Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Bowery, the bouˈərē, –ˈrē [key] [Dutch Bouwerie=farm], section of lower Manhattan, New York City. The Bowery, the street that gives the area its name, was once a road to the farm of New Amsterd...

(Encyclopedia) Couzens, James kŭzˈənz [key], 1872–1936, U.S. Senator, industrialist, and philanthropist, b. Ontario, Canada. He moved (1887) to Detroit, and after he entered (1903) into partnership with Henry F...

(Encyclopedia) parimutuel betting părˌĭmyo͞oˈtyo͞oĕl [key], system of cooperative wagering invented (c.1870) in France by Pierre Oller. According to the system, the holders of winning tickets divide the total...

(Encyclopedia) Medicare, national health insurance program in the United States for persons aged 65 and over and the disabled. It was established in 1965 with passage of the Social Security Amendments and is now run...

(Encyclopedia) Böhm-Bawerk, Eugen oigānˈ bömˈ-bäˈvĕrk [key], 1851–1914, Austrian economist. Three times minister of finance (1895, 1897, and 1900), he initiated important tax reforms and farsighted financi...

(Encyclopedia) Honorius III, d. 1227, pope (1216–27), a Roman named Cencio Savelli; successor of Innocent III. He was created cardinal in 1197 and was an able administrator of the papal treasury. He authored the o...

(Encyclopedia) town, in the United States. In the New England states the town is the basic unit of local government. The New England town government's unique feature is the town meeting, much praised as a nearly pur...

(Encyclopedia) Williams, Eric, 1911–81, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago (1961–81). He attended Oxford and taught at Howard Univ. in Washington, D.C. (1939–53). Returning to Trinidad, he founded (1955) th...

(Encyclopedia) Garland, Hamlin, 1860–1940, American author, b. near West Salem, Wis. He grew up in the Middle Western farmlands, the region he later wrote about in verse, stories, and autobiography. His tales, col...

(Encyclopedia) Funes, Mauricio (Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena), 1959–, Salvadoran journalist and politician, president of El Salvador (2009–14). A television reporter, he became known for his news reporting an...