Machiavelli

Poor Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) died bitter and unaware of the notoriety that his works would one day bring him, and he would be amazed and probably appalled to learn that his name had become synonymous with cunning, amoral intrigue. Not to mention, in recent years, an Xbox game and name checking rappers Tupac and Lil Wayne.

Born into an old Florentine family, the son of a lawyer, Niccolò studied Latin and devoured the classics. After the expulsion of the Medici and execution of Savonarola in 1494, he was the rising star of the new Florentine Republic – a brilliant civil servant, Secretary to the Second Chancery, in charge of the city's official documents, and Secretary to the Ten of Liberty and Peace (the commission which oversees military matters and foreign affairs) at the heart of the government.

As a diplomat, Machiavelli spent time in the courts of the Holy Roman Emperor, Louis XII of France and the Rome of the Borgia Pope, Alexander IV and his ruthless son Cesare Borgia, who inspired several examples The Prince. He was in charge of the Florentine militia, firmly believing it should be composed of citizens, rather than fickle mercenaries, and notably led them to a victory over rival Pisa in 1509.