Nepos, Cornelius (c. 99–c. 24 BC)

Roman biographer. He was a friend of the orator Cicero and the publisher Atticus. His De Viris Illustribus/On Famous Men is the earliest surviving example of Latin biographical writing.

Of this large work, one book, De Excellentibus Ducibus Exterarum Gentium/On the Excellent Generals of Foreign Peoples, is extant. We also have his life of Atticus and a fragment of his life of Cato the censor.