Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Paley, Grace

(Encyclopedia)Paley, Grace, 1922–2007, American writer and social activist, b. the Bronx, N.Y., as Grace Goodside. In short stories mainly celebrating the lives of women, Paley paints the daily lives of working-c...

Kermode, Sir Frank

(Encyclopedia)Kermode, Sir Frank kärˈmədē [key], 1919–2010, English critic, b. Douglas, Isle of Man. Educated at Liverpool Univ. (grad. 1940) and a lieutenant in the Royal Navy during World War II, Kermode wa...

country music

(Encyclopedia)country music, American popular music form originating in the Southern and Western United States. Country music is directly descended from the folk songs, ballads, and popular songs of the English, Sc...

Godwin, William

(Encyclopedia)Godwin, William, 1756–1836, English author and political philosopher. A minister in his youth, he was, however, plagued by religious doubts and gave up preaching in 1783 for a literary career. His E...

Foreign Legion

(Encyclopedia)Foreign Legion, French volunteer armed force composed chiefly, in its enlisted ranks, of foreigners. Its international character and the tradition of not revealing enlistees' backgrounds have helped t...

guild socialism

(Encyclopedia)guild socialism, form of socialism developed in Great Britain that advocated a system of industrial self-government through national worker-controlled guilds. The theory, as originated by Arthur J. Pe...

Ludwigsburg

(Encyclopedia)Ludwigsburg lo͞otˈvĭkhsbo͝orkhˌ [key], city (1994 pop. 86,220), Baden-Württemberg, SW Germany, near the Neckar River. It is a transportation and industrial center. Manufactures include machine t...

Robinson-Patman Act

(Encyclopedia)Robinson-Patman Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1936 to supplement the Clayton Antitrust Act. The act, advanced by Congressman Wright Patman, forbade any person or firm engaged in interstate comme...

Bell, Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Bell, Andrew, 1753–1832, British educator, b. St. Andrews, Scotland. After seven years in Virginia as a tutor, he returned to England, was ordained a deacon, and later (1789) became superintendent o...

Kelley, Florence

(Encyclopedia)Kelley, Florence, 1859–1932, American social worker and reformer, b. Philadelphia, grad. Cornell, 1882, and Northwestern Univ. law school, 1894. Married in 1884 to a Polish doctor, Lazare Wishniewes...

Browse by Subject