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Austen, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Austen, Jane ôˈstən [key], 1775–1817, English novelist. The daughter of a clergyman, she spent the first 25 years of her life at “Steventon,” her father's Hampshire vicarage. Here her first n...

Leavis, Q. D.

(Encyclopedia)Leavis, Q. D. (Queenie Dorothy Leavis), 1906–81, British literary critic; wife of F. R. Leavis. After studying at Cambridge, she wrote Fiction and the Reading Public (1932), which analyzed the marke...

Freilicher, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Freilicher, Jane frīˈlĭkər [key] 1924–2014, American painter, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Jane Niederhoffer; studied Hans Hoffmann School (1947), Brooklyn College (B.A. 1947), Columbia (M.A. 1948). Th...

Goodall, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Goodall, Jane go͝odˈôl [key], 1934–, English ethologist and primatologist. After working with Louis Leakey but without any formal scientific training, she established (1960) a research camp in th...

Fonda, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Fonda, Jane, 1937–, American actress, b. New York City; daughter of Henry Fonda and sister of Peter Fonda. First cast in pert and sexy roles, she later distinguished herself in dramatic parts, often...

Jacobs, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Jacobs, Jane, 1916–2006, American-Canadian urbanologist, b. Scranton, Pa., as Jane Butzner. She moved to New York City in the 1930s, was an editor (1952–64) of Architectural Forum magazine, and wr...

Porter, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Porter, Jane, 1776–1850, Scottish novelist. Her historical novels, particularly Thaddeus of Warsaw (4 vol., 1803) and Scottish Chiefs (5 vol., 1810), were exceptionally popular in their day. Anna Ma...

Byrne, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Byrne, Jane, 1934–2014, American politician, b. Chicago as Margaret Jane Burke. She was Chicago's consumer sales commissioner (1968–77) under Mayor Richard Daley before she became the first woman ...

Calamity Jane

(Encyclopedia)Calamity Jane kəlămˈĭtē jānˈ [key], c.1852–1903, American frontier character, b. Princeton, Mo. Her real name was Martha Jane Canary, and the origin of her nickname is obscure. Little is know...

Campion, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Campion, Jane, 1954–, New Zealand film director, b. Wellington; grad. Victoria Univ., Wellington (1975), Sydney College of the Arts, Australia (1979), Australian School of Film and Television, Sydne...