Bessarion, John (Bessar`ion, John) , cardinal, native of Trebizond; contributed by his zeal in Greek literature to the fall of scholasticism and the revival of letters; tried hard to unite the Churches of the East and the West; joined the latter, and was made cardinal; too much of a Grecian to recommend himself to the popehood, to which he was twice over nearly elevated (1395‒1472).
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Bessara`bia * Bessel, Friedrich Wilhelm