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supply and demand

(Encyclopedia)supply and demand, in classical economics, factors that are said to determine price, by correlating the amount of a given commodity producers hope to sell at a certain price (supply), and the amount o...

dole

(Encyclopedia)dole, distribution to the poor, usually of food or money. In medieval times doles were usually from bequests of money or land, and the income was given to charity or distributed to the local poor at f...

Albany Congress

(Encyclopedia)Albany Congress, 1754, meeting at Albany, N.Y., of commissioners representing seven British colonies in North America to treat with the Iroquois, chiefly because war with France impended. A treaty was...

Marie, Alexandre Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Marie, Alexandre Thomas älĕksäNˈdrə tômäˈ märēˈ [key], 1795–1870, French minister of public works. He served in the revolutionary provisional government of 1848 and in the executive commi...

Whitney, Asa

(Encyclopedia)Whitney, Asa, 1797–1872, American merchant and transcontinental railroad projector, b. North Groton, Conn. He entered the mercantile business in New York City, acted as a foreign buyer for several y...

installment buying and selling

(Encyclopedia)installment buying and selling, buying and selling of goods on credit, with the stipulation that payments shall be made at specified intervals in set amounts. The goods may be used by the buyer before...

naval architecture

(Encyclopedia)naval architecture, science of designing ships. A naval architect must consider especially the following factors: floatability, i.e., the ability of the ship to remain afloat while meeting the require...

Innes, James

(Encyclopedia)Innes, James ĭnˈĭs [key], 1754–98, American lawyer, b. Caroline co., Va. As commander of a Virginia regiment, he took part in many battles of the American Revolution. He was president of the boar...

Flaherty, Robert Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Flaherty, Robert Joseph flăˈərtē [key], 1884–1951, American explorer and film producer. He was born in Michigan and grew up in Canada. He explored (1910–16) subarctic E Canada and in 1922 comp...

no-fault insurance

(Encyclopedia)no-fault insurance, type of indemnity plan, usually applied to automobile coverage, in which those injured in an accident receive direct payment from the company with which they themselves are insured...