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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....

Maria Wörth

(Encyclopedia)Maria Wörth märēˈä vört [key], village, Carinthia prov., S Austria. It is a popular resort on the south shore of the Wörther See, a small lake. It is also a place of pilgrimage with two 12th-ce...

Deraismes, Maria

(Encyclopedia)Deraismes, Maria märēäˈ dərāmˈ [key], 1828–94, French feminist. She was a founder (1869) of the first French society dedicated to improving conditions and securing greater educational advanta...

Narváez, Ramón María

(Encyclopedia)Narváez, Ramón María närväˈĕth [key], 1800–1868, Spanish general and statesman. He distinguished himself fighting for Isabella II against the Carlists (1834–39). When Espartero rose to pow...

Poland, partitions of

(Encyclopedia)Poland, partitions of. The basic causes leading to the three successive partitions (1772, 1793, 1795) that eliminated Poland from the map were the decay and the internal disunity of Poland and the eme...

Schiavo case

(Encyclopedia)Schiavo case, the legal battles over the guardianship and rights of Theresa Maria Schindler Schiavo (1963–2005). Terri Schiavo was incapacitated and hospitalized in 1990, after she collapsed when he...

Craik, Dinah Maria Mulock

(Encyclopedia)Craik, Dinah Maria Mulock krāk [key], 1826–87, English author. She is best known for the moralistic novel John Halifax, Gentleman (1856) and for the children's classics The Adventures of a Brownie ...

Sacchini, Antonio Maria Gasparo

(Encyclopedia)Sacchini, Antonio Maria Gasparo äntôˈnyō märēˈä gäˈspärō säk-kēˈnē [key], 1730–86, Italian operatic composer of the Neapolitan school. His best work, Oedipe à Colone (1786) was in t...

Tres Marías, Las

(Encyclopedia)Tres Marías, Las läs trās märēˈäs [key], archipelago, in the Pacific Ocean, c.60 mi (100 km) W of Nayarit state, Mexico. Of the four islands, two—María Madre, which is the largest (c.56 sq m...

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...
 

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