15th Century

Alexander VI

Pope Alexander VI was born into the wealthy and corrupt Borgia family of Valencia, Spain, and adopted by his maternal uncle, Alfonso Borgia (later Pope Callistus III). He collected religiou... [more]

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Caprotti, Gian Giacomo

Caprotti was a student of the immortal Leonardo da Vinci, who was his frequent model and collaborated with him in some of his paintings. But he was probably more than this. Two sources (... [more]

Janissaries

These were members of the elite infantry of the Turkish sultans in the middle ages. For part of their history, starting in the 1380s under Sultan Murad I, until 1638, they were recruited... [more]

Mantegna, Andrea

Mantegna was adopted as a child about 10 years old by the painter Francesco Squarcione. He was the most famous painter of his day in Padua and was one of the first Italians to use copper... [more]

Melzi, Francesco

Melzi was an Italian aristocrat and was, with Giacomo Caprotti , and possibly also Andrea Boltraffo and Cesare de Sesto, one of Leonardo da Vinci's adopted sons and students. Melzi joined ... [more]

Tamaiti Whangai

Tamaiti whangai is the New Zealand Maori term for a foster or adopted child. "Tamaiti" (plural "tamariki") means "child" and "whangai" means to feed ... [more]

Villon, François

Villon was born into a poor family, although he had an uncle who was a well-to-do priest. While still a young child he was adopted by Guillaume de Villon, a priest. His adult life was th... [more]