Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

mental hygiene

(Encyclopedia)mental hygiene, the science of promoting mental health and preventing mental illness through the application of psychiatry and psychology. A more commonly used term today is mental health. In 1908, th...

socialized medicine

(Encyclopedia)socialized medicine, publicly administered system of national health care. The term is used to describe programs that range from government operation of medical facilities to national health-insurance...

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

(Encyclopedia)General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), former specialized agency of the United Nations. It was established in 1948 as an interim measure pending the creation of the International Trade Organiz...

self-help group

(Encyclopedia)self-help group, nonprofessional organization formed by people with a common problem or situation, for the purpose of pooling resources, gathering information, and offering mutual support, services, o...

Grechko, Andrei Antonovich

(Encyclopedia)Grechko, Andrei Antonovich əndrāˈ əntôˈnəvĭch grĕchˈkō [key], 1903–76, Soviet army officer and minister of defense. As a World War II commander he took part in the liberation of the Cauca...

Howard Hughes Medical Institute

(Encyclopedia)Howard Hughes Medical Institute, (HHMI), nonprofit medical research organization founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes and largly funded from proceeds of the 1984–85 sale of Hughes Aircraft. Headquartere...

Bremer, Fredrika

(Encyclopedia)Bremer, Fredrika frĕdrēˈkə brāˈmər [key], 1801–65, Swedish writer and feminist, b. Finland. Her novels of everyday life include The H Family (1829), The President's Daughters (1834), and The ...

Yogananda

(Encyclopedia)Yogananda (Paramahansa Yogananda) pärämhäNˈsä yōgänänˈdä [key], 1893–1952, Indian mystic. He was born Mukunda Lal Ghosh in Gorakhpur, India, of a Kshatriya (warrior caste) family. Before a...

Browse by Subject