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he was transferred after irritating the commander in chief. He became a prominent New York attorney, then entered politics, tying in 1800 with Thomas Jefferson in electoral votes for president. Thanks to Alexander Hamilton’s determined opposition to Burr, Jefferson won and Burr (under the then-prevailing election laws) became vice president. In 1804, Hamilton again worked against Burr—this time depriving him of the governorship of New York—and Burr (still sitting as vice president) killed Hamilton in a duel. After warrants were issued for Burr’s arrest, he fled to Philadelphia. He conspired with U.S Army general James Wilkinson to invade Mexico, establish an independent government there, and (possibly) foment the secession of the American West to join the empire they would found. Burr was arrested, tried for treason in 1807, acquitted, but publicly ruined. He fled to Europe, returned to New York four years later, practiced law, and wasted his fortune.

Burroughs, John (1837–1921) Burroughs combined science with the sensibility of a poet to produce 27 books on the flora and fauna of the Hudson River Valley. He was an important influence on the first great conservationist president, Theodore Roosevelt. A close friend of Walt Whitman, he wrote the first biography of the poet in 1867.

Bush, George H. W. (1924–) A naval aviator during World War II, successful businessman, Congressman, ambassador to the United Nations (appointed by Richard Nixon), director of the CIA, then vice president under Ronald Reagan, Bush defeated Democrat Michael Dukakis in 1988 to become president. Bush led a coalition of nations against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in the first Gulf War in 1990–1991. Despite a jump in his popularity after the quick victory in that war, Bush was defeated by Democrat Bill Clinton largely because of Bush’s failure to reverse a slide in the American economy.

Bush, George W. (1946– ) Son of President George H. W. Bush, George W. served as governor of Texas then eked out an electoral college victory (the contested outcome was decided by the Supreme Court) over Democrat Al Gore for the presidency in 2000. Bush’s presidency was defined by the “War on Terror,” which began with the horrific September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. Bush quickly went to war against the Afghanistan-based terrorist organization called al-Qaeda and the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban government that supported it there. Far more controversially, he went to war in 2003) against Iraq for the purpose of toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein. The Iraq War, together with the administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005, led many Americans, including some members of his own party, to question Bush’s leadership and effectiveness.

Bush, Vannevar (1890–1974) An electrical engineer, Bush invented in 1931 the Differential Analyzer, an advanced electromechanical computer. When World War II began in Europe in 1939, Bush persuaded President Franklin D. Roosevelt to create the National Defense Research Committee (with Bush as chair) to organize defense-related scientific research. Bush next chaired the even more powerful Office of Scientific Research and Development, which oversaw development of radar and the atomic bomb, among many other war-related technologies. Vannevar Bush was arguably the most powerful scientist of his time.

Bushnell, David (1742–1824) A student at Yale College during 1771–1775, Bushnell demonstrated that gunpowder could be detonated underwater. This gave him the idea of building what he called a “water machine”: the world’s first combat submarine. A pear-shaped vessel made of oak and reinforced with iron bands, the Turtle (as witnesses dubbed it) was 7.5 feet long by 6 feet wide and was operated by a crew of one, who could submerge the vessel at will by pulling a hand-spring valve that flooded a compartment in the hull and then could surface again by operating a foot pump. The Turtle could place an explosive mine below the waterline