Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Reading. rĕdˈĭng [key] 1 Town (1990 pop. 22,539), Middlesex co., NE Mass., a suburb of Boston; settled 1639, set off from Lynn and inc. 1644. Printing is the major industry. A 17th-century tavern i...

(Encyclopedia) Missouri Compromise, 1820–21, measures passed by the U.S. Congress to end the first of a series of crises concerning the extension of slavery. By 1818, Missouri Territory had gained sufficient popul...

(Encyclopedia) United Empire Loyalists, in Canadian history, name applied to those settlers who, loyal to the British cause in the American Revolution, migrated from the Thirteen Colonies to Canada. Some emigrated d...

(Encyclopedia) Reform party, in the United States, political party founded in 1995 by H. Ross Perot as an alternative to the Democratic and Republican parties. The Reform party's aims originally included mandating h...

(Encyclopedia) Fenneman, Nevin M. nĕvˈĭn fĕnˈəmən [key], 1865–1945, American geologist, geographer, and teacher, b. Lima, Ohio; B.A. (1883) Heidelberg College, Ohio; M.A. (1900); Ph.D. (1901) Univ. of Chica...

(Encyclopedia) Surgeon General, United States, former head of the U.S. Public Health Service, which is responsible for protecting the people's health (see public health). Since a 1986 reorganization, the surgeon gen...

(Encyclopedia) rebate, partial refund of the total price paid for goods or services. In the United States, rebates were historically given by railroads to favored shippers as a return on transportation charges. The ...

(Encyclopedia) corporation, in law, organization enjoying legal personality for the purpose of carrying on certain activities. Most corporations are businesses for profit; they are usually organized by three or more...

(Encyclopedia) Valley Stream, village (1990 pop. 33,946), Nassau co., SE N.Y., on Long Island, a residential suburb of New York City; inc. 1925. Kennedy International Airport is to the west. Valley Stream is the sit...

(Encyclopedia) Lima līˈmə [key], city (1990 pop. 45,549), seat of Allen co., NW Ohio; settled 1831, inc. 1842. Located in a fertile farm area, it is a processing and marketing center for grain, dairy, and meat pr...