Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) hôrˈəs [key], 65 b.c.–8 b.c., Latin poet, one of the greatest of lyric poets, b. Venusia, S Italy. He studied at Rome and Athens and, joining Brutus and the repu...

(Encyclopedia) inclosure or enclosure, in British history, the process of inclosing (with fences, ditches, hedges, or other barriers) land formerly subject to common rights. Such land included fields cultivated by t...

(Encyclopedia) Henry the Navigator, 1394–1460, prince of Portugal, patron of exploration. Because he fought with extraordinary valor in the Portuguese conquest of Ceuta (1415), he was created duke of Viseu by his ...

(Encyclopedia) Tocqueville, Alexis de älĕksēs də tôkvēlˈ [key], 1805–59, French politician and writer. A nobleman, he was prominent in politics, particularly just before and just after the Revolution of 184...

(Encyclopedia) Gould, Jay, 1836–92, American speculator, b. Delaware co., N.Y. A country-store clerk and surveyor's assistant, he rose to control half the railroad mileage in the Southwest, New York City's elevate...

(Encyclopedia) suicide [Lat.,=self-killing], the deliberate taking of one's own life. Suicide may be compulsory, prescribed by custom or enjoined by the authorities, usually as an alternative to death at the hands o...

(Encyclopedia) Ludwigsburg lo͞otˈvĭkhsbo͝orkhˌ [key], city (1994 pop. 86,220), Baden-Württemberg, SW Germany, near the Neckar River. It is a transportation and industrial center. Manufactures include machine t...

(Encyclopedia) Madison, Dolley, 1768–1849, wife of President James Madison, b. Guilford co., N.C. Born Dolley Payne of Quaker parents, she was brought up in simplicity and was married (1790) to a Quaker, John Todd...

(Encyclopedia) Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan lĕˈ fənyo͞o [key], 1814–73, Irish author. He spent his early career as a journalist. In 1863, he began producing a series of stories noted for their reflections of Irish...

(Encyclopedia) Otis, Harrison Gray, 1765–1848, American political leader, b. Boston; nephew of James Otis. He practiced law in Boston, and was elected (1795) to the Massachusetts legislature. A staunch Federalist,...