(Encyclopedia) Boswell, James, 1740–95, Scottish author, b. Edinburgh; son of a distinguished judge. At his father's insistence the young Boswell reluctantly studied law. Admitted to the bar in 1766…
(Encyclopedia) Bowdoin, JamesBowdoin, Jamesbōˈdən [key], 1726–90, American political leader, b. Boston. He was elected to the Massachusetts General Court in 1753 and served until 1774. Illness…
(Encyclopedia) Bowie, JamesBowie, Jamesb&oomacr;ˈē, bōˈē [key], c.1796–1836, American frontiersman, b. Logan co., Ky. With his brother, Rezin, he engaged in land speculation in Louisiana and…
(Encyclopedia) Bradley, James, 1693–1762, English astronomer. His discovery of the aberration of light, announced in 1728, provided an important line of evidence for the motion of the earth around…
(Encyclopedia) Braid, James, 1795?–1860, English surgeon and writer on hypnotism and magic. The first to use the term hypnotism instead of mesmerism or animal magnetism, he also demonstrated that it…
(Encyclopedia) Bruce, James, 1730–94, Scottish explorer in Africa. He explored Roman ruins in N Africa (1755) from Tunis to Tripoli and visited Crete, Rhodes, and Asia Minor. In 1768 he traveled down…
(Encyclopedia) Brown, James, 1933–2006, African-American rhythm-and-blues singer known as the “godfather of soul,” b. Barnwell, S.C., as James Joe Brown, Jr. Abandoned by his parents, he left school…
(Encyclopedia) Biddle, James, 1783–1848, U.S. naval officer and diplomat, b. Philadelphia. He became a midshipman in 1800. At the beginning of the War of 1812 he was first lieutenant on the Wasp; he…
(Encyclopedia) Black, James, 1823–93, American temperance leader. A Pennsylvania lawyer, he was active in state and national temperance work. His plan for a National Publication House was adopted by…
(Encyclopedia) Blair, James, 1656–1743, Church of England clergyman, missionary to colonial Virginia, and founder of the College of William and Mary, b. Scotland. At the request of the bishop of…
