Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Toland, John tōˈlənd [key], 1670–1722, British deist, b. Ireland. Brought up a Roman Catholic, Toland became a Protestant at 16. He studied at Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Leiden and after 1694 lived ...

(Encyclopedia)  Sahl, Mort, 1927-2021, American comedian and social commentator, b. Montreal, Canada, as Morton Lyon Sahl, Univ. of Southern Calirofnia (B.A., 1950). ...

(Encyclopedia) draft riots, in the American Civil War, mob action to protest unfair Union conscription. The Union Conscription Act of Mar. 3, 1863, provided that all able-bodied males between the ages of 20 and 45 w...

(Encyclopedia) affirmative action, in the United States, programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women....

(Encyclopedia) environmentalism, movement to protect the quality and continuity of life through conservation of natural resources, prevention of pollution, and control of land use. The philosophical foundations for ...

(Encyclopedia) drugs, substances used in medicine either externally or internally for curing, alleviating, or preventing a disease or deficiency. At the turn of the century only a few medically effective substances ...

(Encyclopedia) West Lothian, council area (1993 est. pop. 146,730), 164 sq mi (425 sq km), and former county, S central Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, West Lothian was divided between the Lothian ...

(Encyclopedia) Wheeler, Wayne Bidwell, 1869–1927, American prohibitionist and lawyer, b. Brookfield, Ohio. After his graduation (1898) from Western Reserve law school, he became increasingly important in the Ohio ...

(Encyclopedia) Stadion, Johann Philipp, Graf von yōˈhän fēˈlĭp gräf fən shtäˈdēôn [key], 1763–1824, Austrian politician. A diplomat, he was made (1805) foreign minister and campaigned for a German upri...

(Encyclopedia) Stanhope, Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl, 1805–75, English historian. He was undersecretary for foreign affairs (1834–35) in Sir Robert Peel's first ministry and secretary of the board of control...