Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 01.djvu/330

 BITTER.

BJEKKEGAAKD.

as Democratic presidential elector at large in 1884. as delegate to several successive presiden- tial and state conventions, and in 1890 was a memlier of a commission to propose amendments to the judiciary articles of the constitution of the state of New York. When President Cleveland selected his cabinet for his second term he ap- pointed Mr. Bissell postmaster-general. March 6, 1S9:{. and he .served in that capacity until Feb. 27. \Xi*'>. when in' resumed his law practice. He rereivel the degree LL.D. from Yale in 1893.

BITTER, Karl Theodore Francis, sculptor, was born in Vienna, Austria, Dec. 6. 1867. De- termining at the early age of fourteen years to follow his arti.stic l>ent he left the Latin school. which he was then attending, and entered the Vienna school of industrial arts, later attend- ing the academy of fine arts. Following the example of Michael Angelo. he studied stone carving and took practical lessons as an artisan in that line. Upon coming of age he left Austria in order to avoid the loss of time that army service •would entail and. after studying with Kaffsack, Echtermeyer and others in Germany, he sailed for America and, arriving in New Y'ork in Novem- ber, is.'^a. he soon obtained employment with a firm of architectural sculptors. In 1891 his design for the Astor memorial doors, six in number, illustrating scriptural subjects, which were cast in bronze and placed at the three entrances to Trinity church. N. Y".. by John Jacob Astor, 5th, won the award in a competition with other sculp- tors. His ability was at once recognized by the architects and art patrons of New York, and he executed many commissions, among them being the decoration of the interior of the New Y'ork palace of C. P. Huntington and the Newport villa of CJomelius Vanderbilt, the altar of Grace church, Utica, N. Y'.; the .sculpture on the Admin- istration building and the Manufacturers' and Lil>eral Arts building of the World's Columbian exposition 1893 : and decorations at the Buffalo ex- position. 1901. He became chief of the department of scnl[)ture of the St. Louis exposition in 1903. H^* was an as.s«ciate of the National academy.

BIXBY, John Munson, lawyer, was born at Fairfield, Conn., in February, 1800. He studied law and, e.stablishing himself in New Y'ork, entere<l upon a practice which proved so lucra- tive that he was able to retire in 1849 with a handsome fortune, which he invested in real estate on Fifth avenue and Broadway, which property increa.sed in value rapidly, and at the time of his death it paid an annual rental equal to the original sum invested. He is the author of two novels. " Standi.sh the Puritan " (New York. 1850). and " Overing. or the Heir of Wy- cherly •' (1M.V2). both published under the pen name " E. Grayson." He died Nov. 22. 1876.

BIXBY, Moses Homan, clergyman, was born at W^arren. Grafton county, N. H., Aug. 20, 1827; son of Benjamin and Mary (Cleasby) Bixby. His father was of English and his mother of Scotch- Irish descent, the former being a direct descend- ant of Gov. Simon Bradstreet. The son acquired an academic educa- tion and also attended the Baptist college in Montreal. In Septem- ber, 1849, he was or- dained at W^illiston, Vt., and after labor- ing there for about four years, he sailed in January, 1853, for Burmah. as a mission- ary of the American Baptist missionary union. He remained in Burmah four years, the failure of his wife's health compel- ling his return. In 1857 he settled in Providence, and in 1860 resigned his pastorate to return to Burmah, where for eight years he worked with marked success, establishing missions and win- ning the good will of the natives. Returning to America in 1869 he again established himself in Providence, where in 1870 he organized a church. Within ten years the rapid growth of the society made it necessary to enlarge the edifice three times, and in 1892-'93 a stone church was built, one of the finest in New England, the church membership having increased from fifty-six members to nearly twelve hundred. For sixteen successive years Dr. Bixby served on the Provi- dence school committee. He was a trustee of Brown university, of Newton theological insti- tution, of the W^orcester academy, of the Derby academy, of the Hartshorn memorial college, and of the Virginia union university. He was a mem- ber of the Phi Beta Kappa society of Brown, and received the degree A. M. from Dartmouth, and D.D. from Central university Iowa. He died at Providence. R. I.. March 20, 1901.

BJERREQAARD, Carl Henry Andrew, libra- rian, was born in Fredericia. Denmark. May 24, 1845 ; son of Janus Bagge Friis and Louise (B.igge- Nielsen) Bjerregaard, and grandson of Janus Bagge Friis Bjerregaard. He stuthed at Freder- icia college and was graduated from the Uni- versity of Copenhagen in 1863. where he studied philosophy and theology until 1865. when he was attached to the Danish legation at thecourt of St. Petersburg. Russia, .serving 1 86.5- "66. He was gradnatefl as lieutenant from the Military acad- emy of Denmark in 1S66, and served till 1871, and was professor of natural sciences at Fredericia col-