sults in a heavy flow of brick-red saliva, which may temporarily dye the mouth, lips, and gums orange-brown. Betel nuts yield an alkaloid that veterinarians use as a worming agent.
Betelgeuse \'be-t 3 l-jiis\ (from Arabic bat al-dshauza, “the giant’s shoulder”) Brightest star in the constellation Orion, marking the hunter’s eastern shoulder. About 430 light-years from Earth, Betelgeuse is easily identifiable by its brightness, its position in brilliant Orion, and its deep reddish colour. It is a red supergiant star, one of the largest known; its diameter is roughly 500 times that of the Sun.
Bethe \'ba-t9\, Hans (Albrecht) (b. July 2, 1906, Strassburg, Ger.—d. March 6, 2005, Ithaca, N.Y., U.S.) German-bom U.S. theoretical physi¬ cist. His work helped shape quantum mechanics and increased understand¬ ing of the forces governing the structures of atomic nuclei. Bethe fled Germany in 1933 and taught at Cornell University (1935-75). He showed how the electric field surrounding an atom in a crystal affects the atom’s energy states. He was the first to propose the carbon cycle as a source of energy production in stars (1939). He headed the Theoretical Physics Division of the Manhattan Project, but in the postwar era he worked to publicize the threat of nuclear warfare. He was awarded the Max Planck Medal (1955) and the Enrico Fermi Award (1961) and received the 1967 Nobel Prize for Physics.
Bethel City, ancient Palestine. It is located near the modern town of Bay- tin in the West Bank and lies about 10 mi (16 km) north of Jerusalem. Important in Old Testament times, it was associated with Abraham and Jacob. After the division of Israel, Bethel was made the chief sanctuary of the northern kingdom (Israel) and was later the centre for the prophetic ministry of Amos.
Bethlehem Arabic Bayt Lahm Town (pop., 2005 prelim.: 29,000), West Bank, south of Jerusalem. An ancient town of Judaea, it was the early home of King David. A Roman garrison was stationed there during the Second Jewish Revolt (ad 135). Christians regard it as the birthplace of Jesus, and in the early 4th century the Church of the Nativity, located on what is believed to be the site of Jesus’ birth, was built there. Bethlehem was included in the British mandate of Palestine (1923-48); in 1950, fol¬ lowing the first Arab-Israeli war (1948-49), it was annexed by Jordan. After the Six-Day War (1967), it became part of the West Bank territory under Israeli administration. Under an agreement reached in 1995, Israel ceded rule of the town to a Palestinian Authority. Long an important pil¬ grim and tourist centre, it is also an agricultural market closely linked to Jerusalem.
Bethlehem City (pop., 2000: metro area, 71,329), eastern Pennsylva¬ nia, U.S. With Allentown and Easton it forms an urban industrial com¬ plex. Founded in 1741 by Moravian missionaries, it was the site of a hospital for Continental soldiers during the American Revolution. Indus¬ trialization began with the opening of the Lehigh Canal (1829) and the founding of the forerunner of the Bethlehem Steel Corp. (1857); the city became a major steel-producing centre. Its economy has since diversified to include textiles, metal products, furniture, and chemicals.
Bethlehem Steel Corp. U.S. corporation created in 1904 to consoli¬ date Bethlehem Steel Co., the Union Iron Works, and a few smaller com¬ panies. Its principal founder was Charles M. Schwab. In its early decades Bethlehem Steel (based in Bethlehem, Pa.) produced primarily coal, iron ore, and steel; it supplied the steel for the Golden Gate Bridge.
In later decades it diversified into plastics, chemicals, and nonferrous ores. By the late 20th century it had become one of the largest steel pro¬ ducers in the U.S., with operations in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Maryland, and New York. The company’s high labour costs, aging infrastructure, and inability to compete globally led to its liquidation in 2003.
Bethmann Hollweg Vbat-.man- h6l-,vek\, Theobald von (b. Nov. Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg,
29, 1856, Hohenfinow, Prussia— d. detail from a portrait by Brant, 1909. Jan. 1, 1921, Hohenfinow, Germany) archiv fur kunst und geschichte, berun
The betel nut, seed of the areca palm [Areca catechu)
WAYNE LUKAS-GROUPIV-THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Bethune ► Beverly Hills I 211
German politician and chancellor (1909-17). A member of the civil ser¬ vice, he was appointed Prussian minister of the interior in 1905 and became German chancellor in 1909. Before World War I, he allowed the militarist factions to dominate the government; in 1914 he supported a “blank check” to Austria-Hungary for measures against Serbia. In 1916 he tried to secure the mediation of the U.S. to end the war, but he also failed to restrict submarine warfare. In 1917 he angered conservatives by promises of electoral reforms in Prussia and was forced to resign.
Bethune \be-'thtin\, Louise Blanchard orig. Jennie Louise
Blanchard (b. July 21, 1856, Waterloo, N.Y., U.S.—d. Dec. 18, 1913, Buffalo, N.Y.) First professional woman architect in the U.S. She opened an independent office in Buffalo in 1881. Her firm designed several hun¬ dred buildings throughout New York state, many of them in the Romanesque revival style popular in the late 19th century. In 1888 she became the first woman elected to the American Institute of Architects.
Bethune \ba-'th(y)un\, Mary (Jane) McLeod orig. Mary Jane McLeod (b. July 10, 1875, Mayesville, S.C., U.S.—d. May 18, 1955, Daytona Beach, Fla.) U.S. educator. Born to former slaves, she made her way through college and in 1904 founded a school that later became part of Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Fla. She was president of the college in 1923-42 and 1946-47, also serving as a special adviser to Pres. Frankun Roosevelt. Prominent in African-American organizations, particularly women’s groups, she directed the Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration (1936-44).
Bethune \b3-'thiin\ / (Henry) Norman (b. March 3, 1890, Graven- hurst, Ont., Can.—d. Nov. 12, 1939, Huang Shikou, Hebei, China) Cana¬ dian surgeon and political activist. He began his medical career in 1917, serving with Canadian forces in World War I. During the Spanish Civil War he was a surgeon with the loyalist forces, setting up the first mobile blood-transfusion service. After a trip to the Soviet Union in 1935, he joined the Communist Party of Canada. In 1938 he left Canada to serve as a surgeon with the Chinese army in its war with Japan, organizing field hospitals and setting up medical schools. He became a national hero of China.
Betjeman Vbech-o-monV Sir John (b. Aug. 28, 1906, London, Eng.—d. May 19, 1984, Trebetherick, Cornwall) English poet. His poetry volumes include Mount Zion (1933), High and Low (1966), and A Nip in the Air (1974), and his prose works include guidebooks to English coun¬ ties and essays on places and buildings. His nostalgia for the near past, his exact sense of place, and his precise rendering of social nuance made him widely read at a time when much of what he wrote about was van¬ ishing. From 1972 until his death he served as poet laureate of England.
Bettelheim Vbe-tol-.hlirA, Bruno (b. Aug. 28, 1903, Vienna, Austria—d. March 13, 1990, Silver Spring, Md., U.S.) Austrian-U.S. psy¬ chologist. Trained in Vienna, he was arrested by the Nazis and interned in concentration camps (1938-39). He immigrated to the U.S., where from 1944 he directed the University of Chicago’s Orthogenic School, a labo¬ ratory school for disturbed children, and became known especially for his work with autistic children. He applied psychoanalytic principles to social problems, especially in child rearing. His works include an influential paper on adaptation to extreme stress (1943), “Love Is Not Enough” (1950), as well as The Informed Heart (1960), The Empty Fortress (1967), Children of the Dream (1967), and The Uses of Enchantment (1976). Depressed after the death of his wife and after suffering a stroke, he took his own life. His reputation was later clouded by revelations that he had invented his academic credentials and had abused and misdiagnosed chil¬ dren at his school.