Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Saginaw, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Saginaw săgˈĭnô [key], city (1990 pop. 69,512), seat of Saginaw co., S Mich., on the Saginaw River, 15 mi (24 km) from its mouth on Saginaw Bay (an inlet of Lake Huron); settled 1816, inc. 1857. S...

drug addiction and drug abuse

(Encyclopedia)drug addiction and drug abuse, chronic or habitual use of any chemical substance to alter states of body or mind for other than medically warranted purposes. Traditional definitions of addiction, with...

United Presbyterian Church

(Encyclopedia)United Presbyterian Church, two denominations of Presbyterianism. 1 In Scotland, the United Presbyterian Church was formed by the union (1847) of the United Secession Church with the majority of the c...

United Press

(Encyclopedia)United Press: see news agency.

court system in the United States

(Encyclopedia)court system in the United States, judicial branches of the federal and state governments charged with the application and interpretation of the law. The U.S. court system is divided into two administ...

Eastern Shore

(Encyclopedia)Eastern Shore, the tidewater region along E shore of Chesapeake Bay, including all of Maryland and Virginia E of the bay. The region's economy was historically based largely on agriculture and fishing...

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

(Encyclopedia)Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, c.639 sq mi (1,655 sq km), S Calif., occupying most of E San Diego co. and neighboring portions of Riverside and Imperial cos.; est. 1933. Part of the Colorado Desert, ...

Owen, Robert Dale

(Encyclopedia)Owen, Robert Dale, 1801–77, American social reformer, b. Scotland; son of Robert Owen. He studied at his father's New Lanark school and in Switzerland. In 1825 he went to New Harmony, Ind. There he ...

living wage

(Encyclopedia)living wage, the hourly wage that, at a minimum, supports a standard of living above the poverty level in a given locality. It differs from the minimum wage, which often provides a less than adequate ...

Keppel, Francis

(Encyclopedia)Keppel, Francis, 1916–90, American educator, b. New York City. A Harvard graduate, Keppel was named dean of Harvard's Graduate School of Education in 1948. There he introduced television into educat...