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Shirley, William

(Encyclopedia)Shirley, William, 1694–1771, colonial governor in British North America, b. England. He became a lawyer and in 1731 emigrated to Massachusetts. In 1741 he became governor of Massachusetts. He oppose...

Pujo, Arsène Paulin

(Encyclopedia)Pujo, Arsène Paulin arsĕnˈ pôlăNˈ püzhōˈ [key], 1861–1939, U.S. congressman, b. Lake Charles, La. He practiced law in Louisiana before serving (1903–13) as a Democratic Congressman in the...

Independent Treasury System

(Encyclopedia)Independent Treasury System, in U.S. history, system for the retaining of government funds in the Treasury and its subtreasuries independently of the national banking and financial systems. In one for...

counterfeiting

(Encyclopedia)counterfeiting, manufacturing spurious coins, paper money, or evidences of governmental obligation (e.g., bonds) in the semblance of the true. There must be sufficient resemblance to the genuine artic...

Durant, Thomas Clark

(Encyclopedia)Durant, Thomas Clark, 1820–85, American railroad builder, chief figure in the construction of the Union Pacific RR, b. Lee, Mass. He was successful in building railroads in the Midwest, and, after t...

promissory note

(Encyclopedia)promissory note, unconditional written promise to pay a certain sum of money at a definite time to bearer or to a specified person on his order. Promissory notes are generally used as evidence of debt...

Astor, William Backhouse, 1792–1875, American financier

(Encyclopedia)Astor, William Backhouse, 1792–1875, American financier, b. New York City; son of John Jacob Astor (1763–1848). Educated in Germany, he was associated with his father in business after 1818. Later...

Davidson, John

(Encyclopedia)Davidson, John, 1857–1909, Scottish poet. After teaching in Scotland he went to London. There, struggling with poverty and illness, he wrote Fleet Street Eclogues (1893; Ser. 2, 1896), Ballads and S...

securities

(Encyclopedia)securities, in finance, instruments giving to their legal holders rights to money or other property. Securities include stocks, bonds, notes, mortgages, bills of lading, and bills of exchange. See spe...

treasure-trove

(Encyclopedia)treasure-trove, in English law, buried or concealed money or precious metals without any ascertainable owner. Such property belongs to the crown. The present practice in Great Britain is for the crown...