Beauvoir, Simone de. 1908-86. French Existentialist writer. The Second Sex 1949.

Becquerel, Henri. 1852-1908. French discoverer of Uranium radioactivity, 1896. Curie.

Belgium. 150BC Celts. 51BC Rome. 3C Franks. 9C Lower Lorraine. 15C Burgundy. 1477 Hapsburg. 1555 Spain. 1714 Austria. 1795 French. 1814 Austria. 1815 +Holland=United Netherlands. 1831 Independent kingdom. Neutrality guaranteed by Quintuple Treaty 1839. WWII Germans occupy. 1948 Benelux.

Bellay, Joachim du. 1522-60. French poet. Defence of French Language 1549 was Pléiade manifesto.

Belle-Isle, Charles. 1684-1761. French marshal. Involved French in Austrian Succession War.

Belleau, Remy. 1528-77. French Pleiade Poet. Highly polished miniatures.

Belloc, Hilaire. 1870-1953. French/English writer: Bad Child’s Book of Beasts 1896. Cautionary Tales 1907.

Bergerac, Peace. 1577. Ends 6th French War of Religion.

Berlioz, Hector. 1803-1869. French Romantic composer. Grandiose themes directly from feelings.Symph. Fantastique 1830. Romeo and Juliette 1839. Treatise on Orchestration 1844. Damnation of Faust 1846.

Bernadette, St. Soubirous. 1844-79. French girl. Visions at Lourdes, 1858.

Bernadotte, Jean. 1763-1844. Marshal of French Empire, became King Karl XIV Johan of Sweden 1818.

Bernanos, Georges. 1888-1948. French Catholic polemic writer against materialism. Diary of a Country Priest 1937.

Bernard, Claude. 1813-78. French physiologist and logician. Influenced Pavlov. Intro. to Experimental Medicine 1865.

Bernard of Chartres. -c1130. French Neoplatonic Idealist philosopher. Real world of eternal ideas vs apparent world of material objects.

Bernardin de St. Pierre, Jacques. 1737-1814. French writer. Propagated JJ Rousseau’s back to nature philosophy. Paul et Virginie 1788.

Bernhardt, Sarah. 1844-1923. French dramatic actress. Roles in Phèdre, La Tosca.

Berthelot, Marcelin. 1827-1907. French organic chemist. Alcohol synthesis 1854. Organic Chemistry 1860.

Berthollet, Claude. 1749-1822. French chemist. Chlorine Bleach 1785. Ammonia 1785.

Bertin, Jean. 1917-75. French engineer. Jet silencers; air cushion vehicles.

Bérulle, Cardinal Pierre. 1575-1629. Founder of Oratory. ‘French’ school of spiritual thought. Congregation of priests...Lazarites. Congregationalists.

Bibliothèque Nationale. French National Library begun by Charles V collection now houses 20M works. 7M Books.

Bichat, Xavier. 1771-1802. French anatomist. “Life is the sum of the forces that restrict death.”

Binet, Alfred. 1857-1911. French. Invented intelligence test 1905. Projective testing 1903.

Biron, Charles. 1562-1602. French marshal, beheaded for treason.

Bizet, Georges. 1838-75. French composer: Carmen 1875.

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