Bibliotheque Nationale de France V.bib-le-o-'tek-.na-se-o-'nal- d3-'fra n s\ Most important library in France and one of the oldest in the world. The nation’s first royal library, the Bibliotheque du Roi (“King’s Library”), was established under Charles V (r. 1364-80) but later dis¬ persed; another was established under Louis XI (r. 1461-83). From 1537 the library received a copy of every French publication. It was moved from Fontainebleau to Paris in the late 16th century and opened to the public in 1692. It acquired its current name in 1795, and its collection was expanded through Revolutionary appropriations and Napoleon’s acquisitions. In 1995 it moved to a new facility with a controversial design; this facility now houses all its books (more than 12 million), peri¬ odicals, and magazines.
bicameral system System of government in which the legislature comprises two houses. It originated in Britain (see Parliament), where eventually it served to represent the interests of both the common people and the elite and to ensure deliberation over legislation. In the U.S. the bicameral system is a compromise between the claims for equal repre¬ sentation among the states (each state is represented by two members of the Senate) and for equal representation among citizens (each member of the House of Representatives represents roughly the same number of people). Each house has powers not held by the other, and measures need the approval of both houses to become law. Many contemporary federal systems of government have bicameral legislatures. All U.S. states except Nebraska have bicameral legislatures. See also Canadian Parliament; Con¬ gress of the United States; Diet.
bicarbonate of soda or sodium bicarbonate or baking soda Inorganic compound, white, crystalline salt of sodium, chemical formula NaHC0 3 . It is a weak base and dissociates into water and carbon dioxide gas as it dissolves in the presence of hydrogen ions. In addition to household uses as an antacid, cleaner, and deodorizer, it is used in manu¬ facturing effervescent salts and beverages and baking powder. Industrial uses include production of other sodium salts, treatment of wool and silk, and use in pharmaceuticals, sponge rubber, fire extinguishers, cleaners, lab reagents, mouthwash, and gold and platinum plating.
Bichat \be-'sha\, (Marie-Francois-) Xavier (b. Nov. 11/14, 1771, Thoirette, Fra.—d. July 22, 1802, Lyon) French anatomist and physiolo¬ gist. In addition to bedside observations of patients, he conducted autop¬ sies to study the changes disease causes in various organs. With no knowledge of the cell as the functional unit of living things, Bichat was among the first to see the organs of the body as being formed through the specialization of simple, functional units (tissues). Without using a micro¬ scope, he distinguished 21 kinds of tissues that, in different combinations, form the organs of the body. His systematic study of human tissues helped create the science of histology.
bichon frise \be-,sho n -fre-'za\ Breed of small dog noted for its fluffy coat and cheerful disposition. Descended from the water spaniel, it stands about 9-12 in. (23-30.5 cm) tall and has a short, blunt muzzle; silky, drooping ears; a puffy, silky, curled coat; and an undercoat. It is mostly white, but may have shadings of cream, gray, or apricot on the head. It originated in the Mediterranean region.
Bicol \'be-,kol\ Peninsula Peninsula, southeastern Luzon, Philippines. It has a lengthy coastline with large subpeninsulas. Its area is about 4,660
sq mi (12,070 sq km). It includes the Bicol Plain, a large lowland area important in rice production. It is densely populated though largely rural. It is the homeland of the Bicol, the country’s fifth largest ethnolinguistic group, and it has been a stronghold of Philippine communists.
bicycle Lightweight, two-wheeled, steerable machine that is propelled by the rider. The wheels are mounted in a metal frame, and the front wheel is held in a movable fork. The rider sits on a saddle and steers with handle¬ bars attached to the fork, propelling the bicycle with two pedals attached to cranks that turn a chainwheel. An endless chain transmits power from the chainwheel to a sprocket on the back wheel. A heavy, pedalless form built in 1818 was propelled simply by the rider paddling his feet against the ground. In the early 1840s Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan (1813-78) built bicycles propelled by pedals, cranks, and drive rods; he is widely credited with having invented the bicycle. Important innovations were introduced by Pierre and Ernest Michaux in France in the early 1860s, and by 1865 their company was manufacturing 400 velocipedes a year. A lighter version produced in England in 1870 (nicknamed the “penny-farthing”) featured a large front wheel and small back wheel. By the 1890s the standard bicycle design was established, and, with the smooth ride enabled by the new pneumatic tires, its popularity exploded. The so-called mountain bike became the standard design by the early 1990s. The bicycle is used worldwide as a basic means of transportation.
Components of a modern touring bicycle.
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Bidault \be-'do\, Georges (-Augustin) (b. Oct. 5, 1899, Moulins, France—d. Jan. 27, 1983, Cambo-les-Bains, near Bayonne) French states¬ man and Resistance leader in World War II. After being imprisoned in Germany (1940), he returned to France (1941) and worked with the National Council of Resistance, which he headed in 1943. He helped found the Popular Republican Movement (1944) and supported Charles de Gaulle’s wartime government. After the war he briefly served twice as prime minister and three times as minister of foreign affairs. In 1958 he broke with de Gaulle and opposed Algerian independence. He advocated terrorism to prevent independence, went underground, and was forced into exile (1962-68).
Biddle, James (b. Feb. 18, 1783, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—d. Oct. 1, 1848, Philadelphia) U.S. naval officer. He entered the navy in 1800. Dur¬ ing the War of 1 81 2, he served on the USS Wasp when it captured the British ship Frolic, and he commanded the USS Hornet in its victory over the Penguin. In 1817 he was sent to the Columbia River to claim the Oregon Territory for the U.S. As commodore of U.S. ships in East Asia, he negotiated the first treaty, a trade agreement, between the U.S. and China.
Biddle, John (b. 1615, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, Eng.—d. Sept. 22, 1662, London) Father of English Unitarianism. He studied at the University of Oxford and became master of a free school in Gloucester. In 1644 he wrote Twelve Arguments Drawn Out of Scripture, denying the deity of the Holy Spirit. When the manuscript reached church authorities, he was arrested and imprisoned for two years. After its publication in 1647 he was again detained, and copies of the book were burned. His later writings attacked the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Freed from a third imprisonment in 1652, he began to meet for worship with his adherents, who came to be called Unitarians. After Biddle published his Two-Fold Catechism (1654),
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216 I Biddle ► Big Bertha
Oliver Cromwell prevented his execution by exiling him to the Scilly Isles. He returned in 1658; in 1662 he was again put in prison, where he died.
Biddle, Nicholas (b. Jan. 8, 1786, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—d. Feb. 27, 1844, Philadelphia) U.S. author, fin¬ ancier, and lawyer. He served as sec¬ retary to Pres. James Monroe (1806- 07), then minister to England, and, afterward, while practicing law in the U.S., he wrote History of the Expedition of Captains Lewis and Clark (1814) from the explorers’ notes. In 1823 Monroe appointed him president of the Second Bank of the United States. He developed the bank into the first effective U.S. cen¬ tral bank, sponsoring policies that curbed credit, regulated the money supply, and safeguarded government deposits. In 1832 the bank came under attack from Pres. Andrew Jack- son, who managed to terminate its national charter in 1836. Biddle later became president of the bank under a Pennsylvania state charter. The Federal Reserve System was later established as the country’s central bank.