Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch Medusa. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Medusa , in Greek mythology, the most famous of the monster figures known as Gorgons. She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes; unlike the Gorgons, she was sometimes represented as very beautiful. Medusa was the only Gorgon who was mortal; hence her slayer, Perseus, was able to kill her by cutting off her head. From the blood that spurted from her neck sprang Chrysaor and Pegasus, her two sons by Poseidon. The severed head, which had the power of turning into stone all who looked upon it, was given to Athena, who placed it in her shield; according to another account, Perseus buried it in the marketplace of Argos. Heracles (Hercules) is said to have obtained a lock of Medusa’s hair (which possessed the same powers as the head) from Athena and given it to Sterope, the daughter of Cepheus, as a protection for the town of Tegea against attack; when exposed to view, the lock was supposed to bring on a storm, which put the enemy to flight. In the British writer Iris Murdoch’s novel A Severed Head (1961), the heroine is a Medusa figure. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn, Managing Editor, Reference Content. A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch. Published: 14:16 BST, 7 May 2021 | Updated: 12:39 BST, 12 May 2021. A man in Spain has reportedly proven that he can unlock his Samsung Galaxy phone with the tip of his severed finger. Kieran Higgins' index finger had been severed in an industrial accident two weeks prior. Higgins, a semi-retired auditor who lives in Spain, claims that his dead finger tip, which he is keeping in medicinal alcohol, is able to unlock the device. Kieran Higgins has reportedly proven that he can unlock his Samsung Galaxy phone with the tip of his severed finger. The shriveled finger tip, which was crushed in an incident involving a crane, even has a hole down the centre where the bone used to run. 'I devised a cunning plan to register the fingerprint on my brand new shiny whatsit,' Higgins told The Register. 'I extracted [the fingertip] from its grave of medicinal alcohol, dried it off and. eureka! . managed to register my dead finger on my phone.' Higgins, a semi-retired auditor who lives in Spain, claims that his dead finger tip, which he is keeping in medicinal alcohol, is able to unlock the device. According to Lucas Francese, biometric devices manager at aerospace company Thales, standard technology in the market stops fake fingers, such as those made by rubber or gelatine, from working. However, it 'enables real fingers, dead or alive, to work,' he told the publication. Describing the ordeal of losing his finger tip, Higgins explained that he lived in rural Spain and drove himself to the nearest pharmacy after the accident took place. British Dames. This distinguished theatrical tragedienne will be remembered forever if only for the fact George Bernard Shaw wrote his classic "Saint Joan" work specifically for her. Her over six-decade career allowed for a gallery of sterling, masterful portrayals, both classic and contemporary, performing all . 2. Ellen Terry. Legendary British stage actress who made a few silent film appearances. The daughter of strolling players, she was born in Coventry into an almost exclusively theatrical family. Her grandparents were actors, as were all six of her siblings. But only her son, Edward Gordon Craig, would in any way . 3. Edith Evans. Edith Evans was the greatest actress on the English stage in the 20th century, treading the boards for over half-a-century. She made her professional stage debut in 1912 and excelled in both classic and modern roles in the West End of London and on Broadway, as well as the Shakespeare Memorial . 4. Gladys Cooper. Gladys Cooper was the daughter of journalist William Frederick Cooper and his wife Mabel Barnett. As a child she was very striking and was used as a photographic model beginning at six years old. She wanted to become an actress and started on that road in 1905 after being discovered by Seymour . 5. Cicely Courtneidge. Cicely Courtneidge was born on April 1, 1893 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia as Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge. She was an actress, known for Aunt Sally (1934), Things Are Looking Up (1935) and The Ghost Train (1931). She was married to Jack Hulbert. She died on April 26, 1980 in Putney, London. 6. Barbara Cartland. Barbara Cartland was born on July 9, 1901 in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England as Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland. She was a writer, known for Duel of Hearts (1991), На волосок от гибели (1987) and &. 7. Agatha Christie. Agatha was born as "Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller" in 1890 to Frederick Alvah Miller and Clara Boehmer. Agatha was of American and British descent, her father being American and her mother British. Her father was a relatively affluent stockbroker. Agatha received home education from early childhood . 8. Judi Dench. Dame Judi Dench was born Judith Olivia Dench in York, England, to Eleanora Olive (Jones), who was from Dublin, Ireland, and Reginald Arthur Dench, a doctor from Dorset, England. She attended Mount School in York, and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She has performed with the . 9. Maggie Smith. One of the world's most famous and distinguished actresses, Dame Maggie Smith was born Margaret Natalie Smith in Essex. Her Scottish mother, Margaret (Hutton), worked as a secretary, and her English father, Nathaniel Smith, was a teacher at Oxford University. Smith has been married twice: to actor . 10. Jacqueline Wilson. Jacqueline Wilson was born on December 17, 1945 in Bath, Somerset, England as Jacqueline Aitken. She is a writer and actress, known for The Dumping Ground (2013), Double Act (2002) and Hetty Feather: Live on Stage (2019). 11. A.S. Byatt. 12. Margaret Drabble. 13. Joan Plowright. Dame Joan Ann Plowright, the Baroness Olivier, is one of the most distinguished actors of her generation. She may be best remembered as the third wife and widow of Laurence Olivier, generally considered the greatest anglophone actor of the 20th Century, but she had a distinguished career of her own. 14. Diana Rigg. British actress Dame Diana Rigg was born on July 20, 1938 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England. She has had an extensive career in film and theatre, including playing the title role in "Medea", both in London and New York, for which she won the 1994 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. 15. Helen Mirren. Dame Helen Mirren was born in Queen Charlotte's Hospital in West London. Her mother, Kathleen Alexandrina Eva Matilda (Rogers), was from a working-class English family, and her father, Vasiliy Petrovich Mironov, was a Russian-born civil servant, from Kuryanovo, whose own father was a diplomat. . 16. Thora Hird. In a career than spanned eight decades, Thora Hird was widely-regarded as one of Britain's finest character actresses. She made over 100 films as well as starring in a host of TV comedies and, as a straight actress, excelled in the works of playwright Alan Bennett. Even in her 90s, she was working . 17. Gwen Ffrangcon Davies. Gwen Ffrangcon Davies was born on January 25, 1891 in London, England as Gwen Lucy Ffrangcon Davies. She was an actress, known for Tudor Rose (1936), Архив Шерлока Холмса (1991) and Paul Kr&. 18. Monica Mason. Monica Mason was born on September 6, 1941 in Johannesburg, South Africa as Monica Margaret Mason. She is known for her work on Romeo and Juliet (1966), Нижинский (1980) and The Rite of Spring (1962). 19. Margot Fonteyn. Peggy Hookham was always destined to be a dancer. Her Brazilian/Irish mother groomed her for stardom from almost as soon as she could walk. When she was aged 8 her father's work took the family to Shanghai. Peggy and her Mother returned to the UK when she was 14. Her father stayed in Shanghai and . 20. Ninette de Valois. It has been rightly suggested that Dame Ninette de Valois is one of the most important women of the century. It was due to her drive and ambition that the modern English ballet was created. In that respect she changed history single handed. Born in Ireland, young Ninette (her stage name was her . 21. Joan Sutherland. Joan Sutherland was born on November 7, 1926 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia as Joan Alston Sutherland. She was an actress, known for Live from the Metropolitan Opera (1977), 007: Спектр (2015) and Путь Карл&. 22. Janet Baker. 23. Margaret Price. 24. Suzi Leather. Suzi Leather was born on April 5, 1956 in Uganda as Susan Catherine Leather. She is married to Iain Hampsher-Monk. They have three children. 25. Ann Leslie. Ann Leslie was born on June 28, 1941 in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan as Ann Elizabeth Mary Leslie. She is a writer, known for Think of England (1991), What the Papers Say (1956) and Don't Quote Me (1990). She has been married to Michael Fletcher since February 15, 1969. They have one child. 26. Mary Peters. Mary Peters was born on July 6, 1939 in Liverpool, Merseyside, England as Mary Elizabeth Peters. 27. Kelly Holmes. Kelly Holmes was born on April 19, 1970 in Pembury, Kent, England. She is an actress, known for Road to Rio (BBC News) (2016), Superstars (2008) and Commonwealth Games (1954). 28. Anita Roddick. Anita Roddick was born on October 23, 1942 in Littlehampton, Sussex, England as Anita Lucia Perella. She was married to Gordon Roddick. She died on September 10, 2007 in Chichester, West Sussex, England. 29. Elizabeth Taylor. Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was considered one of the last, if not the last, major star to have come out of the old Hollywood studio system. She was known internationally for her beauty, especially for her violet eyes, with which she captured audiences early on in her youth and kept the world hooked . 30. Julie Andrews. Julia Elizabeth Wells was born on October 1, 1935, in England. Her mother, Barbara Ward (Morris), and stepfather, both vaudeville performers, discovered her freakish but undeniably lovely four-octave singing voice and immediately got her a singing career. She performed in music halls throughout her. 31. Beryl Grey. 32. Beryl Bainbridge. Beryl Bainbridge was born on November 21, 1932 in Liverpool, Merseyside, England as Beryl Margaret Bainbridge. She was an actress and writer, known for Rookery Nook (1953), Sweet William (1980) and Adult Fun (1972). She was married to Austin Howard Davies. She died on July 2, 2010 in London, . 33. Iris Murdoch. 34. Daphne Sheldrick. Daphne Sheldrick was born on June 4, 1934 in Kenya as Daphne Marjorie Jenkins. She is known for her work on The Flame Trees of Thika (1981), Bloody Ivory (1978) and For the Love of Elephants (2010). She was married to David Sheldrick and Bill Woodley. She died on April 12, 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya. 35. Shirley Bassey. Shirley Bassey was born in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales, and raised in the nearby working class neighborhood of Splott. Her mother was originally from Yorkshire, and her father was a Nigerian seaman who left the family when she was less than two. She later helped to support her family by working in an. 36. Cleo Laine. Cleo Laine was born on October 28, 1927 in Middlesex, England as Clementine Dinah Bullock. She was previously married to John Dankworth and George Langridge. 37. Peggy Ashcroft. Academy Award-winning, legendary English actress - who maintained her status in the British acting elite for decades. Made a Dame of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1956. Almost always on stage, she appeared rarely in film, her first being The Wandering Jew (1933). On stage she was cast. 38. Judith Anderson. Dame Judith Anderson was born Frances Margaret Anderson on February 10, 1897 in Adelaide, South Australia. She began her acting career in Australia before moving to New York in 1918. There she established herself as one of the greatest theatrical actresses and was a major star on Broadway . 39. Eileen Atkins. Eileen Atkins was born in a Salvation Army Women's Hostel in north London. Her father was a gas meter reader; her mother, a seamstress and barmaid. A drama teacher taught her how to drop her Cockney accent, and she studied Shakespeare and Greek tragedies. Her breakthrough role in "The Killing of . 40. Wendy Hiller. Wendy Hiller, daughter of Frank and Marie Hiller, was born on 15th August 1912 in Bramhall, near Stockport, Cheshire, England. She was educated at Winceby House School, Bexhill then moved on to Manchester Repertory Theatre. She appeared on stage in Sir John Barry's tour of Evensong, then as Sally . 41. Vera Lynn. Vera Lynn was born on March 20, 1917 in East Ham, London, England as Vera Margaret Welch. She was married to Harry Lewis. She died on June 18, 2020 in Ditchling, East Sussex, England. 42. Celia Johnson. Celia Johnson was an English actress, once nominated for an Academy Award. Johnson was born in the town of Richmond, Surrey in 1908. Richmond was incorporated into Greater London in 1965, as part of an administrative reform. Celia's parents were John Robert Johnson and Ethel Griffiths. Neither of . 43. Janet Suzman. This alert and classy actress seemed poised for Hollywood stardom in the early 1970s. Although it wasn't meant to be, Janet Suzman has remained one of the more respected classical stage players of her time. Born in 1939, she was raised in a staunchly liberal household in South Africa at a time when. 44. Harriet Walter. 45. Rosamunde Pilcher. Rosamunde Pilcher was born on September 22, 1924 in Lelant, Cornwall, England as Rosamunde Scott. She is known for her work on Rosamunde Pilcher (1993), Another View (1995) and The Shell Seekers (2006). She was married to Graham Pilcher. She died on February 6, 2019 in Scotland. 46. Margaret Rutherford. Rare is the reference to Margaret Rutherford that doesn't characterize her as either jut-chinned, eccentric, or both. The combination of those most mundane of attributes has led some to suggest that she was made for the role of Agatha Christie's indomitable sleuth, Jane Marple, whom Rutherford . 47. Dorothy Tutin. Dame Dorothy Tutin's esteemed company of peers included other remarkable dames, including Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. Unlike these others, Dorothy had limited screen time over the years and would develop the respect but not the stardom afforded the other two outside the realm of the theatre. . 48. May Whitty. Born Mary Whitty on June 19, 1865, to a Liverpool newspaper editor and his wife, she became known as May Whitty to the world. She first stepped on the London stage in 1882. She worked as an understudy at the St. James Theatre and then began playing leading roles when she joined a traveling stock . 49. Flora Robson. Flora Robson knew she was no beauty, but her wise and sympathetic face would become a familiar - indeed, shining - ornament of the 1930s and 40s silver screen. Though not sure of acting as a career in her early years, she first appeared on stage when 5 years old. She was educated at Palmer's Green . 50. Muriel Spark. 51. Jane Goodall. Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, is an iconic voice for holistic, compassionate, and sustainable solutions. Through her global advocacy as an ethologist and environmentalist, she is shaping attitudes and policy on issues ranging from human . 52. Whina Cooper. Whina Cooper was born on December 9, 1895 in Te Karaka, New Zealand as Whina Josephine Te Wake. She was married to William Cooper and Richard Gilbert. She died on March 26, 1994 in Hokianga, New Zealand. 53. Myra Hess. Myra Hess was born on February 25, 1890 in London, England as Julia Myra Hess. She died on November 26, 1965 in London. 54. Susan Devoy. Susan Devoy was born on January 1, 1964 in Rotorua, New Zealand as Susan Elizabeth Anne Devoy. 55. Gwyneth Jones. Gwyneth Jones was born on November 7, 1936 in Pontnewynydd, Wales. She is an actress, known for Квартет (2012), Der Ring des Nibelungen (1980) and Fidelio (1970). 56. Felicity Lott. Felicity Lott was born on May 8, 1947 in Cheltenham, England. She is an actress, known for Der Rosenkavalier (1994), Anna Karenina (1977) and Mozart's The Magic Flute (1978). She is married to Gabriel Woolf. They have one child. 57. Evelyn Glennie. Dame Evelyn Glennie, who was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2007 New Year Honours List, is one of the best-known figures in contemporary British music. An extraordinarily virtuosic percussionist as well as an engaging personality, she has long been subject to . 58. Tanni Grey-Thompson. 59. Jenni Murray. Jenni Murray was born on May 12, 1950 in Barnsley, Yorkshire, England as Jennifer Susan Bailey. She is an actress, known for W1A (2014), Muse (2019) and Never Mind the Full Stops (2006). She is married to David Forgham-Bailey. They have two children. She was previously married to Brian Murray. 60. Vivienne Westwood. 61. Kiri Te Kanawa. Kiri Te Kanawa studied voice in New Zealand, where she was a popular singer as a teenager. She enrolled in the London Opera Center in 1966, and had her Covent Garden debut 1 December 1971. Although her acting ability is highly regarded on the operatic stage, she has made few theatrical films. 62. Ellen MacArthur. Ellen MacArthur was born on July 8, 1976 in Derbyshire, England as Ellen Patricia MacArthur. 63. Marie Rambert. A pioneer figure in British ballet since the 1920's. Marie was recruited by Diaghilev to assist Nijinsky with his choreography for The Rite of Spring. She settled in London and formed her own company, The Ballet Rambert. Based at the tiny Mercury Theatre she managed to create many notable ballets . Plot: Rose, Cloister Walk B. 64. Merle Park. 65. Gracie Fields. A comedienne and singer in the British Music Halls, she was the top box-office draw and the highest paid actress in Britain in the 1930's. Her Northern, working-class girl character was a favourite during the inter-war years. 66. Mary Durack. Mary Durack was born on February 20, 1913 in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. She was a writer, known for Короли форта Грасс (1998) and A Life (1992). She was married to H.C. Miller. She died on . 67. Lilian Braithwaite. Lilian Braithwaite was born on March 9, 1873 in Ramsgate, Kent, England. She was an actress, known for The Gay Lord Quex (1917), The Woman Who Was Nothing (1917) and Because (1918). She was married to Gerald Lawrence. She died on September 17, 1948 in London, England.