See Le Général Dessaix, sa vie politique et militaire, by his nephew Joseph Dessaix (Paris, 1879).
DESSAU, a town of Germany, capital of the duchy of Anhalt, on the left bank of the Mulde, 2 m. from its confluence with the Elbe, 67 m. S.W. from Berlin and at the junction of lines to Cöthen and Zerbst. Pop. (1905) 55,134. Apart from the old quarter lying on the Mulde, the town is well built, is surrounded by pleasant gardens and contains many handsome streets and spacious squares. Among the latter is the Grosse Markt with a statue of Prince Leopold I. of Anhalt-Dessau, “the old Dessauer.” Of the six churches, the Schlosskirche, adorned with paintings by Lucas Cranach, in one of which (“The Last Supper”) are portraits of several reformers, is the most interesting. The ducal palace, standing in extensive grounds, contains a collection of historical curiosities and a gallery of pictures, which includes works by Cimabue, Lippi, Rubens, Titian and Van Dyck. Among other buildings are the town hall (built 1899-1900), the palace of the hereditary prince, the theatre, the administration offices, the law courts, the Amalienstift, with a picture gallery, several high-grade schools, a library of 30,000 volumes and an excellently appointed hospital. There are monuments to the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn (born here in 1729), to the poet Wilhelm Müller, father of Professor Max Müller, also a native of the place, to the emperor William I., and an obelisk commemorating the war of 1870-71. The industries of Dessau include the production of sugar, which is the chief manufacture, woollen, linen and cotton goods, carpets, hats, leather, tobacco and musical instruments. There is also a considerable trade in corn and garden produce. In the environs are the ducal villas of Georgium and Luisium, the gardens of which, as well as those of the neighbouring town of Wörlitz, are much admired.
Dessau was probably founded by Albert the Bear; it had attained civic rights as early as 1213. It first began to grow into importance at the close of the 17th century, in consequence of the religious emancipation of the Jews in 1686, and of the Lutherans in 1697.
See Würdig, Chronik der Stadt Dessau (Dessau, 1876).
DESSEWFFY, AUREL, Count (1808-1842), Hungarian journalist and politician, eldest son of Count József Dessewffy and Eleonora Sztaray, was born at Nagy-Mihály, county Zemplén, Hungary. Carefully educated at his father’s house, he was accustomed to the best society of his day. While still a child he could declaim most of the Iliad in Greek without a book, and read and quoted Tacitus with enthusiasm. Under the noble influence of Ferencz Kazinczy he became acquainted with the chief masterpieces of European literature in their original tongues. He was particularly fond of the English, and one of his early idols was Jeremy Bentham. He regularly accompanied his father to the diets of which he was a member, followed the course of the debates, of which he kept a journal, and made the acquaintance of the great Széchenyi, who encouraged his aspirations. On leaving college, he entered the royal aulic chancellery, and in 1832 was appointed secretary of the royal stadtholder at Buda. The same year he turned his attention to politics and was regarded as one of the most promising young orators of the day, especially during the sessions of the diet of 1832-1836, when he had the courage to oppose Kossuth. At the Pressburg diet in 1840 Dessewffy was already the leading orator of the more enlightened and progressive Conservatives, but incurred great unpopularity for not going far enough, with the result that he was twice defeated at the polls. But his reputation in court circles was increasing; he was appointed a member of the committee for the reform of the criminal law in 1840; and, the same year with a letter of recommendation from Metternich in his pocket, visited England and France, Holland and Belgium, made the acquaintance of Thiers and Heine in Paris, and returned home with an immense and precious store of practical information. He at once proceeded to put fresh life into the despondent and irresolute Conservative party, and the Magyar aristocracy, by gallantly combating in the Világ the opinions of Kossuth’s paper, the Pesti Hírlap. But the multiplicity of his labours was too much for his feeble physique, and he died on the 9th of February 1842, at the very time when his talents seemed most indispensable.
See Aus den Papieren des Grafen Aurel Dessewffy (Pest, 1843); Memorial Wreath to Count Aurel Dessewffy (Hung.), (Budapest, 1857); Collected Works of Count Dessewffy, with a Biography (Hung.), (Budapest, 1887).
(R. N. B.)