Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Veterans' Day, holiday formerly observed in the United States as Armistice Day in commemoration of the signing of the Armistice ending World War I. Nov. 11 officially became Veterans' Day on May 24, 1...

(Encyclopedia) Rush-Bagot Convention rŭsh-băgˈət [key], 1817, agreement between the United States and Great Britain concerning the Canadian border. It consisted of the exchange of notes signed by Richard Rush, A...

(Encyclopedia) Mahican məhēˈkən [key], confederacy of Native North Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Mahican were of the Eastern ...

(Encyclopedia) James, Henry, 1811–82, American student of religion and social problems, b. Albany, N.Y.; father of the philosopher William James and of the novelist Henry James. He rebelled against the strict Calv...

(Encyclopedia) Schuyler, Philip John skīˈlər [key], 1733–1804, American Revolutionary general, b. Albany, N.Y. He was a member of one of the wealthiest colonial New York families. After serving in the French an...

(Encyclopedia) Groves, Leslie Richard, 1896–1970, American army officer and engineer who headed the program that developed America's atomic bomb, b. Albany, N.Y., grad. West Point (1918). He was commissioned in th...

(Encyclopedia) Anzus Treaty ănˈzəs [key], defense agreement signed in 1951 by Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The name Anzus is derived from the initials of the three signatory nations. As a result...

(Encyclopedia) governor, chief executive of a dependent or component unit in a political system. In the United States, a governor is the chief executive of each state and is elected by the people of the state. In th...

(Encyclopedia) Labor Day, holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on the first Monday in September to honor the laborer. It was inaugurated by the Knights of Labor in 1882 and made a national holiday by t...

(Encyclopedia) Columbus Day, holiday commemorating Christopher Columbus's discovery of America. It has been traditionally celebrated on Oct. 12 throughout most of the United States, parts of Canada, and in several o...