Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Barye, Antoine Louis

(Encyclopedia)Barye, Antoine Louis äNtwänˈ lwē bärēˈ [key], 1796–1875, French animal sculptor. Son of a Parisian goldsmith, he followed his father's trade as a youth. In 1832 he exhibited at the Salon his ...

Bieber, Owen Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Bieber, Owen Frederick, 1929–2020, American labor leader, b. North Dorr, Mich. Active in the United Automobile Workers (UAW) from 1949, when he became a shop steward, he rose to become a regional di...

Konstanz

(Encyclopedia)Konstanz kônˈstänts [key], Fr. Constance, city (1994 pop. 75,980), Baden-Württemberg, SW Germany, on the Rhine River at the western end of Lake Constance (Bodensee), and near the Swiss border. Its...

pollution allowance

(Encyclopedia)pollution allowance or emission rights, government-issued permit to emit a certain amount of a pollutant. The holder of the permit may use it to pollute legally, may trade permits, or may sell the per...

African Union

(Encyclopedia)African Union (AU), international organization established in 2002 by the nations of the former Organization of African Unity (OAU). The AU is the successor organization to the OAU, with greater power...

Miskolc

(Encyclopedia)Miskolc mĭshˈkôlts [key], city (1991 est. pop 194,000), NE Hungary, on the Sajó River. Hungary's second largest city and a major industrial center, Miskolc has large iron and steel mills, lime and...

Arezzo

(Encyclopedia)Arezzo ärĕtˈtsō [key], city, capital of Arezzo prov., Tuscany, central Italy. It is an agricultural trade center and has machine, clothing, gold, and jewelry industrie...

diminishing returns, law of

(Encyclopedia)diminishing returns, law of, in economics, law stating that if one factor of production is increased while the others remain constant, the overall returns will relatively decrease after a certain poin...

Sigurðsson, Jón

(Encyclopedia)Sigurðsson, Jón yōn sĭˈkhürᵺsōn [key], 1811–79, Icelandic statesman and historian. A student in Copenhagen from 1833, he developed an interest in Icelandic literature and history, on which ...

domestic service

(Encyclopedia)domestic service, work performed in a household by someone who is not a member of the family. It was performed by slaves in many early civilizations, e.g., in Greece and Rome. Under the feudal system ...