[Daubigny, Charles François], a French landscape painter and skilful etcher, born in Paris, attained distinction as an artist late in life (1817-1878).
[D'Aubusson, Pierre], grand-master of the order of St. John of Jerusalem, of French origin; served under the Emperor Sigismund against the Turks; went to Rhodes; became a knight of St. John, and was chosen grand-master; defended Rhodes against 100,000 Turks, and thus stayed the career of Mahomet II., who, after establishing himself in Constantinople, was threatening to overrun Europe (1423-1503).
[Daudet, Alphonse], a noted French novelist of great versatility, born at Nîmes, of poor parents; early selected literature as his career in life; wrote poems and plays, and contributed to the Figaro and other journals; worked up into his novels characters and situations that had come under his own observation, often in too satirical a vein to become universally popular; has been likened to Dickens in his choice of subjects and style of treatment; died suddenly (1840-1897).
[D'Aulnoy, the Countess], authoress of charmingly-written "Contes des Fées" (Fairy Tales), and on which her reputation rests (1650-1705).
[Daumier, Henri], a French caricaturist of great fertility and playfulness of genius, born at Marseilles; became blind in his old age (1808-1879).
[Daun, Karl], German theologian, born at Cassel, professor at Heidelberg, sought to ground theology on a philosophic basis, and found what he sought in the philosophy of Hegel (1765-1836).
[Daun, Leopold, Graf von], an able Austrian general, born at Vienna; distinguished himself by his prudence and valour in the Seven Years' War, gained a victory over Frederick the Great at Kolin in 1757, and another at Hochkirch in 1758; could prevail little or not at all against Frederick afterwards as soon as Frederick saw through his tactics, which he was not long in doing (1705-1766).
[Dauphin], a name originally given to the Seigneurs of the province of Dauphiné, in allusion to the dolphin which several members of the family wore as a badge, but in 1349 given to the heir-presumptive to the crown of France, when Humbert II., dauphin of Vienne, ceded Dauphiné to Philippe of Valois, on condition that the eldest son of the king of France should assume the title, a title which was abolished after the Revolution of 1830. The word signifies dolphin in French.
[Dauphiné], a SW. province of France, of which the capital was Grenoble; annexed to the French crown under Philippe II. in 1349.
[Daurat, Jean], French scholar, a member of the [Pléiade] (q. v.), and who figures as one of the leading spirits in the fraternity (1507-1588).