MACK, KARL, Austrian general, born in Franconia; notorious for his
military incapacity and defeats; confronted by Napoleon at Ulm in 1805,
he surrendered with 28,000 men without striking a blow; for this he was
tried by court-martial, and sentenced to death, which was commuted to
imprisonment for life, from which he was released at the end of a year
(1752-1826).
MACKAY, CHARLES, journalist, novelist, and critic; wrote an
autobiography entitled, "Forty Years' Recollections of Life, Literature,
and Public Affairs"; was the father of Eric Mackay, author of
"Love-Letters of a Violinist" (1814-1889).
MACKENZIE, SIR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, composer, born at Edinburgh;
studied in Germany and at the Royal Academy; was teacher and conductor in
his native city from 1865 to 1878, lived thereafter in Italy; was made
Principal of the Royal Academy of Music in 1887, and knighted in 1895;
his opera "Colomba" (1883) first brought him fame; among his works, which
are of every kind, his oratorio, "The Rose of Sharon" (1884), is reckoned
best; _b_. 1847.
MACKENZIE, SIR GEORGE, eminent Scottish lawyer, born in Dundee;
became King's Advocate for Scotland; wrote on law and on other subjects
in a style which commended itself to such a critic as Dryden, though by
his severe treatment of the Covenanters he earned in Scotland the
opprobrious title of the "bluidy Mackenzie" (1636-1691).
MACKENZIE, HENRY, novelist, born in Edinburgh; bred to law; author
of "The Man of Feeling," "The Man of the World," and "Julia de Roubigné,"
written in a sentimental style; held the office of Controller of Taxes in
Scotland by favour of Pitt (1745-1831).
MACKENZIE RIVER, a river in N. America, rises in the Rocky
Mountains; is fed by mighty streams in its course, and falls into the
Arctic Ocean after a course of over 2000 m. in length.
M'KINLEY, WILLIAM, American statesman, of Scottish parentage; served
in the Civil War; born at Niles, Ohio; entered Congress in 1877; made his
mark as a zealous Protectionist; passed in 1890 a tariff measure named
after him; was elected to Presidency as the champion of a sound currency
in opposition to Mr. Bryan in November 1896; _b_. 1844.
MACKINTOSH, SIR JAMES, philosopher and politician, born in
Inverness-shire; took his degree in medicine, but went to the London bar;
was a Whig in politics; wrote "Vindiciæ Gallicæ" in reply to Burke's
philippic; defended Peltier, Bonaparte's enemy, in a magnificent style,
and contributed a masterly preliminary "Dissertation on Ethics" to the
"Encyclopædia Britannica" (1763-1832).
MACLAREN, IAN (_nom de plume_ of Rev. John Watson), born in Essex,
of Scottish parents; studied in Edinburgh; was minister of the Free
Church in Logiealmond and in Glasgow, and translated to Sefton Park
Presbyterian Church, Liverpool, In 1880; wrote a series of idylls
entitled "Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush," and a second series entitled
"The Days of Auld Lang Syne"; both had a large circulation, and a number
of other works, religious as well as fictitious; _b_. 1850.
MACLAURIN, COLIN, mathematician, born in Kilmoden, Argyllshire; was
professor of Mathematics in Aberdeen and in Edinburgh; wrote a "Treatise
on Fluxions," in defence of Newton against Berkeley, and an "Account of
Newton's Discoveries"; did much to give an impetus to mathematical study
in Scotland (1698-1746).
MACLEOD, NORMAN, liberal Scottish clergyman, born at Campbeltown,
son of the manse; a genial, warm-hearted man; an earnest, powerful, and
vigorous preacher, and a humorous writer; a visit to India in connection
with missions shortened his days (1817-1872).
MACLISE, DANIEL, painter, born at Cork, of Scottish extraction;
among his oil-paintings are "Mokanna Unveiling," "All Hallow Eve,"
"Bohemian Gipsies," and the "Banquet Scene in Macbeth," his last work
being a series of cartoons painted in fresco for the palace of
Westminster illustrative of the glories of England (1811-1870).
MACMAHON, DUKE OF MAGENTA, marshal of France, born at Sully, of
Irish descent, second President of the third French republic from 1873 to
1879; distinguished himself in Algeria and at the Crimea, and took part
in the Franco-German War to his defeat and capture (1808-1893).
MACPHERSON, JAMES, a Gaelic scholar, born in Ruthven,
Inverness-shire; identified with the publication of the poems of Ossian,
the originals of which he professed to have discovered in the course of a
tour through the Highlands, and about the authenticity of which there has
been much debate, though they were the making of his fortune; he was
buried in Westminster Abbey at his own request and expense (1738-1796).
MACRAMÉ LACE, a coarse lace made of twine, used to decorate
furniture generally.
MACREADY, WILLIAM CHARLES, English tragedian, born in London; he
began his career as an actor in Birmingham in the character of Romeo, and
was enthusiastically received on his first appearance in London; was
distinguished for his impersonation of Shakespeare's characters, but
suffered a good deal from professional rivalries; leased in succession
Covent Garden and Drury Lane theatres with pecuniary loss, and when he
took farewell of the stage he was entertained at a banquet, attended by a
host of friends eminent in both art and literature (1793-1873).
MACROMETER, an optical instrument to determine the size or distance
of inaccessible objects.