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BELLINI 479 BELL ROCK and the Bellingham and Northern rail- roads. It is the site of an important station for the United States Navy. There is a State normal school, high schools, libraries, and hospitals. The city has large lumber interests, and salmon canning is also carried on on a large scale. It is a port of entry for vessels of the Oriental and Pacific coast trade. Pop. (1910) 24,298: (1920) 25,57U. BELLINI (bel-le'ne), the name of a Venetian family which produced several remarkable painters. The earliest was Jacopo Bellini, who died in 1470. He was a pupil of the celebrated Gentile da Fabriano, and one of the first who painted in oil. His eldest son, Gentile Bellini, born in 1421, died in 1501, was distinguished as a portrait painter, and also as a medaillenr. Along with his brother, he was commissioned to deco- rate the council chamber of the Venetian Senate. Mohammed II. invited Gentile to Constantinople, employed him to ex- ecute various historical works, and dis- missed him laden with presents. The "Preaching of St. Mark" is his most fa- mous piece. His more celebrated brother, Giovanni Bellini, born in 1426, died in 1512, was the founder of the older Vene- tian school of painting, and contributed greatly to its progress. His best works are altar pieces. His picture of the "In- fant Jesus" slumbering in the lap of the Madonna, and attended by angels, is full of beauty. His "Holy Virgin," "Baptism of the Lord," and "Christ and the Woman of Samaria," are also much admired. BELLINI, VINCENZO, a musical com- poser, born in Catania, in Sicily, in 1802. He was educated at Naples, under Zingarelli, and, before he had completed his 20th year, he had produced "Bianca and Fernando" at the Theater St. Carlo. This was succeeded by various other operas, of which "II Pirata," "La Som- nambula," "Norma," and "I Puritani" (1827-18J34), are the best, and have gained for him an undying celebrity. He died near Paris, Sept. 23, 1835. BELLINZONA, a town of Switzerland, capital of the canton of Ticino; charm- ingly situated on the left bank of the Ticino, about 5 miles from its em- bouchure in the N. end of Lago Maggiore. It occupies a position of great military importance. BELLOC, HILAIRE, author and pub- licist, born in La Celle St. Cloud, France, July 27, 1870. Although of French birth and parentage, he was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and has spent most of his life in England. From 1906 to 1910 he was a Liberal member of the British Parliament from Salford. His knowl- edge of books, places, and men is almost encyclopedic, and his writings command respect an^d attention. He has written many books and lectured extensively. During the World War his work as a military critic and commentator placed him in the foremost rank of publicists. BELLONA, the goddess of war, and sister or wife, or sister-wife and diar- ioteer of Mars. The Romans paid great adoration to her. The Temple of Bel- lona in Rome stood in the Circus Flami- nius, near the Porta Carmentalis, and was the place where foreign ambassadors and generals returning from their cam- paigns were received by the Senate. Be- fore its gates was raised a column, called Columna Bellica, against which a javelin was hurled as one of the pre- vious forms in the declaration of war. Her priests were named after her, Bello- narii. BELLOT STRAIT, the passage on the N. coast of North America, which sepa- rates North Somerset from Boothia Felix, and connects Prince Regent Inlet with Franklin Channel, Its E. entrance was discovered in 1853 by Lieut. Joseph Rene Bellot. After four unsuccessful at- tempts, it was explored for the first time by M'Clintock on his crowning voyage. It is about 20 miles long, and, at its nar- rowest part, about 1 mile wide, running pretty nearly on the parallel of 72°, be- tween granite shores which, everjrwhere high, rise here and there to 1,500 or 1,600 feet. Through this funnel both the winds and the waters have full play; the latter, permanent currents and flood tides alike, coming from the W. A point on the S. shore, 71° 55' N., 95° W., is the most northerly point of the North American continent. BELLOWS, GEORGE WESLEY, an American artist, born in Columbus, O., in 1882. He graduated from the Ohio State University in 1905 and afterward studied art under Robert Henri. His pictures were exhibited at exhibitions in Venice and other cities. He received the second Hallgarten prize in 1908, and the first Hallgarten prize in 1913. He was awarded the Maynard prize of the Na- tional Academy of Design in 1914. He also received other prizes from art so- cieties and institutions. He was a mem- ber of the National Academy. His pic- tures are found in many leading palleries of the United States and abroad. BELL ROCK, or INCH CAPE, a dan- gerous reef surmounted by a lighthouse, situated in the German Ocean, about 12