Burgess Vbar-jssV Anthony orig. John Anthony Burgess Wil¬ son (b. Feb. 25, 1917, Manchester, Eng.—d. Nov. 22, 1993, London) English novelist, critic, and composer. His experiences in Southeast Asia produced the novel trilogy The Long Day Wanes (1956-59). A Clockwork Orange (1962; film, 1971), his most original work, is a satire on extreme political systems. His other novels, which combine mordant wit, moral seriousness, verbal dexterity, and the bizarre, include The Wanting Seed (1962), Inside Mr. Enderby (1963), and Earthly Powers (1980). In addi¬ tion to his extensive literary criticism, biographies, and works on linguis¬ tics and music, he composed more than 65 musical works.
Burgess \'bor-j9s\, Guy (Francis de Money) (b. 1911, Devonport, Devon, Eng.—d. Aug. 30, 1963, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) British dip¬ lomat and Soviet spy. At the University of Cambridge in the 1930s, he became part of a group of young men, including Donald Maclean (1913— 83), who shared a disdain for capitalist democracy. They were recruited by Soviet intelligence operatives and supplied information from their positions, mainly in the British foreign office (Maclean from 1934, Bur¬ gess from 1944). Maclean’s post with the British embassy in Washing¬ ton, D.C., enabled him to pass secret information about NATO to the Soviets; Burgess also served in Washington. In 1951 both men were warned by their colleague Kim Philby that an investigation was closing in on Maclean. With the aid of Anthony Blunt, they fled England and van¬ ished, then surfaced in Moscow in 1956.
Burgess Vbsr-jasV Thornton W(aldo) (b. Jan. 14, 1874, Sandwich, Mass., U.S.—d. June 5, 1965, Hampden, Mass.) U.S. children’s author and naturalist. He loved nature as a child. His first book, Old Mother West
Burbank
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Burgess ► Burkina Faso I 297
Wind (1910), introduced the animal characters that were to populate his subsequent stories, which were published in many languages. He pro¬ moted conservationism through his “Wildlife Protection Program,” his “Radio Nature League,” and other organizations. He wrote more than 170 books and 15,000 stories for newspaper columns.
Burgess Vbor-josX Shale Fossil formation containing remarkably detailed traces of soft-bodied marine organisms of the middle of the Cam¬ brian Epoch (520-512 million years ago). Collected from a fossil bed in the Burgess Pass of the Canadian Rockies, the Burgess Shale is one of the best preserved and most important fossil formations in the world. Since it was discovered in 1909, over 60,000 specimens have been retrieved from the bed.
Burgesses Vbor-jss-ozV, House of Representative assembly in colo¬ nial Virginia, the first elective governing body in a British colony. It was one division of the legislature established in 1619 by the colonial gover¬ nor at Jamestown; the other included the governor himself and a council, all appointed by the colonial proprietor (the Virginia Company). Each Virginia settlement was entitled to elect two delegates, or burgesses (citi¬ zens of a borough in England). See also London Co.
Burghley, Baron See William Cecil
burglary Crime of breaking into and entering a structure with the intent to commit a felony within (see felony and misdemeanour). It is one of sev¬ eral crimes in the general category of theft. Some state statutes specify degrees of burglary based on when and where the crime occurs, whether anyone is present in the structure when it is broken into, and whether a deadly weapon is used.
Burgoyne Vbor-'goinV John (b. 1722, Sutton, Bedfordshire, Eng.—d. June 4, 1792, London) British general. After serving in the Seven Years’ War he was elected to the British House of Commons in 1761 and 1768. Assigned to Canada in 1776, he began a campaign to join British forces from the north, south, and west to isolate the rebellious New England colonies. In 1777 his army captured Fort Ticonderoga, N.Y., but was stopped at the Hudson River by a larger army of colonists under Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold. After several months of fighting, he surren¬ dered to Gates at Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; he returned to England to face criticism for his defeat.
Burgundian school Group of 15th-century French composers, most of whom were associated with courts of various dukes of Burgundy. They are best known for their three-part chansons in rondeau form (see formes fixes), usually with text only in the highest part—perhaps implying a solo voice accompanied by instruments, written in full triadic harmony. The most important Burgundian composers were Guillaume Dufay, Gilles Bin- chois (c. 1400-60), and Antoine Busnois (c. 1430-92).
Burgundy French Bourgogne \biir-'g6n y \ Historical and govern¬ mental region, France. The name was originally applied to a kingdom in the Rhone valley and western Switzerland founded by the Burgundians, a Germanic people who fled Germany in the 5th century. Conquered by the Merovingians c. 534, it was incorporated into the Frankish empire. By the 843 Treaty of Verdun, which divided the empire of Charlemagne, it was included in the Middle Kingdom of Lothar I. It was later divided into Cis- jurane (Lower) Burgundy, or Provence (founded 879), and Transjurane (Upper) Burgundy (founded 888); they united in 933 to form the king¬ dom of Burgundy. After the 13th century, it was known as the kingdom of Arles; the name Burgundy was applied to the duchy of Burgundy, formed in the 9th century from lands in the northwestern part of the origi¬ nal kingdom. On the death of Burgundy’s duke in 1361, the duchy reverted to the French crown. Given to Philip II, by 1477 its lands extended into the Low Countries. It was seized by Louis XI, annexed to the French crown, and was a province until the French Revolution. Roughly coexten¬ sive with the pre-Revolutionary province, the current administrative region of Burgundy (1999: 1,610,067) covers 12,194 sq mi (31,582 sq km). Its capital is Dijon. Wine making is an important part of the economy.
burial Ritual disposal of human remains. The practice is often intended to facilitate the deceased’s entry into the afterworld. Grave burial dates back at least 125,000 years. Types of graves range from trenches to large burial mounds to great stone tombs such as pyramids. Caves have also long been used for the dead—e.g., in ancient Hebrew burials, the sepulchral caves (rock temples) of western India and Sri Lanka, and the Dogon cliff burial sites. Water burial, such as occurred among the Vikings, has also been common. Cremation and the scattering of ashes on water is widely
practiced, especially in Asia; in India the remains of the deceased are thrown into the sacred Ganges River. Some peoples (American Indian groups, Parsis, etc.) employ exposure to the elements to dispose of their dead. Among many peoples, the first burial is followed by a second, after an interval that often coincides with the duration of bodily decomposi¬ tion. This reflects a concept of death as slow passage from the society of the living to that of the dead. Jewish custom requires speedy burial; a prayer known as the Kaddish is recited at the graveside, and a gravestone is normally erected a year after burial. Christian burials are often preceded by a wake, a “watch” held over the deceased’s body and sometimes accompanied by festivity. Bodies of Muslims are laid on their right side and facing Mecca.
Buridan \bui-re- , da n ,\ English \'byur-3d- 3 n\, Jean (b. 1300, Bethune?, France—d. 1358) French philosopher, logician, and scientific theorist. He studied under William of Ockham at the University of Paris and later taught there. According to his modified version of determinism, though one must choose what presents itself as the greater good, the will is free to delay reason’s judgment by suggesting a more thorough inquiry into the worth of one’s motives. The dilemma of a particular kind of moral choice, between two evidently identical alternatives, is illustrated by the cel¬ ebrated allegory of “Buridan’s ass.” Among his achievements in mechan¬ ics was a revision of Aristotle’s theory of motion; he developed a theory of impetus by which the mover imparts to the moved a power, propor¬ tional to the former’s speed and mass, which keeps it moving. His stud¬ ies of optical images prefigured modern developments in cinematics. In logic he explicated the doctrines of Aristotle and Peter of Spain (c. 1210— 77). His works include Summula de dialecta (1487) and Consequents