Dufresny (du˙-frā-nē), Charles Rivière, a French comic poet, born in 1648, died in 1724. He was clever and versatile, and had great skill as a landscape-gardener and an architectural designer. Among his dramatic pieces may be mentioned L'Esprit de Contradiction, Le Mariage Fait et Rompu, and Le Double Veuvage. He also wrote Amusements sérieux et comiques d'un Siamois, which suggested to Montesquieu his Lettres Persanes.
Dug´dale, Sir William, an English antiquary, born in 1605 of a good family in Warwickshire, died 1686. He was made Chester herald in 1644; accompanied Charles I through the civil war; and after the Restoration received knighthood, and was appointed garter king-at-arms. In concert with Roger Dodsworth he produced an important work on English monasteries entitled Monasticon Anglicanum. Among his other works are: Antiquities of Warwickshire; The Baronage or Peerage of England; Origines Judiciales, or Historical Memoirs of the English Law, Courts of Justice, &c.; a History of St. Paul's Cathedral; and various minor writings. He also completed and published the second volume of Spelman's Concilia.
Du´gong, a herbivorous mammal, the Halicŏrē dugong, belonging to the ord. Sirenia, which also includes the manatees. It is a native of the Indian and Australian seas; possesses a tapering body ending in a crescent-shaped fin, and is said sometimes to attain a length of 20 feet, though generally it is about 7 or 8 feet in length. The fore-limbs are in the form of flippers; hind-limbs are absent. The skin is thick and smooth, with a few scattered bristles; the colour bluish above and white beneath. Its food consists of marine plants; it yields little or no oil, but is hunted by the Malays for its flesh, which resembles veal, and is tender and palatable. It has been suggested that the appearance of this animal has given rise to the legends of mermaids and mermen.
Duguay-Trouin (dü-gā-trö-an), René, a distinguished French seaman, born at St. Malo in 1673, died at Paris 1736. As commander of a privateer he took many prizes from the British between 1690 and 1697. He then entered the royal marine as a captain, and signalized himself so much in the Spanish War that the king granted him letters of nobility, in which it was stated that he had captured more than 300 merchant ships and twenty ships of war. By the capture of Rio de Janeiro (1711) he brought the Crown more than 25,000,000 francs. Under Louis XV he rendered important services in the Levant and the Mediterranean.
Du Guesclin (dü-gā-klan), Bertrand, Constable of France, born about 1314, died 1380. Mainly to him must be attributed the expulsion of the English from Normandy, Guienne, and Poitou. He was captured by Chandos at the battle of Auray in 1364, and ransomed for 100,000 francs. While serving in Spain against Peter the Cruel, he was made prisoner by the English Black Prince, but was soon liberated. For his services in Spain he was made Constable of Castile, Count of Trastamare, and Duke of Molinas; and in 1370 he was made Constable of France.
Duikerbok, species of Cephalophus, small South African antelopes with short horns (none in the female), and a tuft of stiff hairs between them.
Duisburg (dö´is-bu¨rh), a flourishing town in Rhenish Prussia, 13 miles north of Düsseldorf. It is an ancient place, believed to be of Roman origin. It early rose to be a free town, and became a member of the Hanseatic League. It possesses a beautiful church of the fifteenth century, and has iron manufactories, engineering works, chemical works, and cotton and woollen mills; and a large trade greatly facilitated by a canal communicating with the Rhine, which is about 2 miles distant. Pop. 229,483.
Dujardin (du˙-zha˙r-dan˙), Karel, a Dutch artist, who excelled in painting landscapes,
animals, and scenes in low life, born in 1640 at Amsterdam, died at Venice 1678. His paintings are rare, and command high prices. His masterpiece, The Charlatans (1657), is in the Louvre.