Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) inn, in Great Britain, any hotel, public house, tavern, or coffeehouse where lodging is provided. In American usage, the inn is generally a small rural lodging house for transients. Among the earliest...

(Encyclopedia) Hailsham of Saint Marylebone, Quintin McGarel Hogg, Baron məgârˈəl, hālˈshəm əv sənt mârˈĭbōnˌ [key], 1907–2001, British politician, b. London. A lawyer, he served (1938–50) as a Con...

(Encyclopedia) Shinn, Everett, 1876–1953, American painter and magazine illustrator, b. Woodstown, N.J., studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Moving to New York City, Shinn created a series of mur...

(Encyclopedia) potassium hydroxide, chemical compound with formula KOH. Pure potassium hydroxide forms white, deliquescent crystals. For commercial and laboratory use it is usually in the form of white pellets. A st...

(Encyclopedia) coot, common name for a migratory marsh bird related to rails and gallinules and found in North America and Europe. The American coot (Fulica americana), or mud hen, is slate gray with a white bill, b...

(Encyclopedia) wampum wämˈpəm [key] [New England Algonquian,=white string of beads], beads or disks made by Native Americans from the shells of mollusks found on the eastern coast or along the larger rivers of No...

(Encyclopedia) Perceval, Spencer, 1762–1812, British statesman. He had a profitable law practice before he entered the House of Commons as a Tory in 1796. He was solicitor general (1801–2), attorney general (180...

(Encyclopedia) Rethel rətĕlˈ [key], town (1993 est. pop. 8,639), Ardennes dept., N France, on the Aisne River. It is a farm trade center with textile industries and plants making farm machinery. It was (13th cent...

(Encyclopedia) Dies, Martin, Jr. dīz [key], 1901–72, American political leader, b. Colorado, Tex. A lawyer, he represented Texas as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1931–45; 1951–59)....

(Encyclopedia) Bundestag bo͝onˈdĕstäkhˌ [key], lower house of the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is a popularly elected body that elects the chancellor, passes all legislation (subject to exe...