Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Seven Wise Men of Greece

(Encyclopedia)Seven Wise Men of Greece, list of men drawn from among the outstanding politicians and political philosophers of ancient Greece. Although such listings differed widely, a usual one included Bias, Chil...

Wise Men of the East

(Encyclopedia)Wise Men of the East, Magi, or Three Kings, men who came from the East to adore the newborn Jesus. Mat. 2. They were the first to tell Herod of the birth. A star (the Star of Bethlehem) had been a si...

Latin American Integration Association

(Encyclopedia)Latin American Integration Association (LAIA), organization formed in 1980 by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, taking over the duti...

European Free Trade Association

(Encyclopedia)European Free Trade Association (EFTA), customs union and trading bloc; its current members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. EFTA was established in 1960 by Austria, Denmark, Great...

Federal National Mortgage Association

(Encyclopedia)Federal National Mortgage Association (FMNA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, government-sponsored enterprise that is the largest purchaser and guarantor of home mortgages in the country. Headquartered ...

savings and loan association

(Encyclopedia)savings and loan association (S&L), type of financial institution that was originally created to accept savings from private investors and to provide home mortgage services for the public. The fir...

Lauterbur, Paul Christian

(Encyclopedia)Lauterbur, Paul Christian, 1929–2007, American chemist, b. Sidney, Ohio, Ph.D. Univ. of Pittsburgh, 1962. Lauterbur was (1969–85) a faculty member at the State Univ. of New York at Stony Brook (no...

Lange, Christian Louis

(Encyclopedia)Lange, Christian Louis krĭsˈtyän lo͞oˈē längˈə [key], 1869–1938, Norwegian pacifist. In his youth he joined the Young Norway movement and worked for the separation of Norway from Sweden. He...

Browse by Subject