Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) consumption, in economics, direct utilization of goods and services by consumers, not including the use of means of production, such as machinery and factories (see capital). Consumption can be divide...

(Encyclopedia) L'Engle, Madeleine, 1918–2007, American writer, b. New York City, grad. Smith College, 1941. A devout Episcopalian, L'Engle served as librarian and writer-in-residence at the Cathedral Church of St....

(Encyclopedia) Millar, John, 1735–1801, Scottish philosopher and historian. Millar studied at Glasgow, where he became the chief disciple of Adam Smith. In 1761 Millar became professor of civil law at Glasgow, and...

(Encyclopedia) Whipple, Amiel Weeks, 1818–63, American soldier and topographical engineer, b. Greenwich, Mass. He became (1841) a topographical engineer in the U.S. army and engaged in surveying the U.S. borders w...

(Encyclopedia) disk plow or disk, farm implement employing a row or rows of concave circular steel disks that cut and pitch the soil in a way somewhat similar to a moldboard plow. It can be used in many situations w...

(Encyclopedia) Borgese, Giuseppe Antonio jo͞ozĕpˈpā äntōˈnyō bōrjāˈzā [key], 1882–1952, Italian-American author, b. near Palermo, Ph.D. Univ. of Florence, 1903. From 1910 to 1931 he taught at the unive...

(Encyclopedia) Bush, Barbara, 1925–2018, b. New York City as Barbara Pierce; wife of George H. W. Bush and mother of George W. Bush. She studied briefly at Smith College before marrying (1945); the Bushes ultimate...

(Encyclopedia) Cooperative Extension Service, in the United States, former agency of the Dept. of Agriculture, est. 1914 by the Smith-Lever Act. Designed to provide Americans with the understanding and skills essent...

(Encyclopedia) Quesnay, François fräNswäˈ kĕnāˈ [key], 1694–1774, French economist, founder of the physiocratic school. A physician to Louis XV, he did not begin his economic studies until 1756, when he wro...

(Encyclopedia) Ross, Sir John, 1777–1856, British arctic explorer and rear admiral. In 1818 he went in search of the Northwest Passage but turned back after exploring Baffin Bay. Financed by Sir Felix Booth, he co...