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Bristol (county, Massachusetts, United States)
county, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S., bordered to the south by Buzzards Bay and to the west by Rhode Island. It consists of a rolling coastal lowland and includes a few islands in the bay. The main watercourses are the Taunton, Achushnet, Ten Mile, Westport, and Warren rivers, while North and South Watuppa ponds are the largest lakes. Parklands include Bor...
Bristol (unitary authority, England, United Kingdom)
city and unitary authority, southwestern England. The historic centre of Bristol and the sections of the city north of the River Avon are part of the historic county of Gloucestershire, while the areas south of the Avon lie within the historic county of Somerset. Bristol lies about 120 miles (190 km) west of London at the confluence of the Rivers Avon (Bristol Avon) and Frome. Just west of the......
Bristol Avon (river, western England, United Kingdom)
river that rises on the southeastern slope of the Cotswolds, England, and flows through Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Somerset. The river shares the name Avon (derived from a Celtic word meaning “river”) with several other rivers in Great Britain, including the Avon of Warwickshire (or Upper Avon...
Bristol Bay (bay, Alaska, United States)
arm of the Bering Sea, indenting for 200 mi (320 km) the southwest coast of Alaska, U.S.; its mouth extends for 270 mi between Cape Newenham (north) and the southwest end of the Alaska Peninsula (south). Its shoreline includes the individually named bays at the mouths of the Togiak, Nushagak, Kvichak, and ...
Bristol Blenheim (British aircraft)
During the Battle of Britain, the RAF converted twin-engined bombers such as the Bristol Blenheim into night fighters by installing offensive ordnance and radar, but these had little success, since they were no faster than their prey. On the other hand, Messerschmitt’s Me 110, a disastrous failure as a twin-engined two-seat day fighter, became highly successful at night fighting, as did......
Bristol Channel (inlet, Atlantic Ocean)
inlet of the Atlantic Ocean separating southwestern England from southern Wales. The northern shore borders the South Wales coalfield and is heavily industrialized; the southern shore in the counties of Somerset and Devon is mainly agricultural. At the eastern end of the channel is the estuary of the ...
Bristol Fighter (airplane)
inlet of the Atlantic Ocean separating southwestern England from southern Wales. The northern shore borders the South Wales coalfield and is heavily industrialized; the southern shore in the counties of Somerset and Devon is mainly agricultural. At the eastern end of the channel is the estuary of the ......
Bristol, George Digby, 2nd earl of (English statesman)
English Royalist, an impetuous and erratic statesman who had a checkered career as an adviser to kings Charles I (ruled 1625–49) and Charles II (ruled 1660–85)....
Bristol, Horace (American photographer)
American photojournalist whose idea for a collaboration with John Steinbeck on a chronicle of the life of migrant workers led to Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath; Bristol’s photos were used as an aid in the casting of the 1940...
Bristol, John Digby, 1st earl of (English diplomat)
English diplomat and moderate Royalist, a leading advocate of conciliation and reform during the events leading to the Civil War (1642–51)....
Bristol, John Hervey, 1st earl of (English politician)
the first earl of Bristol in the Hervey line, son of Sir Thomas Hervey (d. 1694) and nephew of John Hervey (1616–79), treasurer to Catherine of Braganza, queen consort of Charles II....
Bristol Old Vic (British theatre company)
the first earl of Bristol in the Hervey line, son of Sir Thomas Hervey (d. 1694) and nephew of John Hervey (1616–79), treasurer to Catherine of Braganza, queen consort of Charles II.......
Bristol Turnpike (British road)
...1804, when he was appointed general surveyor for Bristol, then the most important port city in England. The roads leading to Bristol were in poor condition, and in 1816 McAdam took control of the Bristol Turnpike. There he showed that traffic could be supported by a relatively thin layer of small, single-sized, angular pieces of broken stone placed and compacted on a well-drained natural......
Bristol, University of (university, Bristol, England, United Kingdom)
...School, the Cathedral School, and Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital, all founded in the 1500s; Colston’s School (1708); and Clifton College, founded in the residential suburb of Clifton in 1862. The University of Bristol, founded as University College in 1876, was established in 1909....
Bristol ware (porcelain)
hard-paste porcelain products of the Coxside porcelain manufactory that were produced between 1768 and 1781....
Bristol Zoo (zoo, Clifton, England, United Kingdom)
zoological park opened in 1836 in the Clifton section of Bristol, Eng. Though occupying only 5 hectares (12 acres), the zoo maintains a wide variety of floral plantings and exhibits more than 900 animals representing about 200 species. Noted especially for its monkey exhibit and its aquariums, the collection also includes a ...
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (American company)
American biopharmaceutical company resulting from a merger in 1989 and dating to companies founded in 1858 and 1887. It produces pharmaceuticals, vitamins, medical devices, and beauty and personal-care products. Headquarters are in New York City....
Bristow, Benjamin Helm (United States official)
lawyer and statesman who, as U.S. secretary of the treasury (1874–76), successfully prosecuted the Whiskey Ring, a group of Western distillers who had evaded payment of federal whiskey taxes....
Bristow, Joseph (American politician)
...(Populist) Party both had their origins in Kansas, and in the 1890s they played an important part in the politics of the Midwest. Kansas pioneered the direct primary election, and a Kansas senator, Joseph Bristow, introduced the resolution in the U.S. Congress that put direct election of U.S. senators into the federal Constitution....
brit (fish)
any of several species of small, slim schooling fish of the family Atherinidae (order Atheriniformes), found in freshwater and along coasts around the world in warm and temperate regions....
Britain (island, Europe)
island lying off the western coast of Europe and consisting of England, Scotland, and Wales. The term is often used as a synonym for the United Kingdom, which also includes Northern Ireland and a number of offshore islands....
Britain
island country located off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe. The United Kingdom comprises the whole of the island of Great Britain—which contains England, Wales, and Scotland—as well as the northern portion of the island of Ireland. The name Britain is sometimes used to refer to the United Kingdom as...
Britain (ancient and early medieval)
Until late in the Mesolithic Period, Britain formed part of the continental landmass and was easily accessible to migrating hunters. The cutting of the land bridge, c. 6000–5000 bc, had important effects: migration became more difficult and remained for long impossible to large numbers. Thus Britain developed insular characteristics, absorbing and adapting rather than f...
Britain, Battle of (European history, 1940)
during World War II, the successful defense of Great Britain against unremitting and destructive air raids conducted by the German air force (Luftwaffe) from July through September 1940, after the fall of France. Victory for the Luftwaffe in the air battle would have exposed Great Britain to invasion by the German army, which was then in control of the ports o...
Britain: The Radical Stronghold of European Muslims (United Kingdom)
Though Great Britain’s 1.6 million Muslims make up a smaller part of the national population than their counterparts in France, Germany, and the Benelux countries, they have captured and remained in the international spotlight owing to the July 7, 2005, suicide bombings in London. The perpetrators of the attacks were three British-born Muslims and a Jamaican-born Muslim l...
Britannia (work by Camden)
...Latin prose work, an account of the journeys of William of Worcester, makes detailed reference to a submerged land extending from St. Michael’s Mount to the Scilly Isles. William Camden’s Britannia (1586) called this land Lyonnesse, taking the name from a manuscript by the Cornish antiquary Richard Carew....
Britannia Bridge (bridge, Wales, United Kingdom)
railroad bridge in northern Wales spanning Menai Strait, between Bangor and the Isle of Anglesey. It was designed and built by Robert Stephenson, who, with his father, George Stephenson, built the first successful locomotive. Unable t...
Britannia Inferior (historical Roman province, United Kingdom)
...order to reduce the power of its governor to rebel, as Albinus had done in 196: Britannia Superior had its capital at London and a consular governor in control of two legions and a few auxiliaries; Britannia Inferior, with its capital at York, was under a praetorian governor with one legion but many more auxiliaries....
britannia metal (alloy)
alloy composed approximately of 93 percent tin, 5 percent antimony, and 2 percent copper, used for making various utensils, including teapots, jugs, drinking vessels, candlesticks, and urns, and for official maces. Similar in colour to pewter, britannia metal is harder, stronger, and ea...
Britannia Superior (historical Roman province, United Kingdom)
...revenues of mines in addition to normal taxation. In the early 3rd century Britain was divided into two provinces in order to reduce the power of its governor to rebel, as Albinus had done in 196: Britannia Superior had its capital at London and a consular governor in control of two legions and a few auxiliaries; Britannia Inferior, with its capital at York, was under a praetorian governor......
Britannia…a Geographical and Historical Description of the Principal Roads thereof… (work by Ogilby)
...London property. He set up as a printer with the title of “king’s cosmographer and geographical printer” and produced many volumes notable for their typography and illustrations. His Britannia . . . a Geographical and Historical Description of the Principal Roads thereof . . . , published in 1675, was part of a projected world atlas and a landmark in accurate ...
Britannia’s Pastorals (work by Browne)
English poet, author of Britannia’s Pastorals (1613–16) and other pastoral and miscellaneous verse....
“Britannica” (English language reference work)
the oldest English-language general encyclopaedia. The Encyclopædia Britannica has been published since 1768, when its first edition began to appear in Edinburgh, Scotland....
Britannica 3 (American encyclopaedia)
Notable among the results of such activities was the 15th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica (1974), which was designed in large part to enhance the role of an encyclopaedia in education and understanding without detracting from its role as a reference book. Its three parts (Propædia, or Outline of Knowledge; Micropædia, or.....
Britannica Book of the Year
...to provide current news about such matters as the latest scientific, technological, and archaeological discoveries and political changes (which were, however, reported in the Britannica Book of the Year), but the method of continuous revision provided a flexible means of handling new material in book form. It also had the advantage of requiring a full-time,......
Britannica CD
...In the early 1990s Britannica was made available for electronic delivery on a number of CD-ROM-based products, including the Britannica Electronic Index and the Britannica CD (providing text and a dictionary, along with proprietary retrieval software, on a single disc). A two-disc CD was released in 1995, featuring illustrations and photos; multimedia,......
Britannica Electronic Index
...was created for the LexisNexis service. In the early 1990s Britannica was made available for electronic delivery on a number of CD-ROM-based products, including the Britannica Electronic Index and the Britannica CD (providing text and a dictionary, along with proprietary retrieval software, on a single disc). A two-disc CD was released in 1995, featuring......
“Britannica International Encyclopædia” (Japanese encyclopaedia)
first major encyclopaedia of international scope written in the Japanese language. The first volumes of the 28-volume set were released in June 1972, and the last in 1975. The set is organized as follows: 20 volumes of comprehensive articles, 6 volumes that constitute a Reference Guide (designed to give the reader essential ...
Britannica Junior Encyclopaedia
World War I put a halt to the idea of issuing a Britannica Junior, and the first edition of such a work was not published until 1934. It was based on Weedon’s Modern Encyclopedia, whose copyright had been bought by Britannica. Renamed Britannica Junior Encyclopædia in 1963 (and revised until 1983), it was specifically designed for children in......
Britannica Online
Also during the early 1990s, under the editorial direction of Robert McHenry, editor in chief, the company developed Britannica Online, an extended electronic reference service for delivery over the Internet. In 1994 Britannica debuted the first Internet-based encyclopaedia. Users paid a fee to access the information, which was located at http://www.eb.com....
Britannica.com (Web site)
...under whose leadership the company began a major restructuring. With declining sales of the print encyclopaedia, the company’s vaunted sales force was disbanded, and in 1999 the company launched Britannica.com, a free site featuring an Internet search engine, subject channels, current events, and essays, as well as the complete text of the encyclopaedia; it was so popular that when it wa...
Britannicus (son of Claudius I)
...poisoning her second husband, Agrippina incestuously became the wife of her uncle, the emperor Claudius, and persuaded him to favour Nero for the succession, over the rightful claim of his own son, Britannicus, and to marry his daughter, Octavia, to Nero. Having already helped to bring about the murder of Valeria Messalina, her predecessor as the wife of Claudius, in 48, and ceaselessly......
Britannicus (play by Racine)
a tragedy in verse in five acts by Jean Racine, performed in French in 1669 and published the following year. The play, a political drama, is set in imperial Rome. It centres on the machinations of the emperor Nero, who, though he has been placed on the throne by his mother, Agrippina (Agrippine), fears his half brother Britannicus as a riva...
BritArt (art movement)
a tragedy in verse in five acts by Jean Racine, performed in French in 1669 and published the following year. The play, a political drama, is set in imperial Rome. It centres on the machinations of the emperor Nero, who, though he has been placed on the throne by his mother, Agrippina (Agrippine), fears his half brother Britannicus as a riva...
British (nationality)
a tragedy in verse in five acts by Jean Racine, performed in French in 1669 and published the following year. The play, a political drama, is set in imperial Rome. It centres on the machinations of the emperor Nero, who, though he has been placed on the throne by his mother, Agrippina (Agrippine), fears his half brother Britannicus as a riva...
British Academy of Film and Television Awards (film and television award)
a tragedy in verse in five acts by Jean Racine, performed in French in 1669 and published the following year. The play, a political drama, is set in imperial Rome. It centres on the machinations of the emperor Nero, who, though he has been placed on the throne by his mother, Agrippina (Agrippine), fears his half brother Britannicus as a riva...
British Aerospace PLC (British company)
...Construcciones Aeronáuticas S.A. (CASA) joined in 1971 with a 4.2 percent share. Hawker Siddeley and other British companies were nationalized in 1977 into a single government conglomerate, British Aerospace (later BAE Systems), which joined Airbus as a true partner with a 20 percent share in 1979. In 2000 all the partners except BAE Systems merged into EADS, which thus acquired an 80......
British Aircraft Corporation (British corporation)
Through its antecedent company BAe, BAE Systems carries the heritage of some 20 British aerospace firms. In early 1960 British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was created through the amalgamation of Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. with English Electric Company and Bristol Aeroplane Company; shortly afterward BAC acquired a controlling interest in Hunting Aircraft Ltd. The origin of Vickers-Armstrongs lies......
British Airways PLC (British airline)
British air-transport company formed in April 1974 in the fusion of British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC, formed in 1939), British European Airways (BEA, formed in 1946), and their associated companies. The company, state-owned from its inception, was privatized in 1987. Its major subsidiaries include British Airways Associated Companies, which administers local and regional airlines and hot...
British Amateur Championship (golf)
golf tournament held annually in Great Britain for male amateurs with handicaps of 2 or less. A field of 256 players selected by qualifying play is reduced to players who, after 1957, competed for most holes won in a 36-hole final match play round....
British Amazon (British adventuress)
British woman who served in the English army and navy disguised as a man. She was later known as the “British Amazon.”...
British American Tobacco PLC (British conglomerate)
British conglomerate that is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of tobacco products. The company’s international headquarters are in London. Its chief American subsidiary, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky....
British and Foreign Bible Society (religious organization)
first Bible society in the fullest sense, founded in 1804 at the urging of Thomas Charles and members of the Clapham sect, who proposed the idea to the Religious Tract Society in London. An interdenominational Protestant lay society with international representatives in London, the British and Foreign Bible Society was mainl...
British and Irish Lions (British rugby team)
...the New Zealand All Blacks reclaimed their crown as the world’s best Rugby Union team, overtaking South Africa with a stunning finish to the year. South Africa, the 2007 World Cup champion, beat the British and Irish Lions 2–1 in an epic three-Test series and then lifted the Tri-Nations crown in September. The South Africans, however, failed to continue this form on their European...
British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company (British company)
Bates joined the Cunard Line in 1910, becoming deputy chairman in 1922 and chairman in 1930. He maintained that two large, fast ships could operate the North Atlantic express passenger services better than could three smaller ones. He negotiated the amalgamation of the White Star Line with Cunard to form the Cunard White Star Line Ltd. He filled many of the most important posts in the British......
British Antarctic “Nimrod” Expedition
...82° 16′ 33″ S was reached. His health suffered, and he was invalided out on the supply ship Morning in March 1903. In January 1908 he returned to Antarctica as leader of the British Antarctic (Nimrod) Expedition (1907–09). The expedition, prevented by ice from reaching the intended base site in Edward VII Peninsula, wintered on Ross Island, McMurdo Soun...
British Antarctic Survey
...The new station was scheduled to be dedicated in January 2007. The old station’s geodesic dome would be dismantled and removed from Antarctica in accordance with environmental regulations. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) announced the selection of a design for the Halley Research Station on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Coats Land. The winning design by Faber Maunsell and Hugh Broughton......
British Antarctic “Terra Nova” Expedition
...in 1908–09 but was eventually reached on Dec. 14, 1911, by Roald Amundsen of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition of 1910–12 and, a month later, on Jan. 17, 1912, by Scott of the British Antarctic Terra Nova Expedition of 1910–13. Whereas Amundsen’s party of skiers and dog teams, using the Axel Heiberg Glacier route, arrived back at Framheim Station at....
British Antarctic Territory (territory, United Kingdom)
a territory of the United Kingdom lying southeast of South America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the Pacif...
British anti-Lewisite (drug)
drug that was originally developed to combat the effects of the blister gas lewisite, which was used in chemical warfare. By the end of World War II, dimercaprol had also been found useful as an antidote against poisoning by several metals and semimetal...
British Army
in the United Kingdom, the military force charged with national defense and the fulfillment of international mutual defense commitments. The army of England before the Norman Conquest consisted of the king’s household troops (housecarls) and all...
British Association for the Advancement of Science (British organization)
His announcement of the process in 1856 before the British Association for the Advancement of Science in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, brought many ironmasters to his door, and many licenses were granted. Very soon, however, it became clear that two elements harmful to iron, phosphorus and sulfur, were not removed by the process—or at least not by the fireclay lining of Bessemer’s......
British Blue Ensign (flag)
A variety of flags are displayed throughout the British Virgin Islands (BVI), although the Union Jack is the official state flag. The BVI coat of arms appears on the governor’s flag and on the British Blue Ensign, used since 1969 as a surrogate BVI national flag for display at the Olympic Games and similar international events. The undefaced Red Ensign is proper for locally registered vesse...
British blues (music)
early to mid-1960s musical movement based in London clubs that was an important influence on the subsequent rock explosion. Its founding fathers included the guitarist Alexis Korner (b. April 19, 1928Paris, France—d. Jan. 1, 1984London, Eng....
British Broadcasting Corporation (British corporation)
publicly financed broadcasting system in Great Britain, operating under royal charter. It held a monopoly on television in Great Britain from its introduction until 1954 and on radio until 1972. Headquarters are in the Greater London borough of Westminster....
British Cameroon (historical territory, West Africa)
...of British rule in two small portions and French rule in the remainder of the territory. These League of Nations mandates (later United Nations [UN] trusts) were referred to as French Cameroun and British Cameroons....
British Celanese Ltd. (British company)
...for the coating of fabric airplane wings. After the war, faced with no further demand for acetate dope, the Dreyfus brothers turned to the production of diacetate fibres, and in 1921 their company, British Celanese Ltd., began commercial manufacture of the product, trademarked as Celanese. In 1929 E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (now DuPont Company) began production of acetate fibre in...
British Central Africa Protectorate (British-African history)
...late 1890s. Opposition from missionaries and the African Lakes Company ensured that the region around Lake Nyasa and the Shire River valley was separated from the BSAC sphere; it was declared the British Central African Protectorate in 1891, with Johnston as commissioner. Even before Johnston’s arrival the British had been embroiled in open warfare with Arab slave traders, and during the...
British Columbia (province, Canada)
westernmost of Canada’s 10 provinces. It is bounded to the north by Yukon and the Northwest Territories, to the east by the province of Alberta, to the south by the U.S. states of Montana, Idaho, and Washington, and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
British Columbia, flag of (Canadian provincial flag)
...
British Columbia Lions (Canadian football team)
...Toronto Argonauts (9–9) by a score of 48–17 in the Playoffs Finals to qualify for the Grey Cup. Saskatchewan (10–8) reached the Grey Cup with a 41–38 overtime win against the B.C. Lions (8–10) in the Playoffs Semi-Finals and a 20–16 victory over the West Division champion Calgary Stampeders (13–5) in the other Playoff Final....
British Columbia Railway (railway, Canada)
...a “railway to resources” at Hay River in the Northwest Territory. British Columbia took over an initially private company, the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, and shaped it into the British Columbia Railway. Even Canadian Pacific has reflected this increasing focus on resource flows. In 1989 it opened the Mount MacDonald Tunnel, the longest tunnel in the Western Hemisphere at......
British Columbia red cedar (plant)
an ornamental and timber evergreen conifer of the cypress family (Cupressaceae), native to the Pacific Coast of North America. Common lumber trade names for this species are western red cedar and British Columbia red cedar....
British Columbia, University of (university, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
Canadian public university in Vancouver. It is one of the largest universities in Canada and the oldest in the province (founded 1908). It comprises faculties of agricultural sciences, applied science, arts, commerce and business administration, dentistr...
British Commonwealth Games (sports)
quadrennial sports competition embracing athletics (track and field), gymnastics, bowls, and swimming events for both men and women, and boxing, cycling, shooting, weight lifting, and wrestling for men only. Rowing, shooting, badminton, and fencing have...
British Commonwealth of Nations (association of states)
a free association of sovereign states comprising the United Kingdom and a number of its former dependencies who have chosen to maintain ties of friendship and practical cooperation and who acknowledge the British monarch as symbolic head of their association. In 1965 th...
British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition
English geologist and explorer who led the historic British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1957–58....
British Council of Churches (religious organization)
interdenominational Christian cooperative organization formed in 1942 by the Church of England and other British churches. It is concerned with ecumenical activity and with such social and cultural issues as environmental policy, immigration, and interreligious dialogue. The council has seven departments that carry out coope...
British croquet
lawn game in which players use wooden mallets to hit balls through a series of wire hoops, or wickets, with a central peg as the ultimate goal. It is played on an organized basis in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. (For th...
British Darts Organisation (British organization)
...the game is ordinarily played in the public house, or pub (tavern), or in a club, rather than in the home. Of an estimated 5 million players in the British Isles, about 25,000 are represented by the British Darts Organisation (BDO; founded 1973). The BDO is the founder member of the World Darts Federation (WDF), which represents more than 500,000 darts players in 50 countries. The major......
British Drama League (British theatrical organization)
organization founded in 1919 for the encouragement of the art of the theatre, both for its own sake and as a means of intelligent recreation among all classes of the community. It ceased operations in 1990....
British East Africa (historical states, United Kingdom)
territories that were formerly under British control in eastern Africa—namely Kenya, Uganda, and Zanzibar and Tanganyika (now Tanzania)....
British East Africa Association (British colonial organization)
His next enterprise was under the imperial British East Africa Company, one of the chartered companies that preceded imperial annexation in Africa. Leaving Mombasa in August 1890, he led a caravan for five months along an almost untrodden route of 800 miles (1,300 km) to the advanced kingdom of Buganda. Here he found a complex struggle going on among animists, Muslims, Protestants, and Roman......
British East Africa Company (British colonial organization)
His next enterprise was under the imperial British East Africa Company, one of the chartered companies that preceded imperial annexation in Africa. Leaving Mombasa in August 1890, he led a caravan for five months along an almost untrodden route of 800 miles (1,300 km) to the advanced kingdom of Buganda. Here he found a complex struggle going on among animists, Muslims, Protestants, and Roman......
British East India Company (English trading company)
English company formed for the exploitation of trade with East and Southeast Asia and India, incorporated by royal charter on Dec. 31, 1600. Starting as a monopolistic trading body, the company became involved in politics and acted as an agent of British imperialism in India from the early 18th century to the mid-19th centur...
British Election of 2001, The (United Kingdom)
On June 7, 2001, the U.K.’s Labour Party won a second consecutive landslide victory over the Conservatives. Although Labour’s majority in Parliament was reduced fractionally, from 179 to 167 in the 659-seat House of Commons, this was still a massive victory by historical standards. It was lar...
British Election of 2005, The (United Kingdom)
On May 5, 2005, Prime Minister Tony Blair led the U.K.’s Labour Party to its third consecutive election victory—the first time in Labour’s 105-year history that it had won three such victories in succession. Continuing arguments about Blair’s role in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, however, contributed to a...
British Election of 2010, The (British general election of 2010)
Thirteen years of Labour government came to an end in the U.K. on May 11, 2010, five days—and many hours of intense negotiations—after the general election held on May 6 produced a “hung parliament,” in which no party held a majority. At the age of 43, David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party...
British Empire (historical state, United Kingdom)
a worldwide system of dependencies—colonies, protectorates, and other territories—that over a span of some three centuries was brought under the sovereignty of the crown of Great Britain and the administration of the British government. The policy of granting or recognizing significant degrees of self-government by dependencies, which was favoure...
British Empire and Commonwealth (historical state, United Kingdom)
a worldwide system of dependencies—colonies, protectorates, and other territories—that over a span of some three centuries was brought under the sovereignty of the crown of Great Britain and the administration of the British government. The policy of granting or recognizing significant degrees of self-government by dependencies, which was favoure...
British Empire and Commonwealth Games (sports)
quadrennial sports competition embracing athletics (track and field), gymnastics, bowls, and swimming events for both men and women, and boxing, cycling, shooting, weight lifting, and wrestling for men only. Rowing, shooting, badminton, and fencing have...
British Empire Games (sports)
quadrennial sports competition embracing athletics (track and field), gymnastics, bowls, and swimming events for both men and women, and boxing, cycling, shooting, weight lifting, and wrestling for men only. Rowing, shooting, badminton, and fencing have...
British Empire Medal (British medal)
Associated with this order is the British Empire Medal (BEM) instituted by George V. This award for meritorious service is given to both civilians and military personnel who are not eligible for admission into any of the five classes of the order....
British Empire, The Most Excellent Order of the (British order of knighthood)
British order of knighthood instituted in 1917 by King George V to reward both civilian and military wartime service, although currently the honour is bestowed for meritorious service to the government in peace as well as for gallantry in wartime. In 1918 a separate military division of the order was created....
British empiricism
Two major philosophical problems remained: to provide an account of the origins of reason and to shift its application from the physical universe to human nature. Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) was devoted to the first, and Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature (1739–40), “being an attempt to apply the met...
British English (language)
The abbreviation RP (Received Pronunciation) denotes the accent of educated people living in London and the southeast of England and of other people elsewhere who speak in this way. Because of its association with education rather than region, it is the only British accent that has no specific geographical correlate: it is not possible, on hearing someone speak RP, to know which part of the......
British European Airways (British airline)
...the government decided to merge and nationalize Imperial Airways and British Airways. The result was the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), formally established in 1939. In 1946 British European Airways (BEA), formerly a division of BOAC, was split off to become a government corporation in its own right, responsible primarily for British air services in the British Isles and......
British Executive and General Aviation Limited (British company)
In Great Britain, Beagle Aircraft Ltd. enjoyed some success in the 1960s. The distinctive name represented an acronym derived from British Executive and General Aviation Limited. Although several dozen airplanes entered service, they could not compete with their well-equipped counterparts from American manufacturers, whose products were backed by efficient international dealer networks. Other......
British Expeditionary Force
the home-based British army forces that went to northern France at the start of World Wars I and II in order to support the left wing of the French armies....
British Falconer’s Club (British club)
...Club expired. Falconry was kept alive in England by a few aristocratic amateurs and their professional falconers. Additionally, a series of clubs promoted the sport in Britain, culminating in the British Falconers’ Club in 1927. The reduction of the rabbit population by myxomatosis and the placing of many of the traditional prey species on the protected list had a profound effect on the ...