Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Jagan, Cheddi chĕdˈē jäˈgän [key], 1918–97, prime minister of British Guiana (1961–64) and president (1992–97) of independent Guyana. Of South Asian descent, he was trained at Northwestern...

(Encyclopedia) Rao, Raja rou [key], 1909–2006, Indian novelist, b. Hassan, Mysore (now Karnataka), as Raja. Rao took his surname as an adult, and was educated in India and France and for many years divided his ti...

(Encyclopedia) decorations, civil and military, honors bestowed by a government to reward services or achievements, particularly those implying valor. The practice of bestowing such decorations dates back at least t...

(Encyclopedia) English civil war, 1642–48, the conflict between King Charles I of England and a large body of his subjects, generally called the “parliamentarians,” that culminated in the defeat and execution ...

(Encyclopedia) anti–Vietnam War movement, domestic and international reaction (1965–73) in opposition to U.S. policy during the Vietnam War. During the four years following passage of the Tonkin Gulf resolution ...

(Encyclopedia) Kramer, Larry (Lawrence David), 1935-2020 American gay-rights activist and playwright, b. Bridgeport, Ct., Yale Univ. (B.A., 1957). After graduating co...

(Encyclopedia) African National Congress (ANC), the oldest black (now multiracial) political organization in South Africa; founded in 1912. Prominent in its opposition to apartheid, the organization began as a nonvi...

(Encyclopedia) Naidu, Sarojini sərōˈjĭnē nīˈdo͞o [key], 1879–1949, Indian poet and political leader. Born Sarojini Chattopadhyay, she was educated in Madras (now Chennai) and at King's College, London, and...

(Encyclopedia) writ, in law, written order issued in the name of the sovereign or the state in connection with a judicial or an administrative proceeding. Usually the writ requires the person to whom the command is ...

(Encyclopedia) Adam ădˈəm [key], [Heb.,=man], in the Bible, the first man. In the Book of Genesis, God creates humankind in his image as a species of male and female, giving them dominion over other life. Elsewhe...