Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Springsteen, Bruce Frederick, 1949–, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter, nicknamed “The Boss,” b. Long Branch, N.J. Springsteen established himself as a singer and songwriter, as well as...

(Encyclopedia) Gimbel gĭmˈbəl [key], family of American merchants and philanthropists. Adam Gimbel, 1815–96, b. Bavaria, emigrated (1835) to the United States and traveled up and down the Mississippi River pedd...

(Encyclopedia) Keflavík kĕpˈlävēkˌ [key], town (1993 pop. 7,584), SW Iceland, on the Faxaflói, W of Reykjavík. It is a major fishing port, best known for its large international airport, which was built by t...

(Encyclopedia) Plymouth Brethren, group of Christian believers originating in the early 19th cent. in Ireland and spreading from there to the Continent (especially Switzerland), the British dominions, and the United...

(Encyclopedia) commercial law, the laws that govern business transactions, except those relating to the maritime transportation of goods (see maritime law). Commercial law developed as a distinct body of jurispruden...

(Encyclopedia) Hay-Pauncefote Treaties hā-pônsˈfo͝ot [key], negotiated in 1899 and 1901 by Secretary of State John Hay, for the United States, and Lord Pauncefote of Preston, British ambassador to the United Sta...

(Encyclopedia) London Company, corporation composed of stockholders residing in and about London, which, together with the Plymouth Company (see Virginia Company), was granted (1606) a charter by King James I to fou...

(Encyclopedia) town, in the United States. In the New England states the town is the basic unit of local government. The New England town government's unique feature is the town meeting, much praised as a nearly pur...

(Encyclopedia) president, in modern republics, the chief executive and, therefore, the highest officer in a government. Many nations of the world, including the United States, France, Germany, India, and the majorit...

(Encyclopedia) Evangelical and Reformed Church, Protestant denomination formed by the merger (1934) of the Reformed Church in the United States and the Evangelical Synod of North America. Both of these bodies had or...