Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Reston

(Encyclopedia)Reston, uninc. city (1990 pop. 48,556), Fairfax co., N Va., a residential and commercial suburb c. 20 mi (32 km) W of Washington, D.C. A planned community, it was established in 1961 by real estate de...

Industrial Revolution

(Encyclopedia)Industrial Revolution, term usually applied to the social and economic changes that mark the transition from a stable agricultural and commercial society to a modern industrial society relying on comp...

Chicherin, Georgi Vasilyevich

(Encyclopedia)Chicherin, Georgi Vasilyevich gēôrˈgē vəsēˈlyəvĭch chēchâˈrĭn [key], 1872–1936, Russian diplomat. Of noble origin, he entered the Russian foreign office but resigned (1904) after joinin...

European Monetary System

(Encyclopedia)European Monetary System, arrangement by which most nations of the European Union (EU) linked their currencies to prevent large fluctuations relative to one another. It was organized in 1979 to stabil...

Daniels, Jonathan Worth

(Encyclopedia)Daniels, Jonathan Worth, 1902–81, American newspaper editor and author, b. Raleigh, N.C. In 1925 he joined the staff of the Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer, edited by his father, Josephus Daniels. ...

Queen Charlotte Islands

(Encyclopedia)Queen Charlotte Islands, archipelago of several large and many small islands, off the coast of W British Columbia, Canada. The main islands are Graham and Moresby. Masset on Graham Island is the main ...

Tilley, Sir Samuel Leonard

(Encyclopedia)Tilley, Sir Samuel Leonard, 1818–96, Canadian political leader, b. New Brunswick. He was active in provincial politics and led the government from 1861 to 1865. An advocate of a united Canada, he wa...

smuggling

(Encyclopedia)smuggling, illegal transport across state or national boundaries of goods or persons liable to customs or to prohibition. Smuggling has been carried on in nearly all nations and has occasionally been ...

protection

(Encyclopedia)protection, practice of regulating imports and exports with the purpose of shielding domestic industries from foreign competition. To accomplish that end, certain imports may be excluded entirely, imp...

Bunche, Ralph Johnson

(Encyclopedia)Bunche, Ralph Johnson bŭnch [key], 1904–71, U.S. government official and UN diplomat, b. Detroit, Ph.D., Harvard, 1934. He taught political science at Howard Univ. (1928–40). In government servic...