Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Canada Act

(Encyclopedia)Canada Act, also called the Constitutional Act of 1982, which made Canada a fully sovereign state. The British Parliament approved it on Mar. 25, 1982, and Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed it on Apr. 17,...

Stamp Act

(Encyclopedia)Stamp Act, 1765, revenue law passed by the British Parliament during the ministry of George Grenville. The first direct tax to be levied on the American colonies, it required that all newspapers, pamp...

Monti, Mario

(Encyclopedia)Monti, Mario, 1943–, Italian economist and political leader. After studying at Bocconi Univ., Milan, and at Yale, he taught economics at the Univ. of Turin (1970–85) and then at Bocconi Univ., whe...

Reno, Janet

(Encyclopedia)Reno, Janet rēˈnō [key], 1938–2016, U.S. attorney general (1993–2001), b. Miami, Fla.; grad. Harvard Law School (1963). As assistant state's attorney (1973–76) and state's attorney (1976–93...

Jewett, Sarah Orne

(Encyclopedia)Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849–1909, American novelist and short-story writer, b. South Berwick, Maine. Her studies of small-town New England life are perceptive, sympathetic, and gently humorous. After c...

Smith, Margaret Chase

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Margaret Chase, 1897–1995, U.S. senator from Maine (1949–73), b. Skowhegan, Maine. She taught school briefly and then worked (1919–28) on the Skowhegan weekly newspaper. In 1930 she marri...

Belknap, William Worth

(Encyclopedia)Belknap, William Worth, 1829–90, U.S. Secretary of War (1869–76), b. Newburgh, N.Y. After practicing law in Iowa, he served in the Civil War, was a division commander under Sherman in Georgia and ...

New Milford

(Encyclopedia)New Milford. 1 Town (1990 pop. 23,629), Litchfield co., W Conn., on the Housatonic River; inc. 1712. Situated in a dairy region, its manufactures include paper products and electronic equipment. The t...

Horton, George Moses

(Encyclopedia)Horton, George Moses, c.1797–c.1883, African-American writer, b. near Raleigh, N.C. Born into slavery, he worked as a handyman at the Univ. of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he began writing a...

Hazen, William Babcock

(Encyclopedia)Hazen, William Babcock, 1830–87, American general, b. West Hartford, near Hartford, Vt. In the Civil War he fought at Shiloh, Perryville, and Murfreesboro, and in the Chattanooga campaign. Promoted ...
 

Browse by Subject