Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Laval, town (1990 pop. 53,478), capital of Mayenne dept., NW France, in Maine. It has been noted for its linen products since the 14th cent. Among its other industrial products are textiles, shoes, fu...

(Encyclopedia) Palmer, Ray, 1808–87, American Congregational clergyman and hymn writer, b. Little Compton, R.I., grad. Yale, 1830. He held pastorates in Bath, Maine (1835–50), and Albany, N.Y. (1850–66). He is...

(Encyclopedia) Arthur I, 1187–1203?, duke of Brittany (1196–1203?), son of Geoffrey, fourth son of Henry II of England and Constance, heiress of Brittany. Arthur, a posthumous child, was proclaimed duke in 1196,...

(Encyclopedia) Ford, John, 1895–1973, American film director, b. Cape Elizabeth, Maine, as John Martin Feeney. Ford began directing in 1917 after an apprenticeship with his brother Francis. Over the next 50 years,...

(Encyclopedia) slate, fine-grained rock formed when sedimentary rocks such as shale are metamorphosed by great pressure. Slate splits into perfectly cleaved, broad thin layers; this characteristically regular and pl...

(Encyclopedia) recognition, acknowledgment of the admission of new states into the international community by political action of states that are already members. Its derivation is found in the policy of the older E...

(Encyclopedia) civics, branch of learning that treats of the relationship between citizens and their society and state, originally called civil government. With the large immigration into the United States in the la...

(Encyclopedia) Dover. 1 City (2020 pop. 39,403), state capital, and seat of Kent co., central Del., on the St. Jones River; founded 1683 on orders of William ...

(Encyclopedia) gay-rights movement, organized efforts to end the criminalization of homosexuality and protect the civil rights of homosexuals. While there was some organized activity on behalf of the rights of homos...

(Encyclopedia) corporation tax, imposts levied by federal, state, or local governments against corporations, their income, or their peculiar attributes, such as charters, capitalization, dividends, and franchises. I...