Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

O'Connor, Sandra Day

(Encyclopedia)O'Connor, Sandra Day, 1930–2023, U.S. lawyer and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1981–2006), b. El Paso, Tex. Graduating from Stanford ...

day

(Encyclopedia)day, period of time for the earth to rotate once on its axis. The ordinary day, or solar day, is measured relative to the sun, being the time between successive passages of the sun over a stationary o...

Ginsburg, Ruth Bader

(Encyclopedia)Ginsburg, Ruth Bader, 1933–2020, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1993–2020), b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Joan Ruth Bader. A graduate (1954) of Cornell, she attended Harvard Law School, then...

Labor Day

(Encyclopedia)Labor Day, holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on the first Monday in September to honor the laborer. It was inaugurated by the Knights of Labor in 1882 and made a national holiday by t...

Lady Day

(Encyclopedia)Lady Day or Annunciation: see Mary. ...

Memorial Day

(Encyclopedia)Memorial Day, holiday in the United States observed in late May. Previously designated Decoration Day, it was inaugurated in 1868 by Gen. John A. Logan for the purpose of decorating the graves of Civi...

May Day

(Encyclopedia)May Day, first day of May. Its celebration probably originated in the spring fertility festivals of India and Egypt. The festival of the Roman goddess of spring, Flora, was celebrated from Apr. 28 to ...

John Day

(Encyclopedia)John Day, river, 281 mi (452 km) long, rising in several branches in the Strawberry Mts., NE Oreg., and flowing W, then N to the Columbia River. Unnavigable, the river is used to irrigate vegetable fa...

Flag Day

(Encyclopedia)Flag Day, anniversary of the adoption of the American flag in 1777. It is celebrated on June 14 but is not a legal holiday.

Browse by Subject