Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/403

BABBAGE. completed. Among his works that deserve notice are his excellent Table of Logarithms (1827), and the autobiographical Passages from the Life of a Philosopher (1864), besides those already mentioned above.

BAB BAL'LADS,. A collection of doggerel verses by W. S. Gilbert, half nonsense, half satire, on various subjects, ranging from the shipwreck of corpulent admirals to the loves of the London 'bobby.' It was published in London in 1868, but the ballads had previously appeared separately in Fun.

BAB'BITT, (1799-1862). An American inventor, born at Taunton, Mass. He became a goldsmith, and manufactured at Taunton (1824) the first Britannia-ware made in the United States. In 1839 he invented the alloy known as 'Babbitt metal' (q.v.), for which he received a gold medal, and in 1841 a grant of $20.000 from Congress. This metal, and also soap, he afterwards manufactured extensively.

BABBITT MET'AL. A soft, white, anti-friction alloy, invented by Isaac Babbitt, of Boston, Mass., in 1839. It is prepared by melting separately 4 parts of copper, 12 parts of tin, and 8 parts of antimony, to which, when it is completely melted, there is added 12 more parts of tin. The antimony is poured into the tin, and then mixed with the copper away from the fire, in a separate pot. The proportions vary somewhat, according to the purposes for which the alloy is intended. For his invention Babbitt received a gold medal from the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics' Association in 1851, and later the sum of $20,000 from Congress. It was patented in England, and also in Russia.

BAB'COCK, (1844-97). An American chemist and scientific lecturer. He was born in Boston in 1844. After studying chemistry at the Lawrence Scientific School, he established in Boston an analytical laboratory. He was professor of chemistry at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and at the Boston University, and for many years filled the positions of State assayer and inspector of liquors and city inspector of milk. He is known as the inventor of a fire-extinguisher and as a scientific lecturer, and has published a number of official reports on sanitary topics.

BABCOCK, (1858-1901). An American Presbyterian clergyman. He was born at Syracuse, N. Y., August 3, 1858; graduated at Syracuse University, in 1879, and at Auburn (N. Y.) Theological Seminary, in 1882; became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Lockport, N. Y., in 1882; of the Brown Memorial Church, Baltimore, Md., in 1887; and of the Brick Presbyterian Church, New York City, 1899. On the very threshold of what promised to be an exceptional career, he died at Naples, Italy, May 18, 1901, as he was on his way home from a trip in the East. After his death his wife and Miss Sanford published some selections from his spoken and written words, including some admirable poems, under the title, Thoughts for Every-day Living (New York, 1901); and later appeared Letters from Egypt and Palestine (1902).

BABCOCK, (1835-84). An American soldier, born at Franklin, Vt. He graduated at West Point in 1801, and served in the Federal army throughout the Civil War. He was aide-de-camp to General Banks in July and August, 1861; served in the Peninsular campaign; was chief engineer for the Central District of Kentucky from April to June, 1863, and of the Department of Ohio from January to March, 1864; and, as lieutenant-colonel, was aide-de-camp to General Grant in the Richmond cam-paign. At the close of the war he was brevetted brigadier-general in the Regular Army, for 'gallant and meritorious services in the field.' He afterwards continued to serve as Grant's aide-de-camp until 1869, and from 1869 to 1877, during the latter's term as President, was his private secretary. After 1871 he also served as superintending engineer of public buildings. In 1870, as President Grant's unofficial representative, he negotiated with Santo Domingo a treaty of annexation, which, however, was rejected by the Senate. In 1876 he was accused of being implicated in the 'Whisky Ring' frauds, but was acquitted on trial. He was drowned at Mosquito Inlet, Fla., on June 2, 1884.

BABCOCK, (1843—). An American agricultural chemist, born at Babcock Hill, Oneida County, N, Y. He graduated at Tufts College, in 1866, and studied chemistry at Cornell University from 1872 to 1875, and at Göttingen University in 1877. He made an especial study of the chemistry of milk and its products, and invented the Babcock milk-tester — a highly valuable appliance, now much used, not only by farmers (for ascertaining the amount of fat in milk), but in tests prescribed by municipalities. In 1893 Professor Babcock occupied the chair of agricultural chemistry in the University of Wisconsin, and from 1888 to 1900 he served as chemist to the New York State Experiment Station. With Dr. G. C. Caldwell, he is author of A Manual of Qualitative Chemical Analysis.

BA'BEL, TOWER OF. The name given to the structure reared in the Valley of Shinar, at which, according to biblical tradition, the confusion of the tongues takes place (Gen. xi.). The story of the building of the tower is told in the eleventh chapter of Genesis. According to this chapter, mankind, constituting a single united body and possessing the same speech, came in the course of their wanderings to a valley in the land of Shinar, where they devised a plan of using clay as building material and bitumen as cement. They are represented as the first city-builders; but in addition are fired with the ambition to erect a tower which shall reach to heaven, and which, being visible everywhere, will prevent them from being dispersed over the face of the globe. This plan arouses the jealousy of Jehovah, who, in anthropomorphic fashion, is portrayed as 'coming down' to see the city and the tower. Jehovah fears the power of united mankind and brings about a confusion of tongues, so that those working together shall no longer understand one another. As a consequence, men desist from building the city, and they are scattered in all directions. The name of the place where the confusion takes place is called Babel, which is explained as though from a stem (balal) meaning 'to confuse,' whereas in reality Babel signifies 'gate of El' (i.e. God). This narrative, according to the modern Oriental view, belongs to the Yahwistic stratum in Genesis, and