Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Oxford. 1 Town (1990 pop. 12,588), Worcester co., S Mass.; settled 1687 by French Protestants, inc. 1693. It is chiefly residential, with some light manufacturing. Clara Barton was born in the town. 2...

(Encyclopedia) capital punishment, imposition of a penalty of death by the state. Since the 1970s almost all capital sentences in the United States have been imposed for homicide. There has been intense debate reg...

(Encyclopedia) Veterans Affairs, United States Department of, federal executive department established to operate programs to benefit veterans and their families. The department was established in 1989; its predeces...

(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) Campeche kämpāˈchā [key], state, 21,924 sq mi (56,798 sq km), SE Mexico, on the Gulf of C...

(Encyclopedia) Stieglitz, Alfred stēgˈlĭts [key], 1864–1946, American photographer, editor, and art exhibitor, b. Hoboken, N.J. The first art photographer in the United States, Stieglitz more than any other Ame...

(Encyclopedia) Ettwein, John ĕtˈvīn [key], 1721–1802, German-American churchman, leader and bishop of the Moravian Church in the United States. He came to America from Germany in 1754 as a missionary. In his mi...

(Encyclopedia) Abrams, Stacey Yvonne, 1973-, American politician and author, b. Gulfport, Ms., Spelman College (B.A., 1995); Univ. of Texas (Masters of Public Affairs, 1998), Yale Law School (J.D., 1999)...

(Encyclopedia) corundum kərŭnˈdəm [key], mineral, aluminum oxide, Al2O3. The clear varieties are used as gems and the opaque as abrasive materials. Corundum occurs in crystals of the hexagonal system and in mass...

(Encyclopedia) Rhodes, James Ford rōdz [key], 1848–1927, American historian, b. Ohio City (now part of Cleveland). While studying in Europe he visited ironworks and steelworks in Germany and Great Britain, and up...