Bell, John (1928–1990)

Northern Irish physicist who in 1964 discovered a paradoxical aspect of quantum theory: two particles that were once connected are always afterwards interconnected even if they become widely separated. As well as investigating fundamental problems in theoretical physics, Bell contributed to the design of particle accelerators.

Bell worked for 30 years at CERN, the European research laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland. He put forward mathematical criteria that had to be obeyed if the connection required by quantum theory really existed. In the early 1980s, a French team tested Bell's criteria, and a connection between widely separated particles was detected.

Bell, John (1811–1895)

English sculptor. His works include statues of Lord Falkland and Robert Walpole commissioned for the Houses of Parliament, and a memorial to the Crimean War in Waterloo Place, London.

Bell, John (1691–1780)

Scottish traveller. In 1714 he went to St Petersburg, Russia, where he joined an embassy to Persia (Iran), and was later appointed to Peking. In 1737 he undertook another mission for Russia to Constantinople, Turkey. His Travels were published in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1763.

He returned to Moscow from Peking in 1722, and to Scotland in 1725. After completing his mission in Constantinople he settled there as a merchant. He married in 1746, and retired to Antermony.

Bell, John (1797–1869)

US senator and cabinet officer. A prominent Tennessee lawyer, Bell served in the US House of Representatives, 1827–41, first as a Democrat, then as a Whig. In 1860 he was presidential candidate for the Constitutional Union Party, and he won three states.

Although a slave-owner himself, Bell was opposed to the spread of slavery in the new territories and states, and he spent fruitless years trying to fend off the oncoming confrontation over slavery.

Bell, John (1745–1831)

British publisher. Defying the combination of some 40 London publishers who joined in bringing out Dr Johnson's edition of the poets, Bell published The British Poets in his own edition of over 100 volumes. He was one of the founders of the Morning Post and was proprietor of a Sunday newspaper, Bell's Weekly Messenger, and of the sporting paper Bell's Life in London.

Bell was the first publisher to discard the long ‘s’ from his typeface.

Bell, John (1763–1820)

Scottish anatomist and surgeon, regarded as the founder of surgical anatomy. He opened a private school of anatomy in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1790. His publications include Anatomy (1793), Discourse on the Nature and Cure of Wounds (1795), and Principles of Surgery (1801–08).