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Erskine, Thomas, 1st Baron Erskine

(Encyclopedia)Erskine, Thomas, 1st Baron Erskine, 1750–1823, British jurist, b. Edinburgh. He was admitted to the bar in 1778. His eloquence and forensic skill won Erskine an enormous practice, during which he ma...

Griswold, Matthew

(Encyclopedia)Griswold, Matthew grĭzˈwəld [key], 1714–99, American jurist and politician, b. Lyme, Conn. Admitted to the bar in 1743, he was very learned in the law and was active in Connecticut politics. As d...

Harris, Isham Green

(Encyclopedia)Harris, Isham Green īˈshəm [key], 1818–97, American political leader, b. Franklin co., Tenn. Admitted to the bar in 1841, he was elected in 1847 to the Tennessee senate. Harris, a states' rights ...

Kahn, Julius

(Encyclopedia)Kahn, Julius kän [key], 1861–1924, American legislator, b. Germany. He arrived (1866) in California as a child. He studied law in San Francisco, was elected (1892) to the state legislature, and was...

law

(Encyclopedia)law, rules of conduct of any organized society, however simple or small, that are enforced by threat of punishment if they are violated. Modern law has a wide sweep and regulates many branches of cond...

McCormick, Robert Rutherford

(Encyclopedia)McCormick, Robert Rutherford, 1880–1955, American journalist, b. Chicago. He held local public offices, was admitted (1907) to the bar, and practiced law in Chicago. He worked with his brother, Jose...

meter, unit of measure

(Encyclopedia)meter, abbr. m, fundamental unit of length in the metric system. The meter was originally defined as 1/10,000,000 of the distance between the equator and either pole; however, the original survey was ...

Lanston, Tolbert

(Encyclopedia)Lanston, Tolbert tŏlˈbərt [key], 1844–1913, American inventor, b. Troy, Ohio. Lanston spent his youth on an Iowa farm and served in the military throughout the Civil War. For 22 years he was a cl...

Martin, François Xavier

(Encyclopedia)Martin, François Xavier fräNswäˈ zävyāˈ märtăNˈ [key], 1762–1846, American jurist, b. Marseilles, France. He emigrated to the United States (c.1786) and was admitted to the North Carolina ...

Roth, Cecil

(Encyclopedia)Roth, Cecil, 1899–1970, Jewish historian and educator, b. London. He was educated at Oxford (Ph.D., 1924) and was reader in Jewish Studies there from 1939 to 1964. Thereafter he was visiting profess...