Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Dickinson, John, 1732–1808, American patriot and statesman, b. Talbot co., Md. After studying law in Philadelphia and in London at the Middle Temple, he developed a highly successful practice in Phi...

(Encyclopedia) Sembene, Ousmane o͝osmäˈnĕ səmbĕˈnĕ [key], 1923–2007, Senegalese author and film director who wrote and made films in French and Wolof, often regarded as the father of sub-Saharan African ci...

(Encyclopedia) Federalist party, in U.S. history, the political faction that favored a strong federal government. Opposition to war brought the Federalists the support of Clinton and many others, and the party mad...

(Encyclopedia) Shaw, George Bernard, 1856–1950, Irish playwright and critic. He revolutionized the Victorian stage, then dominated by artificial melodramas, by presenting vigorous dramas of ideas. The lengthy pref...

(Encyclopedia) Stonehenge stōnˈhĕnjˌ [key], group of standing stones on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, S England. Preeminent among megalithic monuments in the British Isles, it is similar to an older and larger mon...

(Encyclopedia) Universalist Church of America, Protestant denomination originating in the 18th cent. and represented almost entirely in the United States. Universalism is the belief that it is God's purpose to save ...

(Encyclopedia) Hasidism or Chassidism both: hăsˈĭdĭzˌəm, khă– [key] [Heb.,=the pious], Jewish religious movement founded in Poland in the 18th cent. by Baal-Shem-Tov. Its name derives from Hasidim. Hasidism...

(Encyclopedia) Smith, John, c.1580–1631, English colonist in America, b. Willoughby, Lincolnshire, England. A merchant's apprentice until his father's death in 1596, he thereafter lived an adventurous life, travel...

(Encyclopedia) Stevens, Thaddeus, 1792–1868, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania (1849–53, 1859–68), b. Danville, Vt. He taught in an academy at York, Pa., studied law, and was admitted to the bar in Marylan...

(Encyclopedia) Hanseatic League hănˌsēătˈĭk, hănˌzē– [key], mercantile league of medieval German towns. It was amorphous in character; its origin cannot be dated exactly. Originally a Hansa was a company ...