Columbia Encyclopedia

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Coffin, Sir Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Coffin, Sir Isaac, 1759–1839, British naval officer, b. Boston, Mass. From a loyalist family, he fought for the British in the American Revolution and in the French Revolutionary Wars; at the end of...

Martin v. Hunter's Lessee

(Encyclopedia)Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, case decided in 1816 by the U.S. Supreme Court. From 1779 to 1785, Virginia passed a series of laws by which the state confiscated all lands owned by foreigners. David Hunte...

Cornell University

(Encyclopedia)Cornell University, mainly at Ithaca, N.Y.; with land-grant, state, and private support; coeducational; chartered 1865, opened 1868. It was named for Ezra Cornell, who donated $500,000 and a tract of ...

Lützelburger, Hans

(Encyclopedia)Lützelburger, Hans häns lüˈtsəlbo͝orgər [key], d. 1526, German wood engraver, assumed to be the same man as Hans Franck, active from c.1516. He worked in Augsburg and Basel and probably in Main...

Günther, Ignaz

(Encyclopedia)Günther, Ignaz ĭgˈnäts günˈtər [key], 1725–75, German sculptor. Günther produced numerous wood carvings that reveal mannerist and rococo influences. His elegant figures are elongated to the ...

mahogany

(Encyclopedia)mahogany, common name for the Meliaceae, a widely distributed family of chiefly tropical shrubs and trees, often having scented wood. The valuable hardwood called mahogany is obtained from many member...

satinwood

(Encyclopedia)satinwood, name for a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indi...

Rhode Island, University of

(Encyclopedia)Rhode Island, University of, at Kingston; coeducational; land-grant and state-supported; chartered 1888, opened as a school 1890, as an agricultural and mechanical college 1892. From 1909 to 1951 it w...

Virginia State University

(Encyclopedia)Virginia State University, at Petersburg; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1882 as a normal and collegiate institute, opened 1883, became a normal and industrial institute in 1...

District of Columbia, University of the

(Encyclopedia)District of Columbia, University of the, at Washington, D.C.; coeducational; land-grant and federally supported; est. 1976 with the merger of three existing colleges; predominantly African American. I...