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Bankside ... Baptist Missionary Association of America

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 between Blackfriars Bridge (west) and London Bridge (east) and more or less defines the extent of the area. South Bank, ... Banksy anonymous British graffiti artist known for his antiauthoritarian art, often done in public places. Bankura city, western West Bengal state, northeastern India. It lies just north of the Dhaleshwari River. As a major rail junction on the Grand Trunk Road, Bankura is an agricultural distribution centre. Rice and oilseed milling, cotton weaving, metalware manufacture, and railway workshops are the major industries. Constituted a municipality in ... 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 northward through Lough Beg and carries the waters of Lough Neagh to the sea below Coleraine. The total length is ... 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 African 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 leader Nurhachi (1559-1626), who in 1601 organized his warriors into four companies of 300 men each. The companies were distinguished ... 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 French and English speech from the 13th to the 16th century. In 13th-century England any commander of a troop 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 travel, association, and speech. Banning was an important tool in the South African government's suppression of those opposed to its ... Bannister, Sir Roger English neurologist who was the first athlete to run a mile in less than four minutes. Bannock North American Indian tribe that lived in what is now southern Idaho, especially along the Snake River and its tributaries, and joined with the Shoshone tribe in the second half of the 19th century. Linguistically, they were most closely related to the Northern Paiute of what is now eastern Oregon, ... 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 is made from wheat flour and contains fruit. 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 and 19th centuries for cottage weaving and the manufacture of tartans and carpets. The Battle of Bannockburn, fought June 23-24, ... 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 as Robert I. Bannu town, central part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, just south of the Kurram River. The nearby Akra mounds have revealed finds dating to about 300 BCE. In ancient and medieval times, the Kurram-Bannu route into the Indian subcontinent was used by invaders and colonizers from the northwest. Founded in 1848 ... Banpo site one of the most important archaeological sites yielding remains of the Painted Pottery, or Yangshao, culture of late Neolithic China. It is located at the east suburb of the city of Xi'an in the Chinese province of Shaanxi. Banpo site was excavated by members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences ... 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, and it is a port of call for the government steamer from Banjul, 188 miles (303 km) downstream. Bansang is ... 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 member of the family of the person who heard the spirit. In Ireland banshees were believed to warn only families ... Banska Bystrica town, capital of Banskobystricky kraj (region), central Slovakia. It lies in the Hron River valley, surrounded by mountains. An ancient town, it was an important mining centre from the 13th century, when it was chartered. Gothic and Renaissance-style buildings, including burghers' houses and the castle group (in the heart of ... Banswara town, southern part of Rajasthan state, northwestern India. A walled town, it was founded in the early 16th century. Banswara is an agricultural market centre. Its principal industries include cotton ginning, flour milling, hand-weaving, and woodworking. A government college there is affiliated with the University of Rajasthan. Bantam former city and sultanate of Java, Indonesia. It lay near the site of the present-day city of Banten, on Banten Bay, at the extreme northwest of the island, just north of Serang. Now in ruins, Bantam was the most important port on Java for the spice trade with Europe from ... Banten propinsi (or provinsi; province), western Java, Indonesia, bounded to the north by the Java Sea, to the northeast by the special capital district of Jakarta, to the east by the province of West Java (Jawa Barat), to the south by the Indian Ocean, and to the west by the Sunda ... 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 height of about 1.5-1.75 m (60-69 inches). It has a slight ridge on the back, a white rump, white "stockings" ... 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 one of the first to extract (1921) the hormone insulin from the pancreas. Injections of insulin proved to be the first effective treatment for diabetes, a disease in which glucose accumulates in abnormally high quantities in the blood. Banting was awarded a ... Bantock, Sir Granville English composer known especially for his large-scale choral and orchestral works. 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 broadest point; it separates the Beara peninsula to the north from the Sheep's Head peninsula to the south and is ... 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, including most of Africa from southern Cameroon eastward to Kenya and southward to the southernmost tip of the continent. Twelve ... 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 continent. The classification is primarily linguistic, for the cultural patterns of Bantu speakers are extremely diverse; the linguistic connection, however, ... Bantustan any of 10 former territories that were designated by the white-dominated government of South Africa as pseudo-national homelands for the country's black African (classified by the government as Bantu) population during the mid- to late 20th century. The Bantustans were a major administrative device for the exclusion of blacks from ... Banville, John Irish novelist and journalist whose fiction is known for being referential, paradoxical, and complex. Banville, Theodore de French poet of the mid-19th century who was a late disciple of the Romantics, a leader of the Parnassian movement, a contributor to many of the literary reviews of his time, and an influence on the Symbolists. Banyak Islands group of more than 60 small islands, in Aceh semiautonomous province, Indonesia. The largest of the islands are Great Banyak, or Tuangku, Island and Bangkaru Island. With an area of 123 square miles (319 square km), the group lies north of Nias Island and 18 miles (29 km) west of ... 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 take root in the soil to become new trunks. The banyan reaches a height up to 30 metres (100 feet) ... Banyuwangi city, East Java (Jawa Timur) propinsi (province), Java, Indonesia. A major port on the Bali Strait, opposite Bali just to the east, it is located 120 miles (193 km) southeast of Surabaya, the capital of East Java. It is linked by railway and road with Jember to the west and ... 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 tree of the hibiscus, or mallow, family (Malvaceae), native to Africa. The barrel-like trunk may reach a diameter of 9 metres (30 feet) and a height of 18 metres (59 feet). The young leaves are edible, and the large, gourdlike, woody fruit contains a tasty mucilaginous pulp from which a ... Baoding city, southwest-central Hebei sheng (province), China. It is situated in a well-watered area on the western edge of the North China Plain; the Taihang Mountains rise a short distance to the west. Situated on the main road from Beijing through western Hebei, it is southwest of the capital, roughly midway ... Baoji city, western Shaanxi sheng (province), north-central China. Situated on the north bank of the Wei River, it has been a strategic and transportation centre since early times, controlling the northern end of a pass across the Qin (Tsinling) Mountains, the only practicable route from the Wei valley into Sichuan province ... 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 conquered some time after 1556 by the neighbouring state of Cayor, which controlled it until 1686. Late in the 17th ... Baoruco, Sierra de mountain range in the southwestern part of the Dominican Republic. It extends about 50 mi (80 km) east from the Haitian border to the Caribbean Sea and lies parallel to the Cordillera Central. Its highest peak is 5,348 ft (1,630 m). Straddling the Haitian border, the range is known there ... Baotou city, central Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China. Baotou, a prefecture-level municipality, is situated on the north bank of the Huang He (Yellow River) on its great northern bend, about 100 miles (160 km) west of Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia. Baotou carpet floor covering handwoven in Baotou, in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China, noted for its high-quality of workmanship and materials. The designs usually consist of landscapes or religious symbols, although horse, stag, lion, and dragon motifs are also used. baptism a sacrament of admission to the Christian church. The forms and rituals of the various churches vary, but baptism almost invariably involves the use of water and the Trinitarian invocation, "I baptize you: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The candidate ... Baptist member of a group of Protestant Christians who share the basic beliefs of most Protestants but who insist that only believers should be baptized and that it should be done by immersion rather than by the sprinkling or pouring of water. (This view, however, is shared by others who are ... Baptist Federation of Canada cooperative agency for several Canadian Baptist groups, organized in 1944 in Saint John, N.B., by the United Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces, the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec, and the Baptist Union of Western Canada. Baptist General Conference conservative Baptist denomination that was organized in 1879 as the Swedish Baptist General Conference of America; the present name was adopted in 1945. It developed from the work of Gustaf Palmquist, a Swedish immigrant schoolteacher and lay preacher who became a Baptist in 1852. He established the first Swedish Baptist ... Baptist Missionary Association of America association of independent, conservative Baptist churches, organized as the North American Baptist Association in Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S., in 1950, in protest against the American Baptist Association's policy of seating at meetings messengers who were not members of the churches that elected them. The present name was adopted in 1968. ...