Augustine of Canterbury, St. -c605. Apostle of England 597. First Archbishop of Canterbury 601. Converted King Ethelbert of Kent.

Augustus. Octavian. 63BC-14 AD. 2nd Triumvirate. First Roman Emperor. Pax Romana-Peaceful reign: Virgil, Horace.

Babbage, Charles. 1792-1871. British. Invented Difference Engine, 1823-34 -first computer. Founded British Association for the Advancement of Science 1831, Royal Astronomical Society 1820, Royal Statistical Society 1834.

Baber. 1483-1530. First Mogul Emperor of India.

Bacon, Francis. 1561-1626. English chancellor and philosopher. First king’s counsel. Favoured inductive over deductive reasoning. Separated Science from religion. New Atlantis 1625. B. Scientific method: Novum Organum 1620. Essays 1625.

Badr, Battle. 624. Muhammad’s first military victory. Defeats Umayyad caravan.

Baekeland, Leo. 1863-1944. US: invented Bakelite 1909 (first plastic). Velox.

Baldwin, Stanley. 1867-1947. British Conservative Prime Minister. 1923~37. General Strike. Opposed rearmament. “Safety First”.

Balewa, Abubakar. 1912-66. First Nigerian Prime Minister 1957-. Assassinated by Ibos.

Baltard, Victor. 1805-74. French architect. First to employ metal girders: Les Halles. St-Augustine’s Church.

Bandaranaike, Sirimavo. 1916-2000. Ceylon Prime Minister 1960~77. World’s first woman Prime Minister.

Bannister, Roger. 1929-. English. Ran first 4 minute mile at Oxford, 1954.

Barnard, Christian. 1922-2001. South African surgeon-first human heart transplant 1967.

Bauer, Sebastian. 1822-75. Invented submarine, 1850. First underwater photography.

Ben Gurion, David. 1886-1973. Polish/Israeli Labour pol. First Prime Minister of Israel, 1948~63. “Architect of Israel”.

Bhascara. 1114-85. Hindu mathematician/astrologer. First user of decimal system.

Bienvenüe, Fulgence. 1852-1936. “Père du Metro”. Engineered first Paris métro line 1898.

Bismarck, Otto von. 1815-98. Prince. Prussian Prime Minister 1862-90. Founded German Empire; First Chancellor 1871-90. Provoked Franco-Prussian War. Ems Dispatch. Schleswig.

Bjørnsson, Sveinn. 1881-1952. First President of Iceland Republic, 1944-.

Blanchard, Jean. 1753-1809. French balloonist. First aerial Channel crossing 1785. Velocipede 1779.

Blenheim, Battle. 1704. Bavaria. Marlborough’s victory in War of Spanish Succession. First French defeat in 50 years, saves Vienna.

Blériot, Louis. 1872-1936. French aviator. First plane to cross Channel, 1909.

Blow, John. 1649-1708. Westminster organist. First English opera, Venus and Adonis 1685.

Bodel, Jean. 1167-1210. Wrote first French miracle play. Play of St. Nicholas 1200.

Borromeo, St. Charles. 1538-84. Milan Cardinal. First Sunday school, 1580.

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