Britannica
Encyclopedias since 1768  
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0-9
Baki ... Balbus, Lucius Cornelius
Baki
one of the greatest lyric poets of the classical period of Ottoman Turkish literature.
baking
process of cooking by dry heat, especially in some kind of oven. It is probably the oldest cooking method. Bakery products, which include bread, rolls, cookies, pies, pastries, and muffins, are usually prepared from flour or meal derived from some ...
baking powder
leavening agent (q.v.) used in making baked goods.
Bakke decision
ruling in which, on June 28, 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court declared affirmative action constitutional but invalidated the use of racial quotas. The medical school at the University of California, Davis, as part of the university's affirmative action program, had ...
baklava
rich Turkish, Greek, and Middle Eastern pastry of phyllo (filo) dough and nuts. Phyllo is a simple flour-and-water dough that is stretched to paper thinness and cut into sheets, a process so exacting that it is frequently left to commercial ...
Bakony Mountains
mountain range in western Hungary, covering about 1,500 square miles (4,000 square km) between Lake Balaton and the Little Alfold and running southwest-northeast for 70 miles (110 km) from the Zala River. The range forms the major component of the ...
Bakoye River
river in western Africa, rising in the Fouta Djallon massif of Guinea and flowing generally northeast through the sandstone Mandingues Hills to the Mali border. It then flows north-northwest through less elevated terrain to be fed by the Baoule River. ...
Bakr, Ahmad Hassan al-
president of Iraq from 1968 to 1979.
Baksar, Battle of
(Oct. 22, 1764), conflict between the East India Company's forces, commanded by Major Hector Munro, and those of the Mughal emperor, Shah 'Alam; the Mughal governor of Oudh, Shuja' ud-Dawlah; and the dispossessed governor of Bengal, Mir Qasim. This decisive ...
Bakst, Leon
Russian artist who revolutionized theatrical design both in scenery and in costume.
Baku
city, capital of Azerbaijan. It lies on the western shore of the Caspian Sea and the southern side of the Abseron Peninsula, around the wide, curving sweep of the Bay of Baku. The bay, sheltered by the islands of the ...
Baku rug
handwoven floor covering made in the vicinity of Baku, Azerbaijan, a major port on the Caspian Sea. Rugs have been woven in this area since at least the 18th century and probably long before, although it is difficult to determine ...
Bakunin, Mikhail Aleksandrovich
chief propagator of 19th-century anarchism, a prominent Russian revolutionary agitator, and a prolific political writer. His quarrel with Karl Marx split the anarchist and Marxist wings of the revolutionary socialist movement for many years after their deaths.
Bala
market town, Gwynedd county, historic county of Merioneth (Meirionnydd), Wales, in Snowdonia National Park at the northern end of mountain-girt Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid), the largest natural lake in Wales. The town was founded under a charter of 1324. In ...
Balaam
a non-Israelite prophet described in the Old Testament (Num. 22-24) as a diviner who is importuned by Balak, the king of Moab, to place a malediction on the people of Israel, who are camped ominously on the plains of Moab. ...
Balabac
island, extreme southwestern Philippines. It is located about 19 miles (30 km) southwest of the southern tip of Palawan island, and hardly twice that north of Borneo. Balabac rises to an elevation of about 1,890 feet (576 metres) and has ...
Baladhuri, al-
Arabic historian best known for his history of the formation of the Arab Muslim empire.
Balaghat
town, south-central Madhya Pradesh state, central India. The town lies just east of the Wainganga River and is about 95 miles (155 km) south of Jabalpur. A major road and rail junction, Balaghat is an agricultural trade and manganese-mining centre. ...
Balaghat Range
series of hills in western Maharashtra state, western India. Originating in the Western Ghats at the Harishchandra Range, the range extends southeastward for about 200 miles (320 km) to the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka states. Its width varies from ...
Balaguer, Joaquin
lawyer, writer, and diplomat who was vice president of the Dominican Republic (1957-60) during the regime of President Hector Trujillo and was president from 1960 to 1962, 1966 to 1978, and from 1986 to 1996.
Balaguer, Victor
Catalan poet and Spanish politician and historian.
Balakirev, Mily
Russian composer of orchestral music, piano music, and songs. He was a dynamic leader of the Russian nationalist group of composers of his era.
Balaklava, Battle of
(Oct. 25 [Oct. 13, Old Style], 1854), indecisive military engagement of the Crimean War, best known as the inspiration of the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade." In this battle, the Russians failed to capture Balaklava, ...
Balakovo
city, Saratov oblast (province), southwestern Russia, on the left bank of the Volga River. Founded in 1762, it long remained a small agricultural town. Its growth was greatly stimulated by the construction in 1967-70 of the Saratov hydroelectric station on ...
balalaika
Russian stringed musical instrument of the lute family. It was developed in the 18th century from the dombra, or domra, a round-bodied, long-necked, three-stringed lute played in Russia and Central Asia. The balalaika is made in six sizes, from piccolo ...
balance
instrument for comparing the weights of two bodies, usually for scientific purposes, to determine the difference in mass (or weight).
balance beam
gymnastics apparatus used in women's competition. It is a wooden beam 5 metres (16.4 feet) long, 10 cm (4 inches) wide, and raised 125 cm (4.1 feet) from the floor. The performer begins the exercise by mounting the beam by ...
balance of payments
systematic record of all economic transactions between residents of one country and residents of other countries (including the governments). The transactions are presented in the form of double-entry bookkeeping.
balance of trade
the difference in value over a period of time between a country's imports and exports of goods and services, usually expressed in the unit of currency of a particular country or economic union (e.g., dollars for the United States, pounds ...
Balanchine, George
most influential choreographer of classical ballet in the United States in the 20th century. His works, characterized by a cool neoclassicism, include The Nutcracker (1954) and Don Quixote (1965), both pieces choreographed for the ...
Balanopales
order of dicotyledonous flowering plants comprising the family Balanopaceae, with a single genus (Balanops) and 12 species of trees and shrubs that have simple, alternately positioned or somewhat whorled leaves. The plants are further characterized by flowers that lack showy ...
Balanophoraceae
the balanophora family of flowering plants, which includes about 18 genera containing more than 100 species of root parasites that are distributed primarily throughout the tropics. The Balanophoraceae are sometimes placed in their own order, Balanophorales, although they are usually ...
Balantidium
genus of ovoid protozoans of the holotrichous order Trichostomatida. Uniformly covered with longitudinal rows of minute, hairlike projections (cilia), Balantidium exists as a parasite in the intestines of pigs, apes, and other animals. The species B. coli can, in rare ...
Balao
oil port, northwestern Ecuador, on the Pacific Ocean, adjacent to Esmeraldas city. Its development is entirely due to its choice as the terminus for the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline, built 1970-72 to exploit the rich petroleum deposits of Ecuador's Napo province, in ...
Balarama
in Hindu mythology, the elder half-brother of Krishna, with whom he shared many adventures. Sometimes Balarama is considered one of the 10 avatars (incarnations) of the god Vishnu, particularly among those members of Vaisnava sects who elevate Krishna to the ...
Balard, Antoine-Jerome
French chemist who in 1826 discovered the element bromine, determined its properties, and studied some of its compounds. Later he proved the presence of bromine in sea plants and animals.
balas ruby
variety of the gemstone ruby spinel (q.v.).
Balas, Iolanda
Romanian athlete, the dominant performer in the women's high jump during the late 1950s and '60s. She won two Olympic gold medals in the event, set 14 world records, and was the first woman to high-jump 6 feet.
Balash
Sasanian king (reigned 484-488), succeeding his brother Firuz I. Soon after he ascended the throne, Balash was threatened by the dominance of invading Hephthalites, a nomadic eastern tribe. Supported by Zarmihr, a feudal chief, Balash suppressed an uprising by his ...
Balashikha
city, Moscow oblast (province), western Russia, situated 15 miles (25 km) east of Moscow on the banks of the Pekhorka River. Balashikha developed in the 19th century, first as the site of a cloth factory and later ...
Balasore
town, northeastern Orissa state, eastern India. Balasore lies on the Burhabalang River, 7 miles (11 km) from the Bay of Bengal. It was the site of a British settlement in 1633; Dutch, Danish, and French merchants followed later in the ...
Balassi, Balint
the outstanding Hungarian lyric poet of his time, remaining unrivaled in his native literature until the end of the 18th century.
balata
hard rubberlike material made by drying the milky juice produced principally by the bully tree (species Manilkara bidentata) of Guyana and the West Indies. The tree is tapped by cutting zigzag gashes in the bark and collecting the latex in ...
Balaton, Lake
largest lake of central Europe, located in central Hungary about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Budapest. It has an area of 231 square miles (598 square km) and extends for 48 miles (77 km) along the southern foothills of ...
Balbinus, Decimus Caelius Calvinus
Roman emperor for three months in 238.
Balbo, Cesare, Count
Piedmontese political writer, a liberal but cautious constitutionalist who was influential during the Italian Risorgimento and served as the first prime minister of Sardinia-Piedmont under the constitution of March 5, 1848.
Balbo, Italo
Italian airman and fascist leader who played a decisive role in developing Benito Mussolini's air force.
Balboa
Pacific Ocean terminal port in central Panama, at the southern end of the Panama Canal. It lies between the canal docks and Ancon Hill, which separates it from Panama City. Founded in 1914 and named for Vasco Nunez de Balboa, ...
Balboa, Vasco Nunez de
Spanish conquistador and explorer, who was head of the first stable settlement on the South American continent (1511) and who was the first European to sight the Pacific Ocean (on Sept. 25 [or 27], 1513, from "a peak in Darien").
Balbuena, Bernardo de
poet and first bishop of Puerto Rico, whose poetic descriptions of the New World earned him an important position among the greatest poets of colonial America.
Balbus, Lucius Cornelius
wealthy Roman, originally from Gades (modern Cadiz, Spain), who exerted influence on the major Roman political figures of the last years of the republic.
© 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica Australia Ltd
Encyclopedia Home | World Atlas