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Carriera
Venetian pastel portraitist and miniaturist. She became known for her miniature portraits on snuffboxes and was the first artist to use ivory rather than vellum as a support for miniatures. She achieved spectacular success throughout Europe with her fashionable pastel portraits of notables. On a trip to Paris (1720-21) she received commissions for numerous portraits, incl. one of Louis XV as a child. In 1721 she was elected to the French Royal Academy.


harrier
Any of about 11 species of hawks (subfamily Circinae; family Accipitridae) that are plain-looking, long-legged, long-tailed, and slender. Harriers cruise low over meadows and marshes looking for mice, snakes, frogs, small birds, and insects. They are about 20 in. (50 cm) long and have a small beak and face feathers that form a facial disk. They nest in marshes or tall grass. The best-known harrier is the marsh hawk (Circus cyaneus), commonly called hen harrier in Britain, which breeds in temperate and N regions throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Other common species are found in Africa, S. America, Europe, and Asia.


Laurier
Prime minister of Canada (1896-1911). Born in St.-Lin, Canada East (now Quebec), he studied law at McGill Univ., where he was a leading member of the liberal Institut Canadien. He served in the Quebec legislature (1871-74) and the Canadian House of Commons (1874-1919), where in 1885 he delivered a plea for clemency for L. Riel. He led the Liberal Party to victory in the 1896 election and became prime minister, the first French Canadian and Roman Catholic to hold that office. He advocated unity between English and French Canadians, development of the W territories, protection of Canadian industry, and an expanded transportation system. He championed Canadian autonomy and helped shape the British Commonwealth of independent states. His support for a reciprocity treaty with the U.S. contributed to his government's defeat in 1911. He is remembered as one of Canada's most outstanding statesmen.


Madrid
City (pop., 1996: 2,867,000), capital of Spain, and of Madrid autonomous community. Located on the central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, at 2,100 ft (635 m) above sea level, it is one of Europe's highest capitals. The original town grew up around the Moorish alcazar (castle), overlooking the Manzanares River. King Alfonso VI captured the town from the Muslims in 1083. Philip II moved the Spanish court to Madrid in 1561, and in 1607 Philip III made it the official capital. It was occupied by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars but returned to Spanish control in 1812. During the Spanish Civil War, it was held by the Loyalists 1936-39. Spain's principal transportation center for the interior provinces, it is an important commercial, industrial, and cultural center. Major institutions include the Prado Museum and the Univ. of Madrid.

Autonomous community (pop., 1996 est.: 5,022,000), ...

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