BIRON, BARON DE, marshal of France, born at Périgord; served bravely
under Henry IV.; though a Catholic, favoured the Huguenots; narrowly
escaped at the Massacre of St. Bartholomew; was killed at the siege of
Épernay; carried a note-book with him everywhere, and so observant was he
that it passed into proverb, "You will find it in Biron's note-book"
(1524-1592).
BIRON, DUC DE, son of the preceding; served also bravely under Henry
IV.; but being a man of no principle and discontented with the reward he
got for his services, intrigued with the Duke of Savoy and with Spain
against Henry; was arrested and sent to the Bastille, where, after trial,
he was beheaded (1562-1602).
BISCAY, BAY OF, a bay in the Atlantic, extending from Cape Ortegal,
in Spain, to Cape Finisterre, in France, and 400 m. broad, of depth
varying from 20 to 200 fathoms, and, under SW. winds particularly, one of
the stormiest of seas.
BISCHOF, KARL GUSTAV, chemist, born at Nüremberg, professor at Bonn;
experimented on the inflammable power of gas (1792-1870).
BISCHOFF, THEODOR LUDWIG WILHELM, distinguished biologist, born at
Hanover; made a special study of embryology; was professor of Anatomy at
Heidelberg, of Physiology at Giessen, and of both at Münich (1807-1882).
BISHOP, originally an overseer of souls, eventually an overseer of
churches, especially of a district, and conceived of by High-Churchmen as
representing the apostles and deriving his powers by transmission from
them.
BISHOP, SIR HENRY ROWLEY, an English composer, born in London,
composer and director of music in Covent Garden Theatre for 14 years;
produced 60 pieces, of which "Guy Mannering," "The Miller and his Men,"
are still in favour; was for a brief space professor of Music in
Edinburgh University, and eventually held a similar chair in Oxford
(1786-1855).
BISHOP OF HIPPO, St. Augustine, as once in office there.
BISHOP-AUCKLAND (10), a market-town 9 m. SW. of Durham, where the
bishop of Durham has his residence, a palatial structure; it has
coal-mines close by; manufactures machinery and cotton goods.
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO (188), an archipelago formerly called New
Britain, NE. of New Guinea; under the protectorate of Germany.
BISMARCK-SCHÖNHAUSEN, EDUARD LEOPOLD, PRINCE VON, born at
Schönhausen; woke up into civil life by the events of 1848; took a bold
stand against revolutionary ideas and measures; conceived the idea of
freeing the several States of Germany from foreign control, and welding
them into one under the crown of Prussia. Summoned in 1862 by King
William to be his political adviser, his influence was at first
distrusted, but the annexation of Sleswig-Holstein by force of arms in
1863 raised him into general favour. His next feat, the humiliation of
Austria at Königgrätz in 1866, and the consequent erection of a German
Confederation, with Prussia at its head, made him the idol of the nation.
His treatment of Napoleon III. provoked the latter into a declaration of
war, and to an advance on the part of the French against Berlin. To the
surprise of nearly all Europe, the Germans proved to be a nation of
soldiers, marshalled as army never was before, and beat the French
ignominiously back from the Rhine. Count Bismarck had the satisfaction of
seeing the power of France, that still threatened, as well as that of
Austria, helpless at his feet, the German empire restored under a
Hohenzollern king, and himself installed as chancellor of the monarch he
had served so well. Nothing he did after this--though he reformed the
coinage, codified the law, established protection, increased the army,
and repressed Socialism--equalled this great feat, and for this a
grateful nation must ever honour his name. If he ceased to be chancellor
of Germany on the accession of William II., it was because the young king
felt he would have a freer hand with a minister more likely to be under
his control (1815-1898).
BISSA`GOS, a group of some 20 volcanic islands off the coast of
Senegambia, with a large negro population; yield tropical products, and
belong now to Portugal.
BISSEN, a Danish sculptor, born in Sleswig; a pupil of Thorwaldsen;
intrusted by him to finish a statue he left unfinished at his death; he
produced some fine works, but his best known are his "Cupid Sharpening
his Arrow" and "Atalanta Hunting" (1798-1868).
BITHUR, a town on the right bank of the Ganges, 12 m. above
Cawnpore, where Nana Sahib lived, and concocted the conspiracy which
developed into the mutiny of 1857.
BITHYNIA, a country in the NW. of Asia Minor, anciently so called;
the people of it were of Thracian origin.
BITLIS (25), a high-lying town in Asiatic Turkey, 62 m. W. of Van;
stands in a valley 8470 ft. above, the sea-level, with a population of
Mohammedans and Armenians.
BITUMEN, an inflammable mineral substance, presumably of vegetable
origin, called Naphtha when liquid and light-coloured, Petroleum when
less fluid and darker, Maltha when viscid, and Asphalt when solid.
BITZIUS, a Swiss author, composed stories of Swiss life under the
_nom de plume_ of Jeremias Gotthelf, fascinating from their charming
simplicity and truth; he is much admired by Ruskin; was by profession a
Protestant pastor, the duties of which he continued to discharge till his
death (1797-1854).
BIZERTA (10), a seaport of Tunis, northernmost town in Africa, 38 m.
NW. of the capital, with an excellent harbour.
BIZET, GEORGES, an operatic composer, born at Paris; his greatest
work "Carmen"; died of heart-disease shortly after its appearance
(1838-1875).
BJÖRNSEN, a Norwegian author, born at Kvikne; composed tales,
dramas, and lyrics, all of distinguished merit and imbued with a
patriotic spirit; his best play "Sigurd the Bastard"; an active and
zealous promoter of liberalism, sometimes extreme, both in religion and
politics; his writings are numerous, and they rank high; his songs being
highly appreciated by his countrymen; _b_. 1832.
BLACK, JOSEPH, a celebrated chemist, born at Bordeaux, of Scotch
parents; the discoverer of what has been called latent heat, but what is
really transformed energy; professor of Chemistry, first in Glasgow, then
in Edinburgh, where his lectures were very popular; his discoveries in
chemistry were fruitful in results (1728-1799).
BLACK, WILLIAM, novelist, born in Glasgow; started life as a
journalist in connection with the _Morning Star_; has written several
novels, over 30 in number, about the West Highlands of Scotland, rich in
picturesque description; the best known and most admired, "A Daughter of
Heth," the "Madcap Violet," "Macleod of Dare," "The Strange Adventures of
a Phæton," and "A Princess of Thule." "But when are you going to write a
book, Mr. Black?" said Carlyle to him one day (1841-1898).
BLACK ART, name given to the presumed power of evoking evil spirits.
BLACK ASSIZE, a plague at Oxford in 1557, which carried off 300
victims; caught at the assize from the prisoners under trial.
BLACK DEATH, a name given to a succession of fatal epidemics that
devastated the world from China to Ireland in the 14th century, believed
to be the same as the Oriental plague, though attended with peculiar
symptoms; the most serious was that of 1348, which, as is reckoned,
stripped England alone of one-third of its inhabitants.
BLACK FOREST (488), a wooded mountain chain 4000 ft. high (so called
from the black pines that cover it), which runs parallel with the Rhine,
and E. of it, through Würtemberg and Baden, from the Swiss frontier to
Carlsruhe; is remarkable for its picturesque scenery and its mineral
wealth; it possesses many health resorts, as Baden-Baden and Wildbad,
where are mineral springs; silver, copper, cobalt, lead, and iron are
wrought in many places; the women and children of the region make
articles of woodwork, such as wooden clocks, &c.
BLACK FRIARS, monks of the Dominican order; name of a district in
London where they had a monastery.
BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA, a confined apartment 13 ft. square, into
which 146 English prisoners were crammed by the orders of Surajah Dowia
on the 19th June 1756; their sufferings were excruciating, and only 23
survived till morning.
BLACK LANDS, lands in the heart of Russia, extending between the
Carpathians and the Urals, constituting one-third of the soil, and
consisting of a layer of black earth or vegetable mould, of from 3 to 20
ft. in thickness, and a chief source, from its exhaustless fertility, of
the wealth of the country.
BLACK MONDAY, Easter Monday in 1351, remarkable for the extreme
darkness that prevailed, and an intense cold, under which many died.
BLACK PRINCE, Prince of Wales, son of Edward III., so called, it is
said, from the colour of his armour; distinguished himself at Crécy,
gained the battle of Poitiers, but involved his country in further
hostilities with France; returned to England, broken in health, to die
(1330-1376).
BLACK ROD, GENTLEMAN USHER OF, an official of the House of Lords,
whose badge of office is a black rod surmounted by a gold lion; summons
the Commons to the House, guards the privileges of the House, &c.
BLACK SATURDAY, name given in Scotland to Saturday, 4th August 1621;
a stormy day of great darkness, regarded as a judgment of Heaven against
Acts then passed in the Scottish Parliament tending to establish
Episcopacy.
BLACK SEA, or EUXINE, an inland sea, lying between Europe and
Asia, twice the size of Britain, being 700 m. in greatest length and 400
m. in greatest breadth; communicates in the N. with the Sea of Azov, and
in the SW., through the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmora, and the
Dardanelles, with the Mediterranean. It washes the shores of Turkey,
Rumelia, Bulgaria, Russia, and Asia Minor; receives the waters of the
Danube, Dneister, Bug, and Don, from Europe, and the Kizil-Irmak and
Sakaria from Asia--three times as much as is received by the
Mediterranean. It has but one island, Adassi, off the mouths of the
Danube; no reefs or shoals; hence in summer navigation is very safe. In
winter it is harassed by severe storms. Among the chief ports are Odessa,
Kherson, Batoum, Trebizond, and Sinope; the first two are ice-bound in
January and February. For three centuries the Turks excluded all other
nations from its waters; but the Russians (1774), Austrians (1784),
French and English (1802) secured trading rights. Russia and Turkey keep
fleets in it, but other warships are excluded. Its waters are fresher
than those of the ocean, and it has no noticeable tides.
BLACK WATCH, two Highland regiments, the 42nd and 73rd, so called
from the dark colour of the tartan; raised originally for the
preservation of the peace in the Highlands.
BLACKBURN (120), a manufacturing town in Lancashire, 21 m. NW. of
Manchester, a centre of the cotton industry, and the greatest in the
world; is the birthplace of Hargreaves, the inventor of the
spinning-jenny.
BLACKHEATH, a common 7 m. SE. of London, once a favourite haunt of
highwaymen, now a place of holiday resort for Londoners; for long
provided the only golfing-course in England.
BLACKIE, JOHN STUART, a man of versatile gifts and warm human
sympathies, born in Glasgow; bred to the bar, but devoted to literary
pursuits; studied German; executed a metrical translation of Goethe's
"Faust," Part I.; filled the chair of Humanity in Aberdeen, and
afterwards that of Greek in Edinburgh; was a zealous educational
reformer; took an active interest in everything affecting the welfare and
honour of Scotland; founded a Celtic Chair in Edinburgh University; spoke
much and wrote much in his day on manifold subjects; Æschylus, and
Homer's "Iliad" in verse; among his works, which are numerous,
"Self-Culture" is the most likely to survive him longest (1809-1895).
BLACKLOCK, THOMAS, a clergyman, born in Annan, blind from early
infancy; after occupying a charge for two years, set up as a teacher in
Edinburgh; was influential in inducing Burns to abandon his intention to
emigrate, and may be credited, therefore, with saving for his country and
humanity at large one of the most gifted of his country's sons
(1721-1791).
BLACKMORE, RICHARD DODDRIDGE, novelist, born in Berks; bred to the
bar; has written several novels, the best known "Lorna Doone," which,
though coldly received at first, became highly popular; he is pronounced
unrivalled in his day as a writer of rustic comedy; _b_. 1825.
BLACKMORE, SIR RICHARD, physician, born in Wilts; the most
voluminous of poetasters, published four long worthless poems, besides
essays and psalms, &c., and made himself the butt of all the wits of the
period; _d_. 1729.
BLACKPOOL (23), a watering-place on the coast of Lancashire, 18 m.
NW. of Preston, sometimes called the "Brighton of the North."
BLACKSTONE, SIR WILLIAM, an eminent jurist and judge, born in
London, the son of a silk-mercer; was fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford,
and in 1746 called to the bar; became first Vinerian professor of Law at
Oxford; had Jeremy Bentham for one of his pupils; author of the
well-known "Commentaries on the Laws of England," an authority on the
subject and a work that has appeared in many editions (1723-1780).
BLACKWELL, ALEXANDER, adventurer, born in Aberdeen; studied
medicine; took to printing; thrown into prison for debt; was supported by
his wife; on his release went to Sweden, was patronised by the king;
convicted of conspiracy, and beheaded in 1747.
BLACKWELL, ELIZABETH, a lady doctor, born in Bristol, and the first
to hold a medical diploma in the United States; graduated in 1849; was
admitted into the Maternity Hospital in Paris, and to St. Bartholomew's
in London, and has since distinguished herself as a social reformer; _b_.
1821.
BLACKWOOD, SIR HENRY, British admiral, much trusted by Nelson;
distinguished at Aboukir Bay and Trafalgar; was present at Nelson's
death; held subsequently high naval positions (1770-1832).
BLACKWOOD, WILLIAM, born in Edinburgh, originator of _Blackwood's
Magazine_; originally a bookseller; started _Maga_, as it was called, in
1817, his principal literary advisers being Professor Wilson and
Lockhart; conducted it as editor till his death (1776-1834). JOHN,
his third son, his successor, no less distinguished in the cause of
literature (1818-1879).
BLAEU, WILLEM JANZSOON, Dutch cartographer, born at Alkmaar; his
terrestrial and celestial globes have been admired for their excellence
and accuracy (1571-1638). His son JAN edited a valuable atlas called
"Atlas Major," in 11 volumes; _d_. 1673.
BLAINVILLE, HENRI MARIE, a French naturalist; devoted himself to
medicine; became assistant to Cuvier; succeeded him as professor of
Comparative Anatomy; wrote largely on natural science, and particularly
on subjects connected with his appointment as a professor (1777-1850).
BLAIR, HUGH, clergyman, born in Edinburgh; held in succession
several charges in Scotland, and became professor of Rhetoric in
Edinburgh University; author of "Lectures on Rhetoric" and "Sermons,"
which latter are of the nature of moral essays rather than sermons, were
much esteemed at one time for their polished style, and procured him a
pension of £200 from the king; he was a man of great critical acumen, and
the celebrated Schleiermacher did not think it beneath him to translate
some of them into German (1718-1800).
BLAIR, ROBERT, author of "The Grave," a thoughtful and cultured man,
born in Edinburgh; minister of Athelstaneford, where he was succeeded by
Home, the author of "Douglas." His poem has the merit of having been
illustrated by William Blake (1699-1743).
BLAKE, ROBERT, the great English admiral and "Sea King," born at
Bridgewater; successful as a soldier under the Commonwealth, before he
tried seamanship; took first to sea in pursuit of Prince Rupert and the
royalist fleet, which he destroyed; beat the Dutch under Van Tromp de
Ruyter and De Witt; sailed under the great guns of Tunis into the
harbour, where he fired a fleet of Turkish pirates; and finally, his
greatest feat, annihilated a Spanish fleet in Santa Cruz Bay under the
shadow of the Peak of Teneriffe, "one of the fiercest actions ever fought
on land or water" (1598-1657).
BLAKE, WILLIAM, poet, painter, and engraver, born in London, where,
with rare intervals, he spent his life a mystic from his very boyhood;
apprenticed to an engraver, whom he assisted with his drawings; started
on original lines of his own as illustrator of books and a painter;
devoted his leisure to poetry; wrote "Songs of Innocence," "Marriage of
Heaven and Hell," "Gates of Paradise," and "Songs of Experience"; was an
intensely religious man of deep spiritual insight, most vivid feeling and
imagination; illustrated Young's "Night Thoughts," Blair's "Grave," and
the "Book of Job." He was a man of stainless character but eccentric
habits, and had for wife an angel, Catherine Boucher (1757-1828).
BLANC, CHARLES, a French art critic, brother of Louis Blanc
(1813-1882).
BLANC, JEAN JOSEPH LOUIS, a French Socialist, born at Madrid;
started as a journalist, founded the _Revue du Progrès_, and published
separately in 1840 "Organisation of Labour," which had already appeared
in the _Revue_, a work which gained the favour of the working-classes;
was member of the Provisional Government of 1848, and eventually of the
National Assembly; threatened with impeachment, fled to England; returned
to France on the fall of the Empire, and was elected to the Chamber of
Deputies in 1871; wrote an "elaborate and well-written" "History of the
French Revolution"; died at Cannes (1811-1882).
BLANC, MONT, the highest mountain in Europe, 15,780 ft., almost
entirely within France; sends numerous glaciers down its slopes, the Mer
de Glace the chief.
BLANCHARD, FRANÇOIS, a celebrated French aëronaut, inventor of the
parachute; he fell from his balloon and was killed at the Hague
(1738-1809).
BLANCHARD, LAMAN, a prolific periodical and play writer, born at
Yarmouth; a man of a singularly buoyant spirit, crushed by calamities;
died by suicide (1803-1845).
BLANCHE OF CASTILE, wife of Louis VIII. of France and mother of St.
Louis; regent of France during the minority of her son and during his
absence in crusade; governed with great discretion and firmness; died of
grief over the long absence of her son and his rumoured intention to stay
in the Holy Land (1186-1252).
BLANCHET, THE ABBÉ, French littérateur; author of "Apologues and
Tales," much esteemed (1707-1784).
BLANDRATA, GIORGIO, Piedmontese physician, who for his religious
opinions was compelled to take refuge, first in Poland, then in
Transylvania, where he sowed the seeds of Unitarianism (1515-1590).
BLANQUI, ADOLPHE, a celebrated French publicist and economist, born
at Nice; a disciple of J. B. Say, and a free-trader; his principal work,
"History of Political Economy in Europe" (1798-1854).
BLANQUI, LOUIS AUGUSTE, a brother of the preceding, a French
republican of extreme views and violent procedure; would appear to have
posed as a martyr; spent nearly half his life in prison (1805-1881).
BLARNEY-STONE, a stone in Castle Blarney, Cork, of difficult access,
which is said to endow whoso kisses it with a fair-spoken tongue, hence
the application of the word.
BLASIUS, ST., bishop of Sebaste, in Armenia; the patron of
wool-combers; suffered martyrdom in 316.
BLASPHEMY, defined by Ruskin as the opposite of euphemy, and as
wishing ill to anything, culminating in wishing ill to God, as the height
of "ill-manners."
BLATANT BEAST, Spenser's name for the ignorant, slanderous, clamour
of the mob.
BLAVATSKY, MME., a theosophist, born in Russia; a great authority on
theosophy, the doctrines of which she professed she derived from the
fountain-head in Thibet (1813-1891).
BLEEK, FRIEDRICH, eminent German Biblical exegete and critic of the
Schleiermacher school, born in Holstein; professor at Bonn; his chief
work, "Commentary on the Hebrews," a great work; others are Introductions
to the Old and to the New Testaments (1793-1859).
BLEEK, WM., son of preceding, a philologist; accompanied Colenso to
Natal; author of "Comparative Grammar of the S. African Languages"
(1827-1875).
BLEFUSCU, an island separated from Lilliput by a strait 800 yards
wide, inhabited by pigmies; understood to represent France.
BLENHEIM, a village in Bavaria, near Augsburg; famous for
Marlborough's victory in 1704, and giving name to it.
BLENHEIM PARK, near Woodstock, Oxford, the gift, with the Woodstock
estate, of the country to the Duke of Marlborough, for his military
services in the Spanish Succession war.
BLESSINGTON, COUNTESS OF, an Irish lady celebrated for her beauty
and wit; figured much in intellectual circles in London; had her salon at
Kensington; was on intimate terms with Byron, and published
"Conversations with Byron," and wrote several novels; being extravagant,
fell into debt, and had to flee the country (1789-1849).
BLICHER, STEEN STEENSEN, Danish poet of rural life (1782-1848).
BLIGH, WM., a naval officer; served under Captain Cook; commanded
the _Bounty_ at Tahiti, when his crew mutinied under his harsh treatment,
and set him adrift, with 18 others, in an open boat, in which, after
incredible privations, he arrived in England; was afterwards governor of
N.S. Wales, but dismissed for his rigorous and arbitrary conduct
(1753-1817).