Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Svoboda, Ludvík

(Encyclopedia)Svoboda, Ludvík lo͝odˈvĕk svôˈbôdä [key], 1895–1979, Czechoslovak general and political leader. Svoboda served in the Czech Legion in World War I and became an officer (1922) in the army of ...

WAC

(Encyclopedia)WAC (Women's Army Corps), U.S. army organization created (1942) during World War II to enlist women as auxiliaries for noncombatant duty in the U.S. army. Before 1943 it was known as the Women's Auxil...

wage and price controls

(Encyclopedia)wage and price controls, economic policy measure in which the government places a ceiling on wages and prices to curb inflation. Also known as incomes policy, such programs have generally been avoided...

Waltari, Mika

(Encyclopedia)Waltari, Mika mēˈkə välˈtärē [key], 1908–79, Finnish author. Waltari wrote plays, detective stories, and travelogues, but is best known for his novels. After completing his university educati...

Tilden, William Tatem, 2d

(Encyclopedia)Tilden, William Tatem, 2d (Bill Tilden), 1893–1953, American tennis player, b. Philadelphia. He developed into a brilliant, versatile tennis player, and from 1913 he won several doubles titles in th...

Bjørgen, Marit

(Encyclopedia)Bjørgen, Marit, 1980–, Norwegian cross-country skier, b. Trondheim. The most decorated winter Olympian of all time, with 15 medals, she initially excelled as a sprinter, but later became accomplish...

school of Paris

(Encyclopedia)school of Paris. The center of international art until after World War II, Paris was a mecca for artists who flocked there to participate in the most advanced aesthetic currents of their time. The sch...

Barnes, Harry Elmer

(Encyclopedia)Barnes, Harry Elmer, 1889–1968, American historian and sociologist, b. Auburn, N.Y. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1918 and taught economics, sociology, and history at various institutions o...

roller skating

(Encyclopedia)roller skating, gliding on a hard, smooth, durable surface on skates with rollers or wheels, in recent years has become a popular adult sport. Skates mounted on wooden rollers date from the 1860s, and...

Service, Robert William

(Encyclopedia)Service, Robert William, 1874–1958, Canadian poet and novelist, b. England, educated at the Univ. of Glasgow. He went to Canada in 1897 and held odd jobs in British Columbia and at Whitehorse in the...

Browse by Subject