Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/920

BESSARABIA. mostly flat country, except for some well-wooded ofl'shoots of the Carpathian Mountains in the northwest. It is intersected by several streams, which add to its fertility. The chief occupa- tions are cattle-breeding and gardening, espe- cially vine-growing, and the production of wine. Wheat, barley, and corn are raised to some extent, as well as tobacco, flax, and hemp. The manufactures of the province are insignificant : but its commerce, owing to its proximity to the frontier, is considerable, consisting largely of exports of cattle, wool, tallow, etc. The popula- tion, which is very heterogeneous, and comjiosed of Russians, Poles, Rumans, Bulgarians, .Jews, Armenians, Greeks, and Tatars, numbered 1.!I33.- ,500 people in 1897, scattered in 11 towns and 3.560 villages. The capital is Kishinev. Bessara- bia, which fell under the ])ower of the Turks in 1503. sufl'ercd heavily in all the wars with Russia previous to the Nineteenth Century. It was ceded to Russia in 1812. By the Treaty of Paris of 1856, the portions of Bessarabia lying along the Pruth and the Danube, about 4000 square miles, were assigned to Moldavia, but at the Berlin Congress of 1878 the land was restored to Russia.

BESSA'RION, JOHANNES, or BASIL'IUS (1305-1472). A Greek scholar. He was born at Trebizond, on the Black Sea, 1395. He is remem- bered as one of the earliest of those scholars who, in the Fifteentli Century, transplanted Greek literature and philosophy into the West, and rescued the mind of Christendom from the trammels of scholasticism. Bessarion imbibed his love of Plato's writings from his tutor, Gemistus Pletho. He became a Basilian monk: in 1437 Archbishop of NiciTa, and in 1438 ac- companied the Greek Emperor, John VII. Pa- !a?ologus, to Italy, and efleeted, at the Council of Florence in 1439, a union between the Greek and Roman Churches, which, however, was of short duration. Soon afterwards he joined the Roman Church, but always retained a glow- ing love of his native land. He was made car- dinal by Pope Eugenius IV. in 1439. Ten years after Nicholas V. created him Cardinal-Bishop of Sahina, and in the same year Bishop of Fras- cati. He was Papal legate at Bologna (1451-55). After the fall of Constantinople (1453), Bessa- rion visited Germany, and at the diets of Nu- remberg, Worms, and Vienna endeavored to pro- mote a crusade against the Turks. In 1463 he was made titular Patriarch of Constantinople by Pius II. In philosophy he professed to be a fol- lower of Plato, hut without depreciation of Aris- totle. His writings consisted of Latin translations of Greek authors, etc. He died at Ravenna, No- vember 19, 1472. Consult: Iiifenluire des manu- scrits grecs et latiiis dojincs a Saint-Marc de Venisc par le cardinal Bessarion en IJ/dS (Venice, 1894) ; and for his life. Henri Vast (Paris, 1S78). His works are in Migne, Pat. (Jr., C'LXI.

BES'SEL, Friedrich Wilhelm (1784-1846). An eminent German astronomer. He was born at Jlinden. Though destined by his father for a commercial life, he exhibited at a very early age an unconquerable fondness for astronomy. Though he yielded to his father's wishes and entered a mercantile house in Bremen, he worked continually at astronomy, and it was not long before it became evident that no career but that of an astronomer would suit him. His undivided attention once turned to science, he achieved speedy success. In 1810 he was director of the ob- servatory at Konigsberg and profesSor of astron- omy. In 1818 he published his Fundamenta Astronomice, a work which marks an epoch in the progress of astronomy, and in 1830 his Ta- hvtee Rcgiomontnnw. His important contribu- tions are too numerous to mention here. The most startling was perhaps his determination of the parallax of 01 Cygni. By this remark- able achievement, which was the first measure- ment of a star's distance from the solar system, Bessel inaugurated a new era in sidereal science. It is not too much to say that Bessel was the father of modern observational astronomy, and there is scarcely a department of this science that was'iiot improved or perfected by him; and in mathematical astronomy his work was almost equally important. Among other achievements, he was one of the first (1823) scientifically to consider the personal equation of observers.

BESSELS, bes'scls, Emil (1847-88). A Ger- man scientist. He was born at Heidelberg, and studied at the universities of Jena and Heidel- berg. In 1869 he made his first Polar journey, in the course of which he demonstrated the exist- ence of the Gulf Stream to the east of Spitz- bergen. In 1871 lie accompanied the expedi- tion under C. F. Hall (q.v. ), as ship's physi- cian and chief of the scientific department. His collections were lost in the wreck of the Polaris. He published: licientific Results of the United States Arctic E.vpedition (1876) and Die ameri- kanische Xordpolexpedition (1878).

BES'SEMER. A city in Jefferson County, Ala.. 11 miles southwest of Birmingham, on the Louisville and Nashville, the Southern, and other railroads (Map, Alabama, C 2). Iron and coal mines are in the vicinity, and the city is noted for the number and variety of its works devoted to the production of iron and steel in various forms. The manufacture of fire-brick is another important industry. Bessemer is governed by a mayor, holding olfice for two years, and a city council, elected on a general ticket. Popula- tion, in 1890. 4544; in 1900, 6358.

BESSEMER. A city and county-seat of Go- gebic County, ilieh., 47 miles east of Ashland, Wis., on the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic, the Wisconsin Central, and the Chicago and Northwestern railroads (Map: ilichigan, 2). It has a picturesque location, and contains a fine high school, city hall, and broii-stone court-house buildings. The city is the centre of the jiroductive Gogebic iron range, and is en- gaged principallv in iron mining and manufac- turing. Population, in 1890, 2506; in 1900, 3911.

BESSEMER, Sir Hexry (1813-98). An English inventor, who originated and successfully developed the juocess for making steel known by his name. He was born at Charlton, near Hitchin, England, and acquired his early education in the schools of the neighborhood. His father, who was a French artist, owned a type-foundry, and in this establishment the son received his early mechanical training. He inherited from his father artistic talent, and was skillful at modeling, designing, and painting. He earlv turned his attention to mechanical in-