Martin, Agnes (b. March 22, 1912, Macklin, Sask., Can.—d. Dec. 16, 2004, Taos, N.M., U.S.) Canadian-born U.S. painter. She moved to the U.S. in 1931 and became a U.S. citizen in 1950. She studied at Colum¬ bia University and taught at the University of New Mexico. In 1958 she had her first solo exhibition. Martin was a prominent exponent of geo¬ metric abstraction, and, for her, a gray grid of intersecting penciled lines became the ultimate geometric composition. Her gridlike abstractions were also noted for their light-soaked appearance and quiet effect. In the 1970s she produced printed equivalents of her paintings; a notable series of silkscreens, On a Clear Day (1973), was produced after her math¬ ematically annotated sketches. Martin was one of the leading practitio¬ ners of Abstract Expressionism in the 20th century.
Martin, Mary (Virginia) (b. Dec. 1, 1913, Weatherford, Texas, U.S.—d. Nov. 3, 1990, Rancho Mirage, Calif.) U.S. singer and actress. She co-owned a dancing school in her native Weatherford, Texas, before moving in 1938 to New York City, where she won a small part in the musical Leave It to Me and became famous for her rendition of “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.” She appeared in movies before returning to Broad¬ way to star in One Touch of Venus (1943). Martin originated the role of Nellie Forbush in South Pacific (1949-53) and later starred in Peter Pan (1954, Tony Award; television version, 1955), The Sound of Music (1959, Tony Award), and I Do, I Do (1966).
Martin, Paul in full Paul Joseph Martin, Jr. (b. Aug. 28, 1938, Windsor, Ont., Can.) Canadian prime minister (2003-06). The son of Paul Joseph Martin, who served as a minister in four Liberal governments, the younger Martin studied law at the University of Toronto and was called to the bar in 1966. Instead of practicing law, however, he joined Canada Steamship Lines, a freight carrier he purchased in 1981. From 1993 to
2002 Martin, a member of the Liberal Party, served as minister of finance in Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s government. Highly successful in the post, Martin eliminated a large budget deficit, achieved five consecutive budget surpluses, and secured the largest tax cut in Canadian history. In
2003 Martin succeeded Chretien as leader of the Liberal Party and as prime minister. He was elected prime minister in his own right in 2004 but was ousted from office following his party’s defeat in the 2006 Cana¬ dian general election.
Martin, Steve (b. Aug. 14, 1945, Waco, Texas, U.S.) U.S. comedian and writer. He began writing for the Smothers Brothers in 1967. In the 1970s he wrote for and performed on shows such as Saturday Night Live. His slapstick and absurdist humour were showcased in The Jerk (1979), which he both wrote and starred in. His other film comedies include All of Me (1984), Roxanne (1987), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Dirty Rot¬ ten Scoundrels (1988), Parenthood (1989), L.A. Story (1991), Bowfinger (1999), and Bringing Down the House (2003). He wrote the stage play Picasso at the Lapin Agile (1995).
Martin du Gard \mar-ta ll -dil- , gar\, Roger (b. March 23, 1881, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France—d. Aug. 22, 1958, Belleme) French novelist and dramatist. Originally trained as a paleographer and archivist, he brought to his literary works a spirit of objectivity and a scrupulous regard for detail. He first attracted attention with the novel Jean Barois (1913), the story of an intellectual tom between the Roman Catholic faith of his childhood and the scientific materialism of his maturity. He is best known for the eight-novel cycle Les Thibault (1922^10), the record of a fami¬ ly’s development that chronicles the social and moral issues facing the French bourgeoisie in the pre-World War I era. He received the 1937 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Martin of Tours Vtur\, Saint (b. c. 316, Sabaria, Pannonia—d. Nov. 8, 397, Candes, Gaul; Western feast day, November 11; Eastern feast day November 12) Patron saint of France. Born a pagan, he converted to Christianity at age 10. He was forced to join the Roman army but asked to be released because service was incompatible with his Christianity. After imprisonment he settled in Poitiers and then became a missionary on the Balkan Peninsula. He returned to Poitiers in 360 and founded the first monastery in Gaul. In 371 he was made bishop of Tours. A second monastery he founded, at Mormoutier, became a great monastic complex. St. Martin was known as a miracle worker in his own lifetime and was one of the first venerated saints who was not a martyr.
Martineau \'mar-ti-,no\, Harriet (b. June 12, 1802, Norwich, Nor¬ folk, Eng.—d. June 27, 1876, near Ambleside, Westmorland) English essayist, novelist, and economic and historical writer. She became promi¬ nent among English intellectuals of her time despite deafness and other
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disabilities. She first gained a large reading public with a series popular¬ izing classical economics, published in several collections (1832-34). Her chief historical work was The History of the Thirty Years' Peace, A.D. 1816-1846 (1849), a widely read popular treatment. Her most scholarly work is a condensed translation of The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte (1853). Her best-regarded novel is Deerbrook (1839).
Martinez Montanes, Juan See Juan Martinez Montanes
Martini, Simone (b. c. 1284, Siena, Republic of Siena—d. 1344, Avi¬ gnon, Provence) Italian painter. An exponent of Gothic art, he did much to spread the influence of Sienese painting. Duccio di Buoninsegna influ¬ enced his use of harmonious, pure colour, but his graceful, decorative lines were inspired by French Gothic art, as seen in his Maesta fresco (1315), which depicts the Madonna as a Gothic queen holding court beneath a Gothic canopy. His equestrian portrait of Guidoriccio da Fogliano (1328) was an important precedent for Renaissance equestrian portraits.
Martinique \ l mar-t9-'nek\ Island (pop., 2002 est.: 386,000) of the Wind¬ ward Islands, West Indies, and overseas department of France. It is 50 mi (80 km) long and 22 mi (35 km) wide and occupies an area of 436 sq mi (1,128 sq km). Largely mountainous, its highest point, Mount Pelee, is an active volcano. Its capital is Fort-de-France. Tourism is the basis of its economy. Carib Indians, who had ousted earlier Arawak inhabitants, resided on the island when Christopher Columbus visited it in 1502. In 1635 a Frenchman established a colony there, and in 1674 it passed to the French crown. The British captured and held the island from 1762 to 1763 and occupied it again during the Napoleonic Wars, but each time it was returned to France. Made a department of France in 1946, it remained under French rule despite a communist-led independence movement in the 1970s.
Martins, Peter (b. Oct. 27, 1946, Copenhagen, Den.) Danish-born U.S. dancer, choreographer, and director of the New York City Ballet. He trained at the Royal Danish Ballet School and became a member of its company in 1965. He joined the New York City Ballet in 1969 as a principal dancer and created roles in ballets such as Jerome Robbins’s Goldberg Variations (1971) and George Balanchine’s Duo Concertante (1972). He began cho¬ reographing for the company in 1977 with Calcium Light Night. After Balanchine’s death in 1983, Martins became codirector (until 1990) and then sole director of the company.
Martinson, Harry (Edmund) (b. May 6, 1904, Jamshog, Swed.—d. Feb. 11, 1978, Stockholm) Swedish novelist and poet. He spent his child¬ hood in foster homes and his young adulthood as a merchant seaman, labourer, and vagrant. He described his early experiences in two autobio¬ graphical novels. Flowering Nettle (1935) and The Way Out (1936), and in travel sketches. Among his best-known works are the poetry collection Trade Wind (1945), the novel The Road (1948), and the epic poem Ani- ara (1956). In 1949 he became the first self-taught working-class writer ever elected to the Swedish Academy. He shared the 1974 Nobel Prize for Literature with Eyvind Johnson.