Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Branner, John Casper, 1850–1922, American geologist, b. New Market, Tenn. He made geological investigations in Brazil (1874–84); the results of these studies and of others made in later years were...

(Encyclopedia) Hesselius, Gustavus hĕsēˈlēəs [key], 1682–1755, American portrait painter, b. Sweden, settled c.1712 in Philadelphia. He was the earliest portrait painter and organ builder in the United States...

(Encyclopedia) caste [Port., casta=basket], ranked groups based on heredity within rigid systems of social stratification, especially those that constitute Hindu India. Some scholars, in fact, deny that true caste s...

(Encyclopedia) New York Philharmonic, dating from 1842, the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States. The orchestra as it now exists is the result of the merger of the Philharmonic Society of New York with the...

(Encyclopedia) Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789–1851, American novelist, b. Burlington, N.J., as James Cooper. He was the first important American writer to draw on the subjects and landscape of his native land in ord...

(Encyclopedia) Yates, Richard, 1926–92, American fiction writer, b. Yonkers, N.Y. A subtle and painstaking literary craftsman who has often been considered a “writers' writer,” Yates frequently chronicles the ...

(Encyclopedia) Ashi or Asser, Rab äˈshē, äsˈər [key], c.352–c.424, Jewish scholar of Babylon. He was a judge, community administrator, and teacher of considerable influence both on contemporary Jewish societ...

(Encyclopedia) accounting, classification, analysis, and interpretation of the financial, or bookkeeping, records of an enterprise. The professional who supplies such services is known as an accountant. Auditing is ...

(Encyclopedia) progressive education, movement in American education. Confined to a period between the late 19th and mid-20th cent., the term “progressive education” is generally used to refer only to those educ...

(Encyclopedia) House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), a committee (1938–75) of the U.S. House of Representatives, created to investigate disloyalty and subversive organizations. Its first chairman, Martin ...