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Bainbridge, William

(Encyclopedia)Bainbridge, William, 1774–1833, American naval officer, b. Princeton, N.J. An experienced sea captain, he joined (1798) the navy when war with France threatened. His ship, the Retaliation, was captu...

Baffin, William

(Encyclopedia)Baffin, William, c.1584–1622, British arctic explorer. He was pilot on two expeditions (1615–16) sent out to search for the Northwest Passage under command of Robert Bylot, who was formerly with H...

Barnes, William

(Encyclopedia)Barnes, William, 1801–86, English poet and philologist. After a career as a schoolmaster, he took holy orders in 1847. He is best known for his poems in Dorset dialect, which began to appear in loca...

Bartram, William

(Encyclopedia)Bartram, William, 1739–1823, American naturalist, b. Philadelphia; son of John Bartram. He is known chiefly for his Travels (1791), in which he describes his journey (1773–77) through the Carolina...

Bolcom, William

(Encyclopedia)Bolcom, William (William Elden Bolcom), 1938–, American composer, b. Seattle, Wash. He attended the Univ. of Washington (B.A., 1958) and studied composition at Mills College and Stanford (D.M.A., 19...

Booth, William

(Encyclopedia)Booth, William, 1829–1912, English religious leader, founder and first general of the Salvation Army, b. Nottingham. Originally a local preacher for the Wesleyan Methodists, he went (1849) to London...

Borough, William

(Encyclopedia)Borough, William, 1536–99, British naval officer. A younger brother of Stephen Borough, William accompanied him on early voyages and was himself a captain for the Muscovy Company. As a naval officer...

Baziotes, William

(Encyclopedia)Baziotes, William băzēōˈtēz [key], 1912–64, American painter, b. Pittsburgh. Baziotes's works of the 1940s and 50s are largely abstract images, usually with brooding, primitive qualities encomp...

Beaumont, William

(Encyclopedia)Beaumont, William, 1785–1853, American physician, b. Lebanon, Conn. He was privately educated and was licensed (1812) to practice in Vermont. His Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice an...

Beckford, William

(Encyclopedia)Beckford, William, 1760–1844, English author. A wealthy dilettante, Beckford had a great desire to ascend to the nobility. Unfortunately his erratic and strange behavior often worked against his amb...

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