KARL MASLOWSKI/PHOTO RESEARCHERS
Barnacle
ANTHONY MERCIECA, FROM ROOT RESOURCES-EB INC.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Barnard's ► Baroque I 169
inspections, textbook reviews, and parent-teacher organizations. As Rhode Island’s first commissioner of education (from 1845) he worked to raise teachers’ wages, repair build¬ ings, and obtain higher-education appropriations. In 1855 he helped found the American Journal of Edu¬ cation. He was chancellor of the University of Wisconsin (1858-61).
In 1867 he became the first U.S. commissioner of education, in which post he established a federal agency to collect national educational data.
Barnard's Vbar-nsrdzV star Star about six light-years away from the Sun, next nearest the Sun after the Alpha Centauri system, in the constel¬ lation Ophiuchus. Named for Edward Emerson Barnard (b.
1857—d. 1923), who discovered it in 1916, it has the largest proper motion of any known star. It is gradu¬ ally nearing the solar system. The star attracted astronomers’ attention in the 1960s when its proper motion was claimed to show periodic deviations attributed to the gravitational pull of two planets (see planets of other stars). The deviations were later proved to be artifacts of measurement.
Barnburners See Hunkers and Barnburners
Barnes, Albert C(oombs) (b. Jan. 2, 1872, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—d. July 24, 1951, Chester county. Pa.) Pharmaceutical manufacturer and art collector. He obtained a medical degree and later studied in Ger¬ many. In 1902 he made a fortune with his invention of the antiseptic Argyrol. After building a mansion in Merion, Pa., in 1905, he began to collect art seriously, amassing some 180 paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 66 by Paul Cezanne, 35 by Pablo Picasso, and an extraordinary col¬ lection of 65 works by Henri Matisse. The Barnes Foundation, housed in quarters next to his Merion home, was chartered on Dec. 4, 1922, and opened in 1925. The 22-room structure displayed his collection in a highly personal manner that eschewed standard museum practice. The founda¬ tion also was intended to promote art education by providing art classes and by establishing a publishing program. (Barnes himself wrote and coauthored a number of books on art.) In 1961, after extensive litigation, his galleries were opened to the public.
Barnes, Djuna (b. June 12, 1892, Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y., U.S.—d. June 18?, 1982, New York, N.Y.) U.S. writer. Barnes worked as an artist and journalist in her youth. She went to Paris in 1920, where she became a well-known figure in the literary scene. She wrote plays, short stories, and poems; her masterpiece, the novel Nightwood (1936), tells of the homosexual and heterosexual loves of five extraordinary people. After returning to New York in 1940, she wrote little and lived reclusively.
Barnet \bar-'net\, Charlie orig. Charles Daly Barnet (b. Oct. 26, 1913, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Sept., 4, 1991, San Diego, Calif.) U.S. saxophonist and big-band leader of the swing era. Born to a wealthy fam¬ ily, Barnet took up the saxophone as a child and eventually performed on tenor, alto, and soprano. His was among the first of the big bands to be racially integrated, and his unabashed admiration for Duke Ellington and Count Basie resulted in an effective synthesis of their styles. His best- known recording was “Cherokee” (1939).
Barnett, Ida B. Wells- See Ida B. Wells
Barnsley Town and metropolitan borough (pop., 2001: 218,062), north¬ ern England. Located on the River Dearne, the town lies in the ceremo¬ nial county of South Yorkshire. Its major growth came in the 19th century as a coal-mining town in the heart of the Yorkshire coalfield. Local coal production has declined since the early 20th century, and light industries have been promoted.
Barnum, P(hineas) T(aylor) (b. July 5, 1810, Bethel, Conn., U.S.—d. April 7, 1891, Bridgeport, Conn.) U.S. showman. In 1841 he bought the American Museum, a collection of conventional exhibits in New York City, and transformed it into a carnival of live freaks and dra¬
matic curiosities, which he promoted with sensational publicity. He exhib¬ ited the midget Tom Thumb with great international success and brought Jenny Lind (billed as the “Swedish Nightingale”) to the U.S. for a profit¬ able concert tour in 1850. By the time his museum closed in 1868 after several fires, he had enticed 82 million visitors there. In 1871 he started a circus and in 1881 joined a rival, James A. Bailey (1847-1906), to form the three-ring Barnum and Bailey’s Circus, which featured the elephant Jumbo as part of the “Greatest Show on Earth.”
Barocci \ba-'rot-che\, Federico (b. c.1526, Urbino, Duchy of Urbino, Papal States—d. 1612, Urbino) Italian painter. Except for two visits to Rome (mid 1550s, 1560-63), where he painted frescoes for Pope Pius IV’s casino in the Vatican Gardens, he seems to have spent his whole life in and near Urbino. He executed altarpieces and devotional paintings in a style characterized by subtle colour harmonies and warmth of feeling. His patrons included the duke of Urbino and Emperor Rudolf II (1552— 1612), and he received commissions from the cathedrals of Genoa and Perugia. His famous works include the Deposition (1567-69) and the Madonna del Popolo (1579). A prolific draftsman, he was one of the first artists to use coloured chalks. He enjoyed a long and productive career, becoming one of the leading painters in central Italy.
Baroda See Vadodara
Baroja \ba-'ro-ha\ (y Nessi), Pio (b. Dec. 28, 1872, San Sebastian, Spain—d. Oct. 30, 1956, Madrid) Basque writer. He wrote 11 trilogies dealing with contemporary social problems, the best known of which is The Struggle for Life (1904). His most ambitious project was a long cycle of works about a 19th-century insurgent and his era. He wrote almost 100 novels, including Zalacain el aventurero (1909). Because of his anti- Christian views, stubborn insistence on nonconformity, and somewhat pessimistic tone, he never achieved great popularity. He is considered the foremost Spanish novelist of his time.
barometer Device used to measure atmospheric pressure. Because atmo¬ spheric pressure changes with distance above or below sea level, a barom¬ eter can also be used to measure altitude. In the mercury barometer, atmospheric pressure balances a column of mercury, the height of which can be precisely measured. Normal atmospheric pressure is about 14.7 lb per square inch, equivalent to 30 in. (760 mm) of mercury. Other liquids can be used in barometers, but mercury is the most common because of its great density. An aneroid barometer indicates pressure on a dial using a needle that is mechanically linked to a partially evacuated chamber, which responds to pressure changes.
barometric pressure See atmospheric pressure
baron Title of nobility, ranking in modern times immediately below a viscount or a count (in countries without viscounts). The wife of a baron is a baroness. Originally, in the early Middle Ages, the term designated a tenant of whatever rank who held a tenure of barony direct from the king. Gradually, it came to mean a powerful personage, and therefore a mag¬ nate. The rights and title may be conferred for military or other honor¬ able service.
baronet British hereditary rank of honor, first created by James I in 1611 to raise money, ostensibly for support of troops in Ulster. The baronetage is not part of the peerage, nor is it an order of knighthood. A baronet ranks below a baron but above all knights except a Knight of the Garter (see Order of the Garter). The baronetcy is inherited by the male heirs of a baronet.
Baroque, Late See Rococo style
Baroque \b3-'rok\ architecture Architectural style originating in late 16th-century Italy and lasting in some regions, notably Germany and colonial South America, until the 18th century. It had its origins in the Counter-Reformation, when the Catholic Church launched an overtly emo¬ tional and sensory appeal to the faithful through art and architecture. Complex architectural plan shapes, often based on the oval, and the dynamic opposition and interpenetration of spaces were favoured to heighten the feeling of motion and sensuality. Other characteristic quali¬ ties include grandeur, drama and contrast (especially in lighting), curva¬ ceousness, and an often dizzying array of rich surface treatments, twisting elements, and gilded statuary. Architects unabashedly applied bright colours and illusory, vividly painted ceilings. Outstanding practitioners in Italy included Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Carlo Maderno (1556-1629), Francesco Borromini, and Guarino Guarini (1624-83). Classical elements