Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) science fiction, literary genre in which a background of science or pseudoscience is an integral part of the story. Although science fiction is a form of fantastic literature, many of the events recou...

(Encyclopedia) Fitzgerald, Maurice, d. 1176, Anglo-Norman soldier. He was the son of Gerald, steward of Pembroke castle, and Nesta, daughter of the prince of South Wales. Fitzgerald crossed to Ireland in 1169 to joi...

(Encyclopedia) Clodion klōd mēshĕlˈ [key], 1738–1814, French rococo sculptor. He executed several important commissions under Louis XVI but is best remembered for his bas-reliefs and small figure groups in bro...

(Encyclopedia) Megan's law, in the United States, a state or federal statute that requires the notification of public organizations and private citizens when a convicted sex offender has been released from prison an...

(Encyclopedia) Fort Dearborn, U.S. army post on the Chicago River, NE Ill.; est. 1803 and named for Secretary of War Henry Dearborn. Threatened by the indigenous population at the start of the War of 1812, the front...

(Encyclopedia) Wisconsin v. Yoder, case decided in 1972 by the U.S. Supreme Court, which held that Amish children could be exempted from compulsory school-attendance beyond the 8th grade; the Amish (see under Mennon...

(Encyclopedia) Spargo, John spärˈgō [key], 1876–1966, American reformer and author, b. Cornwall, England. An early socialist, he was active in the Socialist party of the United States but resigned in 1917 becau...

(Encyclopedia) Edgeworth, Maria, 1767–1849, Irish novelist; daughter of Richard Lovell Edgeworth. She lived practically her entire life on her father's estate in Ireland. Letters for Literary Ladies (1795), her fi...

(Encyclopedia) nursery rhymes, verses, generally brief and usually anonymous, for children. The best-known examples are in English and date mostly from the 17th cent. A popular type of rhyme is used in “counting-o...

(Encyclopedia) Ouida də lä rəmāˈ [key], 1839–1908, English novelist. She was a prolific writer of flamboyant, romantic tales, the best of which are Under Two Flags (1867), Moths (1880), and In Maremma (1882)....