MURAT, JOACHIM, king of Naples, born near Cahors, the son of an innkeeper; entered the army, attracted the notice of Bonaparte, and became his aide-de-camp; distinguished himself in many engagements, received Bonaparte’s sister to wife, and was loaded with honours on the establishment of the Empire, and for his services under it as a dashing cavalry officer was rewarded with the crown of Naples in 1808, but to the last allied in arms with his brother-in-law; he had to fight in the end on his own behalf in defence of his crown, and was defeated, taken prisoner, and shot (1771-1815).

MURATORI, LUDOVICO ANTONIO, Italian antiquary and historian, horn in Vignola, Modena; became librarian in Milan 1695, and of the D’Este library, Modena, in 1700, in which city he died; he edited the Italian chronicles of the 5th-16th centuries, with many essays and dissertations, and many other historical and antiquarian works; but his name is chiefly associated with the “Muratorian Fragment,” which dates from the 2nd century, and contains a list of the then canonical scriptures, and which he published 1840 (1672-1750).

MURAVIEFF, COUNT, Russian statesman, born of a distinguished family; entered the diplomatic service in connection with the Russian embassies at Berlin, Stockholm, The Hague, and Paris, and became Minister to Denmark in 1893; in 1897 he was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in succession to Lobanoff; b. 1845.

MURCHISON, SIR RODERICK IMPEY, geologist, born in Ross-shire; entered the army and served in the Peninsular War, but retiring in 1816 gave himself to science; he explored many parts of Europe, predicted the discovery of gold in Australia, was President of the British Association, and knighted in 1846, and subsequently received many other scientific appointments and honours; he founded the Chair of Geology in Edinburgh University in 1870; but his fame rests on his discovery and establishment of the Silurian system; his book on “The Silurian System” is the chief of several works (1792-1871).

MURDOCH, WILLIAM, engineer, born at Auchinleck, Ayrshire; was a manager of the Soho Works under Boulton and Watt, where he distinguished himself by his inventive ingenuity, and where on his suggestion coal-gas was first employed for lighting purposes (1754-1830).

MURE, COLONEL, Greek scholar, born at Caldwell, Ayrshire; wrote a scholarly work, “A Critical Account of the Language and Literature of Ancient Greece” (1799-1860).

MUeRGER, HENRI, French novelist and poet, born at Paris; is chiefly distinguished as the author of “Scenes de la Vie de Boheme,” from his own experiences, and instinct with pathos and humour, sadness his predominant tone; wrote lyrics as well as novels and stories, the chief “La Chanson de Musette,” “a tear,” says Gautier, “which has become a pearl of poetry” (1822-1861).

MURILLO, a celebrated Spanish painter, born at Seville; his subjects were drawn partly from low life and partly from religious or scripture themes, such as the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of the Virgin, as well as “Moses Smiting the Rock,” the “Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes,” &c.; died from a fall from a scaffold while painting an altar-piece at Cadiz (1618-1682).