Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

blizzard

(Encyclopedia)blizzard, winter storm characterized by high winds, low temperatures, and driving snow; according to the official definition given in 1958 by the U.S. Weather Bureau, the winds must exceed 35 mi (56 k...

Boole, George

(Encyclopedia)Boole, George, 1815–64, English mathematician and logician. He became professor at Queen's College, Cork, in 1849. Boole wrote An Investigation of the Laws of Thought (1854) and works on calculus an...

Teapot Dome

(Encyclopedia)Teapot Dome, in U.S. history, oil reserve scandal that began during the administration of President Harding. In 1921, by executive order of the President, control of naval oil reserves at Teapot Dome,...

whistle-blowing

(Encyclopedia)whistle-blowing, exposure of fraud and abuse by an employee. The federal law that legitimated the concept of the whistle-blower, the False Claims Act (1863, revised 1986), was created to combat fraud ...

La Fontaine, Henri

(Encyclopedia)La Fontaine, Henri äNrēˈ läfôNtĕnˈ [key], 1854–1943, Belgian jurist and statesman. A senator from 1894 to 1936, he headed the International Peace Bureau from 1907 and was awarded the 1913 Nob...

Gobat, Charles Albert

(Encyclopedia)Gobat, Charles Albert shärl älbĕrˈ gōbäˈ [key], 1843–1914, Swiss statesman. He took part in government affairs, wrote on international law, and helped found (1902) an international peace bure...

Powell, Jerome Hayden

(Encyclopedia)Powell, Jerome Hayden, 1953–, U.S. investment banker and government official, b. Washington, D.C., A.B. Princeton, 1975, J.D. Georgetown Univ., 1979. He worked with New York law firms and in investm...

White, Theodore H.

(Encyclopedia)White, Theodore H., 1915–86, Americal political journalist, b. Boston. After freelancing for the Boston Globe and the Manchester Guardian, he was recruited by John Hersey to cover East Asia for Time...

Thomas, Albert

(Encyclopedia)Thomas, Albert älbĕrˈ tômäˈ [key], 1878–1932, French statesman and Socialist leader. He worked with Jean Jaurès on the journal Humanité and was active in socialist politics. In 1910 he was e...

Lam, Carrie

(Encyclopedia)Lam, Carrie (Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor), 1957–, Hong Kong political leader. She served in the treasury bureau before becoming director of social welfare (2000–3), permanent secretary for housing ...

Browse by Subject