Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

389 results found

White Horse, Vale of the

(Encyclopedia)White Horse, Vale of the, district (1991 pop. 109,200), Oxfordshire, S central England. The vale is the valley of the Ock River. Abingdon is the administrative seat. Surgical instruments and automobil...

reading, mental process

(Encyclopedia)reading, process of mentally interpreting written symbols. Facility in reading is an essential factor in educational progress, and instruction in this basic skill is a primary purpose of elementary ed...

rape, in law

(Encyclopedia)rape, in law, the crime of sexual relations, often specifically sexual intercourse, without the consent of the victim, often through force or threat of violence. The victim is deemed legally incapable...

Ailey, Alvin, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Ailey, Alvin, Jr. āˈlē [key], 1931–89, American modern dancer and choreographer, b. Rogers, Tex. Ailey studied in Los Angeles with Lester Horton, whose strong, dramatic style and views about mult...

Anglo-Saxon literature

(Encyclopedia)Anglo-Saxon literature, the literary writings in Old English (see English language), composed between c.650 and c.1100. See also English literature. Old English literary prose dates from the latter ...

Langer, Susanne Knauth

(Encyclopedia)Langer, Susanne Knauth nouth lăngˈər [key], 1895–1986, American philosopher, b. New York City, grad. Radcliffe (B.A., 1920; Ph.D., 1926). After holding various teaching posts, she was a lecturer ...

Moltke, Helmuth Johannes Ludwig, Graf von

(Encyclopedia)Moltke, Helmuth Johannes Ludwig, Graf von hĕlˈmo͞ot yōhäˈnəs lo͞otˈvĭkh gräf fən môltˈkə [key], 1848–1916, German army officer. He fought in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) and be...

Lewis, Clarence Irving

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, Clarence Irving, 1883–1964, American philosopher, b. Stoneham, Mass., grad. Harvard (B.A., 1906; Ph.D., 1910). After teaching (1911–20) at the Univ. of California, he was professor of philo...

Green, Thomas Hill

(Encyclopedia)Green, Thomas Hill, 1836–82, English idealist philosopher. Educated at Oxford, he was associated with the university all his life. He was professor of moral philosophy there from 1878 until his deat...

Grace, princess consort of Monaco

(Encyclopedia)Grace, 1929–82, princess consort of Monaco, b. Philadelphia as Grace Patricia Kelly. She acted on stage and television in New York, and made her film debut in 1951. Cool, blonde, and patrician, she ...