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Leakey, Mary Douglas

(Encyclopedia)Leakey, Mary Douglas, 1913–96, British archaeologist, b. London as Mary Douglas Nicol; wife of Louis Leakey and mother of Richard Leakey. She had little formal education, but a fascination with arch...

McCarthy, Mary Therese

(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...

Webb, Mary (Meredith)

(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...

Mitford, Mary Russell

(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). ...

Mary Washington College

(Encyclopedia)Mary Washington College, mainly at Fredericksburg, Va.; state supported; chartered 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women; first given its present name in 1938; coeducational since 1...

Woolley, Mary Emma

(Encyclopedia)Woolley, Mary Emma, 1863–1947, American educator, b. South Norwalk, Conn. After teaching at Wheaton Seminary (1886–91), she attended college and became the first woman to receive (1894) a B.A. fro...

Freeman, Mary Eleanor Wilkins

(Encyclopedia)Freeman, Mary Eleanor Wilkins, 1852–1930, American author, b. Randolph, Mass. Her stories and novels paint a picture of Massachusetts and Vermont still under the influence of Puritanism, in her view...

Mary, the mother of Jesus

(Encyclopedia)Mary, in the Bible, mother of Jesus. Christian tradition reckons her the principal saint, naming her variously the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady, and Mother of God (Gr., theotokos). Her name is the He...

Walker, Mary Edwards

(Encyclopedia)Walker, Mary Edwards, 1832–1919, American surgeon and feminist, b. Oswego, N.Y., grad. Syracuse Medical College, 1855. At the beginning of the Civil War she offered her services to the Union army. F...

Mary, persons in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Mary, in the New Testament. 1 Mary, the Virgin. 2 Mary Magdalene. 3 Wife of Cleophas. 4 Mary of Bethany, sister of Lazarus and Martha. She sat at Jesus' feet while Martha served. She has come to symbo...