Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Draga

(Encyclopedia)Draga dräˈgä [key], 1867–1903, queen consort of King Alexander of Serbia. A widow and a lady in waiting to the king's mother, Draga Mašin (Mashin) was accused by general rumor of a shady and pro...

Cushman, Charlotte Saunders

(Encyclopedia)Cushman, Charlotte Saunders ko͝oshˈmən [key], 1816–76, one of the first outstanding American actresses, b. Boston. Cushman turned from opera to drama and in 1835 first played Lady Macbeth, the ro...

Gordon, Ruth

(Encyclopedia)Gordon, Ruth, 1896–1985, American actress and playwright, b. Wollaston, Mass. From her debut as Nibs in Peter Pan (1915), Gordon's career encompassed broad stage and film experience. Among the plays...

Nattier, Jean-Marc

(Encyclopedia)Nattier, Jean-Marc zhäN-märk nätyāˈ [key], 1685–1766, French painter; son of the painter Marc Nattier and the miniaturist Marie Courtois. His early works include historical and mythological pai...

Mary, persons in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Mary, in the New Testament. 1 Mary, the Virgin. 2 Mary Magdalene. 3 Wife of Cleophas. 4 Mary of Bethany, sister of Lazarus and Martha. She sat at Jesus' feet while Martha served. She has come to symbo...

Lawrence, Gertrude

(Encyclopedia)Lawrence, Gertrude, 1902?–1952, English actress and singer. Her original name was Gertrud Alexandra Dagmar Lawrence-Klasen. Performing on the musical stage from childhood, Lawrence made her New York...

Wister, Owen

(Encyclopedia)Wister, Owen wĭsˈtər [key], 1860–1938, American author, b. Philadelphia, grad. Harvard (B.A., 1882; LL.B., 1888). Trips to the West for his health gave him material for his short stories and for ...

Adams, Maude

(Encyclopedia)Adams, Maude, 1872–1953, American actress, b. Salt Lake City, Utah. Her father's name was Kiskadden, but she used her mother's maiden name. She began acting at an early age and became leading lady t...

Fátima

(Encyclopedia)Fátima fäˈtēmə [key], hamlet, W central Portugal, in Beira Litoral. At the nearby Cova da Iria is the national shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima. This became a great Roman Catholic cent...

Martelly, Michel Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Martelly, Michel Joseph, 1961–, Haitian musician and political leader. After periods of living in the United States, he returned home in 1987 and became a keyboard player and singer, specializing in...