writer upon music, in which his name will always hold the first rank.—G. A. M.
BAINVILLE, Jaques, born in Provence; came to Paris, tried poetry, and was advised by Boileau, who was a relative of his, to earn his bread by painting, for which he showed some talents. Some fugitive verses of his are mentioned, also an opera, and a few drinking-songs. The precise dates of his birth and death are not recorded, but are to be referred to the latter half of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th centuries.—J. A., D.
BAIRAKTAR or BEIRAKDAR, Mustapha-Pacha, grand vizier of the Ottoman empire, born in 1755; died 14th Nov., 1808. From his first entrance on the career of arms he was distinguished by his valour. He became pacha of Rouschouk in 1806, and fought against the Russians, who had invaded Moldavia and Wallachia, and taken possession of Bucharest. On the revolt of the janissaries, and the deposition of Selim, he concluded an armistice with the Russians, and marched on Constantinople, with a view to re-establish Selim, who had been his benefactor, on the throne. Selim, however, after being retained for a short time a prisoner, was strangled by Mustapha. Bairaktar avenged the murder of his friend by deposing Mustapha, and elevating Mahmoud to the throne.—G. M.
BAIRD, Sir David, Bart., K.C.B., was born at Newbyth, Scotland, in 1757. Entering the army in 1778, he served in India, and was one of Lord Harris's brigadier-generals at the taking of Seringapatam, in which he distinguished himself by leading the assault. He was, however, superseded in the command of the town which his intrepid conduct had done so much to win, by Sir Arthur Wellesley, afterwards duke of Wellington, but at that time an officer of inferior rank to himself, though of higher and more influential connections, as being the brother of the Marquis Wellesley, then governor-general of India. For his gallantry at Seringapatam, General Baird received no more substantial reward than the thanks of both houses of parliament. Having subsequently held a command for a short time at Madras, during which he engaged in hostilities against Scindiah and the rajah of Rajpoor, he returned to England. In 1805 he went out on an expedition against the Dutch settlements at the Cape of Good Hope and took Cape Town, a position the importance of which can scarcely be overrated in reference to our Indian empire and commerce. In 1807 he served under General (afterwards Earl) Cathcart at the taking of Copenhagen; and he subsequently went out to the Peninsula in command of a division, to co-operate with Sir John Moore. He shared the glory of Corunna, where he was so severely wounded that he was unable to take advantage of the accidental promotion offered by Sir J. Moore's lamented death. At the close of the war he was rewarded with a baronetcy and the order of the Bath, and subsequently held a military command in Ireland. He retired into private life, and died in 1829, aged 72.—E. W.
* BAIRD, William, M.D., youngest son of the Rev. James Baird, was born in 1803 at the manse of Eccles in Berwickshire. He received his education at the High School of Edinburgh, and afterwards studied medicine and surgery in the university of that city, and at Dublin and Paris. In the year 1823, Dr. Band, having previously made a voyage to the West Indies and South America, entered the maritime service of the East India Company, as surgeon, and remained in it until 1833; during this period he visited India and China five times, and in all his voyages availed himself zealously of the opportunities for studying his favourite science of natural history, which his position presented to him. In 1829, Dr. Baird assisted in the foundation of the well-known Berwickshire Naturalists' Club, an admirable institution, the example afforded by which has led to the formation of similar societies in other parts of our island, which have contributed greatly, not only to the advancement of our knowledge of the natural history of particular-districts, but also to the spreading of a love for this attractive science generally throughout the country. On quitting the East India Company's service. Dr. Baird practised his profession in London for some years, until in 1841 he accepted an appointment in the zoological department of the British Museum, where he still remains (1858). Dr. Baird's qualifications as a zoologist are of a high order, and his published writings are numerous and excellent. They consist chiefly of scattered papers on various subjects in the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, Loudon's Magazine of Natural History, and its successor, the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, in the Zoologist, and the Proceedings of the Zoological Society. His most important work is, however, the "Natural History of the British Entomostraca," published by the Ray Society in 1850, which contains a most admirable account of the structure, physiology, and habits of the minute Crustacea which swarm in such abundance in our fresh and salt waters. He is also the author of a popular "Cyclopædia of the Natural Sciences," 8vo, 1858.—W. S. D.
BAISANCOR, a name common to many Mongolian and Turcoman emperors:—
Baisancor, son of Caidu-Khan, succeeded his father in the empire of the Mongols. He had two brothers, Giucalemgom and Giusmagm. The former became head of the tribe called Tahiut, the latter that of the tribe named Sahiut. Baisancor was succeeded by his son Tumakhah.
Baisancor-Mirza, sultan of the dynasty of the Turkomans, died in 1491. On his accession to the throne he was only two years old, and he reigned not more than one year and eight months. He was put to death by Rostam, who had seized upon his dominions.
Baisancor-Mirza, one of the last princes of the race of Tamerlane, of the branch of Miranschah, died in 1499.—G. M.
* BAITER, Johann Georg, a Swiss philologist, was born at Zürich in 1801. He studied first in his native town, and afterwards under Thiersch at Munich. From 1825-1829, he resided at Göttingen and Königsberg. He then returned to Zürich, where he became one of the masters of the gymnasium, and professor extraordinary at the university, which latter post he resigned in 1849. His first work was an edition of "Isocratis Panegyricus." He assisted Orelli in editing the works of Cicero, "Ciceronis Scholiastæ," and the "Onomasticon Tullianum." With Sauppe he published the "Oratores Attici," with Orelli and Winckelmann, the works of Plato, 1839-1842, and with Orelli, the "Fabellae Iambicae" of Babrius.—K. E.
BAITON, (Βαιτων,) a Greek geometer in the service of Alexander the Great, who employed him to measure the distances of the stations on the line of march through Asia. He wrote a work, "Σταθμοι της Ἀλεξανδρου πορειας," of which only a few fragments are extant.
BAIUS or DE BAY, Michael, was born at Melin in 1513. He was appointed by Charles V. professor of divinity in the university of Louvain, and afterwards became chancellor and inquisitor-general. His university, under the influence of Philip II., or his representative, Cardinal Granvella, sent him as its deputy to the council of Trent, at which he signalized himself. Baius held strongly what are called Augustinian doctrines, and openly and powerfully condemned the reigning Pelagianism of the church of Rome. Assaults had already been made upon him from various quarters, especially from the Franciscan monks; and in 1567 he was formally accused to the court of Rome. Seventy-six propositions were extracted from his works, all bearing more or less upon the questions of natural ability, and the merit of good works. Pope Pius V. issued an insidious condemnation, branding the opinions, without naming the author. The progress of Lutheranism had made his holiness somewhat cautious and reserved. The person of Baius therefore was safe, though his theology was condemned; but the affront offered to the Franciscans and jesuits had been too deep to be thus easily atoned for, and Gregory XIII., at the instigation of the jesuit Lolez, pronounced a second condemnation. Baius submitted to the papal chair; but his doctrines had taken root both in Douay and Louvain, and they were revived by Jansen with more than their original eloquence and power. His works were published at Cologne in 1696, but the pope forbade their circulation. Baius died 16th September, 1589. Baius was so fond of Augustine, that he is said to have read him through nine times.—J. E.
BAIUS, Jacobus, a Belgian theologian, nephew of the preceding, died in 1614. He wrote "Institutionum Christianæ Religionis Libri III."
BAJAZET I., emir or chief of the Ottoman Turks, succeeded his father, Amurath I., in 1389. He was the first of his family who assumed the title of sultan. The Turkish empire at that time extended westward from the Euphrates to the shores of Europe, and Amurath had crossed the Bosphoras, subdued the greater part of Thrace, and fixed the seat of his power at Adrianople. Bajazet wrested the northern parts of Asia Minor from the dominion of various Turkish emirs whose power had long been established there. In Europe he conquered Macedonia and Thessaly, and invaded Moldavia and Hungary. Sigismond,
