BOLTON. 259 BOKBABBIEB. Won (18S4) ; Poor Boys Who Became Famous (1885) ; Social iitudics in England (1880) ; fa- mous American Statesmen (1888) ; Famous Eng- lish Statesmen (1891) ; Famous (livers and Their Gifts (1896) ; and Our Devoted Friend, the Dog (I'.ion. BOLTRAFFIO, bol-trUf'fyi, Giovanni An- tonio. Sw Uelthaffio. BOLT-ROPE. The rope sewed on the edges of sails to stren-rthen them and prevent them from tearing. When on the perpendicuhir edge ot" a sail, it is called the k'ech-rojjing : along the bottom of a sail, the foot-rojiing ; along the top, the heud-roping. Some sails, owing to their shape, have no head-roping. All cordage em- ployed in furling, loosing, or setting a sail, it attached to it at all, is, except the bunt whip, fastened to the bolt-rope. BOLTZMANN. holts'man, Ludwig (1844—). An Aui-trian |ilisicist. born in Vienna. He stud- ied in 'icnua. Heidelberg, and Berlin ; was ap- pointed professor of physieo-mathematies at the University of Gratz in 1809, and in 1873 pro- fessor of mathematics in Vienna. From 1870 to 1890 he held the chair of experimental physics in Gratz, from 1S90 to 1895 that of theoretical physics in ^Munich, and from 1895 to 1900 that of theoretical physics in Vienna. In 1900 he was apijointed professor of physics at the University of Leipzig, and in 1902 was recalled to Vienna. He has made valuable researches in connection with thenno-dynaniies, the kinetic theorj' of gases, and other physical problems, and has pub- lished Vorlesungen ilber Maxwell's Theorie der Elektrizitat und des Lichts (1891-93); FoWe- avngen iiber kineiische Gaslheorie (1896); and Vorlesungen iiher die Prinzipe der Mechatiik (1897 et seq.). BOTjUS, De. a character in a humorous poem of the same name, by the younger Colman. It appeared in a volume entitled Broad Grins. His versified prescriptions, such as "When taken, to be well shaken," were sometimes disastrously misapplied. BOLYAI, bol'yo-e, Fakkas (German, Wou- GA>:(i) 11775-1850). A Hungarian mathemati- cian. He was born in Bolya, spent his early years of study in Enged, Klausenburg, and Jena, and later studied three years (1790-99) in Gijt- tingen. Here he formed an enduring friendship with Gauss, who was attracted to him by his pro- found thinking and excellent character. In 1804 he was made professor of mathematics in the Reformed College of Maros-Vfisarhely, where he remained forty-seven years. In common with his friend Gauss, with Sacehrei, Lanil)ert, and nu- merous other mathematicians, Bolyai made many efVorts to prove Euclid's postulate of parallelism. But it was reserved for his son, JSnos ( John) , to declare the science absolute of space, which as- signs Euclidean geometry to a particular kind of space. The chief work of the older Bolyai. known as the Tentamen, contains an appendix of twenty- six pages to Volume I., entitled Scientiam Spatii Absolute Veram Exhibens. This little mono- graph, now so famous, is the work of JAnos. Boi.YAl, J.NOS (1802-60), was born in Klau- senburg. He was a spirited boy; and, partaking of his father's mathematical genius, his progress %¥as marvelous. He finished the Latin school at the age of twelve, passed the philosophic cur- riculum in two years, and entered the Academy of Engineers in Vienna. In 1823 he was ap- pointed lieutenant at Temesvflr, from which place, November 3, 1823, he wrote to his father in jiositive terms of his conception of parallels: "From nothing 1 have created another wholly new world." This conception, as forumlated by him, became the appendix of the Tentamen. His later works, mostly unfinished, as the Principia Doctrinw Xovcc Quuntitalum, add little to his fame. Consult: Baltzer, Elemente der Mathe- matik (Dresden, 1866) ; Schmidt, in Abhand- lungen zur Geschichte der Mathematik, Vol. VIII. (Leipzig, 1895) ; Halsted, Bolyai— X on- Euclidean Geometry (Austin, 1890). BOLZANO, b&l-tsa'no, Beexhakd (1781- 1848). A German theologian, philosopher, and mathematician. He was born in Prague, was or- dained priest in 1805, and was appointed pro- fessor of the philosophy of religion at the imi- versity there. In 1820 he was removed on ac- count of his liberal teachings, for which he had been denounced in Rome by the Jesuits, and henceforth devoted himself to his literary labors. As a philosopher he was a devoted adherent of Ivcibnitz, but was also influenced by Kant. He was a mathematician of remarkable ability, and was one of the formulators of the present theory of functions. His most important works are: Wissenschaftslehre (1842); Versuch finer neuen Uarstcllung der Logik (1837); and Paradoxien des Unendlichen (1851). Consult his J-Utohioff- raphy. ed. by Fesl (Vienna, 1875). BO'MA. The capital of the Congo Free State, Africa, situated on the Congo River, a short distance from the coast (Map: Congo Free State, B 4). It has a well-built residential sec- tion, containing the Government buildings, and a business part situated along the coast. The Congo is navigable for seagoing vessels as far as Boma, and regular steamship communication is maintained with Antwerp. Boma is an important shipping centre, and is the capital of the Dis- trict of Bonui. It was visited by Stanley in 1877. BOMABSUND (Scand. bomar, rail, bar. bolt + sund, strait l , Strait of, A channel in the Baltic Sea, at the entrance to the Gulf of Both- nia, between Verde and the islands of Aland and Bardd (Map: Russia, B 2), The Russian for- tress of Bomarsund, on the island of Aland, was taken in 1854 by the Allies, and its fortifications destroyed. By the Treaty of Paris, Russia must not rebuild the fortress. BOMB, bom or bum (Fr. bombe, from Lat. bomhus, Gk. /36;a^os, bombos, a booming, hum- ming; refers to the noise made by the projec- tile), BoMBsnEix and Shell. A hollow ball of cast iron or steel filled with conibustililes and shot, designed, on the explosion of the shell, to scatter in every direction. When first used, bombs were fired from mortars only ; but since the invention of shell-guns and other modern artillei-y the name shell has been gradually sub stituted. See Ammunition; Abtilleby; Ord- nance; and Pro.tectiles. BOM'BA (It., bomb). A nickname given to Ferdinand IT., King of the Two Sicilies, in consequence of his fierce bombardment of Mes- sina in September, 1848. BOMBARD. See Artillery and Ordnance. BOMBARDIER' (Fr. bombardier, It. bom- bardiero; for derivation, see BoUBAitOM£NT). A
