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BESIKA BAY BESSEMER "The Chaplain of the Fleet" (1881). Alone he wrote "Studies in Early French Poetry" (1868); "The French Hu- morists" (1873); "All Sorts and Con- ditions of Men" (1882), "All in a Garden Fair" (1883) ; "Dorothy Foster" (1884) ; "Amorel of Lyonesse" (1890); "St. Katharine's by the Tower" (1891) ; "The Ivory Gate" (1892) ; "Beyond the Dreams of Avarice"; "The Master Craftsman"; "The Pen and the Book"; "The Ala- baster Box" (1900); etc. He died June 9, 1901. BESIKA BAY, a bay on the N. W. coast of Asia Minor, opposite Tenedos, to the S. of the entrance of the Darda- nelles. The English fleet was stationed here during crises in the Eastern ques- tion in 1853-1854 and 1877-1878. BESSAKABIA, a former province of the Russian Empire between the Pruth, the Danube, and the Dniester. It stretches from Galicia southerly to- ward the Black Sea and is bounded by Dobrudja on the S., Moldavia on the S. W. and W., and by Podolia and Kherson on the N. and E. The area is 17,143 square miles. There is a conglomerate population, consisting of Rumanians, Russians, Poles, Armenians, Jews, and Greeks. The country is agri- cultural and the sowing and harvest- ing of crops employs the energies of over two million of the people. The capital is Kishinev. When Rumania was conquered by the Central Powers and forced to subscribe to the humiliating peace of Bucharest, she was permitted as a compensation for her territorial losses to annex Bessarabia. The purpose of Germany at the time was to hasten still further the disintegration of Russia. "When, however, Germany was defeated and the treaty of Bucharest annulled the question was thrown open and brought before the peace conference for consideration. It was argued by the Bessarabian advocates of nationality that the annexation was unjustified and im- perialistic and contrary to the principle of the self-determination of peoples. It was claimed on behalf of the Rumanians that the bulk of the Bessarabian people favored union with Rumania, and this seemed to be borne out by the elections at the close of 1919 in which the suc- cessful candidates were chosen on the platform of union. The province was finally allotted to Rumania by the Peace Conference. Pop. about 2,700,000. BESSARION, JOHN, a Greek scholar, born in Trebizond in 1395, one of the most eminent restorers of learning in the 15th century, and founder of the library of St. Mark at Venice; was a monk of the Order of St. Basil. He was drawn from his monastery in the Peloponnesus, to accompany the Emperor John Paljeologus to the great council of Florence, where he effected, 1439, a union of short duration between the Greek and Roman Churches. He was made a Cardinal by Pope Eugenius, and had afterward the title of Patriarch of Constantinople given him by Pius II. He spent the last 30 years of his life at Rome, devoting himself to the pro- motion of literature, and discharging several important embassies. He wrote a work in defense of Platonic philosophy. He died in Ravenna, Nov. 19, 1472. BESSEL, FRIEDRICH WILHELM, astronomer, born in Minden, Prussia, July 22, 1784. After some experience as an assistant in Schroter's observatory, he was appointed director of the new ob- servatory at Konigsberg. He first de- veloped the theory of correcting for in- strumental sources of error in all kinds of observations, and almost all the im- provements in astronomical accuracy since his time have been only the further carrying out of his ideas. His investiga- tions into the length of the seconds pen- dulum and that of standards of length were of the highest importance. The later years of his life were largely taken up with this subject of the general con- nection of all the European triangula- tions into oiie consistent system. He died in Konigsberg, March 17, 1846. BESSEMER, a town in Jefferson co., Ala.; on several trunk railroads; 11 miles S. W. of Birmingham, the county-seat. It was founded in 1887 as a manufactur- ing place because of the valuable iron and coal mines in its immediate vicinity. It contains iron foundries, coke ovens, a number of blast furnaces, machine shops, planing mills, iron pipe works, fire brick works and other works connected with the iron and steel industry. The city has a savings bank, several daily and weekly newspapers, library, hospital and other public buildings. Pop. (1910) 10,- 864; (1920) 18,674. BESSEMER, city and county-seat of Gogebic co., Mich., on the Chicago and Northwestern and several other rail- roads; 40 miles E. of Ashland, Wis. It is in an important iron mining region; was founded in 1884, and has become important by reason of its mining and manufacturing and its trade relations with the surrounding territory. It has a notably fine high school building, court- house, a National bank, and weekly news- papers. Pop. (1910) 4,583; (1920) 5,482.