was present at (and composed a song about) the Battle of Inverlochy (1645) as an adult, and the Treaty of Union (1707); this would presume a birthdate in the early-mid-1620s (if not earlier), and a death in the early 18th century. Most of the few details we have of his life are known from contemporary comments, and from his poetry. There is a tradition that he attended the Scots seminary at Valladolid in Spain as a youth and was expelled for some failing or indiscretion. Some suggest that Lom maybe a reference to a tonsure.
Gian Paolo Lomazzo
aka: Giovan, Giovanni
1538, Apr 26 1592, Jan 27
an Italian painter, best remembered for his writings on art theory, belonging to the second generation that produced Mannerism in Italian art and architecture. He was admired as an artist and in 1562 was depicted on a medallion by Annibale Fontana which described him as having been introduced by Mercury to Fortune (commercial success). Lomazzo became blind i...
an Italian painter, best remembered for his writings on art theory, belonging to the second generation that produced Mannerism in Italian art and architecture. He was admired as an artist and in 1562 was depicted on a medallion by Annibale Fontana which described him as having been introduced by Mercury to Fortune (commercial success). Lomazzo became blind in 1571, and turned to writing, producing two complex treatises that are milestones in the development of art criticism.
Cross-listed in Astronomers • Inventors • Scientists
Mikhail Lomonosov
1711, Nov 8 1765, Apr 4
a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries was the atmosphere of Venus and the Law of Mass Conservation in chemical reactions. His spheres of science were natural science, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, history, art, philology, optical devices and others. Lomonosov ...
a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries was the atmosphere of Venus and the Law of Mass Conservation in chemical reactions. His spheres of science were natural science, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, history, art, philology, optical devices and others. Lomonosov was also a poet and influenced the formation of the modern Russian literary language.
1807, Feb 27 1824-1882 1882, Mar 24
an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. He was also the first American to translate Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, and was one of the five Fireside Poets. Longfellow wrote many lyric poems kn...
an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. He was also the first American to translate Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, and was one of the five Fireside Poets. Longfellow wrote many lyric poems known for their musicality and often presenting stories of mythology and legend. He became the most popular American poet of his day and also had success overseas. He has been criticized, however, for imitating European styles and writing specifically for the masses.
Elias Lonnrot
aka: Lönnrot
1802, Apr 9 1884, Mar 19
a Finnish physician, philologist and collector of traditional Finnish oral poetry. He is best known for creating the Finnish national epic, Kalevala, (1835, enlarged 1849), from short ballads and lyric poems gathered from the Finnish oral tradition during several expeditions in Finland, Russian Karelia, the Kola Peninsula and Baltic countries.
Felix Lope de Vega
aka: Félix
1562, Nov 25 1635, Aug 27
a Spanish playwright, poet and novelist. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Century of Baroque literature. His reputation in the world of Spanish literature is second only to that of Miguel de Cervantes, while the sheer volume of his liter...
a Spanish playwright, poet and novelist. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Century of Baroque literature. His reputation in the world of Spanish literature is second only to that of Miguel de Cervantes, while the sheer volume of his literary output is unequalled, making him one of the most prolific authors in the history of literature.
a French writer and poet known for publishing the weekly news of Parisian society (including, initially, its pinnacle, the court of Louis XIV itself) from 1650 until 1665 in verse in what he called a gazette burlesque. He is sometimes referred to as the "father o...
a French writer and poet known for publishing the weekly news of Parisian society (including, initially, its pinnacle, the court of Louis XIV itself) from 1650 until 1665 in verse in what he called a gazette burlesque. He is sometimes referred to as the "father of journalism" as a result of his topical writings. In an 1868 review of the French press, Charles Dickens called Loret's journal "the smartest of them all" being published in the period following the death of Louis XIII, and noted that he was able to escape government censorship until 1652, after which the government forbade Loret from writing about matters of Church or State.
Jacob Lorhard
a German philosopher and pedagogue based in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Lorhard was born in Münsingen. In 1603 he became Rector of the Gymnasium in St. Gallen. In 1606 he published Ogdoas scholastica, which contains the word "ontologia" – probably appearing for the first time ever in a book. He uses "Ontologia" synonymously with "Metaphysica". The following ...
a German philosopher and pedagogue based in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Lorhard was born in Münsingen. In 1603 he became Rector of the Gymnasium in St. Gallen. In 1606 he published Ogdoas scholastica, which contains the word "ontologia" – probably appearing for the first time ever in a book. He uses "Ontologia" synonymously with "Metaphysica". The following year he received the offer of becoming Professor of Theology at Marburg from Landgrave Maurice of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel). Rudolph Göckel (1547-1628) was also professor in Marburg in logic, ethics, and mathematics at this time.
Auguste Lorieux
1796, Dec 14 1842, Jul 27
a 19th-century French writer and jurisdiction consultant. After finishing his studies at Nantes with the best results, he learnt law at Rennes. He was niominated to procurer of the king in 1823. following the July Revolution, he regined the magistrate at the king. He was nominated as an advocate at the office in Nantes. Lorieux returend to the magistrate in ...
a 19th-century French writer and jurisdiction consultant. After finishing his studies at Nantes with the best results, he learnt law at Rennes. He was niominated to procurer of the king in 1823. following the July Revolution, he regined the magistrate at the king. He was nominated as an advocate at the office in Nantes. Lorieux returend to the magistrate in 1837. Lorieux was a member of the Société académique de Nantes et de Loire-Atlantique.
Luis de Lossada
a Spanish Jesuit theologian and philosophical writer. Lossada was born at Quiroga, Asturias, Spain. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1698, and, after completing his studies, taught theology, Scripture, and philosophy at Salamanca, where he died. His first publication was the "Vida y virtudes del P.G. Dutari" (1720). One year later he published his "Institu...
a Spanish Jesuit theologian and philosophical writer. Lossada was born at Quiroga, Asturias, Spain. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1698, and, after completing his studies, taught theology, Scripture, and philosophy at Salamanca, where he died. His first publication was the "Vida y virtudes del P.G. Dutari" (1720). One year later he published his "Institutiones dialecticae", commonly styled "Summulae". This book was an introduction to his "Cursus philosophici Regalis Collegii Salmanticensis, in tres partes divisus", which he published in 1724 (last edition, 10 vols., Barcelona, 1883). It discusses all the branches of philosophy.
Benson John Lossing
1813, Feb 12 1891, Jun 3
a prolific and popular American historian, known best for his illustrated books on the American Revolution and American Civil War and features in Harper's Magazine. He was a charter trustee of Vassar College. He edited and illustrated J.S. Rothchild's weekly Family Magazine from 1839 to1841 and launched his literary career with the publication of his Outline...
a prolific and popular American historian, known best for his illustrated books on the American Revolution and American Civil War and features in Harper's Magazine. He was a charter trustee of Vassar College. He edited and illustrated J.S. Rothchild's weekly Family Magazine from 1839 to1841 and launched his literary career with the publication of his Outline of the History of Fine Arts. In 1846, he joined William Barritt in a wood engraving business that became one of the largest of such firms in New York. His illustrations appeared in the New York Mirror and several other periodicals.
Jane C. Loudon
1807, Aug 19 1858, Jul 13
an English author and early pioneer of science fiction. She wrote before the term was invented, and was discussed for a century as if she wrote Gothic fiction, or fantasy or horror. She also created the first popular gardening manuals, as opposed to specialist horticultural works, and contributed to the work of her husband, John Claudius Loudon.
John Claudius Loudon
1783, Apr 8 1843, Dec 14
a Scottish botanist, garden designer and cemetery designer, author and garden magazine editor. He was the first to use the term arboretum in writing to refer to a garden of plants, especially trees, collected for the purpose of scientific study. Loudon was a prolific horticultural and landscape design writer. Through his publications, he hoped to spread his ...
a Scottish botanist, garden designer and cemetery designer, author and garden magazine editor. He was the first to use the term arboretum in writing to refer to a garden of plants, especially trees, collected for the purpose of scientific study. Loudon was a prolific horticultural and landscape design writer. Through his publications, he hoped to spread his ideals of the creation of common space and the improvement of city planning and develop an awareness and interest in agriculture and horticulture. Through his magazines and works, he was able to communicate with lay folk as well as other professionals.
Cross-listed in Physicians • Inventors
Antoine Louis
an 18th-century French surgeon and physiologist. Louis is credited with designing a prototype of the guillotine. For a period of time after its invention, the guillotine was called a louisette. However, it was later named after French physician Joseph Ignace Guillotin (1738–1814), who advocated a more humane method of capital punishment.
Cross-listed in Inventors
aka: Augusta Ada Byron, Ada Gordon, Lady Lovelace
1815, Dec 10 1852, Nov 27
an EnglishCharles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, and created the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a mac...
an EnglishCharles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, and created the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. As a result, she is often regarded as the first to recognise the full potential of a "computing machine" and the first computer programmer.
Richard Lovelace
1617, Dec 9 1658
an English poet in the seventeenth century. He was a cavalier poet who fought on behalf of the king during the Civil War. His best known works are To Althea, from Prison, and To Lucasta, Going to the Warres. From the time Richard Lovelace started writing while he was a student at Oxford he wrote almost 200 poems. His first work was a drama, ...
an English poet in the seventeenth century. He was a cavalier poet who fought on behalf of the king during the Civil War. His best known works are To Althea, from Prison, and To Lucasta, Going to the Warres. From the time Richard Lovelace started writing while he was a student at Oxford he wrote almost 200 poems. His first work was a drama, The Scholars, never published but performed at college and then in London. In 1640, he wrote a tragedy, The Soldier based on his military experience. When serving in the Bishops' Wars, he wrote the sonnet To Generall Goring, a poem of Bacchanalian celebration rather than a glorification of military action.
1819, Feb 22 1840-1889 1891, Aug 12
an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets who rivaled the popularity of British poets. These poets usually used conventional forms and meters in their poetry, making them suitable for families entertaining at their fireside. He publ...
an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets who rivaled the popularity of British poets. These poets usually used conventional forms and meters in their poetry, making them suitable for families entertaining at their fireside. He published his first collection of poetry in 1841.
Maria White Lowell
1821, Jul 8 1839-1853 1853, Oct 27
an American poet and abolitionist. The same year, Maria White's brother William introduced her to his Harvard College classmate, James Russell Lowell. The two became engaged in the autumn of 1840. However, her father Abijah White, a wealthy merchant, insisted that the wedding be postponed until Lowell had gainful employment. Shortly after Lowell published Co...
an American poet and abolitionist. The same year, Maria White's brother William introduced her to his Harvard College classmate, James Russell Lowell. The two became engaged in the autumn of 1840. However, her father Abijah White, a wealthy merchant, insisted that the wedding be postponed until Lowell had gainful employment. Shortly after Lowell published Conversations on the Old Poets, a collection of his previously published essays, the couple married on December 26, 1844 at her father's house. A volume of her poems was printed privately after her death (Cambridge, 1855). The best known of them are "The Alpine Shepherd" and "The Morning-Glory."
Johann von Lowenstern-Kunckel
aka: Löwenstern-Kunckel
1630/38 1703, Mar 20
a German chemist. He became chemist and apothecary to the dukes of Lauenburg, and then to the Elector of Saxony, Johann Georg II, who put him in charge of the royal laboratory at Dresden. Intrigues engineered against him caused him to resign this position in 1677, and for a time he lectured on chemistry at Annaberg and Wittenberg. Invited to Berlin by Freder...
a German chemist. He became chemist and apothecary to the dukes of Lauenburg, and then to the Elector of Saxony, Johann Georg II, who put him in charge of the royal laboratory at Dresden. Intrigues engineered against him caused him to resign this position in 1677, and for a time he lectured on chemistry at Annaberg and Wittenberg. Invited to Berlin by Frederick William, in 1679 he became director of the laboratory and glass works of Brandenburg. His chief works were Öffentliche Zuschrift von dem Phosphor Mirabil (1678); Ars vitriaria experimentalis (1689) and Laboratorium chymicum (1716).
Charles Loyseau
a French jurist, a lawyer in the Parlement of Paris, the highest royal court in France, as well as a judge in local and seigneurial courts. He evaluated French society and law in his best-known work, A Treatise on Orders and Simple Dignities, written in 1610; it is now a source for understanding the French social structure of the seventeenth and eighteenth c...
a French jurist, a lawyer in the Parlement of Paris, the highest royal court in France, as well as a judge in local and seigneurial courts. He evaluated French society and law in his best-known work, A Treatise on Orders and Simple Dignities, written in 1610; it is now a source for understanding the French social structure of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Later in life he was in practice as a Paris advocate, and in 1620 was President of the Order of Advocates.
Elizabeth Lucar
aka: Elizabeth Withypoll
an English calligrapher. A multi-talented person, she was fluent in Latin, Spanish, and Italian, and an accomplished musician, needleworker and algorist. A member of a very prominent and wealthy mercantile family holding royal favour and civic office, her marriage united common interests within the Company of Merchant Taylors. Her short life as a woman of Ch...
an English calligrapher. A multi-talented person, she was fluent in Latin, Spanish, and Italian, and an accomplished musician, needleworker and algorist. A member of a very prominent and wealthy mercantile family holding royal favour and civic office, her marriage united common interests within the Company of Merchant Taylors. Her short life as a woman of Christian piety, wife and mother, with so many excellent capabilities, has attracted comment in successive centuries for various reasons.
Hippolyte-Julien-Joseph Lucas
a French writer and critic whose literary output was largely centered on theatre and opera. He was the author of several plays and opera libretti. In addition to his original stage works, Lucas also translated plays and libretti by other authors for performances in French. These included plays by Aristophanes, Euripides, Lope de Vega, and Calderón as well a...
a French writer and critic whose literary output was largely centered on theatre and opera. He was the author of several plays and opera libretti. In addition to his original stage works, Lucas also translated plays and libretti by other authors for performances in French. These included plays by Aristophanes, Euripides, Lope de Vega, and Calderón as well as Donizetti's operas Belisario, Maria Padilla, and Linda di Chamounix. He was the editor of Le Siècle, but his literary and theatrical criticism appeared in many other French journals as well.
Richard Lucas
1648/49 1715, Jun 29
a Welsh clergyman and writer of devotional works. After his ordination, his first major publication was Practical Christianity (1677), containing prayers and discussion on Christian living. This was a popular work and, coupled with his ability as a preacher, seems to have helped him to be appointed as rector of St. Stephen Coleman Street in 1678. He became l...
a Welsh clergyman and writer of devotional works. After his ordination, his first major publication was Practical Christianity (1677), containing prayers and discussion on Christian living. This was a popular work and, coupled with his ability as a preacher, seems to have helped him to be appointed as rector of St. Stephen Coleman Street in 1678. He became lecturer of St Olave, Southwark, in 1683. Whilst his weak eyesight soon failed completely, he nonetheless wrote Enquiry after Happiness (1685), his most famous work. Other publications included The Duty of Servants (1685). In 1697, he was appointed to a prebend at Westminster Abbey and, in 1701, became president of Sion College.
Lucidor
aka: Lars Johansson, Lasse Johansson
1638 1669-1674 1674, Aug 13
a Swedish baroque poet. He is remembered for his burlesque poetry that is seen as foreshadowing that of Johan Runius and, especially, Carl Michael Bellman, and for his dramatic death in a tumultuous brawl at the Fimmelstången tavern in Gamla stan in Sto...
a Swedish baroque poet. He is remembered for his burlesque poetry that is seen as foreshadowing that of Johan Runius and, especially, Carl Michael Bellman, and for his dramatic death in a tumultuous brawl at the Fimmelstången tavern in Gamla stan in Stockholm. Lasse Johansson wrote under several different pseudonyms, but of these "Lucidor" (or "Lucidor den olycklige", "Lucidor the Unfortunate", as he called himself on occasion) is the one under which he is commonly known today.
Hiob Ludolf
aka: Job Leutholf
1624, Jun 15 1704, Apr 8
a German orientalist, and born at Erfurt. Edward Ullendorff rates Ludolf as having "the most illustrious name in Ethiopic scholarship". The works of Ludolf, who is said to have been acquainted with twenty-five languages, include Sciagraphia historiae aethiopicae (Jena, 1676); and the Historia aethiopica (Frankfort, 1681), which has been translated into Engli...
a German orientalist, and born at Erfurt. Edward Ullendorff rates Ludolf as having "the most illustrious name in Ethiopic scholarship". The works of Ludolf, who is said to have been acquainted with twenty-five languages, include Sciagraphia historiae aethiopicae (Jena, 1676); and the Historia aethiopica (Frankfort, 1681), which has been translated into English, French and Dutch, and which was supplemented by a Commentarius (1691) and by Appendices (1693-1694).
Jemima Luke
an English writer of hymns, religious studies and biographies during the Victorian era. She is best known for her children's hymn "I think when I read that sweet story of old". she composed some verses on the back of an envelope for a hymn that she named "The Child's Desire." When her hymn proved to be very popular with the children she was working with, her...
an English writer of hymns, religious studies and biographies during the Victorian era. She is best known for her children's hymn "I think when I read that sweet story of old". she composed some verses on the back of an envelope for a hymn that she named "The Child's Desire." When her hymn proved to be very popular with the children she was working with, her father published it in the Sunday School Teacher's Magazine (1841), which led to her becoming editor from 1841 to 1845 of The Missionary Repository, a new missionary magazine for children. Her hymn next appeared untitled and anonymously in 1853 as hymn no. 874 in the widely read The Leeds Hymn-book, which led to subsequent publication in a number of Victorian hymnals.
Vincenzo Lunardi
1754, Jan 11 1806
a pioneering Italian aeronaut, born in Lucca. His family were of minor Neapolitan nobility, and his father had married late in life. Vicenzo was one of three children. He travelled in France in his early years before being called home, where he was put into the diplomatic service. In 1786, Lunardi published 'An Account of five Aerial Voyages in Scotland' in ...
a pioneering Italian aeronaut, born in Lucca. His family were of minor Neapolitan nobility, and his father had married late in life. Vicenzo was one of three children. He travelled in France in his early years before being called home, where he was put into the diplomatic service. In 1786, Lunardi published 'An Account of five Aerial Voyages in Scotland' in a series of letters to his guardian, Gherardo Campagni.
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Lutfi Pasha
aka: Lütfi
1488 ca 1564, Mar 27
an Ottoman statesman and grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent from 1539 to 1541. He wrote 21 works mainly on religious topics but also on history, 13 of them written in Arabic and 8 in Turkish.
Cross-listed in Composers • Clergy
a German professor of theology, composer, priest, monk and a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation. Luther came to reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money, proposing an academic discussion of the practice and efficacy of...
a German professor of theology, composer, priest, monk and a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation. Luther came to reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money, proposing an academic discussion of the practice and efficacy of indulgences in his Ninety-five Theses of 1517. His refusal to renounce all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the Pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the Emperor.
John Lyly
aka: Lilly, Lylie
1553/54 1606, Nov
an English writer, poet, dramatist, playwright, and politician, best known for his books Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit (1578) and Euphues and His England (1580). Lyly's mannered literary style, originating in his first books, is known as euphuism. In 1632 Blount published Six Court Comedies, the first printed collection of Lyly's plays. Lyly's other plays incl...
an English writer, poet, dramatist, playwright, and politician, best known for his books Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit (1578) and Euphues and His England (1580). Lyly's mannered literary style, originating in his first books, is known as euphuism. In 1632 Blount published Six Court Comedies, the first printed collection of Lyly's plays. Lyly's other plays include Love's Metamorphosis (though printed in 1601, possibly Lyly's earliest play — the surviving version is likely a revision of the original), and The Woman in the Moon, first printed in 1597. Of these, all but the last are in prose.
Humphrey Lynde
an English lay Puritan controversialist and Member of Parliament. In 1623 Lynde published An Account of Bertram the Priest, with Observations concerning the Censures upon his Tract, "De Corpore et Sanguine Christi." Lynde pursued his attacks on the Catholics in Via Devia, the Byway leading the Weak into unstable and dangerous Paths of Popish Error, Londo...
an English lay Puritan controversialist and Member of Parliament. In 1623 Lynde published An Account of Bertram the Priest, with Observations concerning the Censures upon his Tract, "De Corpore et Sanguine Christi." Lynde pursued his attacks on the Catholics in Via Devia, the Byway leading the Weak into unstable and dangerous Paths of Popish Error, London, 1630, and in reply to Floyd wrote A Case for the Spectacles, which William Laud refused to license.
Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount
aka: Lindsay, David Lyndsay of the Mount
a Scottish herald who gained the highest heraldic office of Lyon King of Arms. He remains a well regarded poet whose works reflect the spirit of the Renaissance, specifically as a makar. Most of Lyndsay's literary work, by which he secured great reputation in his own day and by which he still lives, was written during the period of prosperity at court. In th...
a Scottish herald who gained the highest heraldic office of Lyon King of Arms. He remains a well regarded poet whose works reflect the spirit of the Renaissance, specifically as a makar. Most of Lyndsay's literary work, by which he secured great reputation in his own day and by which he still lives, was written during the period of prosperity at court. In this respect he is different from Gavin Douglas, who abandoned literature to become a politician. The difference is due partly to the fact that Lyndsay's muse was more occasional and satirical, and that the time was suitable to the exercise of his special gifts.
Daniel Lysons
a notable English antiquary and topographer of the late 18th and early 19th century, who published the four-volume The Environs of London (published 1792 to 1796). With his brother Samuel, Lysons began Magna Britannia, being a concise Topographical Account of the several Counties of Great Britain (1806–1822), but after the first six volumes, covering the ...
a notable English antiquary and topographer of the late 18th and early 19th century, who published the four-volume The Environs of London (published 1792 to 1796). With his brother Samuel, Lysons began Magna Britannia, being a concise Topographical Account of the several Counties of Great Britain (1806–1822), but after the first six volumes, covering the counties from B to D, Samuel died and the project was discontinued. Daniel Lysons also contributed views and illustrations to other works and published several pamphlets on religious and historical subjects.
Henry Lyte
1529 ca 1607, Oct 16
an English botanist and antiquary. He is best known for two works, A niewe Herball (1578), which was a translation of the Cruydeboeck of Rembert Dodoens (Antwerp, 1564), and an antiquarian volume, The Light of Britayne (1588), both of which are dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I. Lyte's first and most important work was his translation of the Cruydeboeck of Remb...
an English botanist and antiquary. He is best known for two works, A niewe Herball (1578), which was a translation of the Cruydeboeck of Rembert Dodoens (Antwerp, 1564), and an antiquarian volume, The Light of Britayne (1588), both of which are dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I. Lyte's first and most important work was his translation of the Cruydeboeck of Rembert Dodoens (Antwerp, 1564) by way of the 1577 French translation of Charles de L'Ecluse (Histoire des Plantes).
Sir George Lyttelton
aka: 1st Baron Lyttelton
1709, Jan 17 1773, Aug 22
a British statesman and patron of the arts from the Lyttelton family. He wrote Dialogues of the Dead in 1760 with Elizabeth Montagu, leader of the bluestockings, and The History of the Life of Henry the Second (1767–1771). The former work is part of a tradition of such dialogues. more
a British statesman and patron of the arts from the Lyttelton family. He wrote Dialogues of the Dead in 1760 with Elizabeth Montagu, leader of the bluestockings, and The History of the Life of Henry the Second (1767–1771). The former work is part of a tradition of such dialogues. Henry Fielding dedicated Tom Jones to him. Lyttelton spent many years and a fortune developing Hagley Hall and its park which contains many follies.
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