Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

spear

(Encyclopedia)spear, primitive weapon consisting of a wooden shaft tipped with a sharp point, usually 8 to 9 ft (2.4–2.7 m) in length. The point may be carved from the shaft and hardened in a fire, or made from a...

Mississippi, University of

(Encyclopedia)Mississippi, University of, main campus at Oxford; state supported; coeducational; chartered 1844, opened 1848. The university medical center, which includes the schools of medicine, dentistry, and nu...

Iowa, University of

(Encyclopedia)Iowa, University of, at Iowa City; state supported; coeducational; chartered 1847, opened 1855. It has a noted program in the creative arts, including the Iowa Writers' Workshop, one of the most prest...

Alfred University

(Encyclopedia)Alfred University, at Alfred, N.Y.; state and private support; coeducational; opened as a school 1836, chartered 1857 as Alfred Univ. It is especially known for the New York State College of Ceramics,...

Comprehensive Employment and Training Act

(Encyclopedia)Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), U.S. government program designed to assist economically disadvantaged, unemployed, or underemployed persons. Enacted in 1973, CETA provided block gran...

Saint John's College

(Encyclopedia)Saint John's College, at Annapolis, Md., and Santa Fe, N.Mex.; coeducational; founded 1696 as King William's School, chartered 1784, opened 1786 as St. John's College. The Santa Fe campus was opened i...

Quebec, University of

(Encyclopedia)Quebec, University of, administrative center at Sainte Foy, Que., Canada; provincially supported; French language; founded 1968. Its largest campus is at Montreal and there are also campuses at Trois ...

Brandeis University

(Encyclopedia)Brandeis University, at Waltham, Mass.; coeducational; chartered and opened 1948. Although Brandeis was founded by members of the American Jewish community, the university operates as an independent, ...

MacArthur, Douglas

(Encyclopedia)MacArthur, Douglas, 1880–1964, American general, b. Little Rock, Ark.; son of Arthur MacArthur. At the beginning (1950) of the Korean War he was appointed commander of UN military forces in South ...

Orbiting Astronomical Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO), series of four orbiting observatories (see observatory, orbiting) launched between 1966 and 1972 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to...