Bradley, Thomas (b. Dec. 29, 1917, Calvert, Texas, U.S.—d. Sept. 29, 1998, Los Angeles, Calif.) Mayor of Los Angeles (1973-93). The son of a sharecropper, he moved with his family to Los Angeles when he was seven and endured poverty after his father abandoned the family. In 1940 he began a 22-year tenure with the city’s police department, during which he earned a law degree (1956) by attending night school. In 1963 he became the city’s first African American council member, and in 1973 he was elected one of the country’s first two African American mayors of a major city (with Coleman Young of Detroit). During five terms as mayor, he helped transform Los Angeles into a bustling business and trading centre, overseeing massive growth and hosting the 1984 Olympic Games. He retired in 1992 after the city was consumed by riots following the acquittal of police officers in the beating of African American motorist Rodney King.
Bradman, Don (b. Aug. 27, 1908, Cootamundra, N.S.W., Austl.—d. Feb. 25, 2001, Adelaide, S.Aus.) Australian cricketer. One of the greatest run scorers in the history of the game, in test (international) matches Bradman scored 6,996 runs for Australia and set a record with his aver¬ age of 99.94 runs per match. In 1948 he was captain of the Australian team that was victorious in England, four matches to none. He retired from first-class cricket in 1949 and was knighted in the same year. Brad¬ man is often judged the greatest cricket player of the 20th century.
Bradstreet, Anne orig. Anne Dudley (b. c. 1612, Northampton, Northhamptonshire?, Eng.—d. Sept. 16, 1672, Andover, Massachusetts Bay Colony) English-born American poet, one of the first poets of the American colonies. At age 18 she sailed from England with her husband,
Bragg, Braxton (b. March 22, 1817, Warrenton, N.C., U.S.—d. Sept. 27, 1876, Galveston, Texas) U.S. and Confederate army officer. He gradu¬ ated from West Point and served in the Seminole Wars and the Mexican War. When North Carolina seceded, he joined the Confederate army and fought in the American Civil War. He was promoted to general in 1862 at the Battle of Shiloh. As commander of the Army of Tennessee, he led his troops to victory at the Battle of Chickamauga. His forces besieged the Union troops at Chattanooga but were eventually routed. He was relieved of his command but appointed military adviser to Con¬ federate Pres. Jefferson Davis.
Bragg law Relation between the spacing of atomic planes in crystals and the angles of incidence at which the planes produce the most intense reflections of electromagnetic radia¬ tion and particle waves. The law, first formulated by Lawrence Bragg, is useful for measuring wavelengths and for determining the lattice spacings of crystals (see crystal lattice), and is the principal way to make precise energy measurements of X rays and low-energy gamma rays. See also Wil¬ liam Bragg.
Braxton Bragg, engraving by George E. Perine
COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Bragg, Sir William (Henry) (b.
Eng.—d. March 12, 1942, London) 1 state physics. With his son (William) Lawrence Bragg (1890-1971), he shared a 1915 Nobel Prize for research on the determination of crystal structures and Lawrence’s discovery (1912) of the Bragg law of X-ray diffraction. The Bragg ioniza¬ tion spectrometer William designed and built is the prototype of all mod¬ ern X-ray and neutron diffractome¬ ters; the two men used it to make the first exact measurements of X-ray wavelengths and crystal data.
Brahe Vbra, 'bra-he\, Tycho (b. Dec. 14, 1546, Knudstrup, Scania, Den.—d. Oct. 24, 1601, Prague) Danish astronomer. Kidnapped by his wealthy but childless uncle, he was raised at his uncle’s castle and educated at the Universities of Copenhagen and Leipzig. He trav¬ eled through Europe (1565-70),
2, 1862, Wigton, Cumberland, ;h scientist, a pioneer in solid-
Tycho Brahe, engraving by Hendrik Goltzius of a drawing by an unknown artist, c. 1586.
COURTESY OF DET NATIONALHISTORISKE MUSEUM PA FREDERIKSBORG, DEN.
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Brahma ► Braille I 265
acquiring mathematical and astronomical instruments, and, on inheriting his father’s and uncle’s estates, he built a small observatory. In 1573 he reported his discovery of a new star (later recognized as a supernova), news that shook faith in the immutable heavens. With the aid of Den¬ mark’s King Frederick II, he built a new, larger observatory (Uraniborg), which became northern Europe’s centre of astronomical study and dis¬ covery. There he undertook a comprehensive study of the solar system and accurately charted the positions of more than 777 fixed stars. The observational data left at his death was used by his pupil and assistant Johannes Kepler to lay the groundwork for Isaac Newton’s work.
Brahma One of three major gods in late Vedic Hinduism, c. 500 bc-c. ad 500. He was gradually eclipsed by the other two, Vishnu and Shiva. In classical times the doctrine of Trimurti identified the three as aspects of a supreme deity. Brahma was associated with the creator god Prajapati, whose identity he came to assume. All temples of Shiva or Vishnu con¬ tain an image of Brahma, but today there is no sect or cult devoted exclu¬ sively to him.
brahma-loka Vbra-mo-To-koX In Hinduism and Buddhism, the realm of pious celestial spirits. In Theravada, it includes the 20 uppermost planes of existence. The lower 16 of these are the rupa-brahma-loka, material realms inhabited by progressively radiant gods. The highest four realms, the arupa-brahma-loka, are devoid of substance. Rebirth into these realms is the reward for great virtue and meditation; the level attained is deter¬ mined by faithfulness to the Buddha, the dharma and the sangha. See also ARUPA-LOKA, RUPA-LOKA.
Brahmagupta V.bro-mo-'gup-toX (b. 598—d. c. 665, possibly Bhilla- mala, Rajasthan, India) Indian mathematician and astronomer. His prin¬ cipal work, the Brahma-sphuta-siddhanta (“The Opening of the Universe”), most of which deals with planetary motion, also contains important proofs of various geometrical theorems on quadratic equations, the geometry of right triangles, and the properties of geometric solids.
Brahman In the Upanishads, the eternal, infinite, and omnipresent spiri¬ tual source of the finite and changing universe. The schools of Vedanta differ in interpreting Brahman. The Advaita school defines Brahman as categorically different from any phenomenon, conceiving it as an abso¬ lute reality onto which human perceptions of differentiation are projected. The Bhedabheda school maintains that Brahman is not different from the world it produces. The Visistadvaita school holds that phenomenality is a glorious manifestation of Brahman. The Dvaita school maintains that both soul and matter are separate from and dependent on Brahman.
Brahman \'bra-mon\ or zebu \'ze-,bu\ Any of several varieties of cattle that originated in India and were crossbred in the U.S. with improved beef breeds to produce the hardy beef animal known as the Santa Gertrudis. Similar blending in Latin America resulted in the breed known as Indo-Brazil. The Brahman is characterized by a pronounced hump over the shoulder and neck, horns that usually curve up and back, and drooping ears. Gray is the prevalent colour, with deep shading in the fore and rear quarters of the bull. A red strain has also been developed.
Brahman or Brahmin Any member of the highest of the four var- nas, or social classes, in Hindu India. Their existence as a priestly caste dates to the late Vedic period, and they have long been considered to be of greater ritual purity than members of other castes and alone to be capable of performing certain religious tasks, including preservation of the collections of Vedic hymns. Because of their high prestige and tradi¬ tion of education, they dominated Indian scholarship for centuries. As the spiritual and intellectual elite, they advised the politically powerful war¬ rior caste, and after Indian independence they supplied many heads of state. They still retain traditional privileges, though these are no longer legally sanctioned. Ritual purity is maintained through taboos, vegetari¬ anism, and abstention from certain occupations.