buzz bomb See V-l missile
buzzard Chiefly British term for any of several birds of prey of the hawk genus Buteo (family Accipitridae) and, in North America, various New World vultures, especially the turkey vulture. In Australia, a large hawk of the genus Hamirostra is called a black-breasted buzzard. The buteos, also called buzzard hawks, can usually be distinguished when soaring by their broad wings and expansive rounded tail. The plumage of most species is dark brown above and white or mottled brown below; the tail and under¬ side of the wings are usually barred. Buteos customarily prey on insects, small mammals, and occasionally birds. They nest in trees or on cliffs. Species range over much of the New World, Eurasia, and Africa. The red¬ tailed hawk, the most common North American buteo, is about 2 ft (60 cm) long.
Buzzards Bay Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. Connected to Cape Cod Bay by the Cape Cod Canal on the north¬ east and bordered on the southeast by the Elizabeth Islands, it is 30 mi (48 km) long and 5-10 mi (8-16 km) wide. Its coastline is dotted with fishing villages and summer resorts. Buzzards Bay town (pop., 2000: 3,549) is the site of Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
Byatt, A(ntonia) S(usan) orig. Antonia Susan Drabble (b.
Aug. 24, 1936, Sheffield, Eng.) British novelist and scholar. Sister of Margaret Drabble, she was educated at Cambridge and taught at Univer¬ sity College, London. Her third novel. The Virgin in the Garden (1978), won high acclaim; the sequel Still Life (1985) followed. Possession (1990), a virtuoso double narrative, won the 1990 Booker Prize, and both it and Angels and Insects (1991) were adapted for film. Her story collec¬
tions include The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye (1995) and Elementals (1998). Degrees of Freedom (1965) was the first major study of Iris Mur¬ doch. In 2002 Byatt published the novel A Whistling Woman, the last of a series of four novels—beginning with The Virgin in the Garden — featuring the character Frederica Potter.
Byblos Vbi-bl3s\ modern Jbail or Jubayl \ju-'bal\ Ancient coastal city, eastern Mediterranean Sea. Located north of Beirut, Leb., the site was occupied by at least the Neolithic Period (New Stone Age); extensive settle¬ ment developed during the 4th millennium bc. As the chief harbour for the export of cedar to Egypt, it was a great trading centre. Papyrus, an early writing surface produced in Egypt, received its original Greek name, byblos, from its export to the Aegean through the city; the English word Bible means essentially “the (papyrus) book.” Almost all known early Phoenician inscriptions, most from the 10th century bc, come from By¬ blos. By that time Tyre had become the preeminent city in Phoenicia, and, though Byblos continued to flourish into Roman times, it never recovered its former supremacy.
Bydgoszcz \'bid-,g6shch\ City (pop., 2000 est.: 384,500), northern Poland. Originally a commercial city of the Teutonic Order, it received town rights in 1346. It prospered as a grain and timber centre until it was devastated in the 17th-century Swedish wars. In the 18th century the Bydgoszcz Canal, which linked the basins of the Vistula and Oder rivers, made the city a major inland port. It fell under Prussian rule in 1772- 1919. The Germans held it throughout World War II, but it was noted for its staunch resistance to the Nazi invasion of 1939. It remains important as a water transport route, connecting Upper Silesia with the Baltic ports.
Byelarus See Belarus
Byelorussian language See Belarusian language bypass surgery See coronary bypass
Byrd, Richard E(velyn) (b. Oct. 25, 1888, Winchester, Va., U.S.—d. March 11, 1957, Boston, Mass.) U.S. naval officer, aviator, and polar explorer. After serving in World War I, he worked developing navigational aids for aircraft. In 1926 he and Floyd Bennett claimed to have reached the North Pole by airplane, becoming the first to do so. In 1928 Byrd began his explorations of Antarctica with the first expedition to his “Little America” base, which was followed in 1929 by a flight with three com¬ panions over the South Pole, again the first such flight. He led subsequent expeditions that discovered and mapped large areas of Antarctica. His several books include Discovery (1935) and Alone (1938), which chronicled his months spent alone in a camp near the South Pole. His brother Harry F. Byrd (1887-1966) served as a U.S. senator from Virginia
(1933-65).
Byrd, William (b. 1543, Lincoln, Lincolnshire?, Eng.—d. July 4, 1623, Stondon Massey, Essex) British composer. He studied under Thomas Tal¬ us and was appointed organist of Lincoln Cathedral at age 20. In 1572 he became organist of the Chapel Royal, sharing the post with Tallis. In 1575 the two men received from Elizabeth I the exclusive license for the print¬ ing and selling of music in Britain. Though repeatedly prosecuted as a Roman Catholic, Byrd remained in favour with the queen. He is renowned as Britain’s finest composer of sacred choral works, as well as for his keyboard music and songs. His works include three masses (for three, four, and five voices), some 220 Latin motets, four important Anglican services, and some 60 anthems, as well as some 100 virginal pieces (many preserved in the collections Parthenia and The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book).
Byrne, David (b. May 14, 1952, Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scot.) Scottish-born U.S. singer and songwriter. At the Rhode Island School of Design in the mid-1970s, he cofounded the rock group Talking Heads as singer and guitarist. Identified with the new wave movement (see punk), the band’s debut album Talking Heads ’77 (1977) was followed by releases that reflected Byrne’s interest in experimental pop and African rhythms, including Speaking in Tongues (1983), Stop Making Sense (soundtrack for film of the same name; 1984), and solo albums such as Rei Momo (1989). An ethnomusicologist and producer, Byrne also wrote the score for choreographer Twyla Tharp’s The Catherine Wheel (1980) and directed the film True Stories (1986).
Byron, George (Gordon) Byron, 6th Baron known as Lord Byron (b. Jan. 22, 1788, London, Eng.—-d. April 19, 1824, Missolonghi, Greece) British Romantic poet and satirist. Born with a clubfoot and extremely sensitive about it, he was 10 when he unexpectedly inherited
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byssinosis ► Byzantium I 305
his title and estates. Educated at Cambridge, he gained recognition with English Bards and Scotch Reviewers (1809), a satire responding to a criti¬ cal review of his first published volume, Hours of Idleness (1807). Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812-18), a poetic travelogue expressing melan¬ choly and disillusionment, brought him fame, while his complex person¬ ality, dashing good looks, and many scandalous love affairs, with women and with boys, captured the imagination of Europe. Settling near Geneva, he wrote the verse tale The Prisoner of Chillon (1816), a hymn to liberty and an indictment of tyranny, and Manfred (1817), a poetic drama whose hero reflected Byron’s own guilt and frustration. His greatest poem, Don Juan (1819-24), is an unfinished epic picaresque satire in ottava rima. Among his numerous other works are verse tales and poetic dramas. He died of fever in Greece while aiding the struggle for independence, mak¬ ing him a Greek national hero.
byssinosis \,bi-s3-'no-s3s\ or brown lung disease Respiratory dis¬ order caused by dust from cotton and other fibres, common among tex¬ tile workers. In addition, the dust stimulates histamine release; air passages constrict, making breathing difficult. Over time the dust accumulates in the lung, producing a typical brown discoloration. Byssinosis today is seen in most cotton-producing regions of the world. Several years of exposure to cotton dust are needed before byssinosis develops. In advanced stages, it causes chronic, irreversible obstructive lung disease. Though cotton is by far the most common cause, flax, hemp, and other organic fibres can also produce byssinosis. There is evidence that a bac¬ terial product found in the fibres is the cause of the disease.