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Low, Seth

(Encyclopedia)Low, Seth, 1850–1916, American political reformer and college president, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. Columbia, 1870. He entered his father's tea and silk importing firm, but became interested in politi...

mir, former Russian peasant community

(Encyclopedia)mir mēr [key], former Russian peasant community. The mir, which antedated serfdom (16th cent.) in Russia, persisted in its primitive form until after the Russian Revolution of 1917. In a community of...

Pennsylvania Railroad

(Encyclopedia)Pennsylvania Railroad, former U.S. transportation company; inc. 1846 by the Pennsylvania legislature. It opened in 1854 as a single-track line between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Beginning in 1857, t...

Reform Acts

(Encyclopedia)Reform Acts or Reform Bills, in British history, name given to three major measures that liberalized representation in Parliament in the 19th cent. Representation of the counties and boroughs in the H...

cooperative movement

(Encyclopedia)cooperative movement, series of organized activities that began in the 19th cent. in Great Britain and later spread to most countries of the world, whereby people organize themselves around a common g...

county

(Encyclopedia)county [Fr., comté,=domain of a count], division of local government in the United States, Great Britain, and many Commonwealth countries. The county developed in England from the shire, a unit of lo...

police

(Encyclopedia)police, public and private agents concerned with the enforcement of law, order, and public protection. In modern cities their duties cover a wide range of activities, from criminal investigation and a...

Transportation, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Transportation, United States Department of, executive department of the U.S. government, established by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. Its chief executive officer, the secretary, is a ...

Trans-Siberian Railroad

(Encyclopedia)Trans-Siberian Railroad, rail line, linking European Russia with the Pacific coast. Its construction began in 1891, on the initiative of Count S. Y. Witte, and was completed in 1905. The completion of...

idyl

(Encyclopedia)idyl īˈdəl [key], short poem. The ancient idyls, especially those of Bion and Moschus, were intended as little selections in the style of such longer poems as elegies or epics. There are 10 famous ...