ginia boundary, and was prominent in the discussion of tariff and currency questions.
BECK, Johann Nepomuk (1828-1904). An
Austrian barytone. He was born in Budapest,
where in 1846 his fine voice attracted the atten-
tion of the singer Erl, and of Carl Formes, who
induced him to study music. After making his
debut at Budapest as Ricardo in I Puritani, he
obtained in 1853 a position at the Imperial Opera,
Vienna, with which theatre he remained asso-
ciated until his retirement in 1885. His deep
barytone voice, of a uniform and beautiful qual-
ity throughout, and his effective acting, produced
a profound impression. His principal rôles were
William Tell, Don Giovanni, Hans Sachs, and
Alberich. During the last years of his life he
was insane.
BECK, Johann Tobias (1804-78). A German theologian, born at Balingen, in Württemberg. He studied theology at Tübingen (1822-26), spent several years in the ministry, and was a professor, first at Basel, and then, after 1843, at Tübingen. He believed in orthodox Bible Christianity, and was opposed to the 'Tübingen School,' which then flourished under the leadership of his fellow professor, F. C. Baur. Among his numerous publications, Outlines of Biblical Psychology (1877) and Pastoral Theology of the New Testament (1885) have been published in English. For his life, consult Riggenbach (Basel, 1887).
BECK, Karl (1817-79). An Austrian poet, born in Baja, Hungary. He studied in Vienna and Leipzig, lived in Berlin from 1844 until the outbreak of the Revolution of 1848, and subsequently in Vienna, where he was an editor of the Lloyd. His poetic writings skillfully interpret the national life and spirit of Hungary. Jankó, der ungarische Rosshirt (1842; 3d ed., 1870) is considered by many his best work. Other volumes are Gesammelte Gedichte (1844; 9th ed. 1869) and Aus der Heimat (1852; 4th ed. 1862).
BECK, Lewis Caleb (1798-1853). An Ameri-
can physician, chemist, and mineralogist, born
in Schenectady, N. Y. He graduated at Union
College, was professor of chemistry in Rutgers
College, and later in Albany Medical College.
He was the author of a number of books and
papers on botany and chemistry; also of an elab-
orate report on the mineralogy of New York,
based upon his researches as mineralogist of the
New York Geological Survey of 1835-41, which
was published as one of the volumes of the Nat-
ural History of the State of New York (1842).
BECKE, George Louis (1848—). An Australian novelist. He was born at Port Macquarie, New South Wales. He was a trader in the South Sea Islands from 1870 to 1893, but afterwards removed to England. Becke, who belongs to the school of Stevenson and Conrad, has written, single-handed and in collaboration with Walter Jeffery, many stirring tales of adventure in the Pacific islands. Among them are: By Reef and Palm (1894); The Ebbing of the Tide (1896); Pacific Tales (1897); Wild Life in Southern Seas (1897); The Mutineer (1898); Ridan the Devil (1899); The South Sea Pearler (1900); Tom Wallis (1900); The Tapir and Other Stories (1901); By Rock and Pool (1901); and Breachley: Black Sheep (1902). See Australian Literature.
BECKENHAM, bek'fn-om. A town in Kent;
England, 8¾ miles southeast of London, with
two stations on the London, Chatham and Dover
Railway (Map: England, F 5). The munici-
pality owns an electric-lighting plant and pub-
lic baths and maintains a technical institute.
Population, in 1891, 20,700; in 1901, 26,300.
BECK'ER, August (1821-87). A German
landscape painter, born at Darmstadt. He
studied there under Schilbach, and afterwards
at Düsseldorf, and in 1844 traveled in Norway,
Switzerland, the Tyrol, and the Scotch High-
lands. At Balmoral he instructed the English
princesses in landscape painting. His pictures
of mountain scenery are particularly valued;
they include: "Evening in the Bernese Ober-
land" (1860 and 1867); "Norwegian Tableland"
(1861); and "The Kaisergebirge in the Tyrol"
(1864).
BECKER, August (1828-91). A German author; born at Klingenmünster. He studied at Munich, from 1855 to 1859 was a member of the staff of the Allgemeine Zeitung of Augsburg, and from 1859 to 1864 editor of the liberal Isar-Zeitung. He published Jungfriedel, der Spielmann (1854), a poem which established his reputation, and considerable fiction, including Des Rabbi Vermächtnis (1866); Vervehmt (1868), which was attacked for containing alleged portraitures of contemporaries of the Bavarian Court, and Der Küster von Horst (1889).
BECKER, George Ferdinand (1847—). An American geologist; born in New York City. He graduated at Harvard in 1868, and subsequently pursued his scientific studies at Heidelberg and at Berlin. He was instructor in mining and metallurgy at the University of California from 1875 to 1879, and was associated with the United States Geological Survey from 1879 to 1892, and from 1894 to 1897. From 1879 to 1883 he was special agent of the Tenth Census, and in 1896 made an examination of the gold and silver mines of South Africa. In 1898 he accompanied the United States Army to the Philippine Islands as geologist, and upon his return was appointed director of the Division of Chemical and Physical Research. The following is a partial list of his principal works: Atomic Weight Determinations: A Digest of the Investigations Published Since 1814 (1880); Geology of the Comstock Lode and the Washoe District (1882); Statistics and Technology of the Precious Metals (with S. F. Emmons, 1885); Geology of the Quicksilver Deposits of the Pacific Slope (1886); Gold-Fields of the Southern Appalachians (1895); Reports on the gold-fields of South Africa and Alaska, and on the geology of the Philippine Islands. Becker's most important work has been in connection with the origin and mode of occurrence of ore deposits, especially those of the Western States, to the knowledge of which he has made extensive contributions.
BECKER, Jakob (1810-72). A German genre painter, born at Dittelsheim. He studied first at Worms, and subsequently under Schirmer at Düsseldorf, and in 1840 was appointed professor of genre and landscape painting in the Städel Institute at Frankfort-on-the-Main. One of his best-known works is the "Praying Peasant Family."
