Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Harte, Bret (Francis Brett Harte) härt [key], 1836–1902, American writer of short stories and humorous verse, b. Albany, N.Y. At 19 he went to California, where he tried his hand at teaching, clerk...

(Encyclopedia) Sigsbee, Charles Dwight, 1845–1923, American naval officer, b. Albany, N.Y. He saw service in the Gulf of Mexico in the Civil War, was subsequently stationed with the Asian squadron, taught at Annap...

(Encyclopedia) gentlemen's agreement, in U.S. history, an agreement between the United States and Japan in 1907 that Japan should stop the emigration of its laborers to the United States and that the United States s...

(Encyclopedia) city government, political administration of urban areas. The English tradition of incorporating urban units (cities, boroughs, villages, towns) and allowing them freedom in most local matters is gene...

(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...

(Encyclopedia) Cortona kōrtōˈnä [key], town, Tuscany, central Italy. It is an agricultural and tourist c...

(Encyclopedia) New Netherland, territory included in a commercial grant by the government of Holland to the Dutch West India Company in 1621. Colonists were settled along the Hudson River region; in 1624 the first p...

(Encyclopedia) nuclear strategy, a policy for the use of nuclear weapons. The first atomic bombs were used in the context of the Allies' World War II policy of strategic bombing. Early in the cold war, U.S. policy w...

(Encyclopedia) shipping, transportation of passengers and goods on waterways. From prehistoric times shipping has had a major influence on human social development. Water routes, unlike roads, did not need building,...

(Encyclopedia) North Brabant brəbăntˈ [key], Du. Noordbrabant, province (1994 pop. 2,259,800), c.1,920 sq mi (4,970 sq km), S Netherlands, bordering on Belgium in the south and on Germany in the east. The capital...