Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) World Health Organization (WHO), specialized agency of the United Nations, established in 1948, with its headquarters at Geneva. WHO admits all sovereign states (including those not belonging to the U...

(Encyclopedia) will, in philosophy and psychology, term used to describe that which is alleged to stimulate the motivation of purposeful activity. It is characteristic of the will that it can be observed only in one...

(Encyclopedia) Richler, Mordecai, 1931–2001, Canadian novelist, b. Montreal. He fled his native city in the early 1950s and lived mainly in London, returning to Canada in 1972 and from then on spending part of his...

(Encyclopedia) Ringling Brothers, seven brothers, sons of German-born August Rüngeling, who established an American circus empire. Albert C. (1852–1916), Otto (1858–1911), Alfred T. (1861–1919), Charles Edwar...

(Encyclopedia) embalming ĕmbäˈmĭng, ĭm– [key], practice of preserving the body after death by artificial means. The custom was prevalent among many ancient peoples and still survives in many cultures. It was ...

(Encyclopedia) government, system of social control under which the right to make laws, and the right to enforce them, is vested in a particular group in society. There are many classifications of government. Accord...

(Encyclopedia) Fugger fo͝ogˈər [key], German family of merchant princes. The foundation of their wealth was laid by Hans Fugger, allegedly a weaver, who moved to Augsburg in 1367. His descendants built up the fam...

(Encyclopedia) grid computing, the concurrent application of the processing and data storage resources of many computers in a network to a single problem. It also can be used for load balancing as well as high avail...

(Encyclopedia) Grimké, Angelina Emily grĭmˈkē [key], 1805–79, American abolitionist and advocate of women's rights, b. Charleston, S.C. Converted to the Quaker faith by her elder sister Sarah Moore Grimké, sh...

(Encyclopedia) Liberal party, Canadian political party. Prior to confederation in 1867, reform parties advocating greater local participation in provincial governments, free trade, and increased separation of church...