barbet \'bar-bot\ Any of about 75 species of tropical birds (family Cap- itonidae) named for the bristles at the base of their stout, sharp bill. They are big-headed and short-tailed,
3.5-12 in. (9-30 cm) long, and greenish or brownish with splashes of bright colours or white. Barbets are found throughout Central America and in northern South America, in sub-Saharan Africa, and in South Asia. They all fly weakly, and they sit in treetops when not feeding on insects, lizards, birds’ eggs, fruits, and berries. They call loudly while jerking the head or tail.
Maddeningly vocal or repetitious species are sometimes called brain-fever birds.
Barbie in full Barbara Millicent Roberts A plastic doll, 11.5 in. (29 cm) tall, with the figure of an adult woman that was introduced in 1959 by Mattel, Inc., a southern California toy company. Ruth Handler, who cofounded Mattel with her husband, Elliot, spearheaded the introduction of the doll. Since the 1970s, Barbie has been criticized for materialism (amassing cars, houses, and clothes) and unrealistic body proportions. Yet many women who had played with the doll as girls credit Barbie with pro¬ viding an alternative to restrictive 1950s gender roles. Today the doll has come to symbolize consumer capitalism and is a global brand, with key markets in Europe, Latin America, and Japan. Barbie never caught on in the Muslim world, however. In 1995 Saudi Arabia stopped its sale because it violated the Islamic dress code. Similar dolls, complete with hijabs (head coverings), were eventually marketed to Muslim girls.
Barbie, Klaus (b. Oct. 25, 1913, Bad Godesberg, Ger.—d. Sept. 25, 1991, Lyon, France) Nazi leader. As head of the Gestapo in Lyon, France (1942-44), he pursued members of the French Resistance and promoted the torture and execution of thousands of prisoners. After World War II he was seized by U.S. authorities in Germany, who recruited him for counterintelligence work (1947-51) and then moved him and his family to Bolivia. He lived there as a businessman from 1951 until he was extra¬ dited to France in 1983 to stand trial. Throughout his trial “the Butcher of Lyon” remained unrepentant and proud of his service to the Nazis. Held responsible for the death of some 4,000 persons and the deportation of some 7,500 others, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
barbiturate \bar-'bi-cli3-r3t\ Any of a class of heterocyclic compounds based on the parent structure, uric acid, and used in medicine. They depress the central nervous system, acting particularly on certain parts of
the brain, though they tend to depress the functioning of all the body’s tissues. Long-acting barbiturates (e.g., barbital and phenobarbital) are used to treat epilepsy. Intermediate ones (e.g., amobarbital) are used to treat insomnia, short-acting ones (e.g., pentobarbital) to overcome difficulty in falling asleep (one aspect of insomnia), and ultra-short-acting ones (e.g., thiopental sodium) to induce unconsciousness in surgical patients before administration of other anesthetics. Prolonged use of barbiturates may lead to addiction. Sudden withdrawal can be fatal; addicts must be weaned from the drug under medical supervision. Overdoses can result in coma and even death; barbiturates are particularly dangerous, even at normal doses, when combined with alcoholic beverages.
Barbizon \,bar-b3- , zon\ school Group of 19th-century French land¬ scape painters. They were part of a larger European movement toward naturalism that made a significant contribution to realism in French land¬ scape painting. Led by Theodore Rousseau and Jean-Francois Millet, they attracted a large following of painters who came to live at Barbizon, a village near Paris; most notable of this group were Charles-Francois Daubigny, Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Pena, Jules Dupre, Charles-Emile Jacque, and Constant Troyon. Each had his own style, but all emphasized painting out-of-doors directly from nature, using a limited palette, and creating atmosphere or mood in their landscapes.
Barbosa \bar-'bo-s9\, Ruy (b. Nov. 5, 1849, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil—d. March 1, 1923, Petropolis) Brazilian orator, statesman, and jurist. Barbosa, an eloquent liberal, wrote the constitution for Brazil’s newly formed republic in 1890 and held various posts, including minis¬ ter of finance, in the provisional government that launched the republic. He became a senator in 1895, and in 1907 he led a delegation to the sec¬ ond of the Hague Conventions, where he gained international renown for his oratory and for his defense of the legal equality of rich and poor nations. He ran for president in 1910 on an antimilitary platform, and again in 1919, but lost both times.
Barbuda See Antigua and Barbuda
Barca, Pedro Calderon de la See Pedro Calderon de la Barca
Barcelona \bar-s3-'lo-n9\ Seaport city (pop., 2005 est.: 1,593,075), capital of Catalonia autonomous region, northeastern Spain. Spain’s larg¬ est port and second largest city, it is the country’s principal industrial and commercial centre, as well as a major cultural and educational centre. It is said to have been founded in the 3rd century bc by the Carthaginians or the Phoenicians, and it was later ruled by the Romans and Visigoths. It was captured by the Moors c. ad 715, but it was retaken by the Franks under Charlemagne in 801 and made the capital of the Spanish March (Catalonia). After Catalonia united with Aragon in 1137, Barcelona became a flourishing commercial centre and the rival of Italian ports. In the 19th century it was a cauldron for radical social movements and Cat¬ alan separatism. It was the loyalist capital in 1937-39 during the Spanish Civil War; its capture by Francisco Franco brought the collapse of Cata¬ lan resistance and Catalonia’s reintegration into Spain. Modern Barcelona is known for its handsome architecture, including buildings by Antoni Gaudi. It hosted the 1992 Summer Olympic Games.
Barclay de Tolly Xbar-'kll-do-'to-leX, Mikhail (Bogdanovich), Prince (b. Dec. 13, 1761, Pamuskis, Poland-Lithuania—d. May 14, 1818, Insterburg, East Prussia) Russian field marshal prominent in the Napoleonic Wars. A member of a Scottish family that had settled in Livo¬ nia, Barclay entered the Russian army in 1786. In 1812 he took command of one of two Russian armies operating against Napoleon. His strategy of avoiding decisive action and retreating into Russia proved unpopular, and he was forced to resign his command. He took part in the invasion of France in 1814, and in 1815 he was commander in chief of the Russian army that invaded France after Napoleon’s return from Elba.
Barcoo River See Cooper Creek
bard Celtic tribal poet-singer gifted in composing and reciting verses of eulogy and satire or of heroes and their deeds. The institution died out in Gaul but survived in Ireland, where bards have preserved a tradition of chanting poetic eulogy, and in Wales, where the bardic order was codi¬ fied into distinct grades in the 10th century. Despite a decline in the late Middle Ages, the Welsh tradition is celebrated in the annual National Eist¬ eddfod.
Bard College Private liberal arts college founded in 1860 in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, U.S. It was founded by John Bard and
Crimson-headed barbet (Cap/Yo bourcieri).
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© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Bardeen ► bark painting I 167
Episcopal church leaders as St. Stevens, an Episcopal college for men. The name was changed to Bard College in 1934. Between 1928 and 1944 it served as Columbia University’s undergraduate school. It became coedu¬ cational in 1944. Its undergraduate curriculum includes courses in the social sciences, languages and literature, arts, and natural sciences and mathematics.