Sergey Rachmaninoff: Major creative activity: …Moscow was his choral symphony The Bells (1913), based on Konstantin Balmont’s Russian translation of the poem by Edgar Allan Poe. This work displays considerable ingenuity in the coupling of choral and orchestral resources to produce striking imitative and textural effects.

Louie Bellson was an American musician who was one of the most heralded jazz drummers, known for his taste and restraint in displaying his considerable technical skills. Bellson was something of a child prodigy who, while in high school, invented the double-bass drum kit that became his trademark

Louie Bellson was an American musician who was one of the most heralded jazz drummers, known for his taste and restraint in displaying his considerable technical skills. Bellson was something of a child prodigy who, while in high school, invented the double-bass drum kit that became his trademark

Beltane, festival held on the first day of May in Ireland and Scotland, celebrating the beginning of summer and open pasturing. Beltane is first mentioned in a glossary attributed to Cormac, bishop of Cashel and king of Munster, who was killed in 908. Cormac describes how cattle were driven between

Sallust: …monograph, Bellum Catilinae (43–42 bc; Catiline’s War), deals with corruption in Roman politics by tracing the conspiracy of Catiline, a ruthlessly ambitious patrician who had attempted to seize power in 63 bc after the suspicions of his fellow nobles and the growing mistrust of the people prevented him from attaining…

Lucan: …civile, better known as the Pharsalia because of its vivid account of that battle, is remarkable as the single major Latin epic poem that eschewed the intervention of the gods.

death: Judaism: …recorded in Bellum Judaicum (History of the Jewish War) how doctrinal disputes about death, the existence of an afterlife, and the “fate of the soul” were embodied in the views of various factions. The Sadducees (who spoke for a conservative, sacerdotal aristocracy) were still talking in terms of the…

Sallust: …monograph, Bellum Jugurthinum (41–40 bc; The Jugurthine War), he explored in greater detail the origins of party struggles that arose in Rome when war broke out against Jugurtha, the king of Numidia, who rebelled against Rome at the close of the 2nd century bc. This war provided the opportunity for…

Gnaeus Naevius: …Punic War (264–261) in his Bellum Poenicum, relying for facts upon his own experience in the war and on oral tradition at Rome. The scope of the tale and the forceful diction qualify it as an epic, showing a marked advance in originality beyond the Odusia of Livius and making…

Gnaeus Naevius: …Punic War (264–261) in his Bellum Poenicum, relying for facts upon his own experience in the war and on oral tradition at Rome. The scope of the tale and the forceful diction qualify it as an epic, showing a marked advance in originality beyond the Odusia of Livius and making…

Claude Victor-Perrin, duke de Bellune was a leading French general of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, who was created marshal of France in 1807. In 1781 he entered the army as a private soldier and, after 10 years’ service, received his discharge and settled at Valence. Soon afterward

Belluno, city, Veneto regione, northeastern Italy. The city lies at the confluence of the Piave and Ardo rivers, in the Dolomite Alps, north of Venice. Of pre-Roman origin and known to the Romans as Bellunum, it was a medieval free commune before voluntarily joining Venice in 1404. Taken by the

Belluno, city, Veneto regione, northeastern Italy. The city lies at the confluence of the Piave and Ardo rivers, in the Dolomite Alps, north of Venice. Of pre-Roman origin and known to the Romans as Bellunum, it was a medieval free commune before voluntarily joining Venice in 1404. Taken by the

Pietro Belluschi was a Modernist architect identified first with regional architecture of the American Northwest, from which his influence spread throughout the world. He was noted for his use of indigenous materials, especially woods for residential buildings and aluminum for tall office

Bellville, city, Western Cape province, South Africa. It lies east of Cape Town within the Cape Peninsula urban area. Originally a village called Twelfth Mile Stone, Bellville was established by proclamation in 1861 and named after Charles D. Bell, surveyor general of the Cape. It became a town in

Bellville: Bellville South, an industrial zone of Bellville, produces paper and food products, bricks and tiles, and fertilizers. Bellville, which is also a center of automobile retailing, is located on the main railway from Cape Town to Johannesburg. The University of the Western Cape was founded…

bellwort, any of five species of woodland plants that constitute the genus Uvularia of the family Colchicaceae and are native to eastern North America. They are all low perennials with slender, creeping rootstocks that send up leafy stems from 6 to 20 inches (15 to 50 cm) high. The stems bear large

soundboard, a thin plate of wood or a stretched membrane lying directly under the strings of a stringed musical instrument. It vibrates in response to the vibrations of the strings (transmitted to it by the bridge, an elastic piece of wood held under pressure or tension between the strings and

Nas: …occasional film appearances, notably in Belly (1998), a crime drama in which he starred opposite rapper DMX, and Black Nativity (2013), an adaptation of Langston Hughes’s gospel play. In 2018 he appeared in the independent film Monster, based on an acclaimed novel by Walter Dean Myers.

navel, in anatomy, a small depression in the abdominal wall at the point of attachment of the umbilical cord (q.v.). It indicates the point through which the mammalian fetus obtained nourishment from its mother through the blood vessels of the umbilical

Western dance: Ancient Egyptian dance: …is considerable agreement that the belly dance, now performed by dancers from the Middle East, is of African origin. A report of the 4th century bc from Memphis in Egypt described in detail the performance of an apparently rumba-like couple dance with an unquestionably erotic character. The Egyptians also knew…

artiodactyl: Scent glands: Inguinal (belly) glands are found in bovids, there being two in sheep, saiga, chiru, gazelles, duikers, and blackbuck, and four in members of the tribes Reduncini and Tragelaphini. Carpal (wrist) glands are present in some pigs, some gazelles and allies, and the oribi (Ourebia ourebi).…

Émile Zola: Les Rougon-Macquart: Le Ventre de Paris (1873; The Belly of Paris) examines the structure of the Halles, the vast central market-place of Paris, and its influence on the lives of its workers. The 10 steel pavilions that make up the market are compared alternately to a machine, a palace, and an entire…

military technology: Mechanical artillery: …the Greek engines was the gastrophetes, or “belly shooter.” In effect a large crossbow, it received its name because the user braced the stock against his belly to draw the weapon. Though Greek texts did not go into detail on construction of the bow, it was based on a composite…

Thomas Dekker: …Yeare (1603), about the plague; The Belman of London (1608), about roguery and crime, with much material borrowed from Robert Greene and others; and The Guls Horne-Booke (1609), a valuable account of behaviour in the London theatres.

Jean-Paul Belmondo was a French motion picture actor who embodied the antiheroic spirit of the French New Wave in his early performances and later starred in and produced many commercially successful films that highlighted his graceful agility and easygoing charm. The son of sculptor Paul Belmondo,

Marit Bjørgen: …she joined Raisa Smetanina and Stefania Belmondo, both of whom were also cross-country skiers, as the most-decorated female Olympians in history. The following year Bjørgen had an outstanding World Cup season as she captured her fourth overall title—this time by a whopping 784 points—and won the sprint title for a…

Belmont, city, San Mateo county, western California, U.S., near San Mateo. Settled in 1850 as a stagecoach station, it was known for its association with William C. Ralston, a Bank of California magnate who in 1866 transformed Count Leonetto Cipriani’s hillside villa into an ornate, rambling

garden and landscape design: 19th century: And Belmont, in Pennsylvania, was laid out as late as the 1870s with mazes, topiary, and statues, in a style that would have been popular in England about two centuries before.

Belmont, village, Lafayette county, southwestern Wisconsin, U.S. It lies about 60 miles (100 km) southwest of Madison. The original village was the first seat of the Territory of Wisconsin (created 1836), and the first legislature met there for 46 days in one of several hastily constructed frame

Belmont family, family prominent in American banking and finance, politics, and patronage of the arts. The family’s founder in the United States was August Belmont (b. Dec. 8, 1816, Alzey, Rhenish Prussia [Germany]—d. Nov. 24, 1890, New York, N.Y., U.S.), a German-born banker and diplomat. The son

Belmont Stakes, oldest and longest of the three classic horse races (with the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes) that constitute the Triple Crown of American horse racing. The Belmont Stakes originated in 1867 and is named after the financier, diplomat, and sportsman August Belmont. It has

Nashville: The contemporary city: … (1866; United Church of Christ), Belmont University (1890; Tennessee Southern Baptist Convention), Lipscomb University (1891; Churches of Christ), Trevecca Nazarene University (1901), and Aquinas College (1961; Roman Catholic). Nashville is also the seat of Vanderbilt University (1873), Meharry Medical College (1876), Tennessee State University (1912), and Nashville State Technical Institute…

Alva Belmont was a prominent socialite of New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, who, in her later years, became an outspoken suffragist. Alva Smith grew up in her birthplace of Mobile, Alabama, and, after the American Civil War, in France. She married William K. Vanderbilt, grandson of

Alva Belmont was a prominent socialite of New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, who, in her later years, became an outspoken suffragist. Alva Smith grew up in her birthplace of Mobile, Alabama, and, after the American Civil War, in France. She married William K. Vanderbilt, grandson of

August Belmont was a German-born American banker, diplomat, political leader, sportsman, and a patron of the arts who was a defining figure of America’s Gilded Age. At age 14 Belmont entered the banking house of the Rothschilds at Frankfurt am Main, and he later transferred to the Naples office. In

Belmont family: August Belmont, Jr. (b. Feb. 18, 1853, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Dec. 10, 1924, New York), another son of August Belmont, graduated from Harvard in 1874 and then entered his father’s firm, August Belmont & Company. He took full control of the banking house upon…

Lucille Ball was a radio and motion-picture actress and longtime comedy star of American television, best remembered for her classic television comedy series I Love Lucy. Ball determined at an early age to become an actress and left high school at age 15 to enroll in a drama school in New York

Belmont family: Eleanor Belmont, née Robson (b. Dec. 13, 1879, Wigan, Lancashire, Eng.—d. Oct. 24, 1979, New York, N.Y., U.S.), was the second wife of August Belmont, Jr. She began her career as a successful actress in San Francisco and then achieved a series of triumphs on…

Belmont family: Perry Belmont (b. Dec. 20, 1850, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. May 25, 1947, Newport, R.I.) was their eldest son. He attended Harvard University (A.B., 1872) and Columbia Law School, where he earned a law degree in 1876. He practiced law from then until 1881, when…

Juan Belmonte was a Spanish bullfighter, one of the greatest toreros and the most revolutionary in his style. About 1914, early in his career (which extended from 1910 to 1935), Belmonte introduced the technique of standing erect, nearly motionless, and much closer to the bull’s horns than earlier

Juan Belmonte was a Spanish bullfighter, one of the greatest toreros and the most revolutionary in his style. About 1914, early in his career (which extended from 1910 to 1935), Belmonte introduced the technique of standing erect, nearly motionless, and much closer to the bull’s horns than earlier

Belmopan, capital of Belize. It is located near the town of Roaring Creek, in the Belize River valley 50 miles (80 km) inland from Belize City, the former capital on the Caribbean coast. The new capital was conceived after Hurricane Hattie and an associated tidal wave did extensive damage to Belize

Belo Horizonte, city, southern Minas Gerais estado (state), southeastern Brazil. It lies on the western slope of the Espinhaço Mountains, at an elevation of 2,720 feet (830 metres). The first of Brazil’s planned cities, Belo Horizonte occupies a wide plateau encircled by the Curral del Rey

Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo is a former Roman Catholic bishop of Dili (1988–2002) who, with José Ramos-Horta, received the 1996 Nobel Prize for Peace for their efforts to bring peace to East Timor (Timor Timur) during the period that it was under Indonesian control (1975–99). In 2020 Belo was

phytosaur: Familiar genera include Phytosaurus, Belodon, and Rutiodon, which was more than 3 metres (10 feet) long and whose skull alone measured about 1 metre.

Beloeil, town, Montréal region, southern Quebec province, Canada. It lies on the west (left) bank of the Richelieu River. First settled in 1694, Beloeil, the name of which means “beautiful view” in French, is now a popular summer resort and suburb of Montreal city, 18 miles (29 km) to the west, to

Sergey Beloglazov is a Soviet freestyle wrestler who won two Olympic gold medals. At the age of 21, Beloglazov became a member of the Soviet national team. That same year, his twin brother, Anatoly, won the world championship at 48 kg (105.5 pounds). Sergey was smaller in height (5 feet 12 inch

Belogorsk, city, Amur oblast (region), far eastern Russia. Situated in the Zeya-Bureya Plain and on the Tom River, it was founded in 1860 and became a city in 1926. It is a rail junction and an agricultural centre in a wheat-producing area with food-processing industries. Pop. (2005 est.)

Beloit, city, Rock county, southern Wisconsin, U.S. It lies along the Illinois state line at the confluence of the Rock River and Turtle Creek, about 15 miles (25 km) south of Janesville. The area had recently been inhabited by Ho-Chunk Nation (Winnebago) Indians when the first permanent settler,

Beloit College, private coeducational liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, U.S. Beloit College is Wisconsin’s oldest college, chartered by the territorial legislature in 1846. The following year instruction began in the Middle College building. Women were first admitted in 1895. Total

White Sea, an almost landlocked extension of the Arctic Ocean indenting the shores of northwestern Russia. It is connected to the more northerly Barents Sea by a long, narrow strait known as the Gorlo (“Throat”). The boundary between the two seas runs along a line joining Cape Kanin Nos and Cape

Russian literature: The Stalin era: …imeni Stalina: istoriya stroitelstva (1934; Belomor: An Account of the Construction of the New Canal Between the White Sea and the Baltic Sea). With Gorky as an editor and 34 contributors, including Gorky, Katayev, Shklovsky, Aleksey Tolstoy, and Zoshchenko, the volume praised a project (and the secret police who directed…

Russian literature: The Stalin era: …imeni Stalina: istoriya stroitelstva (1934; Belomor: An Account of the Construction of the New Canal Between the White Sea and the Baltic Sea). With Gorky as an editor and 34 contributors, including Gorky, Katayev, Shklovsky, Aleksey Tolstoy, and Zoshchenko, the volume praised a project (and the secret police who directed…

White Sea–Baltic Canal, system of rivers, lakes, and canals in northwestern Russia that connects the White Sea to Lake Onega, where it joins the Volga-Baltic Waterway (q.v.). The White Sea–Baltic Canal is 141 miles (227 km) long, 23 miles (37 km) of which is manmade. It was constructed between 1930

Pierre Belon was a French naturalist whose discussion of dolphin embryos and systematic comparisons of the skeletons of birds and humans mark the beginnings of modern embryology and comparative anatomy. Belon studied botany at the University of Wittenberg (1540) and, under the patronage of

garfish, European species of needlefish

needlefish, any of the long, slim, primarily marine fishes of the family Belonidae (order Atheriniformes), found throughout temperate and tropical waters. Needlefish are adept jumpers, carnivorous in habit, and distinguished by long, slender jaws equipped with sharp teeth. They are silvery fish,

fish: Annotated classification: Order Beloniformes (medakas, needlefishes, halfbeaks, and allies) Absence of the interhyal bone; reduction or loss of the interarcual cartilage; a single, ventral hypohyal bone; distinctive caudal skeleton characterized by the lower caudal lobe with more principal rays than in the upper caudal lobe. 5 families, with…

crystallite: Belonites are elongated with pointed or rounded ends; they include the forms called longulites (elongated), spiculites (tapered toward both ends), and clavalites (dumbbell-shaped).

labyrinth fish: …in five families: Badidae, Anabantidae, Belontiidae, Helostomatidae, and Osphronemidae.

Beloretsk, city, Bashkortostan, west-central Russia. It lies near the headwaters of the Belaya River, a tributary of the Kama. It was founded as a mining settlement in 1762 when a metallurgical factory was constructed nearby. Beloretsk remains a metallurgical centre and has medical and teachers

Belarusian language, East Slavic language that is historically the native language of most Belarusians. Many 20th-century governments of Belarus had policies favouring the Russian language, and, as a result, Russian is more widely used in education and public life than Belarusian. Belarusian forms

Belarus, landlocked country of eastern Europe. Until it became independent in 1991, Belarus, formerly known as Belorussia or White Russia, was the smallest of the three Slavic republics included in the Soviet Union (the larger two being Russia and Ukraine). While Belarusians share a distinct ethnic

Belarus: Ethnic groups: Ethnic Belarusians make up about four-fifths of the country’s population. Russians, many of whom migrated to the Belorussian S.S.R. in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, form the second largest ethnic group, accounting for roughly one-tenth of the population. Most of the remainder are Poles and Ukrainians,…

Belorussian Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic church of the Byzantine rite, in communion with the Roman Catholic Church since the Union of Brest-Litovsk in 1596. There were several million Belorussians in the 17th–18th century belonging to the Kievan metropolitanate. After the annexation of

Belarusian language, East Slavic language that is historically the native language of most Belarusians. Many 20th-century governments of Belarus had policies favouring the Russian language, and, as a result, Russian is more widely used in education and public life than Belarusian. Belarusian forms

Belarus, landlocked country of eastern Europe. Until it became independent in 1991, Belarus, formerly known as Belorussia or White Russia, was the smallest of the three Slavic republics included in the Soviet Union (the larger two being Russia and Ukraine). While Belarusians share a distinct ethnic

Baal: …became known as the Greek Belos, identified with Zeus.

giant water bug, any wide and flat-bodied aquatic insect of the family Belostomatidae (order Heteroptera). This family, although containing only about 100 species, includes the largest bugs in the order: sometimes exceeding 10 cm (4 inches) in the South American species Lethocerus grandis and

belote, trick-and-meld card game derived from klaberjass about 1920 and now the most popular card game in France. The original game was for two players, and there are versions for three players, but the most popular form now is the four-player partnership game, also known as belote coinchée or just

belote: …as belote coinchée or just coinche, that developed in the latter half of the 20th century.

malacostracan: Annotated classification: †Order Belotelsonidea Carboniferous; carapace large; thoracic legs 1-branched, simple, without pincers; pleopods flaplike; telson with furcae; 1 family. Order Euphausiacea (krill) Carboniferous? to Holocene; carapace not covering leg bases; 8 thoracic legs biramous, unspecialized, bearing tuffy gills; telson with furcae; long

Kyzyl, city and capital of Tyva (Tuva) republic, central Russia. It lies at the confluence of the Great Yenisey and Little Yenisey rivers where they form the upper Yenisey. Kyzyl’s industries include tanning, timber working, brickworking, and food processing. The city has an agricultural college

belote, trick-and-meld card game derived from klaberjass about 1920 and now the most popular card game in France. The original game was for two players, and there are versions for three players, but the most popular form now is the four-player partnership game, also known as belote coinchée or just

Bernardo Bellotto was a vedute (“view”) painter of the Venetian school known for his carefully drawn topographical paintings of central Italian and eastern European cities. Bellotto studied under his uncle, Canaletto, and was himself known by that name when painting outside Italy. Bellotto’s urban

tactical weapons system: Air-to-surface systems: The French Belouga system is a cluster of small grenades encased in a bomb that is released over the target area—such as a group of tanks—where it then ejects the grenades. They descend by parachute and, if they hit on or near a tank, they detonate on…

Vladimir Vladimirovich Belousov was a Soviet geologist and geophysicist who in 1942 advanced the theory that the Earth’s material has gradually differentiated according to its density to produce the present internal structure of the Earth and that this gradual movement is the basic cause of

Oleg Protopopov and Lyudmila Belousova: Protopopov and Belousova began skating at age 15 and 16, respectively, rather late for serious skaters. They met in 1954 (when he had completed his service in the Soviet navy), began to skate together, and married in 1957. They entered their first world championships in 1958, in…

Oleg Protopopov and Lyudmila Belousova: Protopopov and Belousova began skating at age 15 and 16, respectively, rather late for serious skaters. They met in 1954 (when he had completed his service in the Soviet navy), began to skate together, and married in 1957. They entered their first world championships in 1958, in…

Beloved: Analysis: A film adaptation starring Oprah Winfrey was released in 1998.

Catherine Deneuve: …Demy-inspired musical Les Bien-Aimés (2011; Beloved) and 3 Coeurs (2014; 3 Hearts). Deneuve’s older sister, Françoise Dorléac, was also a successful actress. The sisters appeared together in one film, Demy’s Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (1967; The Young Girls of Rochefort).

Beloved, novel by Toni Morrison, published in 1987 and winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. The work examines the destructive legacy of slavery as it chronicles the life of a Black woman named Sethe, from her pre-Civil War days as a slave in Kentucky to her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, in

biography: Interpretative biography: …her lives of Tchaikovsky, “Beloved Friend” (1937), and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Yankee from Olympus (1944). She molds her sources into a vivid narrative, worked up into dramatic scenes that always have some warranty of documentation—the dialogue, for example, is sometimes devised from the indirect discourse of letter or diary.…

Henry King: Later films: …Is Mine (1959), King made Beloved Infidel (1959), an unsatisfying dramatizion of the love affair between F. Scott Fitzgerald (Peck) and gossip columnist Sheilah Graham (Deborah Kerr). Fitzgerald was no better served in King’s 1962 adaptation of the writer’s novel Tender Is the Night. Producer David O. Selznick

paraphrase: …motet Alma redemptoris mater (Beloved Mother of the Redeemer) by Guillaume Dufay, or in all voice parts through the technique of melodic imitation, as in the Missa pange lingua (mass on the plainsong hymn “Pange lingua” [“Sing, My Tongue”]) by Josquin des Prez.

Thomas Mann: Later novels of Thomas Mann: title, The Beloved Returns). Lotte Kestner, the heroine of Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther, his semi-autobiographical story of unrequited love and romantic despair, visits Weimar in old age to see once again her old lover, now famous, and win some acknowledgment from him. But Goethe…

Lester Horton: …Wilde’s one-act play Salomé; and The Beloved (all 1948), based on a newspaper article about a man who suspected his wife of infidelity and beat her to death with a Bible. The Beloved, co-choreographed with Lewitzky, is widely regarded to be a classic example of modern dance and one of…

Belovezhskaya Forest, forest in western Belarus and eastern Poland. One of the largest surviving areas of primeval mixed forest (pine, beech, oak, alder, and spruce) in Europe, it occupies more than 460 square miles (1,200 square km). The Belovezhskaya Forest is located near the headwaters of the

Belovezhskaya Forest, forest in western Belarus and eastern Poland. One of the largest surviving areas of primeval mixed forest (pine, beech, oak, alder, and spruce) in Europe, it occupies more than 460 square miles (1,200 square km). The Belovezhskaya Forest is located near the headwaters of the

Belovezhskaya Forest, forest in western Belarus and eastern Poland. One of the largest surviving areas of primeval mixed forest (pine, beech, oak, alder, and spruce) in Europe, it occupies more than 460 square miles (1,200 square km). The Belovezhskaya Forest is located near the headwaters of the

Belovo, city, western Kemerovo oblast (region), southwest-central Siberia, Russia. It lies on the small Bachat River. Belovo was incorporated in 1930 and developed as an important coal-mining city of the Kuznetsk Coal Basin. A large zinc works, built in 1931, uses concentrated ore from eastern

Battle of Caporetto: Clashes on the Isonzo: …the Fourteenth German Army under Otto von Below, with Krafft as chief of staff and guiding light. These troops were to penetrate the mountain barrier of the Julian Alps at the northeastern corner of the Venetian salient on a line running from the Rombon-Bovec region southeastward past Tolmino, with Caporetto…

Russia: Lakes: …these reach considerable size, notably Beloye (White) Lake and Lakes Top, Vyg, and Ilmen, each occupying more than 400 square miles (1,000 square km) in the European northwest, and Lake Chany (770 square miles [1,990 square km]) in southwestern Siberia.

White Sea, an almost landlocked extension of the Arctic Ocean indenting the shores of northwestern Russia. It is connected to the more northerly Barents Sea by a long, narrow strait known as the Gorlo (“Throat”). The boundary between the two seas runs along a line joining Cape Kanin Nos and Cape

Belper, town (parish), Amber Valley district, administrative and historic county of Derbyshire, central England. It lies on the east bank of the River Derwent. Belper is probably a corruption of Beaurepair, the name given to his hunting seat (and variously spelled) by Edmund Crouchback, earl of

Berosus was a Chaldean priest of Bel in Babylon who wrote a work in three books (in Greek) on the history and culture of Babylonia dedicated to Antiochus I (c. 324–261 bc). It was widely used by later Greek compilers, whose versions in turn were quoted by religious historians such as Eusebius of

Bergen-Belsen, Nazi German concentration camp near the villages of Bergen and Belsen, about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Celle, Germany. It was established in 1943 on part of the site of a prisoner-of-war camp and was originally intended as a detention camp for Jews who were to be exchanged for

Josef Kramer was a German commander of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp (1944–45), notorious for his cruelty. Joining the Nazi Party on Dec. 1, 1931, Kramer volunteered for the SS the following year. He served at various camps, including Auschwitz, Mauthausen, and Dachau, and commanded Birkenau

Belshazzar was a coregent of Babylon who was killed at the capture of the city by the Persians. Belshazzar had been known only from the biblical Book of Daniel (chapters 5, 7–8) and from Xenophon’s Cyropaedia until 1854, when references to him were found in Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions. Though