Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) jury, body convened to make decisions of fact in legal proceedings. In most criminal cases the charge is first considered by a grand jury with 12 to 23 members. It hears witnesses against the accus...

(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) Munich, Technical University of, at Munich, Germany; founded 1868 by King Ludwig II, acquired its present name 1970. It has three main campuses, with faculties of architecture, business administration...

(Encyclopedia) Nutley, town (1990 pop. 27,099), Essex co., NE N.J., a residential suburb of Newark, on the Passaic River; settled 1680, inc. 1902. Pharmaceuticals, dyestuffs, and machinery are made. After the Civil ...

(Encyclopedia) McPherson, city (1990 pop. 12,422), seat of McPherson co., central Kans., in a farm area on the old Santa Fe Trail; inc. 1874. The city has an oil refinery and factories that make plastics, railroad e...

(Encyclopedia) Campbell, (William) Wilfred, 1861–1918, Canadian poet, b. Kitchener, Ont. Although ordained an Episcopal minister, he spent most of his life as a civil servant. His fame rests mainly on Lake Lyrics ...

(Encyclopedia) centumviri sĕntŭmˈvĭrī [key] [Lat.,=a hundred men], in ancient Rome, law court of a varying number of members representing each Roman tribe that heard civil cases involving land and property clai...

(Encyclopedia) Howell, John Adams, 1840–1918, American naval officer and inventor, b. Bath, N.Y., grad. Annapolis, 1858. He served as a lieutenant throughout the Civil War, fighting under Admiral Farragut at Mobil...

(Encyclopedia) Sugar Land, city (2000 pop. 63,328), Fort Bend co., SE Texas, on the Brazos River and Oyster Creek, a W suburb of Houston; inc. 1959. The city, which now has a diversified economy, began as a pre–Ci...

(Encyclopedia) Bethpage bĕthpājˈ [key], uninc. village (2020 pop. 17,627, including Old Bethpage), Nassau ...