Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) insanity, mental disorder of such severity as to render its victim incapable of managing his affairs or of conforming to social standards. Today, the term insanity is used chiefly in criminal law, to ...

(Encyclopedia) Erie Railroad, rail transportation line designed to connect the mouth of the Hudson River with the Great Lakes region. The New York and Erie RR Company was enfranchised and incorporated in 1832, and c...

(Encyclopedia) Braddock, Edward, 1695–1755, British general in the French and Indian War (see under French and Indian Wars). Although he had seen little active campaigning before 1754, Braddock was reputed to have...

(Encyclopedia) Johnson, Sir William, 1715–74, British colonial leader in America, b. Co. Meath, Ireland. He settled (1738) in the Mohawk valley, became a merchant, and gained great power among the Mohawk and other...

(Encyclopedia) Kirstein, Lincoln kûrˈstīn, kĭrˈ– [key], 1907–96, American dance and theater executive and writer, b. Rochester, N.Y. One of the most significant figures in 20th cent. American ballet, Kirste...

(Encyclopedia) Phillips, Wendell, 1811–84, American reformer and orator, b. Boston, grad. Harvard (B.A., 1831; LL.B., 1834). He was admitted to the bar in 1834 but, having sufficient income of his own, he abandone...

(Encyclopedia) Eddy, Mary Baker, 1821–1910, founder of the Christian Science movement, b. Bow, N.H. As physical frailty prevented her regular school attendance, she spent the early part of her education learning a...

(Encyclopedia) hunger strike, refusal to eat as a protest against existing conditions. Although most often used by prisoners, others have also employed it. For example, Mohandas Gandhi in India and César Chávez in...

(Encyclopedia) Vulgate vŭlˈgāt [key] [Lat. Vulgata editio=common edition], most ancient extant version of the whole Christian Bible. Its name derives from a 13th-century reference to it as the “editio vulgata.�...

(Encyclopedia) troubadours tro͞oˈbədôrz [key], aristocratic poet-musicians of S France (Provence) who flourished from the end of the 11th cent. through the 13th cent. Many troubadours were noblemen and crusader ...