Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Viñoly, Rafael, 1944–, Uruguayan-American architect, b. Montevideo. Even before receiving his architectural degrees (1968, 1969) from the Univ. of Buenos Aires, he and six associates founded Argent...

(Encyclopedia) Rives, William Cabell rēvz [key], 1793–1868, American politician and diplomat, b. Nelson co. (then part of Amherst co.), Va. A lawyer, he sat in the Virginia legislature (1817–21, 1822–23), was...

(Encyclopedia) sea, law of the, international agreement regulating the use and exploitation of the world's oceans. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) calls for limited, and strictly controlled, mining of...

(Encyclopedia) Taylor, Richard, 1826–79, Confederate general in the American Civil War, b. near Louisville, Ky.; son of Zachary Taylor. A Louisiana planter, he attained some political prominence and was a member o...

(Encyclopedia) Plunkett, Sir Horace Curzon, 1854–1932, Irish statesman and agricultural reformer. Educated in England, Plunkett spent 10 years (1879–89) in Wyoming as a cattle rancher. Returning to Ireland, he b...

(Encyclopedia) Granger, Francis, 1792–1868, American political leader, b. Suffield, Conn. He practiced law in Canandaigua, N.Y., and served (1826–28, 1830–32) in the New York state legislature. A prominent lea...

(Encyclopedia) Gadsden, James gădzˈdən [key], 1788–1858, American railroad promoter and diplomat, b. Charleston, S.C.; grandson of Christopher Gadsden. He served in the War of 1812, under Andrew Jackson against...

(Encyclopedia) Amato, Giuliano, 1938–, Italian lawyer and political leader, premier of Italy (1992–93, 2000–2001), b. Turin. He has taught at several universities, including Sapienza Univ. of Rome (1975–97)....

(Encyclopedia) Blaine, James Gillespie, 1830–93, American politician, b. West Brownsville, Pa. As Secretary of State, Blaine was particularly energetic in fostering closer relations with the Latin American natio...

(Encyclopedia) nullification, in U.S. history, a doctrine expounded by the advocates of extreme states' rights. It held that states have the right to declare null and void any federal law that they deem unconstituti...