(Encyclopedia) BachBachbäkh [key], German family of distinguished musicians who flourished from the 16th through the 18th cent., its most renowned member being Johann Sebastian Bach (see separate…
(Encyclopedia) Catherine I, 1683?–1727, czarina of Russia (1725–27). Of Livonian peasant origin, Martha Skavronskaya was a domestic when she was captured (1702) by Russian soldiers. As mistress of…
(Encyclopedia) Bach, Alexander, 1813–93, Austrian politician. A well-known lawyer and liberal, he took part in the revolution of 1848 in Vienna, but after its suppression he joined the forces of…
(Encyclopedia) Bach, Thomas, 1953–, German sports executive, b. Würzberg. A lawyer and businessman, he won a gold medal in team fencing representing West Germany in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Bach…
actressBorn: 4/16/1912Birthplace: New York City Catherine Scorsese, mother of the director Martin Scorsese, found her way into acting when her son cast her in a number of his films. Bringing…
(Catherine Dorléac)actressBorn: 10/22/1943Birthplace: Paris, France She entered into films as a teenager and first gained attention in Jacques Demy's musical The Umbrella's of Cherbourg (1964).…
Writer and educator Born: 1800 Beecher was a pioneer in health and physical education for American girls and women. She developed a widely used system of calisthenics that was designed to make…
actressBorn: 1/1/1972Birthplace: Alton, England Convent-educated McCormack has risen quickly to stardom in film. After appearing in Loaded (1994), she played Mel Gibson's wife in the Oscar-winning…
Born: Dec. 15, 1977Swimming won gold medals at 1996 Olympics in Atlanta as a member of the women's 4x100-meter freestyle relay and 4x100-meter medley relay teams; 21-time All-American at Stanford;…