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Bangui ... Baotou

Bangui: capital of the Central African Republic, on the west bank of the Ubangi River. The town is connected by an extended 1,100-mile (1,800-kilometre) river and rail transport system with Pointe-Noire, ...
Bangweulu: shallow lake with extensive swamps in northeastern Zambia. It is part of the Congo River system. Lying at an elevation of 3,740 feet (1,140 m), the waters of Bangweulu, fluctuating ...
Banha: town, capital of Al-Qalyubiyah muhafazah (governorate), Lower Egypt. The town lies on the right (east) bank of the Damietta Branch of the Nile and on the At-Tawfiqi Canal in the ...
Bani: city, southern Dominican Republic, situated in coastal lowlands 3 miles (5 km) from the Caribbean Sea. The city is a commercial and manufacturing centre for the fertile agricultural hinterland, whose ...
Bani River: principal affluent of the Niger River on its right bank in Mali, West Africa, formed by the confluence of the Baoule and Bagoe headstreams 100 mi (160 km) east of ...
Bani Suwayf: city, capital of Bani Suwayf muhafazah (governorate), northern Upper Egypt. It is an important agricultural trade centre on the west bank of the Nile River, 70 miles ...
Bani Suwayf: muhafazah (governorate), lying along the Nile River in northern Upper Egypt, with an extension into the Western Desert at its southern end. Al-Fayyum governorate lies to the ...
Bani-Sadr, Abolhasan: Iranian economist and politician who in 1980 was elected the first president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He was dismissed from office in 1981 after being impeached for incompetence.
Bania: (from Sanskrit vanijya, "trade"), Indian caste consisting generally of moneylenders or merchants, found chiefly in northern and western India; strictly speaking, however, many mercantile communities are not Banias, and, conversely, ...
Banihal Pass: pass in the Pir Panjal Range in the Indian-held sector of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. Banihal-a name that in Kashmiri ...
Banim, John and Michael: brothers who collaborated in novels and stories of Irish peasant life.
Banister, John: violinist and composer, a prominent musician of his day and organizer of the first public concerts in England.
Banja Luka: city, northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies along the Vrbas River at its confluence with the Vrbanja. Under the Ottoman Turks, Banja Luka ("Baths of St. Luke") was an important ...
Banjarmasin: kotamadya (city), capital of Kalimantan Selatan provinsi (South Borneo province), Indonesia, on Tapas island between the Barito and Martapura rivers on the southern coast ...
banjo: stringed musical instrument of African origin, popularized in the U.S. by slaves in the 19th century, then exported to Europe. Several African stringed instruments have similar names-e.g., bania, banju. The ...
banjo clock: clock so named because its upper portion is shaped like an inverted banjo, patented by Simon Willard of Connecticut in 1802. The clock has a circular face with a narrow ...
Banjul: city, capital, and Atlantic port of The Gambia, on St. Mary's Island, near the mouth of the Gambia River. It is the country's largest city. It was founded in 1816, ...
bank: rocky or sandy submerged elevation of the seafloor with a summit less than 200 m (650 feet) below the surface but not so high as to endanger navigation. Many banks ...
bank: an institution that deals in money and its substitutes and provides other financial services. Banks accept deposits and make loans and derive a profit from the difference in the interest ...
Bank Craps: dice game, the variant of Craps most played in Nevada gambling houses. A special table and layout are used, and all bets are made against the house. A player signifies ...
bank holiday: in the United Kingdom, any of several days designated as holidays by the Bank Holidays Act of 1871 and a supplementary act of 1875 for all the banks in England, ...
Bank of America Corporation: banking and financial services corporation formed through the merger of NationsBank and BankAmerica in 1998. One of the largest banking organizations in the United States, Bank of America is headquartered ...
Bank of Boston Corporation: American bank holding company whose principal subsidiary is the First National Bank of Boston. Through this subsidiary and others located throughout the United States and abroad, the Bank of Boston ...
Bank of China Tower: triangular glass skyscraper in Hong Kong, completed in 1989. It houses the Hong Kong headquarters of the Beijing-based central Bank of China, together with other tenants.
Bank of New York Company, Inc., The: major American bank holding company, headquartered in New York City.
Bank of the United States: central bank chartered in 1791 by the U.S. Congress at the urging of Alexander Hamilton and over the objections of Thomas Jefferson. The extended debate over its constitutionality contributed significantly ...
Bank One: Former U.S. bank holding company that merged with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in 2004. Bank One had been created through the 1998 merger of First Chicago NBD Corp. and ...
Bank Street College of Education: privately supported coeducational teachers college in New York, New York, U.S. It offers graduate courses only, operating a laboratory (elementary) school and conducting basic research in education. Established in 1916 ...
Bank War: in U.S. history, the struggle between President Andrew Jackson and Nicholas Biddle, president of the Bank of the United States, over the continued existence of the only national banking institution ...
Bankhead, Tallulah: American actress who was as famous for her offstage shenanigans as for her theatrical achievements.
bankruptcy: the status of a debtor who has been declared by judicial process to be unable to pay his debts. Although sometimes used indiscriminately to mean insolvency, the terms have distinct ...
Banks Island: westernmost island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Inuvik region, Northwest Territories; it lies northwest of Victoria Island and is separated from the mainland (south) by Amundsen Gulf. About 250 miles ...
Banks Islands: volcanic group in Vanuatu, southwestern Pacific Ocean. They include the islands of Vanua Lava, Santa Maria (Gaua), Mota, and Mota Lava (Saddle) and numerous islets. First explored in 1793 by ...
Banks Peninsula: peninsula in eastern South Island, New Zealand, extending 30 miles (48 km) into the Pacific Ocean. It is bounded by Pegasus Bay (north) and Canterbury Bight (south) and has a ...
Banks, Ernie: American professional baseball player, regarded as one of the finest power hitters in the history of the game. Banks starred for the Chicago Cubs from 1953 to 1971. An 11-time ...
Banks, Nathaniel P.: American politician and Union general during the American Civil War, who during 1862-64 commanded at New Orleans.
Banks, Russell: American novelist known for his portrayals of the interior lives of characters at odds with economic and social forces.
Banks, Sir Joseph, Baronet: British explorer, naturalist, and long-time president of the Royal Society, known for his promotion of science.
Bankside: loosely defined area along the south bank of the River Thames in the London borough of Southwark. Bankside is also the name of a street in the district, which lies ...
Bankura: town, western West Bengal state, northeastern India. It lies just north of the Dhaleswari (Dhalkisor) River. As a major Grand Trunk Road and rail junction, Bankura is an agricultural distributing ...
Bann, River: river, the largest in Northern Ireland, falling into two distinct parts. The upper Bann rises in the Mourne Mountains and flows northwest to Lough (lake) Neagh. The lower Bann flows ...
Bannatyne, George: compiler of an important collection of Scottish poetry from the 15th and 16th centuries (the golden age of Scottish literature).
Banneker, Benjamin: mathematician, astronomer, compiler of almanacs, inventor, and writer, one of the first important black American intellectuals.
Banner system: the military organization used by the Manchu tribes of Manchuria (now Northeast China) to conquer and control China in the 17th century. The Banner system was developed by the Manchu ...
banneret: a European medieval knight privileged to display in the field a square banner (as distinct from the tapering pennon of a simple knight). The term was used in countries of ...
banning: in South Africa, an administrative action by which publications, organizations, or assemblies could be outlawed and suppressed and individual persons could be placed under severe restrictions of their freedom of ...
Bannister, Sir Roger: English neurologist who was the first athlete to run a mile in less than four minutes.
bannock: flat, sometimes unleavened bread eaten primarily in Scotland. Although most commonly made of oats, bannocks of barley, ground dried peas, and a combination of grains are sometimes encountered. Selkirk bannock ...
Bannock: Indian tribe of the Great Basin area of North America. In historical times and probably before 1700 the Bannock ranged through southern Idaho, especially along the Snake River and its ...
Bannockburn: town, Stirling council area, historic county of Stirlingshire, Scotland. Located slightly to the east of the famous battlefield to which it lent its name, Bannockburn was known in the 18th ...
Bannockburn, Battle of: (June 23-24, 1314), decisive battle in Scottish history, whereby the Scots under Robert the Bruce defeated the English under Edward II, regained their independence, and established Bruce on his throne ...
Bannu: town, central part of North-West Frontier province, Pakistan, just south of the Kurram River. The nearby Akra mounds have revealed finds dating to about 300 BC. In ancient and medieval ...
Bansang: town, east-central Gambia, on the south bank of the Gambia River. Bansang is a local trade centre for peanuts (groundnuts), rice, and fish among the Malinke, Fulani, and Wolof peoples, ...
Banshan ware: type of Chinese Neolithic painted pottery. Its name is derived from the grave site in the Gansu province of north China at which the pottery was found in 1924.
banshee: ("woman of the fairies") supernatural being in Irish and other Celtic folklore whose mournful "keening," or wailing screaming or lamentation, at night was believed to foretell the death of a ...
Banska Bystrica: town, capital of Stredni Slovensko kraj, Slovakia. It lies in the Hron River valley, surrounded by mountains. An ancient town, it has been an important mining centre since the 13th ...
Banswara: city, southern part of Rajasthan state, northwestern India. Banswara is an agricultural market centre. Its principal industries include cotton ginning, flour milling, handweaving, and woodworking. A walled city, it was ...
Bantam: former city and sultanate of Java, Indonesia. It lay near the site of present-day Banten, on Banten Bay, at the extreme northwest of the island, just north of Serang. Now ...
banteng: (species Bos banteng), a species of wild Southeast Asian cattle, family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla), found in hill forests. A shy animal resembling a domestic cow, the banteng attains a shoulder ...
Banti, Anna: Italian biographer, critic, and author of fiction about women's struggles for equality of opportunity.
Banting, Sir Frederick Grant: Canadian physician who, with Charles H. Best, was the first to extract (1921) the hormone insulin from the pancreas. Injections of insulin proved to be the first effective treatment for ...
Bantock, Sir Granville: English composer known especially for his large-scale works in the grand manner.
Bantry Bay: long inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, southwestern County Cork, Ireland. The bay has a maximum length of 30 miles (48 km) and is 10 miles (16 km) wide at its ...
Bantu languages: a group of some 500 languages belonging to the Bantoid subgroup of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The Bantu languages are spoken in a very large area, ...
Bantu peoples: the approximately 85 million speakers of the more than 500 distinct languages of the Bantu subgroup of the Niger-Congo language family, occupying almost the entire southern projection of the African ...
Banville, Theodore de: respected French poet of the mid-19th century who was a late disciple of the Romantics, a leader of the Parnassian movement, and an influence on the Symbolists. His first book ...
Banyak Islands: group of more than 60 small islands, in Aceh daerah istimewa (special district), Indonesia. The largest of the islands are Great Banyak, or Pulau (island) Tuangku, and Pulau Bangkaru. With ...
banyan: (Ficus benghalensis, or F. indica), unusually shaped tree of the fig genus in the mulberry family (Moraceae) native to tropical Asia. Aerial roots that develop from its branches descend and ...
Banyuwangi: city, Jawa Timur propinsi (East Java province), Java, Indonesia. A major port on the Selat (strait) Bali, opposite Bali just to the east, it is located 120 miles (193 km) ...
Banzer Suarez, Hugo: soldier and politician who was president of Bolivia from 1971 to 1978 and from 1997 to 2001.
Bao Dai: the last reigning emperor of Vietnam (1926-45).
baobab: (Adansonia digitata), tree of the bombax family (Bombacaceae) of the order Malvales, native to Africa. The barrel-like trunk may reach a diameter of 9 metres (30 feet) and a height ...
Baoding: city, Hebei sheng (province), China. It is situated on the edge of the North China Plain at the foot of the Wuhui Mountains, a section of the Taihang Mountains, and ...
baojia: traditional Chinese system of collective neighbourhood organization, by means of which the government was able to maintain order and control through all levels of society, while employing relatively few officials.
Baol: in the 14th century, a satellite state of the Wolof empire of West Africa. Situated along the coast and inland to the south of Dakar in present Senegal, it was ...
Baotou: city, central Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China. A prefecture-level municipality, Baotou is situated on the north bank of the Huang He (Yellow River) on its great northern bend, about ...