Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) standard of living, level of consumption that an individual, group, or nation has achieved. The evaluation of a standard of living is relative, depending upon the judgment of the observer as to what c...

(Encyclopedia) creationism or creation science, belief in the biblical account of the creation of the world as described in Genesis, a characteristic especially of fundamentalist Protestantism (see fundamentalism). ...

(Encyclopedia) Ghose, Chinmoy gōsh [key], 1931–, Indian mystic and poet. Orphaned at the age of 12, he went to live at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in S India, where he stayed for the next 20 years, practicing spiri...

(Encyclopedia) Neusner, Jacob, 1932–2016, American scholar and historian of Judaism, b. West Hartford, Conn, B.A. Harvard, 1953, M.A. Jewish Theological Seminary, 1960), Ph.D. Columbia, 1960. Regarded as the world...

(Encyclopedia) husband and wife, the legal aspects of the married state (for the sociological aspects, see marriage). The former Anglo-American law of marriage was chiefly characterized by the view that husband an...

(Encyclopedia) Hawaii, island (2020 pop. 200, 629), 4,037 sq mi (10,456 sq km), largest and southernmost island of the state of Hawaii and coextensive with Hawaii co.;...

(Encyclopedia) Iowa īˈəwə, –wāˌ [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages); also called the Ioway. They, wi...

(Encyclopedia) Freemasonry, teachings and practices of the secret fraternal order officially known as the Free and Accepted Masons, or Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Because of its identification with 19th-cent...

(Encyclopedia) Tweed, William Marcy, 1823–78, American politician and Tammany leader, b. New York City. A bookkeeper, he became (1848) a volunteer fireman and as a result acquired influence in his ward. He was an ...

(Encyclopedia) Peabody, George Foster pēˈbädē [key], 1852–1938, American banker and philanthropist, b. Columbus, Ga. Successful early in life as a banker and organizer of railroads and utility companies, he re...