Bernhard \'bern- l hart\ (b. June 29, 1911, Jena, Ger.—d. Dec. 1, 2004, Utrecht, Neth.) Prince of The Netherlands. The son of Prince Bernhard Casimir of Lippe-Biesterfeld, Bernhard married the Dutch crown prin¬ cess Juliana in 1937 and took Dutch citizenship. He opposed Germany’s invasion of The Netherlands and took his family to Britain after the Dutch surrender (1940). In World War II he served as the Dutch liaison with the British armed forces, flew with the Royal Air Force (1942—44), and led Dutch troops in the Allied offensive in The Netherlands (1945). After the war and Juliana’s accession as queen (1948-80), he became The Neth¬ erlands’ goodwill ambassador. He was active in conservation efforts and in 1961 helped found the World Wildlife Fund. In 1976 he was implicated in a bribery scandal that temporarily tarnished the monarchy.
Bernhardi Vbern-.har-deV, Friedrich von (b. 1849, Estonia, Russian Empire—d. 1930) German soldier and military writer. He fought in the Franco-Prussian War and became commander of the Seventh Army corps in 1909. In 1911 he published Germany and the Next War, arguing that Germany had a right and responsibility to wage war to gain the power it deserved. The Allies later considered his book a contributing cause of World War I, in which Bernhardi served as a corps commander.
Bernhardt \ber-'nar,\ English Vbom-.hartA, Sarah orig. Henriette- Rosine Bernard (b. Oct. 22/23,
1844, Paris, France—d. March 26,
1923, Paris) French actress. The ille¬ gitimate child of a courtesan, she was encouraged to pursue a theatri¬ cal career by one of her mother’s lovers, the duke de Morny. After a brief appearance at the Comedie- Francaise (1862-63), she joined the Odeon theatre (1866-72), where she acted in Kean by Alexandre Dumas pere and Ruy Bias by Victor Hugo, charming audiences with her “golden voice.” Returning to the Comedie-Fran^aise (1872-80), she starred in Phedre to great acclaim in Paris and London. She formed her own company in 1880 and toured the world in The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas fils, Adrienne Lecouvreur by Eugene Scribe, four plays written for her by Victorien Sardou, and The Eaglet by Edmond Rostand. After an injury to her leg forced its amputation (1915), she strapped on a wooden leg and chose roles she could play largely seated. One of the best-known figures in the history of the stage, she was made a member of France’s Legion of Honour in 1914.
Bernicia \ber-'ni-sh9\ Ancient northern Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It stretched northward from perhaps as far south as the River Tees, ultimately reaching the Firth of Forth. By the end of the 7th century ad it had united with its neighbour Deira to form the kingdom of Northumbria. It had a royal residence at coastal Bamburgh. The first recorded king, Ida, was crowned there in 547; his grandson Aethelfrith (r. 593-616) united Ber¬ nicia and Deira.
Bernini, Gian Lorenzo (b. Dec. 7, 1598, Naples, Kingdom of Naples—d. Nov. 28, 1680, Rome, Papal States) Italian architect and art¬ ist credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture. He began his career working for his father, a sculptor. Among his early sculptures are Apollo and Daphne (1622-24) and an active David (1623-24). Under the patronage of Urban VIII, the first of eight popes he was to serve, he cre¬ ated the baldachin over the tomb of St. Peter in Rome. Bernini’s architec¬ tural duties increased after 1629, when he was appointed architect of St. Peter's Basilica and the Palazzo Barberini. His works often represent a fusion of architecture and sculpture, as in the Comaro Chapel, in Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, with its celebrated theatrical sculpture, The Ecstasy of St. Teresa (1645-52). His greatest architectural achievement is the colonnade enclosing the piazza before St. Peter’s. Among his many
Sarah Bernhardt, photograph by Napoleon Sarony, 1880.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Bernoulli ► Berry I 207
other contributions to Rome are his Triton Fountain and Fountain of the Four Rivers, noted for their architec¬ tural composition and detail.
Bernoulli \ber-'nu-le\ family Two generations of distinguished Swiss mathematicians. Jakob (1655—
1705) and Johann (1667-1748) were the sons of a pharmacist who wanted one boy to study theology and the other medicine. Over his objections, both pursued careers in mathematics, making important discoveries in cal¬ culus, the calculus of variations, and differential equations. They some¬ times worked together, but not with¬ out friction. Johann’s son Daniel (1700-82) made important contribu¬ tions to fluid dynamics (see Bernoul¬ li's principle) and probability theory.
Widely admired throughout Europe, he also studied and lectured on medi¬ cine, physics, astronomy, and botany.
Bernoulli's principle or Bernoulli's theorem Principle that relates pressure, velocity, and height for a nonviscous fluid with steady flow. A consequence is that, for horizontal flow, as the speed of a fluid increases, the pressure it exerts decreases. Derived by Daniel Bernoulli (see Ber¬ noulli family), the principle explains the lift of an airplane in motion. As the speed of the plane increases, air flows faster over the curved top of the wing than underneath. The upward pressure exerted by the air under the wing is thus greater than the pressure exerted downward above the wing, resulting in a net upward force, or lift. Race cars use the principle to keep their wheels pressed to the ground as they accelerate. A race car’s spoiler—shaped like an upside-down wing, with the curved surface at the bottom—produces a net downward force.
Bernstein Vbern-shtuA, Eduard (b. Jan. 6, 1850, Berlin, Prussia—d. Dec. 18, 1932, Berlin, Germany) German politician and writer. He joined the German Social Democratic Party in 1872, then spent years in exile as an editor of socialist journals. In London he met Friedrich Engels and was influenced by the Fabian Society. Returning to Germany in 1901, Bern¬ stein became the political theorist of the revisionists and was one of the first socialists to modify such Marxist tenets as the imminent collapse of capitalism. He envisaged a type of social democracy that combined pri¬ vate initiative with social reform. As a member of the Reichstag (1902- 06, 1912-16, 1920-28), he inspired much of the reformist programs of the Social Democrats.
Apollo and Daphne, marble sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1622-24; in the Borghese Gallery, Rome.
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Bernstein, Leonard (b. Aug. 25, 1918, Lawrence, Mass., U.S.—d. Oct. 14, 1990, New York, N.Y.) U.S. conductor, composer, and writer. He resolved on a music career only after graduating from Harvard University.
He studied conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music with Fritz Reiner and then at Tanglewood (in Lenox,
Mass.), where he met Aaron Cop¬ land and became Serge Koussevitzky’s assistant. Fame came abruptly in 1943 when he substituted on short notice for the conductor of the New York Philharmonic orchestra and was praised for his technical self- assurance and interpretive excel¬ lence. In 1944 he triumphed with his music for Jerome Robbins’s ballet Fancy Free and the Broadway show On the Town. As a composer he made use of diverse elements ranging from biblical themes to jazz rhythms. His best-known composition was the score for the hit musical West Side Story (1957); other works include the musicals Wonderful Town (1952) and Candide (1956), three symphonies, the Chichester Psalms (1965), and the theatrical Mass (1971). Well known as a television lec¬ turer, he was also a prominent political activist.
Leonard Bernstein.
IAUTERWASSER, COURTESY DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON
Bernstorff Vbem-shtorfV, Johann-Heinrich, count von (b. Nov. 14, 1862, London, Eng.—d. Oct. 6, 1939, Geneva, Switz.) German dip¬ lomat. After entering the diplomatic service (1899), he represented Ger¬ many in London and Cairo before serving as ambassador to the U.S. (1908-17). During World War I he worked to facilitate mediation of the conflict with Woodrow Wilson but did not receive the support he expected from authorities in Berlin. He served as chairman of the German League of Nations Union until 1933, when he went into exile in Geneva.