650 



OBITUARIES, FOREIGN. 



ologian, horn February 22, 1804, died Decem- 

 ber 2S 1S78. lie became in 1836 extraordi- 

 nary Professor of Theology at the University of 

 Basel, and in 184.3 ordinary professor in Tu- 

 bintren. In opposition to his colleague, F. C. 

 Baur, he founded a theological school, which 

 based the development of Christian doctrine 

 exclusively upon the Bible, being earnestly 

 opposed to all rationalistic tendencies, but also 

 attaching little importance to the doctrinal 

 standards of the churches. His works are 

 very numerous, and some of them have exerted 

 a great influence. The most important are : 

 "Einleitung in das System der christlichen 

 Lehre " (1838) ; "Die christliche Lehrwissen- 

 schaft nach den bibl. Urkunden " (1841) ; " Um- 

 riss der bibl. Seelenlehre " (1843 ; 3d edition, 

 1871); "Leitfaden der christlichen Glaubens- 

 lehre " (1862) ; "Die christliche Liebeslehre" 

 (2 vols., 1872-'74). 



BECKMANX, JOHANN HEINRICH, a German 

 bishop, born July 23, 1803, died July 30, 1878. 

 He studied theology in the University of Mini- 

 ster, was ordained in 1828, and became Bishop 

 of Osnabriick and Pro vicar of the northern 

 missions. At the Vatican Council he voted 

 against the doctrine of Papal infallibility, and 

 after his return to Germany he refused for a 

 long time to give in his submission. The obit- 

 uary articles on Bishop Beckmann in the Old 

 Catholic papers of Germany asserted that he 

 remained in secret sympathy with their move- 

 ment up to the end of his life. 



BECQUEREL, ANTOINE CESAR, a French phys- 

 icist, born at Chatillon-sur-Loing, March 7, 

 1788, died in Paris, January 18, 1878, having 

 attained an age of nearly 90 years. He was 

 educated at the Polytechnic School of Paris, 

 and served as an officer of engineers in the 

 campaigns of 1811, 1812, and 1814; but, dis- 

 satisfied with the military career, he retired 

 from the army in 1815, and devoted himself 

 wholly to the study of natural science. The 

 first fruits of his studies were published in the 

 " Annales de Physique et de Chimie." In 1829 

 he was elected a member of the Academy of 

 Sciences and appointed Professor of Physics at 

 the Museum of Natural History. In this chair 

 he was subsequently succeeded by his son Ale- 

 xandre Edmond. The name of Becquerel is 

 connected in the history of physics with many 

 important discoveries. His experiments on the 

 discharges of electricity by pressure were the 

 starting-point of his subsequent investigations. 

 He corrected Volta's "theory of contact," 

 and was the first to construct an electrical ap- 

 paratus with a constant current. His Re- 

 cherches sur la Chaleur animale" (1835-'38) 

 have rendered important services to physiology 

 and medicine. Some other publications proved 

 very useful to agriculture. Among the most 

 important of his works are : "Traite de FlClec- 

 tricite et du Magnetisme" (7 vols 1834-'40 

 3 more vols., 1855-'56), a very valuable coml 

 pilation of physical discoveries; "Trait6 de 

 Physique consideree dans ses Rapports avec la 



Chimie" (2 vols., 1844); and "Elements de 

 Physique terrestre et de Meteorologie " (1847). 

 In the preparation of the latter work he was 

 assisted by his son Alexandre Edmond (born 

 1820). A second son, Louis Alfred (born 1814, 

 died 1862), was likewise distinguished as a 

 physicist. 



BENTINCK, Sir HENRY JOHN WILLIAM, a 

 British general, born September 8, 1796, died 

 September 29, 1878. He entered the army in 

 1811, and served during the Crimean war with 

 great distinction, being present at Alma, Bala- 

 klava, Inkerman, and Sebastopol. For these 

 services he was knighted, and created a Com- 

 mander of the Legion of Honor, besides receiv- 

 ing other foreign orders. He attained the rank 

 of general in 1867. 



BIBEA, ERNST VON, Baron, a German natu- 

 ralist, born at Schwebheim, Bavaria, June 9, 

 1806, died June 4, 1878. After studying at the 

 University of Wiirzburg natural sciences and 

 especially chemistry, he published, either alone 

 or conjointly with other naturalists, a number 

 of chemical and medical works. In 1849 he 

 made extensive travels and explorations in 

 Brazil and Chili, and after his return published 

 an interesting account of them, entitled " Reisen 

 in Sudamerika " (2 vols., 1854). He removed 

 his valuable scientific collections to Nuremberg, 

 where they acquired great celebrity. From 

 1861, when he published his " Erinnerungen 

 aus Sudamerika " (3 vols.), until his death, he 

 was very prolific as a writer of novels, which 

 are especially noted for beautiful sketches of 

 landscapes. 



BIDDLECOMB, Sir GEORGE, a British naval 

 officer, born in 1807, died in July, 1878. He en- 

 tered the navy in 1828, and retired as captain in 

 1867, having seen considerable service in the 

 Baltic. His high reputation as a navigator, 

 surveyor, and pilot was especially gained by 

 his survey of a group of islands which he dis- 

 covered in the Pacific. He was the author of 

 "Naval Tactics," "Steam Fleet Tactics," and 

 other works on naval subjects. He was knight- 

 ed in 1873. 



BOLCKOW, HENRY WILLIAM FERDINAND, a 

 British manufacturer, born in Germany in 1806, 

 died June 18, 1878. At an early age he set- 

 tled in England, and soon became one of the 

 largest iron masters in the north of England. 

 He was the first Mayor of Middlesborough, a 

 place which owes much of its prosperity to his 

 energy and enterprise ; and after the creation 

 of Middlesborough into a borough in 1868, he 

 "was its representative in Parliament. 



BONOMI, JOSEPH, an English archaeologist, 

 son of the distinguished Italian architect Joseph 

 Bonomi, born in 1796, died March 3, 1878. He 

 spent some time in Syria and fifteen years in 

 Egypt, and was the first to point out the re- 

 markable monument mentioned by Herodotus 

 as having been set up 'by Sesostris on the coast 

 of Syria. He was the author of a number of 

 works, among which are " Nineveh and its 

 Palaces," and the " Sarcophagus of Oimeuep- 



