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Heywood, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Heywood, Thomas, 1574?–1641, English dramatist. A prolific writer, he claimed to have written and collaborated on more than 200 plays, most of which are now lost. Although he wrote dramas based on E...

Elion, Gertrude Belle

(Encyclopedia)Elion, Gertrude Belle ĕlˈēən [key], 1918–99, American pharmacologist, b. New York City, B.S. Hunter College, 1937. Unable to find research work (largely because she was a woman), she taught high...

Jewett, Sarah Orne

(Encyclopedia)Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849–1909, American novelist and short-story writer, b. South Berwick, Maine. Her studies of small-town New England life are perceptive, sympathetic, and gently humorous. After c...

Jezebel

(Encyclopedia)Jezebel jĕzˈəbĕl [key], in the First Book of Kings, Phoenician princess who was the wife of King Ahab and the mother of Ahaziah, Jehoram, and Athaliah. She encouraged worship of Baal, including th...

Medusa, in Greek mythology

(Encyclopedia)Medusa mədo͞oˈsə [key], in Greek mythology, most famous of the three monstrous Gorgon sisters. She was once a beautiful woman, but she offended Athena, who changed her hair into snakes and made he...

mermaid

(Encyclopedia)mermaid, in folklore, sea-dwelling creature commonly represented as having the head and body of a woman and a fishtail instead of legs. Belief in mermaids, and in their counterpart, mermen, has existe...

Aspasia

(Encyclopedia)Aspasia ăspāˈshə, –zhə [key], fl. mid-5th cent. b.c., Athenian courtesan. A woman of great beauty and intelligence, she became the mistress and, according to some poets, adviser of Pericles aft...

Berg, Patty

(Encyclopedia)Berg, Patty (Patricia Jane Berg), 1918–2006, American golfer, b. Minneapolis, Minn. She was a leading amateur during the 1930s, winning 29 titles before turning professional in 1940. After serving i...

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

(Encyclopedia)Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO), founded 1916. Originally a branch of the city's municipal government, it was reorganized as a private institution in 1942. Its main home is the 2,443-seat Joseph Me...

Siren, in Greek mythology

(Encyclopedia)Siren sīˈrən [key], in Greek mythology, one of three sea nymphs, usually represented with the head of a woman and the body of a bird. Daughters of Phorcus or of Achelous, the Sirens inhabited an is...