Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Navajo, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Navajo or Navaho both: näˈvəhō [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Athabascan branch of the Nadene linguistic stock (see Native American languages). A migration from the No...

Moon, Warren

(Encyclopedia)Moon, Warren (Harold Warren Moon, Jr.), 1956–, African-American football player, b. Los Angeles. Moon quarterbacked the Univ. of Washington Huskies to a Rose Bowl title in 1978, but he went undrafte...

Viebig, Clara

(Encyclopedia)Viebig, Clara kläˈrä fēˈbĭkh [key], 1860–1952, German novelist of the naturalist school. A skillful and sympathetic portrayer of working-class women, she wrote many novels, among them Das Weib...

voting machine

(Encyclopedia)voting machine, instrument for recording and counting votes. The voting machine itself is generally positioned in a booth, often closed off by a curtain to assure secrecy for the voter. In the case of...

Davis, Angela Yvonne

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Angela Yvonne, 1944–, African-American political activist, b. Birmingham, Ala. She taught philosophy (1969–70) at the Univ. of California, Los Angeles, until she was finally denied reappoin...

pelvis

(Encyclopedia)pelvis, bony, basin-shaped structure that supports the organs of the lower abdomen. It receives the weight of the upper body and distributes it to the legs; it also forms the base for numerous muscle ...

Title IX

(Encyclopedia)Title IX, clause of the Educational Amendments of 1972 that reads: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be sub...

mandates

(Encyclopedia)mandates, system of trusteeships established by Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations for the administration of former Turkish territories and of former German colonies. As finally adopt...

O'Brien, William

(Encyclopedia)O'Brien, William, 1852–1928, Irish journalist and political leader. He became (1881) editor of a newspaper, United Ireland, which championed the Irish agrarian cause (see Irish Land Question). Impri...

Browse by Subject