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Bow porcelain ► Bowles I 261
nean world and Europe and even longer in China and Japan. The Huns, Turks, Mongols, and other peoples of the Eurasian steppes excelled in warfare as mounted archers; horse archers were the most deadly weapon system of pre-gunpowder warfare. The crossbow, the compound bow, and the English longbow made the arrow a formidable battlefield missile. The powerful Turkish bow had a great impact on warfare in the late Middle Ages. In many cultures, the bow’s importance in warfare has been sec¬ ondary to its value as a hunting weapon. It is still sometimes used for recreational hunting. See also archery.
Bow porcelain Vbo\ English soft-paste porcelain made at a factory in Stratford-le-Bow, Essex, c. 1744-76. From 1750 bone ash was used in its production by Thomas Frye, an Irish engraver, who invented the process. Bow varies in appearance and quality, but at its best has a soft, creamy- white tone with a smooth glaze. Bow tablewares were among the first English porcelain to be ornamented with transfer-printed decorations (see Battersea enamelware). Bow also produced great quantities of figurines (e.g., statesmen, actors, birds, animals) in the Rococo style.
Bow \'bo\ River River, Alberta, Canada. Rising in Banff National Park on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, it flows 315 mi (507 km) southeast through the park and east past Calgary to unite with the Old¬ man River and form the Saskatchewan River. It is important for hydro¬ electric power and irrigation. Bow Valley Provincial Park is 50 mi (80 km) west of Calgary.
Bowditch \'baud-ich\, Nathaniel (b. March 26, 1773, Salem, Mass., U.S.—d. March 16, 1838, Boston, Mass.) U.S. mathematician and astronomer. He was largely self-educated. After investigating the accuracy of J.H. Moore’s The Practical Navigator, he produced a revised edition in 1799. In 1802 he published The New American Practical Navigator, adopted by the U.S. Department of the Navy, it was recognized as the best navigation text of its time. He translated and updated four volumes of Pierre-Simon Laplace’s Celestial Mechanics (1829-39). He discovered the Bowditch curves (describing the motion of a pendulum), which have important applications in astronomy and physics. He refused professor¬ ships at several universities and instead worked for insurance companies.
Bowdler, Thomas (b. July 11, 1754, Ashley, near Bath, Somerset, Eng.—d. Feb. 24, 1825, Rhydding, near Swansea, Glamorganshire, Wales) English physician, philanthropist, and man of letters. He is known for his Family Shakspeare (1818), in which, by expurgation and para¬ phrase, he aimed to provide an edition of the plays suitable for a father to read aloud to his family without fear of offending their susceptibilities or corrupting their minds. The first edition (1807) contained a selection of 20 plays that probably were expurgated by Bowdler’s sister, Harriet.
Bowdoin \'bo-d 3 n\ College Private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. Founded in 1794 as a men’s college, it was named for James Bowdoin (1726-90), first president of the American Academy of Aits and Sciences. It became coeducational in 1971. It offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. Academic facilities include a marine research station and an arctic museum. Its his¬ toric buildings include the Walker Art Building, designed by Charles F. McKim and Stanford White. Notable alumni include Nathaniel Hawthorne and U.S. Pres. Franklin Pierce.
bowel movement See defecation
Bowen \'bo-on\, Elizabeth (Dorothea Cole) (b. June 7,1899, Dub¬ lin, Ire.—d. Feb. 22, 1973, London, Eng.) Irish-born British novelist and short-story writer. Among her novels are The House in Paris (1935), The Death of the Heart (1938), and The Heat of the Day (1949). Her short- story collections include The Demon Lover (1945). Her finely wrought prose style frequently details uneasy and unfulfilling relationships among the upper middle class. Her essays appear in Collected Impressions (1950) and Afterthought (1962).
Bowen, Norman L(evi) (b. June 21, 1887, Kingston, Ont., Can.—d. Sept. 11, 1956, Washington, D.C., U.S.) Canadian geologist. He worked on and off for more than 35 years for the Geophysical Laboratory in Washington, D.C., where he researched silicate systems. During World War I he made a brief foray into optics, but after the war he returned to his studies of silicate systems. In 1928 he published The Evolution of the Igneous Rocks, which had a profound influence on petrologic thought. At the University of Chicago (1937-47) he developed a school of experi¬ mental petrology. His achievements won him honours both in the U.S. and Europe.
bowerbird Vbau(-3)r-,b3rd\ Any of 17 bird species constituting the passerine family Ptilonorhynchidae, of Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands. The male builds an elaborate structure (the bower) on the ground, decorates it with bright and shiny objects, and displays and sings loudly above it; females visit him and then lay their eggs in simple nests nearby. The mat, or platform, type of bower is a thick pad of plant material. The maypole type is a hut (sometimes as large as a child’s playhouse) of twigs erected around one or more saplings in a cleared court. The avenue type consists of two close-set parallel walls of sticks on a circular mat of twigs. See also catbird.
Bowes, Edward known as Major Bowes (b. June 14, 1874, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.—d. June 14, 1946, Rumson, N.J.) U.S. radio per¬ sonality. He promoted attendance at New York City’s Capitol Theatre by starting a variety show, the Major Bowes Capitol Family, which became the radio program Original Amateur Hour (1935-46). The show (later revived for television as The Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour [1948— 60]) gave aspiring singers and comedians, including Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope, a chance to perform before a national radio audience.
bowfin \'bo-,fin\ Voracious freshwater fish ( Amia calva ) that is the only living representative of the family Amiidae, which dates back to the Juras¬ sic period (206-144 million years ago). It is found in sluggish North Ameri¬ can waters from the Great Lakes southward to the Gulf of Mexico. Mottled green and brown, it has a long dorsal fin and strong conical teeth. The female, which is larger than the male, reaches a length of 30 in. (75 cm). The bowfin spawns in spring, when the male constructs a crude nest and guards both the fertilized eggs and the newly hatched young. It is sometimes called a dogfish.
Bowie \'bo-e\, David orig. David Robert Jones (b. Jan. 8, 1947, London, Eng.) British rock singer. In the mid-1960s Bowie sang in a number of bands in his native London. He changed his name in 1966 to avoid confusion with the lead singer of the Monkees. His first hit record¬ ing, “Space Oddity” (1969), and albums such as The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972) ushered in the glam rock trend, marked by theatricality and androgyny. His style varied widely, from the disco romanticism of Young Americans (1975) to the avant-garde austerities of Low (1977) to the mainstream pop of Let’s Dance (1983). Bowie also acted in stage plays and in films such as The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). He continued to record and perform into the 21st century.
Bowie \'bii-e\, Jim orig. James Bowie (b. 17967, Logan county, Ky., U.S.—d. March 6, 1836, San Antonio, Texas) U.S. soldier. Bowie migrated with his parents to Missouri (1800) and then to Louisiana (1802), where later he owned a sugar plantation and served in the state legisla¬ ture. In 1828 he settled in Texas, assumed Mexican citizenship, acquired land grants, and married the vice-governor’s daughter. In opposition to Mexican legislation to curb the immigration of U.S. settlers, he joined the Texas revolutionary movement and became a colonel in the Texas army. He is remembered for his gallant role in the defense of the Alamo. He invented the knife that bears his name. He became a legendary hero through Western song and ballad.