# Who is the earliest person we know as Firstname - M.I. - Lastname?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-earliest-person-we-know-as-firstname-m-i-lastname/1001200>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 6, 2024, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-earliest-person-we-know-as-firstname-m-i-lastname/1001200 "2024-05-06T20:19:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-earliest-person-we-know-as-firstname-m-i-lastname/1001200/41 "2024-05-07T12:34:51Z")

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Haha! Makes total sense.

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**Author:** ![FastDan1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fastdan1/32/427_2.png) [@FastDan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FastDan1)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-earliest-person-we-know-as-firstname-m-i-lastname/1001200/42 "2024-05-07T13:35:41Z")

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I don’t know who the earliest is, but I’ll go with James T. Kirk as the latest.

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**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-earliest-person-we-know-as-firstname-m-i-lastname/1001200/43 "2024-05-07T13:41:53Z")

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John Q. Public?

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**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-earliest-person-we-know-as-firstname-m-i-lastname/1001200/44 "2024-05-07T13:46:54Z")

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> [@bibliophage](#):
>
> Matthew C. Perry b. 1794

Could I _ **be** _ any more of an explorer?

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**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-earliest-person-we-know-as-firstname-m-i-lastname/1001200/45 "2024-05-07T13:50:04Z")

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Are these “Firstname M. Lastname” stylings contemporary? Did the parents of Roger B. Taney use that? If not, when did he first start using it?

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**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-earliest-person-we-know-as-firstname-m-i-lastname/1001200/46 "2024-05-07T14:29:44Z")

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I thought Salmon P Chase might beat out Taney, but no. Born 1808.

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