BOGATZKY, KARL HEINRICH VON, religious writer; wrote hymns and an
autobiography; is best known as the author of the "Golden Treasury"
(1690-1744).
BOGDANOVITCH, a Russian poet, called by his countrymen the "Russian
Anacreon"; his best-known poem "Psyche" (1743-1803).
BOGERMANN, JOHANN, Dutch divine, translated the Bible into Dutch,
and was President of the Synod of Dort (1576-1633).
BOGOTA` (100), capital of the United State of Colombia, situated on
a remarkable, almost mountain-encircled, plateau, on the river Bogotá, 65
m. SE. of its port, Honda, the highest navigable point of the Magdalena,
is 8600 ft. above sea-level, and has a spring-like climate. It is
regularly built, with innumerable churches, a mint, university, library,
and observatory, and several schools. Though the country is fertile and
the mountains rich in coal, iron, salt, and precious metals, its
situation and the want of a railway hinder trade.
BOG-TROTTER, a name given to the Scottish moss-troopers, now to
certain Irish for their agility in escaping over bogs.
BOGUE, DAVID, born in Berwickshire, a Congregational minister; one
of the founders of the London Foreign Missionary, the Foreign Bible, and
the Religious Tract Societies (1750-1825).
BOHEMIA (5,843), the most northerly province in Austria, two-thirds
the size of Scotland; is encircled by mountains, and drained by the upper
Elbe and its tributaries. The Erzgebirge separate it from Saxony; the
Riesengebirge, from Prussia; the Böhmerwald, from Bavaria; and the
Moravian Mountains, from Moravia. The mineral wealth is varied and great,
including coal, the most useful metals, silver, sulphur, and porcelain
clay. The climate is mild in the valleys, the soil fertile; flax and hops
the chief products; forests are extensive. Dyeing, calico-printing, linen
and woollen manufactures, are the chief industries. The glassware is
widely celebrated; there are iron-works and sugar-refineries. The transit
trade is very valuable. The people are mostly Czechs, of the Slavonic
race, Roman Catholics in religion; there is a large and influential
German minority of about two millions, with whom the Czechs, who are
twice as numerous, do not amalgamate; the former being riled at the
official use of the Czech language, and the latter agitating for the
elevation of the province to the same status as that of Hungary.
Education is better than elsewhere in Austria; there is a university at
Prague, the capital. In the 16th century the crown was united with the
Austrian, but in 1608 religious questions led to the election of the
Protestant Frederick V. This was followed by the Thirty Years' War, the
extermination of the Protestants, and the restoration of the Austrian
House.
BOHEMIAN, name given to one who lives by his wits and shuns
conventionality.
BOHEMIAN BRETHREN, a fraternity of an extreme sect of the Hussites,
organised as United Brethren in 1455; broken up in the Thirty Years' War,
met in secret, and were invited, under the name of Moravians or
Herrnhuters, by Count Zinzendorf to settle on his estate.
BOHEMOND, first prince of Antioch, son of Robert Guiscard; set out
on the first crusade; besieged and took Antioch; was besieged in turn by
the Saracens, and imprisoned for two years; liberated, he collected
troops and recaptured the city (1056-1111).
BOHLEN, VON, a German Orientalist, professor at Königsberg
(1796-1840).
BONN, HENRY GEORGE, an enterprising publisher, a German, born in
London; issued a series of works identified with his name (1796-1884).
BÖHTLINGK, OTTO, Sanskrit scholar, a German, born in St. Petersburg;
author, among other works, of a Sanskrit dictionary in 7 vols.; _b_.1815.
BOIARDO, MATTEO MARIA, Count of Scandiano, surnamed the "Flower of
Chivalry"; an Italian poet, courtier, diplomatist, and statesman; author
of "Orlando Innamorato" (1456), the model of Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso,"
which eclipsed it (1434-1494).
BOIELDIEU, ADRIEN FRANÇOIS, a distinguished French musical composer
of operas; author of the "Calife de Bagdad," "Télémaque," and "La Dame
Blanche," reckoned his masterpiece; called the French Mozart (1775-1834).
BOIGNE, COUNT DE, a French soldier of fortune, born at Chambéry;
served under France, Russia, East India Company, and the prince of the
Mahrattas, to whom he rendered signal service; amassed wealth, which he
dealt out generously and for the benefit of his country (1751-1830).
BOII, an ancient people of Gaul, occupying territory between the
Allier and the Loire.
BOILEAU, NICOLAS (surnamed Despréaux, to distinguish him from his
brother), poet and critic, born in Paris; brought up to the law, but
devoted to letters, associating himself with La Fontaine, Racine, and
Molière; author of "Satires" and "Epistles," "L'Art Poétique," "Le
Lutrin," &c., in which he attached and employed his wit against the bad
taste of his time; did much to reform French poetry, as Pascal did to
reform the prose, and was for long the law-giver of Parnassus; was an
imitator of Pope, but especially of Horace (1636-1711).
BOISARD, a French fabulist of remarkable fecundity (1743-1831).
BOIS-GUILLEBERT, a French economist, cousin of Vauban; advocate of
free trade; _d_. 1714.
BOIS-LE-DUC (27), capital of North Brabant, 45 m. SE. of Amsterdam,
and with a fine cathedral; seat of an archbishop.
BOISMONT, THE ABBÉ, one of the best French pulpit orators of the
18th century (1715-1786).
BOISROBERT, THE ABBÉ, a French poet, one of the first members of the
French Academy; patronised by Richelieu (1592-1662).
BOISSONADE, JEAN FRANÇOIS, a French Greek scholar; for a time
carried away by the revolutionary movement, but abandoned politics for
letters (1774-1857).
BOISSIERE, a French lexicographer (1806-1885).
BOISSY D'ANGLAS, COUNT, a member and president of the Convention in
Paris, noted for his firmness and coolness during the frenzy of the
Revolution: one day the Parisian mob burst in upon the Convention, shot
dead a young deputy, Féraud, "sweeping the members of it before them to
the upper-bench ... covered, the president sat unyielding, like a rock in
the beating of seas; they menaced him, levelled muskets at him, he
yielded not; they held up Féraud's bloody head to him; with grave, stern
air he bowed to it, and yielded not"; became a senator and commander of
the Legion of Honour under Napoleon; was made a peer by Louis XVIII.
(1756-1826).
BOISTE, a French lexicographer (1765-1824).
BOKHA`RA (1,800), a Mohammedan State in Central Asia, N. of
Afghanistan, nominally independent; but the Khan is a vassal of the Czar.
The surface is arid, and cultivation possible only near the rivers-the
Oxus, Zarafshan, and Karshi. In the sands of the Oxus, gold and salt are
found. Rice, cotton, and cereals are grown; silk, cotton-thread,
jewellery, cutlery, and firearms are manufactured. The people are of Turk
and Persian origin. The capital, Bokhara (70), is on the plain of the
Zarafshan, a walled, mud-built city, 8 or 9 m. in circumference, with
numerous colleges and mosques, the centre of learning and religious life
in Central Asia. It has important trade and large slave markets.
BOLAN` PASS, a high-lying, deep, narrow gorge, extending between
Quetta (Beluchistan) and Kandahar (Afghanistan), sloping upwards at an
inclination of 90 ft. a mile; is traversed by a torrent.
BOLESLAUS, the name of several dukes of Poland, of whom the most
famous is Boleslaus I. the Great, who ruled from 992 to 1025.
BOLEYN, ANNE, or BULLEN, second wife of Henry VIII. and mother
of Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thoman Bullen (afterwards Earl of
Wiltshire); after a three years' residence at the French Court became
maid of honour to Queen Katherine; attracted the admiration of Henry; was
married to him, and became queen; charged with adultery and conspiracy,
was found guilty and beheaded; was of the Reformed faith; her marriage
with Henry had important bearings on the English Reformation (1507-1536).
BOLINGBROKE, HENRY ST. JOHN, VISCOUNT, English statesman, orator,
and political writer, born at Battersea; Prime Minister of Queen Anne in
the Tory interest, after her dismissal of the Whigs; on the accession of
George I. fled to France and joined the Pretender; was impeached and
attainted; returned in 1723 to his estates, but denied a seat in the
House of Lords, an indignity which he resented by working the overthrow
of Walpole; was the friend of Pope and Swift, and the author of "Letters"
bearing upon politics and literature. "Bolingbroke," says Prof.
Saintsbury, "is a rhetorician pure and simple, but the subjects of his
rhetoric were not the great and perennial subjects, but puny ephemeral
forms of them--the partisan and personal politics of his day, the
singularly shallow form of infidelity called Deism and the like; and his
time deprived him of many, if not most, of the rhetorician's most telling
weapons. The 'Letter to Windham,' a sort of apologia, and the 'Ideal of a
Patriot King,' exhibit him at his best." It was he who suggested to Pope
his "Essay on Man" (1678-1751).
BOLIVAR, SIMON, surnamed the Liberator, general and statesman, born
at Caracas; a man of good birth and liberal education; seized with the
passion for freedom during a visit to Madrid and Paris, devoted himself
to the cause of S. American independence; freed from the yoke of Spain
Venezuela and New Grenada, which, in 1819, he erected into a republic
under the name of Colombia; achieved in 1824 the same for Upper Peru,
henceforth called Bolivia, after his name; accused of aspiring to the
Dictatorship, he abdicated, and was preparing to leave the country when
he died of fever, with the sage reflection on his lips, "The presence of
a soldier, however disinterested he may be, is always dangerous in a
State that is new to freedom"; he has been called the Washington of S.
America (1783-1830).
BOLIVIA (1,500), an inland republic of S. America, occupying lofty
tablelands E. of the Andes, and surrounded by Peru, Brazil, Paraguay,
Argentina, and Chili. The S. is chiefly desert; in the N. are Lake
Titicaca and many well-watered valleys. The very varied heights afford
all kinds of vegetation, from wheat and maize to tropical fruits. In the
lower plains coffee, tobacco, cotton, and cinchona are cultivated. The
most important industry is mining: gold, silver, copper, and tin. Trade
is hampered by want of navigable rivers, but helped by railways from
Chili, Peru, and Argentina. Silver is the chief export; manufactured
goods are imported. The country has been independent since 1825; it lost
its sea provinces in the war with Chili, 1879-83. The capital is Sucre
(12), but La Pay (45) and Cochabamba (14) are larger towns.
BOLLAND, JOHN, a Jesuit of Antwerp, born in Belgium; compiled five
vols. of the Lives of the Saints called "Acta Sanctorum," which was
continued by others, called after him "Bollandists."
BOLLANDISTS, a succession of Jesuits who produced the Lives of the
Saints, now extended to sixty vols.
BOLOGNA (147), an ancient walled city of Italy, on a fertile plain,
at the foot of the Lower Apennines, 83 m. N. of Florence; has many fine
buildings, a university, one of the oldest in Europe, schools of music
and art, libraries, and art collections. There are some silk and other
industries, and considerable trade.
BOLOGNA, JOHN OF, one of the most celebrated sculptors of art in his
time, born at Douai, settled at Florence (1524-1608).
BOLOR-TAGH, a high tableland in Central Asia, stretching from the
Hindu Kush mountains northwards to the Tian Shan.
BOLSE`NA, a small town in Italy, on the E. shore of Lake Bolsena.
BOLSENA, a lake with clear water in a hollow crater of a volcano,
and abounding with fish, but with an unwholesome atmosphere.
BOLTON (115), manufacturing town of Lancashire.
BOLTON ABBEY, an old abbey in Yorkshire, 6 m. E. of Skipton; was
founded by the Augustinian canons.
BOMA, a station on the Lower Congo, in the Congo Independent State;
once a great slave mart.
BOMARSUND, a fortress of the island of Aland occupied by Russia,
destroyed by the Anglo-French fleet in 1854; the Russians bound not to
restore it.
BOMBA, nickname of Ferdinand II., late king of the Two Sicilies,
given him, it is alleged, from his calling upon his soldiers to bombard
his people during an insurrection.
BOMBASTES FURIOSO, an opera by Thomas Rhodes in ridicule of the
bombastic style of certain tragedies in vogue.
BOMBAY (26,960), the western Presidency of India, embraces 26
British districts and 19 feudatory states. N. of the Nerbudda River the
country is flat and fertile; S. of it are mountain ranges and tablelands.
In the fertile N. cotton, opium, and wheat are the staple products. In
the S., salt, iron, and gold are mined; but coal is wanting. The climate
is hot and moist on the coast and in the plains, but pleasant on the
plateaux. Cotton manufacture has developed extensively and cotton cloths,
with sugar, tea, wool, and drugs are exported. Machinery, oil, coal, and
liquors are imported. BOMBAY (822), the chief city, stands on an
island, connected with the coast by a causeway, and has a magnificent
harbour and noble docks. It is rapidly surpassing Calcutta in trade, and
is one of the greatest of seaports; its position promises to make it the
most important commercial centre in the East, as it already is in the
cotton trade of the world. It swarms with people of every clime, and its
merchandise is mainly in the hands of the Parsees, the descendants of the
ancient fire-worshippers. It is the most English town in India. It came
to England from Portugal as dowry with Catherine of Braganza, wife of
Charles II., who leased it to the East India Company for £10 a year. Its
prosperity began when the Civil War in America afforded it an opening for
its cotton.
BON GAULTIER, _nom de plume_ assumed by Professor Aytoun and Sir
Theodore Martin.
BONA (30), a seaport in Algeria, in the province of Constantine, on
a bay of the Mediterranean, with an excellent harbour and a growing
trade; is much improved since its occupation by the French in 1832. Near
it are the ruins of Hippo, the episcopal city of Augustine.
BONA, an ascetic writer, surnamed the Fénélon of Italy, one of
feuillant order of monks (1609-1674).
BONA DEA (the good goddess), a Roman goddess of fertility,
worshipped by women; her priests vestals and her worship by rites from
which men were excluded. Her symbol was a serpent, but the name under
which she was worshipped is not known.
BONALD, VICOMTE DE, a French publicist, a violent royalist and
ultramontanist; looked upon the Catholic religion and the royal authority
as fundamental to the stability of the social fabric, and was opposed to
the law of divorce, which led to its alteration. He denied that language
was innate, but revealed, and that causation was inherent in matter
(1758-1840).
BONAPARTE, name of a celebrated family of Italian origin settled in
Corsica; the principal members of it were: CHARLES MARIE, born at
Ajaccio, 1744; died at Montpellier, 1785; married, 1767. MARIE-LÆTITIA
RAMOLINO, born at Ajaccio, 1750; died at Rome, 1836; of this union were
born eight children: JOSEPH, became king of Naples, 1806; king of Spain
from 1808 to 1813; retired to United States after Waterloo; returned to
Europe, and died at Florence, 1844. NAPOLEON I. (q. v.). LUCIEN, _b_.
1775; became president of the Council of the Five Hundred, and prince of
Canino; died in Viterbo, 1840. MARIE-ANNE-ELIZA, _b_. 1777; married Felix
Bacciochi, who became prince of Lucca; died at Trieste, 1826. LOUIS, _b_.
1778; married Hortense de Beauharnais; father of Napoleon III.; king of
Holland (from 1806 to 1810); died at Leghorn, 1846. MARIE PAULINE, _b_.
1780; married General Leclerc, 1801; afterwards, in 1803, Prince Camille
Borghese; became Duchess of Guastalla; died at Florence, 1825.
CAROLINE-MARIE, _b_. 1782; married Marat in 1800; became Grand-duchess of
Berg and Clèves, then queen of Naples; died at Florence, 1839. Jerome,
_b_. 1784, king of Westphalia (from 1807 to 1813); marshal of France in
1850; married, by second marriage, Princess Catherine of Würtemburg; died
in 1860; his daughter, the Princess Mathilde, _b_. 1820, and his son,
Prince Napoleon, called Jerome, _b_. 1822, married Princess Clothilde,
daughter of Victor Emmanuel, of which marriage was born Prince Victor
Napoleon in 1862.
BONAR, HORATIUS, a clergyman of the Free Church of Scotland, and a
celebrated hymn writer, born at Edinburgh (1808-1889).
BONAVENTURA, ST., cardinal, surnamed the Seraphic Doctor, his real
name John Fidenza, born in Tuscany; entered the Franciscan Order; was
chosen general of the Order and papal legate at the Council of Lyons in
1274, during the session of which he died; was a mystic in theology;
ascribed knowledge of the truth to union with God, such as existed
between man and his Maker prior to the Fall, a state which could be
recovered only by a life of purity and prayer; his writings were admired
by Luther (1221-1274).
BONCHAMP, CHARLES, MARQUIS DE, French general, born in Anjou, served
in the American war; became one of the chiefs of the Vendéan army; fell
at the battle of Cholet, and when dying, relented over the blood already
shed; ordered the release of 5000 prisoners which his party, in their
revenge, was about to massacre; _d_. 1793.
BOND, WILLIAM, a distinguished American astronomer (1789-1815), who
with his son, GEORGE PHILLIPS, discovered a satellite of Neptune and
an eighth satellite of Saturn (1826-1865).
BONDU (30), a country of Senegambia, a dependency of France; yields
maize, cotton, fruits.
BONE, HENRY, a celebrated enamel painter, especially in miniature on
ivory; born at Truro (1755-1834).
BONER, ULRICH, a German fabulist and Dominican monk of the 14th
century, author of "Der Edelstein" (The Jewel), a book of fables.
BONHEUR, ROSA, a celebrated French animal painter, born at Bordeaux;
brought up in poverty from ill-fortune; taught by her father; exhibited
when she was 19; her best-known works are the "Horse Fair" and the "Hay
Harvest in Auvergne," "Ploughing with Oxen," considered her masterpiece;
through the Empress Eugenie she received the Cross of the Legion of
Honour; during the siege of Paris her studio was spared by order of the
Crown Prince; _b_. 1822.
BONHOMME, JACQUES, a name of contempt given by the nobility of
France to the peasants in the 14th century.
BONIFACE, the name of nine popes. B. I., pope from 418 to 422, assumed
the title of First Bishop of Christendom; B. II., pope from 530 to 532;
B. III., pope for 10 months, from 607 to 608; B. IV., pope from 608 to
614; B. V., pope from 617 to 625; B. VI., pope in 896; B. VII., pope from
974 to 985; B. VIII., pope from 1294 to 1303, a strenuous assertor of the
papal supremacy over all princes, and a cause of much turmoil in Europe,
provoked a war with Philip the Fair of France, who arrested him at
Anagni, and though liberated by the citizens died on his way to Rome; B.
IX., pope from 1389 to 1405, the first pope to wear the Triple Crown.
BONIFACE, ST., the Apostle of Germany, born in Devonshire, his real
name Winfried; consecrated Pepin le Bref; was made Primate of Germany;
was, with 53 companions, massacred by the barbarians of Friesland, whom
he sought to convert (680-755).
BONIN`, a group of rocky islands SE. of Japan, and since 1878
subject to it.
BONINGTON, RICHARD, an eminent English landscape painter of
exceptional precocity, born near Nottingham; painted the "Ducal Palace"
and "Grand Canal" at Venice, his masterpieces (1801-1828).
BONIVARD, FRANÇOIS DE, a Genevese patriot and historian, twice
imprisoned by Charles III., a Duke of Savoy, for his sympathy with the
struggles of the Genevese against his tyranny, the second time for six
years in the Castle of Chillon; immortalised by Lord Byron in his
"Prisoner of Chillon"; he was released at the Reformation, and adopted
Protestantism (1496-1571).
BONN (38), a Prussian town on the Rhine, SE. of Cologne, an old
Roman station, with a famous university; the birthplace of Beethoven,
with a monument to his memory; it is a stronghold of the old Catholics.
BONNAT, JOSEPH LEON, a French painter, born at Bayonne; imitated for
a time the religious paintings of the old masters, but since 1862 has
followed a style of his own; "Christ at the Cross" in the Palais de
Justice, Paris, is his work; _b_. 1833.
BONNER, EDMUND, bishop of London, born at Worcester; was chaplain to
Wolsey; sided with Henry VIII. against the Pope; fell into disgrace under
Edward VI.; was restored by Mary, whom he served in her Anti-Protestant
zeal; affected to welcome Elizabeth to the throne; was again deposed and
imprisoned for refusing to take the oath of supremacy under Elizabeth;
died in the Marshalsea Prison: he does not deserve all the odium that has
been heaped on his memory; he was faithful as a bishop, consistent in his
conduct, and bore the indignities done him with manly fortitude
(1495-1569).
BONNET, CHARLES DE, Swiss naturalist and philosopher, born at
Geneva; his studies as a naturalist gave a materialistic cast to his
philosophy; though he did not deny the existence of mind, still less that
of its sovereign Author, he gave to material impressions a dominant
influence in determining its manifestations (1720-1793).
BONNET-PIECE, a gold coin of James V. of Scotland, so called from
the king being represented on it as wearing a bonnet instead of a crown.
BONNEVAL, CLAUDE-ALEXANDRE, COMTE DE. See ACHMED PASHA.
BONNIE DUNDEE, Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee.
BONPLAND, AIMÉ, a French botanist and traveller, born at Rochelle;
companion of Alexander von Humboldt in his S. American scientific
explorations; brought home a large collection of plants, thousands of
species of them new to Europe; went out again to America, arrested by Dr.
Francia in Paraguay as a spy, kept prisoner there for about nine years;
released, settled in the prov. of Corrientes, where he died; wrote
several works bearing on plants (1773-1858).
BONSTETTEN, CHARLES VICTOR DE, a Swiss publicist and judge, born at
Berne; wrote on anthropology, psychology, &c. (1745-1832).
BONTEMPS, ROGER, a French personification of a state of leisure and
freedom from care.
BONZE, a Buddhist priest in China, Japan, Burmah, &c.
BOOLE, English mathematician, born at Lincoln; mathematical
professor at Cork; author of "Laws of Thought," an original work, and
"Differential Equations" (1815-1864).
BOOMERANG, a missile of hard curved wood used by the Australian
aborigines of 2½ ft. long; a deadly weapon, so constructed that, though
thrown forward, it takes a whirling course upwards till it stops, when it
returns with a swoop and falls in the rear of the thrower.
BOONE, DANIEL, a famous American backwoodsman; _d_. 1822, aged 84.
BOÖTES (the ox-driver or waggoner), a son of Ceres; inventor of the
plough in the Greek mythology; translated along with his ox to become a
constellation in the northern sky, the brightest star in which is
Arcturus.
BOOTH, BARTON, English actor, acted Shakespearean, characters and
Hamlet's ghost (1681-1733).
BOOTH, JOHN WILKES, son of an actor, assassinated Lincoln, and was
shot by his captors (1839-1865).
BOOTH, WILLIAM, founder and general of the Salvation Army, born in
Nottingham; published "In Darkest England"; a man of singular
self-devotion to the religious and social welfare of the race; _b_. 1839.
BOOTHIA, a peninsula of British N. America, W. of the Gulf of
Boothia, and in which the N. magnetic pole of the earth is situated;
discovered by Sir John Boss in 1830.
BOOTON, an island in the Malay Archipelago, SE. of Celebes; subject
to the Dutch.
BOPP, FRANZ, a celebrated German philologist and Sanskrit scholar,
born at Mayence; was professor of Oriental Literature and General
Philology at Berlin; his greatest work, "A Comparative Grammar of
Sanskrit, Zend, Greek, Latin, Lithuanian, Old Slave, Gothic, and German";
translated portions of the "MAHÂBHÂRATA," q. v. (1791-1867).
BORA, KATHARINA, the wife of Luther, born in Meissen, originally a
nun, who, with eight others, was at Luther's instance released from her
convent; proved "a pious and faithful wife" to Luther, as he says of her,
and became the mother to him of six children, three sons and three
daughters (1499-1552).
BORDA, a French mathematician and physicist, born at Dax, in the
dep. of Landes, served in both army and navy; one of those employed in
measuring an arc of the meridian to establish the metric system in France
(1733-1799).
BORDEAUX (256), a great industrial and commercial city, and chief
seat of the wine trade in France and the third seaport on the Garonne;
cap. of the dep. of Gironde; the birthplace of Rosa Bonheur and Richard
II., his father, the Black Prince, having had his seat here as governor
of Aquitaine. There are sugar-refineries, potteries, foundries, glass and
chemical works. The cod-fishing industry has its base here. A cathedral
dates from the 11th century. There are schools of science, art, theology,
medicine, and navigation, a library, museum, and rich picture-gallery.
BORDER MINSTREL, Sir Walter Scott.
BORDERS, THE, the shifting boundary between Scotland and England
before the Union, a centre of endless fighting and marauding on the
opposite sides for centuries.
BORDONE, an Italian painter, born at Treviso, a pupil of Titian and
Giorgione; his most celebrated picture, "The Gondolier presenting the
Ring of St. Mark to the Doge" (1500-1570).
BORE, a watery ridge rushing violently up an estuary, due to a
strong tidal wave travelling up a gradually narrowing channel. Bores are
common in the estuary of the Ganges and other Asiatic rivers, in those of
Brazil, and at the mouth of the Severn, in England.
BOREAS, the god of the north wind, and son of the Titan Astræus and
of Aurora.
BORGHESE, name of a family of high position and great wealth in
Rome: Camillo, having become Pope in 1605 under the title of Paul V.; and
Prince Borghese having married Pauline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon, who
separated himself from her on the fall of her brother (1775-1832); the
palace of the family one of the finest in Rome, and has a rich collection
of paintings.
BORGHESI, COUNT, an Italian savant skilled in numismatics
(1781-1860).
BORGIA, CÆSAR, fourth son of Pope Alexander VI.; was made cardinal
at the age of 17, an honour he relinquished to become a soldier, in which
capacity it is alleged he gave himself up to deeds of inhumanity, which
have made his name a synonym for every action that is most crafty,
revolting, and cruel; a portrait of him by Raphael, in the Borghese
gallery, is a masterpiece. Notwithstanding the execration in which his
memory is held, he is reputed to have been just as a ruler in his own
domain, and a patron of art and literature; _d_. 1507.
BORGIA, FRANCESO, third general of the Order of the Jesuits, a post
he filled with great zeal as well as prudent management; was beatified by
Urban VIII., and canonised by Clement IX., 1671 (1510-1572).
BORGIA, LUCRETIA, sister of Cæsar Borgia, born at Rome; her father
annulled her first marriage, and gave her to a nephew of the king of
Naples, who was murdered by her brother's assassins, when she married the
Duke of Ferrara; was celebrated for her beauty and her patronage of
letters, though she has been accused of enormities as well as her brother
(1480-1523).
BORGU, fertile and densely-peopled state in Africa, traversed by the
Niger, subject to the Royal Niger Company, in one of the chief towns of
which Mungo Park lost his life.
BORLASE, WILLIAM, antiquary and naturalist, born in St. Just,
Cornwall; author of "Observations on the Antiquities of Cornwall" and
"Natural History of Cornwall"; was vicar in his native parish
(1696-1772).
BORN, BERTRAND, one of the most celebrated troubadours of the 12th
century, born in Périgord; aggravated the quarrel between Henry II. of
England and his sons; is placed by Dante in the "Inferno."
BORNE, LUDWIG, a political writer, born at Frankfort, of Jewish
parentage; disgusted with the state of things in Germany, went to Paris
after the Revolution there of 1830; was disappointed with the result, and
turned Radical; he and Heine were at deadly feud (1787-1837).
BORNEO (1,800), an island in the Malay Archipelago, the third
largest in the globe, Australia and New Guinea being larger; its length
800 m., and its breadth 700, covered with mountains in the interior,
Kinabalu the highest (13,000 ft.); has no volcanoes; bordered all round
with wide plains and low marshy ground; rich in vegetation and in
minerals, in gold and precious stones; its forests abound with valuable
timber, teak, ebony, &c.; all tropical crops and spices are cultivated;
the population is Dyak, Malay, and Chinese; possessed in great part by
the Dutch, and in the north part by the British.
BORNHOLM (35), an island belonging to Denmark, in the Baltic; has no
good harbour; agriculture, cattle-breeding, and fishing the occupation of
the inhabitants.
BORNU (5,000), a Mohammedan State in the Central Soudan, W. and S.
of Lake Tehad; famed for a breed of horses; population mostly negroes;
the ruling race of Arab descent, called Shuwas; climate hot and unhealthy
in the low ground, but temperate in the high.
BORO BUDOR, the ruin of a magnificent Buddhist temple in Java,
ornamented with figures of Buddha and scenes in his life, with
representations of battles, processions, chariot races, &c.
BORODINO, a village 70 m. W. of Moscow; the scene of a bloody battle
between Napoleon and the Russians, Sept. 7, 1812.
BORORO, a large Brazilian nation between Cuyaba and Goyaz.
BOROUGH, in Scotland BURGH, is in its modern sense primarily a
town that sends a representative to Parliament; but it is further an area
of local government, exercising police, sanitary, and sometimes
educational, supervision, and deriving its income from rates levied on
property within its bounds, and in Scotland sometimes from "common good"
and petty customs. Its charter may be held from the Crown or granted by
Parliament.
BOROUGH ENGLISH, descent of lands to a youngest son.
BOROWLASKI, COUNT, a Polish dwarf, of perfect symmetry, though only
three feet in height; attained the age of 98.
BORROME`AN ISLANDS, four islands in Lago Maggiore, of which three
were converted into gardens by Count Borromeo in 1671, on one of which
stands a palace of the Borromeos, enriched with fine paintings and other
works of art.
BORROME`O, ST. CARLO, cardinal and archbishop of Milan, a prominent
member of the Council of Trent, and contributed to the Tridentine
Catechism; conspicuous by his self-sacrificing offices during a plague in
the city of which he was the archbishop (1538-1584).
BORROMEO, FREDERIGO, nephew and successor of the preceding, of equal
status in the Church, and similar character (1584-1631).
BORROW, GEORGE HENRY, traveller and philologist, born in Norfolk;
showed early a passion for adventure and a facility in languages; was
appointed agent for the Bible Society in Russia and Spain; in his
fondness for open-air life, associated much with the gipsies; wrote an
account of those in Spain, and a famous book, entitled "The Bible In
Spain"; wrote "Lavengro," his masterpiece (a gipsy designation applied to
him, meaning "word-master," which he was), which is chiefly
autobiography (1803-1831).
BORROWDALE, a valley in the Lake District, W. Cumberland, celebrated
for its beautiful scenery.
BORTHWICK CASTLE, a ruined peel tower, 13 m. SE. of Edinburgh, where
Queen Mary and Bothwell spent four days together in June 1567.
BORY DE SAINT-VINCENT, JEAN BAPTISTE, a French traveller and
naturalist (1780-1846).
BOSCAWEN, EDWARD, a British admiral, known from his fearlessness as
"Old Dreadnought"; distinguished himself in engagements at Puerto Bello,
Cathagena, Cape Finisterre, and the Bay of Lagos, where, after a "sea
hunt" of 24 hours, he wrecked and ruined a fine French fleet, eager to
elude his grasp (1711-1761).
BOSCOVICH, ROGER JOSEPH, an Italian mathematician and astronomer,
born at Ragusa; entered the Order of the Jesuits; was professor in Pavia,
and afterwards at Milan; discovered the equator of the sun and the period
of its rotation; advocated the molecular theory of physics, with which
his name is associated; died insane (1701-1787).
BOSIO, BARON, a celebrated Italian sculptor; patronised in France
(1769-1845).
BOSNA-SERAI (38), capital of Bosnia, and seat of authority.
BOSNIA (1,200), a province in NW. of the Balkan Peninsula, under
Austria-Hungary; the inhabitants of Servian nationality.
BOS`PHORUS (Ox-ford), a channel 17 m. long and from 3 to ½ m. broad,
and about 30 fathoms deep, strongly defended by forts, extending from the
Sea of Marmora to the Black Sea; subject to Turkey. It derives its name
from the channel which, according to the Greek myth, Zeus, in the form of
an ox, crossed into Europe with Europa on his back.
BOS`QUET, PIERRE FRANÇOIS JOSEPH, a marshal of France, distinguished
in Algiers and the Crimea; was wounded at the storming of the Malakoff
(1810-1861).
BOS`SUET, JACQUES BÉNIGNE, bishop of Meaux, born at Dijon, surnamed
the "Eagle of Meaux," of the see of which he became bishop; one of the
greatest of French pulpit orators, and one of the ablest defenders of the
doctrines of the Catholic Church; the great aim of his life the
conversion of Protestants back to the Catholic faith; took a leading part
in establishing the rights of the Gallican clergy, or rather of the
Crown, as against the claims of the Pope; proved himself more a
time-server than a bold, outspoken champion of the truth; conceived a
violent dislike to Madame Guyon, and to Fénélon for his defence of her
and her Quietists; and he is not clear of the guilt of the Revocation of
the Edict of Nantes; wrote largely; his "Discourse on Universal History"
is on approved lines, and the first attempt at a philosophy of history;
his Funeral Orations are monuments of the most sublime eloquence; while
his "Politique founded on Holy Scripture" is a defence of the divine
right of kings. "Bossuet," says Professor Saintsbury, "was more of a
speaker than a writer. His excellence lies in his wonderful survey and
grasp of the subject, in the contagious enthusiasm and energy with which
he attacks his point, and in his inexhaustible metaphors and
comparisons.... Though he is always aiming at the sublime, he scarcely
ever oversteps it, or falls into the bombastic or ridiculous.... The most
unfortunate incident of his life was his controversy with Fénélon"
(1627-1704).
BOSSUT, CHARLES, French mathematician, born near Lyons, _confrère_
of the Encyclopaedists; his chief work "L'Histoire Générale des
Mathématiques"; edited Pascal's works (1730-1814).
BOSTON (19), a Lincolnshire seaport, on the Witham, 30 m. SE. of
Lincoln; exports coal, machinery, corn, and wool, and imports timber and
general goods. There is a large cattle and sheep market, also canvas and
sail-cloth works. Fox, the martyrologist, was a native. It has a spacious
church, which is a conspicuous landmark and beacon at sea.
BOSTON (561), on Massachusetts Bay, is the capital of Massachusetts
and the chief city of New England, one of the best-built and
best-appointed cities of the Union. With an excellent harbour and eight
converging railways it is an emporium of trade, and very wealthy. Sugar,
wool, hides, and chemicals are imported; farm produce, cattle, cotton,
and tobacco exported; boot and shoe making is one of many varied
industries. The many educational institutions and its interest in
literature and art have won for it the title of American Athens. Among
famous natives were Franklin, Poe, and Emerson; while most American men
of letters have been associated with it. The Boston riots of 1770 and
1773 were the heralds of the revolution, and the first battle was fought
at Bunker Hill, not far off, now included in it.
BOSTON, THOMAS, a Scottish divine, born at Duns, educated at
Edinburgh, became minister of Ettrick; author of the "Fourfold State," a
popular exposition of Calvinism, and "The Crook in the Lot," both at one
time much read and studied by the pious Presbyterian burghers and
peasantry of Scotland; the former an account of the state of man, first
in innocence, second as fallen, third as redeemed, and fourth as in
glory. He was a shrewd man and a quaint writer; exercised a great
influence on the religious views of the most pious-minded of his
countrymen (1676-1732).
BOSTON TEA-PARTY, the insurgent American colonists who, disguised as
Indians, boarded, on Dec. 16, 1773, three English ships laden with tea,
and hurled several hundred chests of it into Boston harbour, "making it
black with unexpected tea."
BOSWELL, JAMES, the biographer of Johnson, born at Edinburgh, showed
early a penchant for writing and an admiration for literary men; fell in
with Johnson on a visit to London in 1763, and conceived for him the most
devoted regard; made a tour with him to the Hebrides in 1773, the
"Journal" of which he afterwards published; settled in London, and was
called to the English bar; succeeded, in 1782, to his father's estate,
Auchinleck, in Ayrshire, with an income of £1600 a year. Johnson dying in
1784, Boswell's "Life" of him appeared five years after, a work unique in
biography, and such as no man could have written who was not a
hero-worshipper to the backbone. He succumbed in the end to intemperate
habits, aggravated by the death of his wife (1740-1795).
BOSWELL, SIR ALEXANDER, son and heir of the preceding, an antiquary;
mortally wounded in a duel with James Stuart of Dunearn, who had impugned
his character, for which the latter was tried, but acquitted (1775-1822).
BOSWORTH, a town in Leicestershire, near which Richard III. lost
both crown and life in 1485, an event which terminated the Wars of the
Roses and led to the accession of the Tudor dynasty to the throne of
England in the person of Henry VII.
BOSWORTH, JOSEPH, an Anglo-Saxon scholar, born in Derbyshire; became
professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford; was the author of an Anglo-Saxon
Grammar and Dictionary (1789-1876).
BOTANY BAY, an inlet in New South Wales, 5 m. S. of Sydney;
discovered by Captain Cook in 1770; so called, by Sir Joseph Banks, from
the variety and beauty of its flora; was once an English convict
settlement.
BOTH, JOHN AND ANDREW, Flemish painters of the 17th century, the
former a landscape and the latter a figure painter; worked frequently on
the same canvas.
BOTHNIA, a prov. of Sweden, divided into E. and W. by a gulf of the
name.
BOTHWELL, a village in Lanarkshire, on the Clyde, 8 m. SE. of
Glasgow; scene of a battle between Monmouth and the Covenanters in 1679.
BOTHWELL, JAMES HEPBURN, Earl of, one of the envoys sent in 1560 to
convey Mary, Queen of Scots, from France home; was made Privy Councillor
the year after; had to flee to France for an act of conspiracy; was
recalled by Mary on her marriage with Darnley; was a great favourite with
the queen; was believed to have murdered Darnley, though when tried, was
acquitted; carried off Mary to Dunbar Castle; pardoned; was made Duke of
Orkney, and married to her at Holyrood; parted with her at Carberry Hill;
fled to Norway, and was kept captive there at Malmöe; after ten years of
misery he died, insane, as is believed (1525-1577).
BOTOCUDOS, a wandering wild tribe in the forests of Brazil, near the
coast; a very low type of men, and at a very low stage of civilisation;
are demon-worshippers, and are said to have no numerals beyond _one_.
BO-TREE, a species of Ficus, sacred to the Buddhists as the tree
under which Buddha sat when the light of life first dawned on him. See
BUDDHA.
BOTTA, CARLO GIUSEPPE, an Italian political historian, born in
Piedmont; his most important work is his "History of Italy from 1789 to
1814"; was the author of some poems (1766-1837).
BOTTA, PAUL ÉMILE, Assyriologist, born at Turin, son of the
preceding; when consul at Mosul, in 1843, discovered the ruins of
Nineveh; made further explorations, published in the "Memoire de
l'Ecriture Cunéiform Assyrienne" and "Monuments de Ninive" (1802-1870).
BÖTTGER, an alchemist who, in his experiments on porcelain, invented
the celebrated Meissen porcelain (1682-1719).
BOTTICELLI, SANDRO, or ALESSANDRO, a celebrated painter of the
Florentine school; began as a goldsmith's apprentice; a pupil of Fra
Lippo Lippi; the best-known examples of his art are on religious
subjects, though he was no less fascinated with classical--mythological
conceptions; is distinguished for his attention to details and for
delicacy, particularly in the drawing of flowers; and it is a rose on the
petticoat of one of his figures, the figure of Spring, which Ruskin has
reproduced on the title-page of his recent books, remarking that "no one
has ever yet drawn, or is likely to draw, roses as he has done;... he
understood," he adds, "the thoughts of heathens and Christians equally,
and could in a measure paint both Aphrodité and the Madonna" (1447-1515).
BÖTTIGER, KARL AUGUSTE, German archæologist, was a voluminous writer
on antiquities, especially classical (1760-1835).
BOTTOM, a weaver in the interlude in "Midsummer-Night's Dream,"
whom, with his ass's head, Titania falls in love with under the influence
of a love-potion.
BOTZARIS, one of the heroes of the war of Greek independence
(1789-1823).
BOUCHARDON, a celebrated French sculptor (1698-1762).
BOUCHER, a French painter, born at Paris (1703-1770).
BOUCHER DE PERTHES, French naturalist and anthropologist, born in
Ardennes (1783-1868).
BOUCICAULT, DION, a dramatic writer, author of popular Irish pieces,
as "The Colleen Bawn" and "The Shaughraun" (1822-1890).
BOUCICAUT, MARSHAL DE, one of the bravest and noblest of French
soldiers, born at Tours; distinguished in several famous battles; was
taken captive by the English at Agincourt; died in England (1364-1421).
BOUFFLERS, CHEVALIER DE, field-marshal of France, courtier and
author (1737-1815).
BOUFFLERS, MARQUIS DE, marshal of France, distinguished for his
defence of Namur (1695) and of Lille (1708), and his masterly retreat
from Malplaquet (1645-1711).
BOUGAINVILLE, LOUIS ANTOINE DE, a French navigator, born in Paris;
voyaged round the world, which occupied him two years and a half; his
"Travels" had a remarkably stimulating effect on the imaginations of the
"philosophies," as described by him in "Un Voyage autour du Monde"
(1729-1811).
BOUGH, SAM, landscape painter, born at Carlisle, and settled in
Edinburgh for 20 years (1822-1878).
BOUGUER, PIERRE, French physicist, born in Brittany; wrote on optics
and the figure of the earth (1698-1758).
BOUGUEREAU, ADOLPHE, a distinguished French painter, born at
Rochelle in 1825; his subjects both classical and religious, as well as
portraits.
BOUHOUR, LE PÈRE, French littérateur, born at Paris (1628-1702).
BOUILLÉ, MARQUIS DE, a French general, born in Auvergne, distinguished in
the Seven Years' War, in the West Indies and during the Revolution; "last
refuge of royalty in all straits"; favoured the flight of Louis XVI.; a
"quick, choleric, sharp-discerning, stubbornly-endeavouring man, with
suppressed-explosive resolution, with valour, nay, headlong audacity;
muzzled and fettered by diplomatic pack-threads,... an intrepid,
adamantine man"; did his utmost for royalty, failed, and quitted France;
died in London, and left "Memoirs of the French Revolution" (1759-1800).
See for the part he played in it, CARLYLE'S "FRENCH REVOLUTION."
BOUILLON, district in Belgium, originally a German duchy; belonged
to Godfrey, the crusader, who pledged it to raise funds for the crusade.
BOUILLY, JEAN NICOLAS, a French dramatist, born near Tours,
nicknamed, from his sentimentality "poète lacrymal" (1763-1842).
BOULAINVILLIERS, a French historian, author of a "History of
Mahomet" (1658-1722).
BOULAK (20), the port of Cairo, on the Nile.
BOULAN`GER, JEAN MARIE, a French general, born at Rennes; of note
for the political intrigues with which he was mixed up during the last
years of his life, and the dangerous popular enthusiasm which he excited;
accused of peculation; fled the country, and committed suicide at
Brussels (1837-1891).
BOULAY DE LA MEURTHE, a French statesman, distinguished as an
orator; took part in the redaction of the Civil Code; was a faithful
adherent of Napoleon (1761-1840). Henri, a son, vice-president of the
Republic from 1849 to 1851 (1797-1858).
BOULDER, a large mass or block of rock found in localities often far
removed from the place of its formation, and transported thither on the
ice of the Glacial Age.
BOULEVARD, the rampart of a fortified city converted into a
promenade flanked by rows of trees and a feature of Paris in particular,
though the boulevard is not always on the line of a rampart.
BOULOGNE, BOIS DE, a promenade between Paris and St. Cloud, much
frequented by people of fashion, and a favourite place of recreation; it
rivals that of the Champs Elysées.
BOULOGNE-SUR-MER (46), a fortified seaport in France, on the English
Channel, in the dep. of Pas-de-Calais, 27 m. SW. of Calais, one of the
principal ports for debarkation from England; where Napoleon collected in
1803 a flotilla to invade England; is connected by steamer with
Folkestone, and a favourite watering-place; the chief station of the
North Sea fisheries; is the centre of an important coasting trade, and
likely to become a naval station.
BOULOGNE-SUR-SEINE (32), a town on the right bank of the Seine, 5 m.
SW. of Paris, from which it is separated by the Bois-de-Boulogne.
BOULTON, MATTHEW, an eminent engineer, born at Birmingham; entered
into partnership with James Watt, and established with him a manufactory
of steam-engines at Soho, on a barren heath near his native place;
contributed to the improvement of the coinage (1728-1809).
"BOUNTY," MUTINY OF THE, a mutiny which took place on the ship
_Bounty_, on the 28th April 1789, bound from Otaheite to the West Indies,
on the part of 25 of the crew, who returned to Otaheite after setting the
captain (Bligh) adrift with others in an open boat. Bligh reached England
after a time, reported the crime, to the seizure at length of certain of
the offenders and the execution of others. Those who escaped founded a
colony on Pitcairn Island.
BOURBAKI, CHARLES DENIS SOTER, a French general, born at Pau, served
in the Crimean War and in Italy, suffered disastrously in the
Franco-German War, and attempted suicide; served for a time under
Gambetta, afterwards retired; _b_. 1816.
BOURBON, a family of French origin, hailing from Bourbonnais,
members of which occupied for generations the thrones of France, Naples,
and Spain, and who severally ruled their territories under a more or less
overweening sense of their rights as born to reign. Two branches, both of
which trace back to Henry IV., held sway in France, one beginning with
Louis XIV., eldest son of Louis XIII., and the other, called the Orleans,
with Philip of Orleans, second son of Louis XIII., the former ending with
Charles X. and his family, and the latter ending with Louis Philippe and
his line. The branches of the family ruling in Spain and Naples began
with Philip VI., grandson of Louis XIV., the former branch still (1899)
in power, the latter ending with Francis II. in 1860.
BOURBON, CHARLES DE, styled the Constable de Bourbon, acquired
immense wealth by the death of an elder brother and by his marriage, and
lived in royal state; was for his daring in the field named Constable of
France by Francis I.; offended at some, perhaps imaginary, injustice
Francis did him, he clandestinely entered the service of the Emperor
Charles V., defeated the French at Pavia, and took Francis captive;
parted from Charles, laid siege to Rome, and fell in the assault,
mortally wounded, it is said, by Benvenuto Cellini (1489-1527).
BOURBONNAIS, ancient province in the centre of France, being the
duchy of Bourbon; united to the crown in 1531; cap. Moulins.
BOURDALOUE, LOUIS, a French Jesuit, born at Bourges, called the
"king of preachers, and preacher of kings"; one of the most eloquent
pulpit orators of France; did not suffer by comparison with Bossuet, his
contemporary, though junior; one of the most earnest and powerful of his
sermons, the one entitled "The Passion," is deemed the greatest. His
sermons are ethical in their matter from a Christian standpoint,
carefully reasoned, and free from ornament, but fearless and
uncompromising (1632-1704).
BOURDON, SEBASTIAN, a French painter, born at Montpellier; his
_chef-d'oeuvre_ "The Crucifixion of St. Peter," executed for the church
of Notre Dame (1616-1671).
BOURDON DE L'OISE, a French revolutionist, member of the Convention;
banished to Guiana, where he died in 1791.
BOURGELAT, a famous French veterinary surgeon, born at Lyons, and
founder of veterinary colleges at Lyons in 1762; was an authority on
horse management, and often consulted on the matter (1712-1779).
BOURGEOIS, SIR FRANCIS, painter to George III.; left his collection
to Dulwich College, and £10,000 to build a gallery for them (1756-1811).
BOURGEOISIE, the name given in France to the middle class,
professional people, and merchants, as distinguished from the nobles and
the peasants, but applied by the Socialists to the capitalists as
distinct from the workers.
BOURGES (43), a French town in the dep. of Cher; birthplace of Louis
XI. and Bourdaloue.
BOURGET, PAUL, an eminent French novelist and essayist, born at
Amiens; a subtle analyst of character, with a clear and elegant style, on
which he bestows great pains; his novels are what he calls
"psychological," and distinct from the romantist and naturalistic; _b_.
1852.
BOURIGNON, ANTOINETTE, a Flemish visionary and fanatic; resolved
religion into emotion; brought herself into trouble by the wild fancies
she promulgated, to the derangement of others as well as herself
(1615-1680).
BOURMONT, LOUIS AUGUSTE VICTOR, COMTE DE, a French marshal; at the
Revolution joined the Bourbons on the frontiers; served the royal cause
in La Vendée; held high commands under Napoleon; commanded under Ney on
Napoleon's return from Elba; deserted on the eve of Waterloo to Louis
XVIII.; gave evidence against Ney to his execution; commanded the
expedition against Algiers; refused allegiance to Louis Philippe on his
accession, and was dismissed the service (1773-1846).
BOURNE, HUGH, founder of the Primitive Methodists, and a zealous
propagator of their principles; he was a carpenter by trade, and he
appears to have wrought at his trade while prosecuting his mission, which
he did extensively both in Britain and America (1772-1852).
BOURNEMOUTH (38), a town in Hants, on Poole Bay, 37 m. SW. of
Southampton, with a fine sandy beach; a great health resort; is of
recent, and has been of rapid, growth.
BOURRIENNE, LOUIS ANTOINE FAUVELET, secretary of Napoleon, and a
school friend, born at Sens; held the post for five years, but dismissed
for being implicated in disgraceful money transactions; joined the
Bourbons at the Restoration; the Revolution of 1830 and the loss of his
fortune affected his mind, and he died a lunatic at Caen; wrote "Memoirs"
disparaging to Napoleon (1769-1834).
BOUSSA, a town in Central Africa, capital of a State of the same
name, where Mungo Park lost his life as he was going up the Niger.
BOUSTROPHE`DON, an ancient mode of writing from right to left, and
then from left to right, as in ploughing a field.
BOUTERWEK, FRIEDRICH, a German philosopher and professor of
Philosophy at Göttingen; a disciple of Kant, then of Jacobi, and
expounder of their doctrines; wrote "History of Poetry and Eloquence
among the Modern Races" (1766-1828).
BOWDICH, THOMAS EDWARD, an English traveller, born at Bristol; sent
on a mission to Guinea, and penetrated as far as Coomassie; wrote an
interesting account of it in his "Mission to Ashanti" (1791-1824).
BOWDITCH, NATHANIEL, American mathematician, born at Salem,
Massachusetts; a practical scientist; published "Practical Navigation,"
translated the "Mécanique Céleste" of Laplace, accompanied with an
elaborate commentary (1773-1838).
BOWDLER, THOMAS, an English physician; edited expurgated editions of
Shakespeare and Gibbon in the interest of moral purity; added in
consequence a new term to the English language, Bowdlerism (1754-1825).
BOWDOIN, JAMES, an American statesman, born in Boston, of French
extraction; a zealous advocate of American independence; author of
"Discourse on the Constitution of the United States" (1727-1790).
BOWEN, RICHARD, a gallant British naval commander, distinguished
himself in several engagements, and by his captures of the enemy's ships;
killed by grape-shot at the storming of Santa Cruz, at the moment when
Nelson was wounded (1761-1797).
BOWER, WALTER, abbot of Inchcolm, Scottish chronicler; continued
Fordun's History down to the death of James I. in 1437 from 1153
(1385-1449).
BOWLES, WILLIAM LISLE, a poet, born in Northamptonshire; his
sonnets, by their "linking," as Professor Saintsbury has it, "of nature's
aspect to human feeling," were much admired by Coleridge, and their
appearance is believed to have inaugurated a new era in English poetry,
as developed in the Lake School (1762-1850).