Marco Polo
Merchant and traveler, born in Venice, Italy. After a previous visit to Kublai Khan in China (1260--9), his father and uncle made a second journey (1271--5), taking Marco with them. He became an envoy in Kublai Khan's service, and served as Governor of Yangzhou. He left China in 1292, returned to Venice (1295), and fought against the Genoese, but was captured. During his imprisonment, he compiled an account of his travels, Il milione (trans The Travels of Marco Polo), which became widely read.
