Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Smyth, Dame Ethel Mary smīth [key], 1858–1944, English composer, studied at the Leipzig Conservatory. In addition to her many songs and chamber music she wrote operas, including The Wreckers (1906)...

(Encyclopedia) Markova, Dame Alicia märkōˈvä [key], 1910–2004, English ballerina. Her original name was Lilian Alicia Marks. Markova joined Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1924 and, in 1931, the Vic-Wells Ballet...

(Encyclopedia) Fonteyn, Dame Margot fŏntānˈ [key], 1919–91, English ballerina. Fonteyn was for many years prima ballerina assoluta of the Royal Ballet. Her original name was Margaret Hookham. In 1934 she joined...

(Encyclopedia) Saunders, Dame Cicely (Cicely Mary Strode Saunders), 1918–2005, British physician, a pioneer in the modern hospice movement. She left Oxford during World War II to become a nurse (1944) and, after w...

(Encyclopedia) Murdoch, Dame Iris (Dame Jean Iris Murdoch) mûrˈdŏk [key], 1919–99, British novelist and philosopher, b. Dublin, Ireland, grad. Oxford (1942). In 1948 she was named lecturer in philosophy at Oxfo...

(Encyclopedia) Compton-Burnett, Dame Ivy kŏmˈtən-bûrˈnət [key], 1892–1969, English novelist. Educated at the Univ. of London, she lived quietly in London for most of her life. She was named a Dame Commander ...

(Encyclopedia) Dench, Dame Judi jo͞oˈdē dĕnch [key], 1934–, British actress, b. York, England, as Judith Olivia Dench. She studied at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, London, made her de...

(Encyclopedia) Smith, Dame Maggie (Dame Margaret Natalie Cross), 1934–, English actress. Smith first appeared on stage in Twelfth Night (1952). With her precise, sometimes rapid-fire, articulation and her meticulo...

(Encyclopedia) Notre Dame Mountains, section of the Appalachian system, extending c.500 mi (800 km) from the Green Mts. of Vermont into the Gaspé Peninsula, Canada. Worn low by erosion, the ancient mountains have a...

(Encyclopedia) Ustinov, Sir Peter (Alexander) yo͞osˈtənôf [key], 1921–2004, English writer, director, and actor, b. London. A witty, charming, and cosmopolitan man, he debuted on the London stage at 18 and sub...