Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) von Braun, Wernher vôn broun [key], 1912–77, German-American rocket scientist and astronautics engineer, b. Germany, grad. Berlin Technological Institute (B.S., 1932), Univ. of Berlin (Ph.D., 1934)...

(Encyclopedia) Beach Boys, The, American rock music band formed in 1961 by brothers Brian Wilson, 1942–, Dennis Wilson, 1944–83, and Carl ...

(Encyclopedia) burlesque bûrlĕskˈ [key] [Ital.,=mockery], form of entertainment differing from comedy or ...

(Encyclopedia) Ghose, Aurobindo ôrōbĭnˈdō gōsh [key], 1872–1950, Indian nationalist leader and mystic philosopher. Born in Bengal, he was sent to England and lived there for 14 years, completing his educatio...

(Encyclopedia) James, Henry, 1843–1916, American novelist and critic, b. New York City. A master of the psychological novel, James was an innovator in technique and one of the most distinctive prose stylists in En...

(Encyclopedia) liberalism, philosophy or movement that has as its aim the development of individual freedom. Because the concepts of liberty or freedom change in different historical periods the specific programs of...

(Encyclopedia) Farnsworth, Philo Taylor, 1906–71, American inventor, b. Beaver, Utah, grad. Brigham Young Univ., 1925. He demonstrated (1927) a working model of a television system. His “dissector tube” (calle...

(Encyclopedia) intelligence, in psychology, the general mental ability involved in calculating, reasoning, perceiving relationships and analogies, learning quickly, storing and retrieving information, using language...

(Encyclopedia) Turner, Nat, 1800–1831, American slave, leader of the Southampton Insurrection (1831), b. Southampton co., Va. Deeply religious from childhood, Turner...

(Encyclopedia) self-fulfilling prophecy, a concept developed by Robert K. Merton to explain how a belief or expectation, whether correct or not, affects the outcome of a situation or the way a person (or group) will...