Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

white-collar workers

(Encyclopedia)white-collar workers, broad occupational grouping of workers engaged in nonmanual labor; frequently contrasted with blue-collar (manual) employees. American in origin, the term has close analogues in ...

ermine

(Encyclopedia)ermine, name for a number of northern species of weasel having white coats in winter, and highly prized for their white fur. It most commonly refers to the white phase of Mustela erminea, called short...

Wright, Jim

(Encyclopedia)Wright, Jim (James Claud Wright, Jr.), 1922–2015, U.S. congressman, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1987–89), b. Fort Worth, Tex. Following service in the U.S. army during World War ...

Geary, John White

(Encyclopedia)Geary, John White gērˈē [key], 1819–73, American politician and Union general in the Civil War, b. Mt. Pleasant, Pa. In San Francisco from 1849 to 1852, Geary was the first U.S. postmaster, the l...

Bourke-White, Margaret

(Encyclopedia)Bourke-White, Margaret bûrkˈ hwīt [key], 1904–71, American photo-journalist, b. New York City. One of the original staff photographers at Fortune, Life, and Time magazines, Bourke-White was noted...

White, Byron Raymond

(Encyclopedia)White, Byron Raymond, 1917–2002, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1962–93), b. Fort Collins, Colo. An All-America football player nicknamed “Whizzer” who later starred as a profess...

White, Clarence Cameron

(Encyclopedia)White, Clarence Cameron, 1880–1960, American composer and violinist, b. Clarksville, Tenn., studied at the Oberlin Conservatory and in Europe. In addition to activities as violinist and teacher in B...

White, E. B.

(Encyclopedia)White, E. B. (Elwyn Brooks White), 1899–1985, American writer, b. Mt. Vernon, N.Y., grad. Cornell, 1921. A witty, satiric observer of contemporary society, White was a member of the staff of the ear...
 

Browse by Subject