Bracciolini, Gian Francesco Poggio See Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini
bracken or brake fern of the genus Pteridium, represented by a single species (P. aquilinum). Twelve varieties are found throughout the world in temperate and tropical regions. It is a noxious weed, with a perennial black rootstock that creeps extensively underground. At intervals along the rootstock, the plant sends up fronds that may reach a height of 15 ft (5 m) or more. Though they die in autumn, the fronds often remain stand¬ ing throughout winter, affording cover for wildlife in some areas. The fronds are used for thatching and as fodder.
bracket fungus or shelf fungus Basidiomycete that forms shelflike sporophores (spORE-producing organs). Bracket fungi are commonly found growing on trees or fallen logs in damp woodlands. They can severely damage cut lumber and stands of timber. Specimens 16 in. (40 cm) or more in diameter are not uncommon.
bract Modified, usually small, leaflike structure often positioned beneath a flower or inflorescence. What are often taken to be the petals of flowers are sometimes bracts—for example, the large, colourful bracts of poinset- tias or the showy white or pink bracts of dogwood blossoms.
Bradbury, Ray (Douglas) (b. Aug. 22, 1920, Waukegan, Ill., U.S.) U.S. author. Bradbury is best known for highly imaginative science-fiction stories and novels that blend social criticism with an awareness of the hazards of runaway technology. The Martian Chronicles (1950; televi¬ sion miniseries, 1980) is considered a science-fiction classic. His other short-story collections include The Illustrated Man (1951; film, 1969), The October Country (1955), I Sing the Body Electric! (1969; teleplay, 1981), and Quicker Than the Eye (1996); his novels include Fahrenheit 451 (1953; film, 1966), Dandelion Wine (1957; film, 1997), and Death Is a Lonely Business (1985).
Braddock, Edward (b. 1695, Perthshire, Scot.—d. July 13, 1755, Great Meadows, Pa.) British army commander in the French and Indian War. After service in Europe, he arrived in Virginia in 1755 to command British forces in North America against the French. He undertook an expedition to attack the French-held Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh, Pa.); his force, which included British regulars and provincial militiamen such as George Washington, cut the first road across the Allegheny Mountains and reached a point on the Monongahela River near the fort. There his army of over 1,400 men was ambushed and defeated by a group of 254 French and 600 Indians, and he was mortally wounded in the ensuing rout.
Bradford City and metropolitan borough (pop., 2001: 467,668), West Yorkshire, northern England. The manufacture of wool products was important to its economy as early as 1311; the fine worsted trade began in the late 17th century. By 1900 it emerged as the main wool-buying centre for Yorkshire. The city remains a centre of the textile industry and is the site of the University of Bradford.
Bradford, William (b. March 1590, Austerfield, Yorkshire, Eng.—d. May 9, 1657, Plymouth, Mass.) Governor of the Plymouth Colony in America for 30 years. A member of the Separatist movement within Puri¬ tanism, in 1609 he left England and went to Holland seeking religious freedom. Finding a lack of economic opportunity there, in 1620 he helped organize an expedition of about 100 Pilgrims to the New World. He helped draft the Mayflower Compact aboard the group’s ship, and he served as governor of the Plymouth Colony for all but five years from 1621 to 1656. He helped establish and foster the principles of self-government and reli¬ gious freedom that characterized later American colonial government. His descriptive journal provides a unique source of information on both the voyage of the Mayflower and the challenges faced by the settlers.
Bradlee, Benjamin C(rowninshield) (b. Aug. 26, 1921, Boston, Mass., U.S.) U.S. newspaper editor. Bradlee was a reporter for The Wash-
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
264 I Bradley ► Brahe
ington Post before joining Newsweek in Paris and then in Washington. Returning to the Post, he served as its executive editor 1968-91. During his tenure the Post published the Pentagon Papers, broke much of the story surrounding the Watergate scandal, and was recognized as one of the most important and influential newspapers in the U.S. Bradlee’s books include Conversations with Kennedy (1975) and the memoir A Good Life (1995).
Bradley, Bill in full William Warren Bradley (b. July 28, 1943, Crystal City, Mo., U.S.) U.S. basketball player and politician. Bradley attended Princeton University (1961-65), where, as a playmaker and high- scoring forward 6 ft 5 in. (196 cm) tall, he was named College Player of the Year in 1964-65. In a semifinal game he scored 58 points, an NCAA tournament record. In 1964 he helped the U.S. team win the Olympic gold medal. He studied at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, then returned to play with the New York Knicks until 1977, helping them win two NBA championships (1970, 1973). As a prominent U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979-97), he sought to raise public awareness of race rela¬ tions and poverty and was a critic of campaign-financing practices. In 1999-2000 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presi¬ dential nomination.
her parents, and other Puritans to settle on Massachusetts Bay. She wrote many of her poems while rearing eight children. Without her knowledge, her brother-in-law took her poems to England, where they were published in 1650. She won critical acceptance in the 20th century, particularly for “Contemplations,” a sequence of religious poems first published in the mid 19th century. Her prose works include “Meditations,” a collection of aphorisms.
Brady, Mathew B. (b. c. 1823, near Lake George, N.Y., U.S.—d. Jan. 15, 1896, New York, N.Y.) U.S. photographer. He learned to make daguerreotypes from Samuel F.B. Morse. In 1844 he opened the first of two studios in New York City and began photographing famous people (including Daniel Webster, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry Clay). In 1847 Brady opened a studio in Washington, D.C., and there created, copied, and collected portraits of U.S. presidents. He achieved international fame with A Gallery of Illustrious Americans (1850). In 1861 he set out to make a complete record of the American Civil War with a staff of more than 20 photographers, including Timothy H. O'Sullivan and Alexander Gard¬ ner. He probably photographed the battles of Bull Run, Antietam, and Get¬ tysburg himself.
Bradley, F(rancis) H(erbert) (b. Jan. 30, 1846, Clapham, Surrey, Eng.—d. Sept. 18, 1924, Oxford) British idealist philosopher. Influenced by G.W.F. Hegel, he considered mind to be more fundamental than mat¬ ter. In Ethical Studies (1876), he sought to expose confusions in utilitari¬ anism. In The Principles of Logic (1883), he denounced the psychology of the empiricists. His most ambitious work, Appearance and Reality (1893), maintained that, though reality is spiritual, the thesis cannot be demonstrated because of the fatally abstract nature of human thought. Instead of ideas, which could not properly contain reality, he recom¬ mended feeling, the immediacy of which could embrace the harmonious nature of reality. He was the first English philosopher to be awarded the Order of Merit. His brother was the eminent poetry critic A.C. Bradley
(1851-1935).
Bradley, Omar N(elson) (b. Feb. 12, 1893, Clark, Mo., U.S.—d. April 8, 1981, New York, N.Y.) U.S. army commander. After graduating from West Point, he directed the army’s infantry school at the start of World War II. In 1943 he commanded U.S. forces in the North Africa Campaign and contributed directly to the fall of Tunisia to the Allies; he then led the successful invasion of Sicily. As commander of the 1st Army, he helped plan the invasion of France and took part in the Normandy Campaign and the liberation of Paris. As commander of the 12th Army, the largest U.S. force ever placed under one general, he oversaw European operations until the German surrender. After the war he was appointed head of veterans’ affairs (1945-47) and chief of staff of the army (1948- 49). Admired by both officers and men, he was chosen the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1949-53) and promoted to General of the Army (1950).