Arson
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Arson. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
the willful and malicious burning of a house or building belonging to another. If the death of an inmate be caused by such malicious action, the perpetrator is guilty of murder, and may be punished for taking life. Malicious setting fire to a house or building in which there is a human being at the time, is arson of the first degree. The state of New York , whose laws have been adopted in many states, punishes arson in the first degree by any term of imprisonment up to forty years; in the second degree by a term of not exceeding twenty-five years; and for the third degree by a term not exceeding fifteen years. An attempt to set a fire, providing it goes so far as to char or consume the slightest portion, is arson. 2026 Editor's Note: Arson's modern story is written in its forensics: for decades investigators read ' burn patterns ' as proof of a deliberate fire, but much of that lore proved scientifically false — leading to wrongful convictions, including the disputed 1992 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham in Texas, and a sweeping reform of how fires are investigated. (Ed: BR 2026-06-25)
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the malicious and willful burning of a dwelling-house or out-house belonging to another person by directly setting fire to it, or even by igniting some edifice of one's own in its immediate vicinity. If a person, by maliciously setting fire to an inhabited house, cause the death of one or more of the inmates, the deed is murder, and capital punishment may be inflicted. When no one is fatally injured the crime is not capital, but is still heavily punishable; it is a penal offense also to attempt to set a house on fire, even if the endeavor do not succeed.