Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

West Lothian

(Encyclopedia)West Lothian, council area (1993 est. pop. 146,730), 164 sq mi (425 sq km), and former county, S central Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, West Lothian was divided between the Lothian ...

Wheeler, Wayne Bidwell

(Encyclopedia)Wheeler, Wayne Bidwell, 1869–1927, American prohibitionist and lawyer, b. Brookfield, Ohio. After his graduation (1898) from Western Reserve law school, he became increasingly important in the Ohio ...

mandamus

(Encyclopedia)mandamus măndāˈməs [key] [Lat.,=we order], in law, writ directing the performance of ministerial acts. A ministerial act is one that a person or body is obliged by law to perform under given circu...

Grattan, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Grattan, Henry grătˈən [key], 1746–1820, Irish statesman. A lawyer, he entered (1775) the Irish Parliament and soon became known as a brilliant orator. Aided by Britain's preoccupation with the A...

dumping

(Encyclopedia)dumping, selling goods at less than the normal price, usually as exports in international trade. It may be done by a producer, a group of producers, or a nation. Dumping is usually done to drive compe...

coast guard

(Encyclopedia)coast guard, special naval force assigned to seaboard duties. Its primary responsibilities usually consist in suppressing contraband trade and aiding vessels in distress. The British coast guard was e...

unemployment insurance

(Encyclopedia)unemployment insurance, insurance against loss of wages during the time that an able-bodied worker is involuntarily unemployed. The goal of such insurance is to provide a minimal livelihood to unemplo...

rainmaking

(Encyclopedia)rainmaking, production of rain by artificial means now generally disregarded, though it is probable that rainmaking hastens or increases rainfall from clouds suitable for natural rainfall. Interest in...

belladonna

(Encyclopedia)belladonna bĕlədŏnˈə [key] or deadly nightshade, poisonous perennial plant, Atropa belladona, of the nightshade family. Native to Europe and now grown in the United States, the plant has reddish,...

Wilson, William Lyne

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, William Lyne, 1843–1900, American legislator, cabinet member, and university president, b. Jefferson co., Va. (now in W.Va.). He was a private in the Confederate army in the Civil War, and a...