Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

438 results found

collective bargaining

(Encyclopedia)collective bargaining, in labor relations, procedure whereby an employer or employers agree to discuss the conditions of work by bargaining with representatives of the employees, usually a labor union...

police power

(Encyclopedia)police power, in law, right of a government to make laws necessary for the health, morals, and welfare of the populace. The term has greatest currency in the United States, where it has been defined b...

Radio Free Europe

(Encyclopedia)Radio Free Europe (RFE), broadcasting organization established in 1950 with the stated mission of promoting democratic values and institutions. Its original purpose was to broadcast news to countries ...

Henry, Patrick

(Encyclopedia)Henry, Patrick, 1736–99, political leader in the American Revolution, b. Hanover co., Va. Largely self-educated, he became a prominent trial lawyer. Henry bitterly denounced (1765) the Stamp Act and...

Stritch, Elaine

(Encyclopedia)Stritch, Elaine, 1925–2014, American actress and singer, b. Detroit. Forthright and witty, with a commanding stage presence and a raspy singing voice, she had a long career in show business, and num...

Willet, Marinus

(Encyclopedia)Willet, Marinus mərēˈnəs wĭlˈĭt [key], 1740–1830, American Revolutionary soldier, b. Jamaica, N.Y. In the French and Indian War he was (1758) a member of the expeditions against Fort Ticonder...

Bardeen, John

(Encyclopedia)Bardeen, John bärdēnˈ [key], 1908–91, American physicist, b. Madison, Wis., grad. Univ. of Wisconsin (B.S. 1928, M.S. 1929), Ph.D. Princeton, 1936. He was a research physicist at the Bell Telepho...

Townes, Charles Hard

(Encyclopedia)Townes, Charles Hard, 1915–2015, American physicist and educator, b. Greenville, S.C. He was educated at Furman Univ., Duke, and the California Institute of Technology (Ph.D., 1939), was on the tech...

Schawlow, Arthur Leonard

(Encyclopedia)Schawlow, Arthur Leonard shôˈlō [key], 1921–99, American physicist, b. Mount Vernon, N.Y., grad. Univ. of Toronto (Ph.D. 1949). Although his research focused on optics, in particular, lasers and ...

Ditko, Steve

(Encyclopedia)Ditko, Steve (Stephen John Ditko), 1927–2018, American comic-book artist, b. Johnstown, Pa., studied early 1950s Cartoonist and Illustrator School (later School of Visual Arts), New York City. Much ...