BIDDLE 22 BIDDLE, CLEMENT, the "Quaker Soldier," was born in Philadelphia, May 10, 1740. Although a strict Quaker, he identified himself with the Revolutionary cause even to the extent of going to war. He was present at the battles of Princeton, Brandywine, Gemiantown and Monmouth. He also shared the sufferings of Valley Forge. Ke resigned active service in 1780, but assisted in the making of the Federal Constitution in 1787. After that he was United States marshal of Pennsylvania. He died in Philadelphia, July 14, 1814. BIDDLE, JAMES, an American naval officer, born in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1793; entered the navy as a midshipman on the "Philadelphia" in 1800, and was on that frigate when she was wrecked on the Barbary coast in 1803. In the War of 1812 he served on the "Wasp" in the capture of the British sloop "Frolic," and was captain of the "Hornet" at the capture of the "Pen- guin." In 1845 he was given command of the East India Squadron and con- cluded the first treaty between the United States and China. He died in Philadelphia, Oct. 1, 1848. BIDDLE, JOHN, father of the modern Unitarians, born in Wotton-under- Edge, in Gloucestershire, in 1615; was educated at Oxford, and became master of a free school at Gloucester. He was repeatedly imprisoned for his anti-Trin- itarian views. A general act of oblivion, in 1652, restored him to liberty, when he immediately disseminated his opin- ions both by preaching and by the pub- lication of his "Twofold Scripture Cate- chism." He was again imprisoned, and the law of 1648, decreeing death for those denying the Trinity, was put in operation against him. Cromwell ban- ished him to St. Mary's Castle, Scilly, and assigned him 100 crowns annually. Here he remained three years, until the Protector liberated him in 1658. He then continued to preach his opinions till the death of Cromwell, and also after the Restoration, when he was committed to jail in 1662, and died a few months after. He wrote "Twelve Arguments Against the Deity of the Holy Spirit," etc. BIDDLE, NICHOLAS, an American naval officer, born in Philadelphia, Pa., Sept. 10, 1750. After serving in the British navy and in the Arctic ex- ploring expedition led by Captain Phipps, he returned to his native country at the outbreak of the Revolu- tion, and was one of the five officers who received the rank of captain at the or- BIEDA ganization of the American navy in 1775. In command of the "Andrea Doria" he accompanied Fleet-Captain Hopkins to the Bahamas, and was pres- ent at the capture of New Providence. In 1777 he took command of the 32-gun ship "Randolph," the first American frigate ever launched. He met the Brit- ish "Yarmouth," 64 guns, on March 7, 1778, and in the ensuing action the "Randolph" blew up, causing the death of her captain and about 315 others. BIDDLE, NICHOLAS, an American financier, born in Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. 8, 1786; became secretary to John Arm- strong, United States Minister to France, in 1804, and sul-equently went to England as secretary to James Mon- roe, then United States Minister. He returned home in 1807, was elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1810, and wa§ appointed a director of the United States Bank in 1819. He became president of the bank in 1823 and man- aged it ably down to the expiration of its charter. The financial trouble pre- cipitated upon the country by Jackson's withdrawal of the Government deposits in 1833 gave an unfortunate ending to Biddle's career as a banker. His integ- rity has since been vindicated. He pub- lished a "Commercial Digest," and "His- tory of the Expedition under Lewis and Clark to the Pacific Ocean." He died in Philadelphia, Feb. 27, 1844. BIDENTAL REPTILES', in paleon- tology, the name given by Andrew Geddes Bain, surveyor of military roads in South Africa, to certain notable rep- tiles found there about 500 miles E. of Cape Town. The name was given be- cause of their possessing two long, curved and sharp-pointed tusks. BIDPAI (bid'pi), or PILPAI, the re- puted author of a very ancient and popu- lar collection of Eastern fables. The original source of these stories is the old Indian collection of fables called "Panchatantra," which acquired its pres- ent form under Buddhist influences not earlier than the 2d century B. c. It was afterward spread over all India and handed down from age to age in vari- ous more or less different versions. An abridgment of this collection is known as the "Hitopadesa." The first English translation was published in 1570. BIEDA (be'da), the modern name of the ancient Blera, a town in Italy, It is noted for its extensive Etruscan necropolis of rock-hewn tombs, which are built in several terraces. These tombs are interesting from their imitation of dwellings.
