Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Spühler, Willy

(Encyclopedia)Spühler, Willy vĭlˈē shpüˈlər [key], 1902–90, Swiss political leader and economist. A Social Democrat, He held several government economic posts and served (1938–59) in the federal assembly...

hallucinogenic drug

(Encyclopedia)hallucinogenic drug həlo͞oˌsənōjĕnˈĭk [key], any of a group of substances that alter consciousness; also called psychotomimetic (i.e., mimicking psychosis), mind-expanding, or psychedelic drug...

Hall, John Lewis

(Encyclopedia)Hall, John Lewis, 1934–, American physicist, b. Denver, Colo., Ph.D. Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1961. He has been a researcher at the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colo., since 196...

Bernanke, Ben Shalom

(Encyclopedia)Bernanke, Ben Shalom bĕrnăngkˈē [key], 1953–, U.S. economist and government official, b. Augusta, Ga.; grad. Harvard (B.A., 1975), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D., 1979). He was a p...

Moos, Ludwig von

(Encyclopedia)Moos, Ludwig von lo͝otˈvĭkh fən mo͞os [key], 1910–90, Swiss political leader. Entering politics in his native town of Sachseln, he served (1941–46) as its president. He was later a government...

Abe, Nobuyuki

(Encyclopedia)Abe, Nobuyuki, 1875–1953, Japanese army officer and political, b. Kanazawa, Ishikawa prefecture. He attended the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and the Army War College, then serve...

committee

(Encyclopedia)committee, one or more persons appointed or elected to consider, report on, or take action on a particular matter. Because of the advantages of a division of labor, legislative committees of various k...

Poison Affair

(Encyclopedia)Poison Affair, in French history, scandal implicating a number of prominent persons at the court of King Louis XIV. It began with the trial of Marie Madeleine d'Aubray, marquise de Brinvilliers (c.163...

noumenon

(Encyclopedia)noumenon no͞oˈmənŏnˌ [key], in the philosophical system of Immanuel Kant, a “thing-in-itself”; it is opposed to phenomenon, the thing that appears to us. Noumena are the basic realities behin...

Schenck, Robert Cumming

(Encyclopedia)Schenck, Robert Cumming skĕngk [key], 1809–90, American politician and diplomat, Union general in the Civil War, b. Franklin, Ohio. He studied law and practiced in Dayton. Schenck was a Whig in Con...