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Malibran, Maria Felicità

(Encyclopedia)Malibran, Maria Felicità märēˈä fālēsētäˈ mälēbräNˈ [key], 1808–36, French-Spanish contralto. Malibran was the daughter of the tenor Manuel García and the sister of the mezzo Pauline ...

María de Molina

(Encyclopedia)María de Molina dā mōlēˈnä [key], d. 1321, queen of Castile, consort of Sancho IV. As regent (1295–1301) for her son, Ferdinand IV, she defended his throne against several pretenders, who were...

Matute, Ana María

(Encyclopedia)Matute, Ana María äˈnä märēˈä mäto͞oˈtā [key], 1926–2014, Spanish novelist, b. Barcelona. Much of her fiction, which has been translated into more than 20 languages, reflects her searing...

Merian, Maria Sibylla

(Encyclopedia)Merian, Maria Sibylla märēˈä zĭbüˈlä māˈrēän [key], 1647–1717, German naturalist, entomologist, and painter of insects and flowers, b. Frankfurt; daughter of Matthäus Merian, the elder....

Lemus, José María

(Encyclopedia)Lemus, José María hōsāˈ märēˈä lāˈmo͝os [key], 1911–93, president of El Salvador (1956–60). An army lieutenant colonel, he served as minister of interior (1949–55). As president, he ...

Pereira, Aristides Maria

(Encyclopedia)Pereira, Aristides Maria ärĭshˈtēdĭsh märēˈä pərāˈrä [key], 1923–2011, first president of Cape Verde. In the late 1940s he became an activist in the struggle against Portuguese colonial...

Walewska, Countess Maria

(Encyclopedia)Walewska, Countess Maria märēˈä välĕfˈskä [key], 1789–1817, Polish noblewoman. She became (1807) the mistress of Emperor Napoleon I and bore (1810) him a son, Alexandre Walewski. ...

Callas, Maria Meneghini

(Encyclopedia)Callas, Maria Meneghini märēˈä mĕnĕgēˈnē käˈläs [key], 1923–77, Greek-American soprano, b. New York City. At 13, Callas moved to Greece, where she studied at the Royal Conservatory in At...

Boiardo, Matteo Maria

(Encyclopedia)Boiardo or Bojardo, Matteo Maria mät-tĕˈō märēˈä bōyärˈdō [key], 1441?–1494, Italian poet, count of Scandiano. A favorite at the Este court in Ferrara, he served on diplomatic missions a...

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