Birkenau See Auschwitz
Birkenhead, Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st earl of (b. July 12, 1872, Birkenhead, Cheshire, Eng.—d. Sept. 30, 1930, London) British politician. Elected to the House of Commons in 1906, he became noted as an orator and soon became a leader of the Conservative Party. As attor¬ ney general (1915-18), he successfully prosecuted Roger Casement. As lord chancellor (1919-22), he secured passage of the Law of Property Act (1922) and subsequent real-property statutes (1925) that replaced a con¬ voluted system of land law. He also helped negotiate the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.
Birmingham Vbor-miq-.hanA City (pop., 2000: 249,459), north-central Alabama, U.S. It is Alabama’s largest city. Founded in 1871 by a land company backed by railroad officials, it was named for the English city. It developed as the South’s iron and steel centre. From nearby Port Bir¬ mingham a barge canal leads south to Mobile. Birmingham was the scene of civil rights drives by Martin Luther King, Jr., in the early 1960s, and in 1963 four black girls were killed there in a church bombing; this incident gave major impetus to the civil rights movement.
Birmingham Vbar-miq-amV City and metropolitan borough (pop., 2001: 977,091), central England. Birmingham lies 100 mi (160 km) north¬ west of London. Its first charter was granted in 1166. It was a small manufacturing town until the 18th century, when it became a centre of the Industrial Revolution, counting among its citizens James Watt, Joseph Priest¬ ley, and John Baskerville. It suffered heavy bombing during World War II but was subsequently rebuilt. It remains the chief centre of Britain’s light and medium industry, and it is also the cultural centre for a wide area. Birmingham is the site of two universities and of a grammar school founded by King Edward VI in 1552.
Birney, (Alfred) Earle (b. May 13, 1904, Calgary, Alta., Northwest Territories [Canada]—d. Sept. 3, 1995, Toronto, Ont.) Canadian poet and educator. Birney received a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and brought out his first collection of poetry, David (1942, Governor Gener¬ al’s Award), during his time there. After serving in World War II, he pub¬ lished Now Is Time (1946, Governor General’s Award) and other collections and held a number of teaching and editorial positions. His love of language led him to experiment with sound poems and to explore con¬ crete poetry; he also wrote two novels, a drama in verse, and several radio plays.
Birney, James G(illespie) (b. Feb. 4, 1792, Danville, Ky., U.S.—d. Nov. 25, 1857, Eagleswood, N.J.) U.S. politician and antislavery leader. He practiced law in Danville, Ky., before moving to Alabama, where he was elected to the state legislature in 1819. He became active in the abo¬ lition movement and in 1837 was elected secretary of the American Anti- Slavery Society. After the group split, he helped lead the faction that became the Liberty Party; he was the party’s presidential candidate in 1840 and 1844.
birth See parturition
birth control Voluntary limiting of human reproduction, using such means as contraception, sexual abstinence, surgical sterilization, and induced abortion. The term was coined in 1914-15 by Margaret Sanger. Medically, birth control is often advised when childbirth might endanger the mother’s health or substantial risk exists of bearing a severely dis¬ abled child. Socially and economically, limitation of reproduction fre¬ quently reflects a desire to maintain or improve family living standards. Most religious leaders now generally agree that some form of fertility regulation is desirable, though the means are strongly debated. See also FAMILY PLANNING.
birth defect Genetic or trauma-induced abnormality present at birth. A more restrictive term than congenital disorder, it covers abnormalities that arise during the formation of an embryo’s organs and tissues and does not include those caused by diseases (e.g., syphilis) that damage structures after they are formed.
birthmark Unusual mark or blemish on the skin at birth. Most birth¬ marks are either hemangiomas or moles. They are usually harmless and many fade in childhood; those that do not can sometimes be removed by laser surgery or abrasion.
birthstone Gemstone associated with the month of one’s birth. Wear¬ ing one was popularly supposed to bring good luck or health. The ancient belief that supernatural powers could be attributed to gemstones is still held by some people today. The list of genuine stones (e.g., diamond, emerald, sapphire, ruby) was supplemented in the 20th century by a series of synthetic stones for use as less costly substitutes.
Birtwistle, Sir Harrison (Paul) (b. July 15, 1934, Accrington, Lan¬ cashire, Eng.) British composer. He began as a clarinetist, shifting to composition in his 20s. He cofounded the Pierrot Players with Peter Max¬ well Davies (1967) but felt limited by the group’s size. He concentrated on exploring large-scale time structures; his music’s form is controlled by complex cyclical principles that he declined to discuss. His works include the theatre pieces Punch and Judy (1966-67), The Mask of Orpheus (1973-86), and Gawain (1991), and the orchestral works The Triumph of Time (1972), Silbury Air (1977), and Secret Theatre (1984).
Blrunl \be-'rii-ne\, al- (b. September 973, Khwarezm, Khorasan—d. Dec. 13, 1048, Ghazna, Ghaznavid Afg.) Persian scientist and scholar. Sometime after 1017, he went to India, a land of which he wrote an ency¬ clopaedic account. Later he settled at Ghazna in Afghanistan, where he enjoyed the support of the renowned MahmGd of Ghazna and other rulers of the Ghaznavid dynasty. Conversant with many languages, he wrote in Arabic, producing works on mathematics, astronomy, astrology, geogra¬ phy, physics, medicine, history, and chronology. His scientific achieve¬ ments included accurate calculations of latitude and longitude and explanations of natural springs by the laws of hydrostatics. His best- known works are A History of India and Chronology of Ancient Nations.
Biscay, Bay of or Gulf of Gascony French Golfe de Gascogne
\,g6lf-d9-ga-'sk6n y \ Spanish Golfo de Vizcaya Vgol-fo-.tha-beth- 'ka-ya\ Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, bounded by southwestern France and northwestern Spain. It has an area of about 86,000 sq mi (223,000 sq km) and a maximum depth of 15,525 ft (4,735 m). It is known for its rough
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224 I Biscayne Bay ► Bismarck Archipelago
seas. Rivers flowing into the bay include the Loire, Adour, and Garonne. Its ports include (in France) Brest, Nantes, and Bordeaux, and (in Spain) Bilbao, Santander, and Aviles; none can accommodate large vessels. French coastal resorts include La Baule, Biarritz, and Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
Biscayne Bay Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, southeastern U.S. Located along southeastern Florida, it is about 40 mi (64 km) long and 2-10 mi (3-16 km) wide; it forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It is bordered by Miami on the northwest and the Florida Keys on the east. The bay was named for the early explorer El Biscaino, of Viscaya (Biscaya) province, Spain. See also Biscayne National Park.
Biscayne National Park Preserve, southeastern Florida, U.S. Located 20 mi (32 km) south of Miami, with an area of 172,925 acres (70,035 hectares), it consists mostly of coral reef and water containing some 33 keys that form a north-to-south chain separating Biscayne Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. It is noted for a wide variety of sea life. Autho¬ rized as Biscayne National Monument in 1968, it became a national park in 1980.
Bischof Vbi-shoA, Werner (b. April 26, 1916, Zurich, Switz.—found dead May 16, 1954, Peruvian Andes) Swiss photojoumalist. He studied at the Zurich Arts and Crafts School (1932-36). In 1942 he began work¬ ing for the picture magazine Du, for which he photographed war-tom France, Germany, and The Netherlands. In 1949 he joined the coopera¬ tive photographers’ agency Magnum Photos. He died in a car accident while working in Peru. Collections of his photographs were published in the books Japan (1954), Incas to Indians (1956), and The World of Werner Bischof { 1959).