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Ames, Oakes

(Encyclopedia)Ames, Oakes, 1804–73, American manufacturer, railroad promoter, and politician, b. Easton, Mass. With his brother Oliver he managed the family's well-known shovel factory at Easton. The business gre...

consols

(Encyclopedia)consols, contraction of consolidated annuities, a bond issue designed to consolidate two or more outstanding issues, used in reference to British government stock. Public borrowing began in England wi...

Walras, Léon

(Encyclopedia)Walras, Léon, 1834–1910, French economist. After abandoning his studies in mining engineering, he became a freelance journalist, advancing the causes of economic and social reform. He later became ...

vending machine

(Encyclopedia)vending machine, coin-operated, automatic device for selling goods. Many vending machines are capable of making change, and some of the more sophisticated ones accept paper money or credit cards. The ...

Morris, Robert, 1734–1806, American merchant

(Encyclopedia)Morris, Robert, 1734–1806, American merchant, known as the “financier of the American Revolution,” and signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Liverpool, England. Morris emigrated to Ameri...

Laughlin, James Laurence

(Encyclopedia)Laughlin, James Laurence lŏfˈlĭn [key], 1850–1933, American economist, b. Deerfield, Ohio, Ph.D. Harvard, 1876. He was a distinguished teacher, and as head of the department of political economy ...

mezzotint

(Encyclopedia)mezzotint mĕtˈsətĭnt, mĕdˈzə–, mĕzˈə– [key] [Ital.,=halftint], method of copper or steel engraving in tone. A Dutch officer, Ludwig von Siegen, is given credit for the invention of mezzo...

Joffre, Joseph Jacques Césaire

(Encyclopedia)Joffre, Joseph Jacques Césaire zhôzĕfˈ zhäk sāzĕrˈ zhôˈfrə [key], 1852–1931, marshal of France. He began his career as a military engineer in the French colonies and was appointed French ...

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

(Encyclopedia)Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), officially the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, independent U.S. government agency responsible for most of the federal oversight and enforcement of...

South Sea Bubble

(Encyclopedia)South Sea Bubble, popular name in England for the speculation in the South Sea Company, which failed disastrously in 1720. The company was formed in 1711 by Robert Harley, who needed allies to carry t...