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savings bank

(Encyclopedia)savings bank, financial institution that, until recently, performed only the following functions: receiving savings deposits of individuals, investing them, and providing a modest return to its deposi...

ejido

(Encyclopedia)ejido āhēˈᵺō [key] [Span.,=common land], in Mexico, agricultural land expropriated from large private holdings and redistributed to communal farms. Communal ownership of land had been widely pra...

degree, academic

(Encyclopedia)degree, academic, title bestowed upon a student on the fulfillment of certain requirements or given as an honor to an eminent person. The practice of awarding degrees originated in the universities of...

Cronkite, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Cronkite, Walter (Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr.) krŏngˈkīt, krŏnˈ– [key], 1916–2009, American news broadcaster, b. St. Joseph, Mo. He left (1935) the Univ. of Texas to write for the Houston Pre...

clinic

(Encyclopedia)clinic, name for an institution providing medical diagnosis and treatment for ambulatory patients. The forerunner of the modern clinic was the dispensary, which dispensed free drugs and served only th...

clearing

(Encyclopedia)clearing, in banking, the periodic settling of bankers' claims against each other, for which local banks establish clearinghouse associations. Clearinghouses are said to have existed in Florence by a....

European Parliament

(Encyclopedia)European Parliament, an institution of the governing body of the European Union (EU). It convenes on a monthly basis in Strasbourg, France; most meetings of the separate parliamentary committees are h...

Owen, Robert Dale

(Encyclopedia)Owen, Robert Dale, 1801–77, American social reformer, b. Scotland; son of Robert Owen. He studied at his father's New Lanark school and in Switzerland. In 1825 he went to New Harmony, Ind. There he ...

Powell, John Wesley

(Encyclopedia)Powell, John Wesley, 1834–1902, American geologist and ethnologist, b. Mt. Morris (now part of New York City). The family moved to Illinois, where Powell joined the Natural History Society, making c...

California, University of

(Encyclopedia)California, University of, at ten campuses, main campus at Berkeley; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1868, opened 1869 when it took over the College of California (est. 1853 a...