Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Saraswati, Dayananda däyənŭnˈdə särŭsˈwətē [key], 1824–83, Indian religious reformer, founder of the Arya Samaj movement. He was a Brahman from Gujarat who became the major spokesman for t...

(Encyclopedia) Place, Francis, 1771–1854, English radical reformer. A tailor for many years, he educated himself and made his shop a meeting center for radicals and reformers. He was especially active in the trade...

(Encyclopedia) Popović, Milentije pōˈpōvĭˈtyə [key], 1913–71, Yugoslav politician. Active in the Communist student movement, he became a member of the Yugoslav Communist party in 1939. He joined the partis...

(Encyclopedia) spasm, involuntary rigid muscle contraction, often persistent and often accompanied by pain. It usually has some underlying physical cause such as disease, strain, or injury to the muscle or nearby ti...

(Encyclopedia) speleology spēlēŏlˈəjē [key], systematic exploration of caves, popularly called spelunking. It includes the measuring and mapping of caves and reporting on the flora and fauna found in them. One...

(Encyclopedia) Esalen Institute, organization est. 1962 by Michael Murphy and Richard Price that was an important center for the so-called human potential movement of the 1960s and 70s. Located in Big Sur, Calif., a...

(Encyclopedia) Gippius, Zinaida Nikolayevna zēnīēˈdə nyĭkəlīˈəvnə gēˈpēo͝os [key], pseud. Anton Krainy, 1869–1945, Russian writer. Her St. Petersburg salon was a meeting place (1905–17) for young ...

(Encyclopedia) Glas or Glass, John both: gläs, glăs [key], 1695–1773, Scottish minister, founder of an independent Presbyterian sect whose members were often called Glasites or Glassites. He believed that nation...

(Encyclopedia) Gutzkow, Karl Ferdinand kärl fĕrˈdēnänt go͝otsˈkō [key], 1811–78, German writer. He entered journalism in 1831 and became a leader of the antiromantic and nationally conscious literary movem...

(Encyclopedia) Davies, Samuel dāˈvēz [key], 1723–61, American Presbyterian clergyman, b. New Castle co., Del. Ordained as an evangelist, he went in 1747 to Hanover co., Va., where he was soon the center of a re...