[Defoe, Daniel], author of "Robinson Crusoe," born in London; bred for the Dissenting ministry; turned to business, but took chiefly to politics; was a zealous supporter of William III.; his ironical treatise, "The Shortest Way with Dissenters" (1703), which, treated seriously, was burned by order of the House of Commons, led to his imprisonment and exposed him for three days to the pillory, amidst the cheers, however, not the jeers, of the mob; in prison wrote a "Hymn to the Pillory," and started his Review; on his release he was employed on political missions, and wrote a "History of the Union," which he contributed to promote. The closing years of his life were occupied mainly with literary work, and it was then, in 1719, he produced his world-famous "Robinson Crusoe"; has been described as "master of the art of forging a story and imposing it on the world for truth." "His circumstantial invention," as Stopford Brooke remarks, "combined with a style which exactly fits it by its simplicity, is the root of the charm of his great story" (1661-1731).
[Dege`rando, Baron], a French philanthropist and philosopher, born at Lyons, of Italian descent; wrote "History of Philosophy," long in repute as the best French work on the subject (1772-1842).
[Deianeira], the wife of Hercules, whose death she had been the unwitting cause of by giving him the poisoned robe which [Nessus] (q. v.) had sent her as potent to preserve her husband's love; on hearing the fatal result she killed herself in remorse and despair.
[Deiphobus], a son of Priam and Hecuba, second in bravery to Hector; married Helen after the death of Paris, and was betrayed by her to the Greeks.
[Deir-al-Kamar], a town in Syria, once the capital of the Druses, on a terrace in the heart of the Lebanon Mountains.
[Deism], belief on purely rational grounds in the existence of God, and distinguished from theism as denying His providence.
[Deists], a set of free-thinkers of various shades, who in England, in the 17th and 18th centuries, discarded revelation and the supernatural generally, and sought to found religion on a purely rational basis.
[Déjazet, Virginie], a celebrated French actress, born in Paris; made her début at five years of age (1797-1875).
[Dekker, Thomas], a dramatist, born in London; was contemporary of Ben Jonson, between whom and him, though they formerly worked together, a bitter animosity arose; wrote lyrics as well as dramas, which are light comedies, and prose as well as poetry; the most famous among his prose works, "The Gull's Hornbook," a pamphlet, in which he depicts the life of a young gallant; his pamphlets are valuable (1570-1641).
[De la Beche, Sir Henry Thomas], geologist, born in London; wrote the "Depth and Temperature of the Lake of Geneva," and published a "Manual of Geology" and the "Geological Observer"; was appointed head of the Geological Survey in England (1796-1855).