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This Nashville-based architectural firm, founded by Thomas Marr in 1897, grew rapidly in the 1910s and 1920s as it specialized in the design of theaters, schools, hotels, and other commercial buildings. Marr began his career as a draftsman for Nashville…

Established by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1836, Marshall County was formed from parts of Giles, Bedford, Lincoln, and Maury Counties. Its name honors former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall of Virginia. The members of the first county…

A pioneer in the development of self-rising flour, self-rising corn meal, and later the packaged-mix southern hotbread, Martha White Foods has long been associated with country music and radio. In 1963 the company introduced the first in the line of…

Martin Methodist College, located in Pulaski, Tennessee, evolved from the 1870 bequest of Thomas Martin, a prominent business leader known in and beyond Giles County. In his will, he fulfilled a promise made to his daughter, Victoria, to establish a…

Joseph Martin, Revolutionary War hero and Indian agent on the Virginia-Tennessee frontier, was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, in 1740. As early as 1763 he attempted to settle in Powell's Valley at a place known as Martin's Station. He was…

Formerly the Tennessee and Alabama Female Institute, Mary Sharp College was chartered in Winchester in 1850. Opening in 1851, the school was named for an early benefactor. Under the direction of Dr. Z. C. Graves and the Baptist Church, Mary…

Maryville College, a distinguished higher education institution in Blount County, was among the first colleges in the country to open its doors to African American and Native American, as well as white, males and admitted women students as early as…

Mason Temple, a flagship of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), was a monumental achievement, becoming upon its completion in 1945 the largest gathering place in Memphis as well as the largest church owned and operated by African Americans…

Charles Harrison Mason founded the Church of God in Christ (COGIC). In doing so he preserved and cultivated the religious culture of his ancestors as well as fighting for religious freedom of expression and an integrated church. He was the…

Jack C. Massey, international businessman, was the first person to take three companies to the New York Stock Exchange. He was head of the Winners Corporation when it secured a place on the Exchange in 1984, having previously served as…

A nationally recognized pastor in the Pacific Northwest and a famous name in Seattle history, Mark A. Matthews began his career in Tennessee. Between 1896 and 1902 Matthews laid the foundation for his work and established his pattern of ministry…

The Tennessee General Assembly established Maury County on November 16, 1807. Taken from parts of Williamson and Dickson Counties, the new county was named for Abram Maury, a state senator from Williamson County. Columbia, the county seat, was laid out…

Oceanographer and author Matthew F. Maury was born on January 14, 1806, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. His family moved to Williamson County, Tennessee, when he was five. Maury attended Harpeth Academy in Franklin and studied under Gideon Blackburn and James Otey,…

The Maxwell House Hotel, which once stood at the northeast corner of Fourth Avenue, North, and Church Street in downtown Nashville, was for years the center of Nashville's social and political life. Colonel John Overton Jr. built the hotel named…

Established in 1923, Mayfield Dairy Farms has evolved into one of the major southern milk and ice cream products companies. It began as an antebellum family farm in McMinn County that continued as a family-run business into the late twentieth…

Congressman, diplomat, and postmaster general, Horace Maynard was born on August 30, 1814, in Westboro, Massachusetts. After graduating from Amherst College in 1838, Maynard moved to Knoxville, where he worked as a tutor in the preparatory department of East Tennessee…

Based in Cleveland, Tennessee, Maytag Cleveland Cooking Products began in 1916 as a family-owned and -operated company known as Dixie Foundry. Company founder S. B. Rymer Sr. was a native of Polk County, but his family later immigrated to what…

William Gibbs McAdoo, a leading figure in American politics in the early twentieth century, began his political career in Chattanooga in the 1880s. He was born in Marietta, Georgia, in 1863, but later moved with his family to Knoxville, where…

Samuel McAdow, one of the founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, was born on April 10, 1760, in Guilford County, North Carolina, the son of Scots and Irish immigrants. Raised a Presbyterian, McAdow attended the church and school led by…

Governor and attorney Hill McAlister began his political career as the city attorney for Nashville. He served several terms in the state Senate, and the general assembly elected him to four terms as state treasurer. He lost close races for…