Balfour (bal-för´), Sir Andrew, Bart., a Scottish botanist and physician, born in Fifeshire in 1630. After completing his studies at St. Andrews and London, and travelling on the Continent, he settled at Edinburgh, where he planned, with Sir Robert Sibbald, the Royal College of Physicians, and was elected its first president. He also laid the foundation of a hospital in Edinburgh, which expanded into the Royal Infirmary. He died in 1694. His familiar letters were published in 1700.
Bal´four, Right Hon. Arthur James, First Earl of (created 1922), son of J. M. Balfour of Whittingehame, Haddingtonshire, and of Lady Blanche Cecil, sister of the third Marquess of Salisbury, was born 25th July, 1848, and educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He represented Hertford from 1874-5, East Manchester from 1885 to 1906, and has been representative for the City of London since 1906. For a time he was private secretary to his uncle, Lord Salisbury, under whom he was President of the Local Government Board, and afterwards Secretary for Scotland (1886-7), with a seat in the cabinet. He showed much firmness and ability as Chief Secretary for Ireland during Lord Salisbury's administration from 1887-91. He succeeded Rt. Hon. W. H. Smith as leader of the House of Commons and First Lord of the Treasury in 1891-2, and held the position again from 1895 till 1900, and from that year till 1902. On the retirement of Lord Salisbury in 1902 he became Prime Minister, a position which he retained till Dec., 1905. Under him as Premier was passed the new English Education Act (which owed much to his personal influence and exertions), that for London, and the new Licensing Act, and he advocated a change of our fiscal policy, at least as far as having recourse to retaliation, denying that he in any way favoured protection. He became First Lord of the Admiralty in the Coalition Government of 1915, and Foreign Secretary in 1916. He was one of the British delegates to the Peace Conference in 1919. He is given to studies bearing on philosophy and religion, and has published a Defence of Philosophic Doubt (1879), Essays and Addresses (1893), The Foundations of Belief (1895), Economic Notes on Insular Free-Trade (1903), Criticism and Beauty (1909), Theism and Humanism (1915), &c. He was President of the British Association in 1904, and Gifford Lecturer, Glasgow University, 1913-4. In 1919 he was elected to succeed Lord Rayleigh, O.M., as Chancellor of Cambridge University.
Balfour, Francis Maitland, writer on embryology, brother of the foregoing, born in 1851, early distinguished himself in his special study, and in 1874, in conjunction with Dr. M. Foster, published The Elements of Embryology; but the promise of his chief work, Comparative
Embryology (1880-1) was unfulfilled, as in 1882 he was killed by a fall on Mont Blanc.
Balfour, Sir James, Scottish lawyer and politician, born about 1522, took part in the conspiracy against Cardinal Beaton, and was condemned with Knox to the galleys; but after his release found it to his interest to change his opinions, and was appointed, through the favour of Queen Mary, Lord of Session and member of the Privy Council. In 1567 he was appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle, but had no scruple in surrendering it to Murray, who made him President of the Court of Session. He was charged with a share in the murder of Darnley, and helped to bring Regent Morton to his death. He died in 1583. The Practicks of Scots Law, attributed to him, was long a textbook.
Balfour, John Hutton, a distinguished botanist, born 1808, died 1884. He graduated at Edinburgh University in arts and in medicine; from 1841 to 1845 was professor of botany in Glasgow University; and in the latter year removed to Edinburgh to occupy a similar post, resigning his chair in 1879. He wrote valuable botanical textbooks, including Elements, Outlines, Manual, and Class-book, besides various other works.
Balfroosh´, or Barfurush´, a town, Persia, province of Mazanderan, about twelve miles from the Caspian, a great emporium of the trade between Persia and Russia. Pop. estimated at 50,000.
Ba´li, an island of the Indian Archipelago east of Java, belonging to Holland; greatest length, 85 miles, greatest breadth, 55 miles; area, about 2160 sq. miles. It consists chiefly of a series of volcanic mountains, of which the loftiest, Agoong (11,326 feet), became active in 1843 after a long period of quiescence. Principal products: rice, cocoa, coffee, indigo, cotton, &c. The people are akin to those of Java and are mostly Brahmans in religion. It is divided into eight provinces under native rajahs, and since 1882 has formed one colony with Lombok, the united pop. being 1,363,000, of whom about 900,000 belong to Bali.
Bal´iol, or Balliol, John de, of Barnard Castle, Northumberland, father of King John Baliol, a great English (or Norman) baron in the reign of Henry III, to whose cause he strongly attached himself in his struggles with the barons. In 1263 he laid the foundation of Balliol College, Oxford, which was completed by his widow Devorguila or Devorgilla. She was daughter and co-heiress of Allan of Galloway, a great baron of Scotland, by Margaret, eldest daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, brother of William the Lion. It was on the strength of this genealogy that his son John Baliol became temporary King of Scotland. He died 1269.
Bal´iol, or Balliol, John, King of Scotland, born about 1249, died 1315. On the death of Margaret, the Maid of Norway and grandchild of Alexander III, Baliol claimed the vacant throne by virtue of his descent from David, Earl of Huntingdon, brother to William the Lion, King of Scotland (see above article). Robert Bruce (grandfather of the king) opposed Baliol; but Edward I's decision was in favour of Baliol, who did homage to him for the kingdom, 20th Nov., 1292. Irritated by Edward's harsh exercise of authority, Baliol concluded a treaty with France, then at war with England; but after the defeat at Dunbar he surrendered his crown into the hands of the English monarch. He was sent with his son to the Tower, but, by the intercession of the Pope in 1297, obtained liberty to retire to his Norman estates, where he died.—His son, Edward, in 1332 landed in Fife with an armed force, and, having defeated a large army under the Regent Mar (who was killed), got himself crowned king, but was driven out in three months.