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Charles River Bridge Case

(Encyclopedia)Charles River Bridge Case, decided in 1837 by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Charles River Bridge Company had been granted (1785) a charter by the state of Massachusetts to operate a toll bridge. The sta...

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

(Encyclopedia)Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), an independent U.S. government commission, created by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 and charged with licensing and regulating civilian use of nuclear energ...

Bacow, Lawrence Seldon

(Encyclopedia)Bacow, Lawence Seldon, 1951–, American educator and lawyer, b. Detroit, S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1972, J.D., M.P.P. Harvard, 1976, Ph.D. Harvard, 1978. Bacow was on the faculty at...

Warner, Olin Levi

(Encyclopedia)Warner, Olin Levi, 1844–96, American sculptor, b. Suffield, Conn. He studied art in Paris, working for a time as an assistant to J.-B. Carpeaux. He served in the Franco-Prussian War (1870) and retur...

abortion

(Encyclopedia)abortion, expulsion of the products of conception before the embryo or fetus is viable. Any interruption of human pregnancy prior to the 28th week is known as abortion. The term spontaneous abortion, ...

party, political

(Encyclopedia)party, political, organization whose aim is to gain control of the government apparatus, usually through the election of its candidates to public office. Political parties take many forms, but their m...

Nation, Carry Moore

(Encyclopedia)Nation, Carry Moore, 1846–1911, American temperance advocate, b. Garrard co., Ky. During her childhood her family moved a great deal, finally settling at Belton, Mo., where she married (1867) Charle...

adult education

(Encyclopedia)adult education, extension of educational opportunities to those adults beyond the age of general public education who feel a need for further training of any sort, also known as continuing education....

school

(Encyclopedia)school, term commonly referring to institutions of pre-college formal education. It also properly includes colleges, universities, and many types of special training establishments (see adult educatio...

Marshall, James Wilson

(Encyclopedia)Marshall, James Wilson, 1810–85, American pioneer, discoverer of gold in California, b. Hunterdon co., N.J. Migrating to California for his health, he arrived at Sutter's Fort (site of present Sacra...

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