Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory sāˈrō tōlōˈlō [key], astronomical observatory located on Cerro Tololo peak, Chile, with offices in La Serena, about 40 mi (64 km) to the west. Funded by ...

Smith, Gipsy

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Gipsy, 1860–1947, English evangelist, originally named Rodney Smith, b. Wanstead. His father, a Romani (Gypsy), was also an evangelist. When Rodney was still a youth he became a member of Gen...

Evans, Luther Harris

(Encyclopedia)Evans, Luther Harris, 1902–81, American librarian and political scientist, b. Bastrop co., Tex. After teaching political science at several universities, he became director of the Historical Records...

Molly Maguires

(Encyclopedia)Molly Maguires məgwīˈərz [key], secret organization of Irish-Americans in the coal-mining districts of Pennsylvania. Its name came from a woman who led an extralegal, antilandlord organization in ...

social work

(Encyclopedia)social work, organized effort to help individuals and families to adjust themselves to the community, as well as to adapt the community to the needs of such persons and families. Social work emerge...

Socialist party

(Encyclopedia)Socialist party, in U.S. history, political party formed to promote public control of the means of production and distribution. In 1898 the Social Democratic party was formed by a group led by Eugene ...

accounting

(Encyclopedia)accounting, classification, analysis, and interpretation of the financial, or bookkeeping, records of an enterprise. The professional who supplies such services is known as an accountant. Auditing is ...

capitalism

(Encyclopedia)capitalism, economic system based on private ownership of the means of production, in which personal profit can be acquired through investment of capital and employment of labor. Capitalism is grounde...

Laidler, Harry Wellington

(Encyclopedia)Laidler, Harry Wellington lādˈlər [key], 1884–1970, American economist and Socialist leader, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. Wesleyan Univ., 1907, Brooklyn Law School, 1910, Ph.D. Columbia, 1914. A foun...

AARP

(Encyclopedia)AARP, a nonprofit, nonpartisan national organization dedicated to “enriching the experience of aging”; membership is open to people age 50 or older. Founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus as Americ...

Browse by Subject