Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) May Day, first day of May. Its celebration probably originated in the spring fertility festivals of India and Egypt. The festival of the Roman goddess of spring, Flora, was celebrated from Apr. 28 to ...

(Encyclopedia) Abbe, Ernst ĕrnst äˈbə [key], 1840–1905, German physicist. He was appointed professor at the Univ. of Jena in 1870 and director of its astronomical and meteorological observatories in 1878. From...

(Encyclopedia) Castex, Jean, 1965–, French government official and political leader. A member of the center-right Republicans (and its predecessor, the Union for a Popular Movement), Castex has held a variety of c...

(Encyclopedia) Dartmoor Prison, English prison, at Princetown, Devonshire, built (1806–9) to house French captives during the Napoleonic Wars. During the War of 1812 many American prisoners were confined there, an...

(Encyclopedia) Jenks, Jeremiah Whipple, 1856–1929, American economist, b. St. Clair, Mich., grad. Univ. of Michigan, 1878, Ph.D. Univ. of Halle, 1885. He was professor of political economy (1891–1912) at Cornell...

(Encyclopedia) Harrison, Frederic, 1831–1923, English jurist and sociologist. He served on various law commissions and was (1877–89) professor of jurisprudence and international law under the Council of Legal Ed...

(Encyclopedia) Key, Ellen kā [key], 1849–1926, Swedish author, critic, and ideologue. Believing that women are primarily fitted for motherhood, she deplored feminist claims to equality on the labor market. Her id...

(Encyclopedia) Villaraigosa, Antonio vēˌyärīgōˈsä [key], 1953–, American politician, b. Los Angeles as Antonio Villar; he changed his name in 1987 when he married Corina Raigosa. A liberal Democrat and labo...

(Encyclopedia) Viviani, René rənāˈ vēvyänēˈ [key], 1863–1925, French statesman. He entered politics as a Socialist and joined Jean Jaurès in founding the journal Humanité and in forming (1905) the united...

(Encyclopedia) Urban League, National, voluntary nonpartisan community service agency, founded in 1910, whose goal is to help end racial segregation and discrimination in the United States, especially toward African...