List of people known as the father or mother of something

The following alphabetical lists includes men and women commonly known as the father or mother of something. Whether each of these persons is genuinely the father or mother of this thing is a matter of opinion.

M

• Bernarr Macfadden - The father of physical culture
• Niccolò Machiavelli - The father of modern political theory and of pragmatism
• James Madison - The father of the United States Constitution
• Winnie Madikizela-Mandela - The mother of South Africa
• Marcello Malpighi - The father of microscopic anatomy
• Thomas Malthus - The father of social science
• Herbert Marcuse - The father of the New Left
• Paul Martin Sr. - A father of medicare in Canada
• Hideto Matsumoto - The father of J-Rock
• Karl Marx - The father of modern Communism
• George Mason - The father of the United States Bill of Rights
• John McLoughlin - The father of Oregon
• George E. McNeill - The father of the eight-hour work day (in the U.S.)
• Gregor Mendel - The father of genetics
• Antonio Meucci - The official father of the telephone
• Spike Milligan - The father of modern British comedy and of Monty Python
• Billy Mitchell - The father of United States Air Force
• Bill Monroe - The father of bluegrass music
• Claudio Monteverdi - The father of opera
• Robert Moon - The father of the ZIP code
• E. C. Morley - The father of The Football Association
• Muddy Waters - The father of Chicago blues
• Johannes Peter Muller - The father of modern physiology