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Wilson, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, Henry, 1812–75, American politician, Vice President of the United States (1873–75), b. Farmington, N.H. At 21 he legally changed his name from Jeremiah Jones Colbath, and as Henry Wilson h...

fine

(Encyclopedia)fine. 1 In criminal law, sum of money exacted by a lawful tribunal as punishment for a crime. In the case of misdemeanors and minor infractions of the law, convicted persons ordinarily have the altern...

treaty

(Encyclopedia)treaty, in international law, formal agreement between sovereign states or organizations of states. The term treaty is ordinarily confined to important formal agreements, while less formal internation...

Westinghouse, George

(Encyclopedia)Westinghouse, George, 1846–1914, American inventor and manufacturer, b. Central Bridge, N.Y. In the Civil War he served in the Union army and navy. Among his inventions in the railroad field were a ...

family, in sociology

(Encyclopedia)family, a basic unit of social structure, the exact definition of which can vary greatly from time to time and from culture to culture. How a society defines family as a primary group, and the functio...

London, Declaration of

(Encyclopedia)London, Declaration of, international code of maritime law, especially as related to war, proposed in 1909. The declaration grew largely out of the attempt at the second of the Hague Conferences to se...

Clews, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Clews, Henry, c.1836–1923, American financier, b. England. He emigrated to the United States c.1850 and joined an import business as a junior clerk. In 1859 he cofounded the banking firm that later ...

no-fault insurance

(Encyclopedia)no-fault insurance, type of indemnity plan, usually applied to automobile coverage, in which those injured in an accident receive direct payment from the company with which they themselves are insured...

Hay-Pauncefote Treaties

(Encyclopedia)Hay-Pauncefote Treaties hā-pônsˈfo͝ot [key], negotiated in 1899 and 1901 by Secretary of State John Hay, for the United States, and Lord Pauncefote of Preston, British ambassador to the United Sta...

abandonment

(Encyclopedia)abandonment, in law, voluntary, intentional, and absolute relinquishment of rights or property without conveying them to any other person. Abandonment also means willfully leaving one's spouse or chil...