Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

249 results found

Ludlow, Roger

(Encyclopedia)Ludlow, Roger, b. 1590, d. after 1664, one of the founders of Connecticut, b. England. Educated at Oxford and admitted to the Inner Temple to study law, he was elected (1630) an assistant of the Massa...

lock and key

(Encyclopedia)lock and key, fastening fitted to an entryway, such as a gate or door, or a container, such as a cabinet, drawer or safe, to keep it closed and/or prevent unauthorized access or use. Locks typically c...

canon law

(Encyclopedia)canon law, in the Roman Catholic Church, the body of law based on the legislation of the councils (both ecumenical and local) and the popes, as well as the bishops (for diocesan matters). It is the la...

National Recovery Administration

(Encyclopedia)National Recovery Administration (NRA), in U.S. history, administrative bureau established under the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933. In response to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's cong...

Gortyna

(Encyclopedia)Gortyna gôrtīˈnə [key], ancient city, S central Crete. Under Rome it was one of the leading cities of the island. Many ancient Greek remains have been discovered on the site. An inscription dating...

Portalis, Jean Étienne Marie

(Encyclopedia)Portalis, Jean Étienne Marie zhäN ātyĕnˈ märēˈ pôrtälēsˈ [key], 1746–1807, French statesman and lawyer. A moderate, he was suspected of royalist sympathies during the French Revolution b...

Zanardelli, Giuseppe

(Encyclopedia)Zanardelli, Giuseppe jo͞ozĕpˈpā dzänärdĕlˈlē [key], 1826–1903, Italian politician and premier (1901–3). As minister of justice (1881–83, 1887–91) he prepared a new penal code, which w...

statute

(Encyclopedia)statute, in law, a formal, written enactment by the authorized powers of a state. The term is usually not applied to a written constitution but is restricted to the enactments of a legislature. Statut...

Corpus Juris Civilis

(Encyclopedia)Corpus Juris Civilis kôrˈpəs jo͝oˈrĭs sĭvīˈlĭs [key], most comprehensive code of Roman law and the basic document of all modern civil law. Compiled by order of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I,...

Lamar, Joseph Rucker

(Encyclopedia)Lamar, Joseph Rucker ləmärˈ [key], 1857–1916, American jurist, b. Elbert co., Ga. He was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1878, served (1886–89) in the state legislature, and compiled The Code of...