Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Lynch, Jack (John Mary Lynch), 1917–99, Irish statesman. Before he embarked on his political career, he gained nationwide fame as an athlete, captaining several winning hurling teams in the 1930s an...

(Encyclopedia) Kearney, Denis kärˈnē [key], 1847–1907, American political agitator, b. Co. Cork, Ireland. He was a sailor and then a San Francisco drayman. When California suffered a depression in 1877, Kearney...

(Encyclopedia) organic food, food raised without chemicals and processed without additives. Under standards adopted by the U.S. Agriculture Dept. (USDA) in 2000 and fully effective in 2002, synthetic fertilizers and...

(Encyclopedia) oxytocin ŏksĭtōˈsĭn [key], hormone released from the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland that facilitates uterine contractions and the milk-ejection reflex. The structure of oxytocin, a cyclic ...

(Encyclopedia) maquiladoras mäkēˌlädōˈräs [key], Mexican assembly plants that manufacture finished goods for export to the United States. The maquiladoras are generally owned by non-Mexican corporations. They...

(Encyclopedia) Mazowiecki, Tadeusz tädāˈo͞osh mäzōvēĕtˈskē [key], 1927–2013, Polish journalist and political leader, prime minister of Poland (Aug., 1989– Jan., 1991). He attended Warsaw Univ. and from...

(Encyclopedia) Ai Ch'ing or Ai Qing both: īˈ chĭngˈ [key], pseud. of Chiang Hai-ch'eng or Jiang Haicheng, 1910–96, Chinese poet. After studying painting in France (1929–32), where he discovered realist liter...

(Encyclopedia) demesne dĭmānˈ [key], land under feudalism kept by the lord for his own use and occupation as distinguished from that granted to tenants. Initially the demesne lands were worked by the serfs in pay...

(Encyclopedia) Callaghan of Cardiff, Leonard James Callaghan, Baron, 1912–2005, British statesman. He was first elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1945. As chancellor of the exchequer (1964–67), he intr...

(Encyclopedia) Cornell University, mainly at Ithaca, N.Y.; with land-grant, state, and private support; coeducational; chartered 1865, opened 1868. It was named for Ezra Cornell, who donated $500,000 and a tract of ...