Tusculum
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Tusculum. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
anciently a Latium; about 15 miles S. of Rome; on a ridge of hills known as the Colles Tusculani, and forming part of the Alban range. Octavius Mamilius, ruler of Tusculum, married a daughter of Tarquinius Superbus, and played a conspicuous part in the last of the great struggles made by the banished tyrant to regain his kingdom. But the Latins were so thoroughly beaten at Lake Regillus (496 B. C.) that they were glad to enter into an alliance with the victor, and ever after, except in the Great Latin War (340-338 b.c.), remained steady in their fidelity to Rome. As early as 378 B. C. the inhabitants of Tusculum received the Roman franchise. Toward the close of the republic Tusculum became a favorite country residence of the wealthy Romans; Lucullus, Cato, Brutus, Hortensius, Crassus, Cæsar, and Cicero had villas here. Till 1191 Tusculum continued entire; but it was stormed then by the Romans and ruined forever. Many fine remains of ancient Tusculum have been dug up, the most remarkable being the amphitheater, theater, and city walls. TUSKEGEE NORMAL AND IN- DUSTRIAL INSTITUTE, a coeducational non-sectarian institution in Tuskegee, Ala., for colored students; founded in 1881; reported at the close of 1919: Professors and instructors, 206; students, 1,736; number of graduates, 2,599; president, Dr. R. R. Moton.
1000 Classical Characters (1900)
An ancient town in Latium, situated about ten miles southeast of Rome, on a lofty summit of the mountains which are called, after the town, Tusculani Montes. Typhoeus or Typhon. A famous giant, son of Tartarus and Terra, who had a hundred heads. He made war against the gods, and was put to flight by the thunderbolts of Jupiter , who crushed him under Mount Aetna .
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The history Collier's gave in 1921 — Octavius Mamilius, Lake Regillus in 496 B.C., the Roman franchise in 378 B.C., the villas of Cicero and Lucullus, and the storming and permanent ruin of the town by the Romans in 1191 — is still the standard account, and the 1900 entry's bare geography needs no correction beyond noting that the site lies just above modern Frascati. What has moved is the spadework: Collier's could point only to "the amphitheater, theater, and city walls," whereas sustained modern campaigns, led since the 1990s by the Spanish archaeological mission at Rome, have exposed the forum area, further public buildings and stretches of the ancient road, and the site is now presented as a visitable archaeological park. The one thing that has not been settled is the very thing the old entries dwell on: no villa on the ridge can be securely identified as Cicero's, despite his Tusculan Disputations being named for the place.
Written for this edition, 2026.