Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

200 results found

Smith, Dame Maggie

(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...

Notre Dame Mountains

(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...

Te Kanawa, Dame Kiri

(Encyclopedia)Te Kanawa, Dame Kiri tā käˈnəwə [key], 1944–, New Zealand opera and concert singer. From the early 1970s until her last public performance (2016), she was one of the most acclaimed and popular ...

Smyth, Dame Ethel Mary

(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)...

Sutherland, Dame Joan

(Encyclopedia)Sutherland, Dame Joan, 1926–2010, Australian coloratura soprano and one of the most famous singers of the 20th cent. Sutherland studied in her hometown of Sydney, where she made her concert debut (1...

Notre Dame Bay

(Encyclopedia)Notre Dame Bay, arm of the Atlantic Ocean, c.40 mi (60 km) long and 50 mi (80 km) wide, NE Newfoundland, N.L., Canada. The Exploits River empties into it. The bay has an irregular shoreline and contai...

Compton-Burnett, Dame Ivy

(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 ...

Christie, Dame Agatha

(Encyclopedia)Christie, Dame Agatha, 1890–1976, English detective story writer, b. Torquay, Devon, as Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller. Christie's second husband was the archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, and she gained ...

Hepworth, Dame Barbara

(Encyclopedia)Hepworth, Dame Barbara, 1903–75, English sculptor. Hepworth's smooth, usually nonfigurative sculptures recall those of Jean Arp. Working in Cornwall, she consistently sought perfection of form and s...

Mantel, Dame Hilary

(Encyclopedia)Mantel, Dame Hilary, 1952–, English novelist, b. Hilary Mary Thompson. After working as a social worker, she moved to Botswana with her geologist husband and later to Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, where she...