Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) McCarthy, Mary Therese, 1912–89, American writer, b. Seattle, grad. Vassar, 1933. As drama critic for the Partisan Review (1937–45), she gained a reputation for wit, intellect, and acerbity. Her n...

(Encyclopedia) Tiy, fl. 1167 b.c., queen of ancient Egypt, wife of Ramses III. To gain the throne for her son, Pentewere, she led a palace conspiracy to displace her aging husband. At the last minute the plot was di...

(Encyclopedia) Elizabeth, 1837–98, empress of Austria and queen of Hungary. A Bavarian princess, she was married (1854) to her cousin, Emperor Francis Joseph. Despite her exceptional beauty, intelligence, and kind...

(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) Webb, Mary (Meredith), 1881–1927, English novelist. Her native Shropshire is the scene of all her novels, which are somber, passionate, and infused with an intense feeling for the countryside. Altho...

(Encyclopedia) Feckenham, John de fĕkˈənəm [key], 1518?–1585, English abbot. He became a Benedictine monk at Evesham, studied at Oxford, and later served as chaplain to the bishop of Worcester and to Edmund Bo...

(Encyclopedia) McGrory, Mary, 1918–2004, American journalist, b. Boston, grad. Emmanuel College. McGrory wrote with clarity, lyricism, and wit on the events and personalities of the five decades spanned by her gro...

(Encyclopedia) Stuart or Stewart, John, duke of Albany ôlˈbənē [key], 1481–1536, regent of Scotland; son of Alexander Stuart, duke of Albany, and grandson of James II of Scotland. He was brought up on his esta...

(Encyclopedia) Mitford, Mary Russell, 1787–1855, English author. Her first volume of poetry (1810) sold well despite adverse criticism. Later she turned to playwriting, writing one notable success, Rienzi (1828). ...

(Encyclopedia) Oliver, Mary, 1935–2019, American poet, b. Cleveland, Ohio, studied Ohio State Univ., Vassar. She published her first collection of poems, No Voyage and Other Poems, in 1963. She was a keen observer...