Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Volstead, Andrew Joseph vŏlˈstĕd [key], 1860–1947, American legislator, b. Goodhue co., Minn. A lawyer, he held several local offices in Minnesota before serving (1903–23) in the U.S. House of ...

(Encyclopedia) Sherman, John, 1823–1900, American statesman, b. Lancaster, Ohio; brother of William Tecumseh Sherman. He studied law, was admitted (1844) to the bar, and practiced law several years in Mansfield, O...

(Encyclopedia) force bill, popular name for several laws in U.S. history, notably the act of Mar. 2, 1833, and the Reconstruction acts of May 31, 1870; Feb. 28, 1871; and Apr. 20, 1871. The first force bill, passed ...

(Encyclopedia) leaching, method of extraction in which a solvent is passed through a mixture to remove some desired substance from it. A simple example is the passage of boiling water through ground coffee to dissol...

(Encyclopedia) bloodletting, also called bleeding, practice of drawing blood from the body in the treatment of disease. General bloodletting consists of the abstraction of blood by incision into an artery (arterioto...

(Encyclopedia) Smith, Goldwin, 1823–1910, English educator, historian, and journalist. Educated at Oxford, he took a prominent part in executing reforms at the university and became (1858) professor of modern hist...

(Encyclopedia) wart, circumscribed outgrowth of the skin caused by a filterable virus that is readily transmitted. Warts may appear anywhere on the skin but are most common on the hands. Sexually transmitted disease...

(Encyclopedia) adenoids ădˈənoidzˌ [key], common name for the pharyngeal tonsils, spongy masses of lymphoid tissue that occupy the nasopharynx, the space between the back of the nose and the throat. Normally the...

(Encyclopedia) purification, in religion, the ceremonial removal of what the religion deems unclean. The usual agents of purification are water (as in baptism), bodily alteration (as in circumcision), and fire. The ...

(Encyclopedia) Ellsworth, Henry Leavitt, 1791–1858, American agriculturist, b. Windsor, Conn., grad. Yale, 1810. His interests were varied. He was a lawyer, businessman, and farming enthusiast. In 1832 he made a t...