Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Union, Act of

(Encyclopedia)Union, Act of. For the union of England and Scotland (1707), see Great Britain; for the union of Ireland (1800) with Great Britain, see Ireland. ...

Bland-Allison Act

(Encyclopedia)Bland-Allison Act, 1878, passed by the U.S. Congress to provide for freer coinage of silver. The original bill offered by Representative Richard P. Bland incorporated the demands of the Western radica...

Quebec Act, 1774

(Encyclopedia)Quebec Act, 1774, passed by the British Parliament to institute a permanent administration in Canada replacing the temporary government created at the time of the Proclamation of 1763. It gave the Fre...

act of God

(Encyclopedia)act of God, in law, an accident caused by the operation of extraordinary natural force. The effect of ordinary natural causes (e.g., that rain will leak through a defective roof) may be foreseen and a...

Sherman Antitrust Act

(Encyclopedia)Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890, first measure passed by the U.S. Congress to prohibit trusts; it was named for Senator John Sherman. Prior to its enactment, various states had passed similar laws, but th...

Settlement, Act of

(Encyclopedia)Settlement, Act of, 1701, passed by the English Parliament, to provide that if William III and Princess Anne (later Queen Anne) should die without heirs, the succession to the throne should pass to So...

Robinson-Patman Act

(Encyclopedia)Robinson-Patman Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1936 to supplement the Clayton Antitrust Act. The act, advanced by Congressman Wright Patman, forbade any person or firm engaged in interstate comme...

cytomegalovirus

(Encyclopedia)cytomegalovirus sīˌtəmĕgˌəlōvīˈrəs [key], member of the herpesvirus family that can cause serious complications in persons with weakened immune systems and infants. A common virus, it is est...

Browse by Subject