Besançon, capital of the dep. of Doubs, in France; a very strong place; fortified by Vauban; abounds in relics of Roman and mediæval times; watchmaking a staple industry, employing some 15,000 of the inhabitants; manufactures also porcelain and carpets.
Population (circa 1900) given as 57,000.
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Berze`lius, Johan Jakob * Besant, Mrs. Annie