Mara, Ratu Sir Kamisese, 1920–2004, Fijian political leader. A paramount chief of the Lau Islands, he was educated in Fiji, New Zealand, and England, founded (1960) the Alliance party, and hel...

Marah [Heb.,=bitter], in the Bible, bitter spring that Moses sweetened.

Girga or Jirja, town (1986 pop. 71,564), central Egypt, on the Nile. It is noted for its pottery; a sugar refining industry was established in the 1980s. The town is the seat of a Coptic bisho...

Kahramanmaraş, formerly Maraş, city (1990 pop. 229,066), S Turkey. The city lies on a fertile plain at the foot of the Taurus Mts. A center for light industry and trade, spices, olive oil, and...

Negri, Ada, 1870–1945, Italian writer. Her first poems, Fatalità (1892, tr. Fate and Other Poems, 1898) voiced bitter protest against the state of the poor. Her passionate lyrics, developed in...

Courier, Paul Louis (Paul Louis Courier de Méré), 1772–1825, French political writer and classical scholar. His translation (1810) of the Greek text of Daphnis and Chloë is considered excellen...

Cavy, name for 14 species of South American rodents of the family Caviidae, including the domestic guinea pig. The wild cavies are usually small, rounded, and tailless, with fur of a uniform s...

Marais [Fr.,=swamp], old quarter of Paris, on the right bank of the Seine. Until the 18th cent. it was the most aristocratic section of Paris. The Hôtel des Tournelles, long the residence of t...

Marat, Jean Paul, 1743–93, French revolutionary, b. Switzerland. He studied medicine in England, acquired some repute as a doctor in London and Paris, and wrote scientific and medical works (s...

Liszt, Franz, 1811–86, Hungarian composer and pianist. Liszt was a revolutionary figure of romantic music and was acknowledged as the greatest pianist of his time. He made his debut at nine, g...