Bergson
HENRI LOUIS, a French philosopher, born in Paris in 1859. He was educated in the public schools of that city, graduating in 1881 from the Ecole Normal. Following some years of teaching he was appointed to the chair of philosophy in the Collège de France. In the following year he was elected to the Institute and was elected a member HENRI LOUIS BERGSON of the Academy of 1914. He delivered in 1913 a series of lectures in Columbia University and at the same time received the degree of Litt. D. from that institution. His writings became widely popular and many of them were translated into English. Among these were "Time and Free Will," "Matter and Memory," "Laughter," "Creative Evolution,' n, " "An Introduction to Metaphysics."
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Berhampur
the name of two Indian towns: (1) A town and military station in the N. E. portion of Madras presidency, the headquarters of Ganjám district, with a trade in sugar and manufactures of silks. Pop. about 30,000. (2) A municipal town and the administrative headquarters of Mur- Shidábád district, Bengal. It was the scene of the first overt act of mutiny in 1857. Pop. about 25,000.
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Berigard of Pisa
Alchemist. (1578 ? - 1664). Owing to his residing for many years at Pisa, this alchemist is commonly known by the appellation given above; but in reality he was not an Italian but a Frenchman, and his name was Claude Guillermet de Bérigard, or, as it is sometimes spelt, Beauregard. The date of his birth is uncertain, some authorities assigning it to 1578, and others placing it considerably later; but they are agreed in saying that Moulins was his native town, and that, while a young man, he evinced a keen love for science in its various branches, and began to dabble in alchemy. He appears to have studied for a while at the Sorbonne, at Paris; and, having acquired some fame there on account of his erudition, he was appointed professor of natural philosophy at the University of Pisa. This post he held until the year 1640, whereupon he was assigned an analogous position at Padua, and it was probably in the latter town that his death occurred in 1664. His most important contribution to scientific literature is Dubitationes in Dialogum Ealilæi pro Terræ immobilitate, a quarto published at Florence in 1632; but he was likewise author of Circulus Pisanus, issued at Udine in 1643, wherein he concerns himself chiefly with commenting on Aristotle's ideas on physics. Bérigarde's writings are virtually forgotten nowadays, but they are interesting as documents illustrating the progress of scientific knowledge throughout the seventeenth century.
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Bering
or BEHRING, VITUS, a Danish explorer, born in Jutland, in 1680. After making several voyages to the East and West Indies, he entered the service of Russia; became a captain-commander in 1722; and was sent by the Empress Catharine in charge of an expedition, whose object was to determine whether Asia and America were united. Crossing Siberia he sailed from the river of Kamchatka in July, 1728; and reached lat. 67° 18' N., having passed through the strait since called after him, without knowing it. Discovering that land trended greatly to the W. he concluded that the continents were not united, and returned; without, however, seeing America. In another voyage, in 1741, he touched upon the American coast, in lat. 58° 21′ N.; and gave name to Mount St. Elias. In returning, his ship was cast upon an island, since named after him, an outlier of the Aleutian group, and here himself and many of his crew perished, in December, 1741.
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Bering Island
the larger of the two Kommander Islands; 115 miles from the E. coast of Kamchatka, crossed by 55° 10' N.; contains the tomb of Bering, who died here after being shipwrecked in December, 1741. It is an important resort of seal hunters.
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Bering Strait
the channel which separates Asia and America at their nearest approach to each other, and connects the the Arctic with the Pa Pacific Ocean (Bering Sea). Between East Cape (Asia), and Cape Prince of Wales (America), it is 36 miles wide, and generally of slight depth. The shores rocky, bare, and greatly indented. It was discovered by Bering in 1728, and first explored by Cook in 1788.
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Berkeley
a town in Alameda co., Cal.; on the Southern Pacific, and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé railroads; 8 miles N. E. of San Francisco. It is the seat of the State University of California; the State Agricultural_College; the State Institution for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind; and several college preparatory schools. The town is well equipped with electric light and street railroads; and has soap works, iron foundries and machine shops, and other industries. Pop. (1910) 40,434; (1920) 56,036.
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Berkshire
county in England in the midland group. It has an area of 722 square miles, of which about threefourths is under cultivation. The chief occupation of the people is stock raising and agriculture. The chief towns are Windsor, Reading, Maidenhead, and Newbury. Pop. about 180,000.
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Berkshires
THE, or BERKSHIRE HILLS, a range of mountains in the N. W. of Massachusetts; in Berkshire county; stretching 16 miles N. and S., on the E. of the valley of the Upper Hoosic river. They are a favorite summer and autumn resort.
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Berlichingen
GETZ VON, surnamed the "Iron Hand," a brave and turbulent German noble, born at Jaxthausen, Württemberg, in 1480. He was almost constantly at war, was put under the ban of the empire by Maximilian, and was killed during the siege of a fortress in which he had taken refuge, in 1562. His story was dramatized by Göthe.
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Berlin
a city of New Hampshire in Coos co. It is on the Grand Trunk and the Boston and Maine railroads. The city has excellent water power which is employed in the manufacture of paper, pulp, and lumber. There is a public library, theaters, hospital, excellent schools and a fine municipal building. Pop. (1910) 11,780; (1920) 16,104.
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Berlin
UNIVERSITY OF, a celebrated institution of learning in Berlin, Germany. It is, with the exception of Bonn, the youngest of the German universities. It was founded in 1810, when the Napoleonic victories had left Prussia apparently crushed and had even transferred her great University of Halle to the newly formed kingdom of Westphalia. The first rector of the university was Schmalz; the first deans of its faculties were Schleiermacher, Biener, Hufeland, and Fichte; and before it was 10 years old it had for professors such men as Niebuhr, Wolff, and Hegel. In more recent years, Ranke, Mommsen, Helmholtz, Virchow, and other famous scholars have added fame to the University. There are four faculties, theology, medicine, jurisprudence, and philosophy, with a total of 502 professors and teachers in 1914-1915. At the satisfactory completion of the course, the doctor's degree is conferred. The number of students in 1914-1915 was 8,035, besides a large number of nonmatriculated ones.
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