Durham, Simeon of, English chronicler of the twelfth century; wrote Annals of England to the Reign of Henry I, particularly valuable for events connected with the north of England. They were continued by John of Hexham.
Durham (du´ram), an ancient city, capital of the county of the same name, on the River Wear, which is crossed here by four bridges, 14 miles S. of Newcastle. The principal public buildings are the ancient castle—now appropriated to the uses of the university—the cathedral and other churches, the town hall, county prison, and grammar-school. The educational institutions comprise the university, opened in 1833, the grammar-school, a training-school for school-mistresses, and other schools. There are manufactures of carpeting and mustard. The cathedral occupies a height overlooking the Wear. The larger portion of it is Norman in style, with insertions in all the English styles. Three magnificent and elaborately ornamental towers spring up from the body of the building, one from the centre 212 feet high, and two together from the west end each 143 feet high; the entire length is 420 feet. It was founded by William de St. Carilef, assisted by Malcolm, King of Scotland, in 1093. A parliamentary borough until 1918, Durham returned two members to the House of Commons from 1673 to 1885, and one member from 1885 to 1918. Pop. 17,500.
Durham Book, a Latin text of the gospels written by Bishop Eadfrith of Lindisfarne, with an interlinear Saxon gloss, finished in the year 720; now in the British Museum.
Durham, County of, a county on the N.E. coast of England, having on the E. the North Sea, on the N. Northumberland, from which it is divided by the Rivers Tyne and Derwent, Cumberland on the W., and Yorkshire on the S., the River Tees parting the two counties. Its area is 647,592 acres, of which two-thirds are under cultivation. The western portion of the county is hilly, enclosing fertile valleys, the eastern portion is more level, and the centre contains extensive coal-fields. Durham is the chief coal county in England, and also produces fire-clay. The chief crops are wheat, oats, turnips, and potatoes. The cattle are esteemed both for the dairy and for fattening. In connection with the commerce of the county may be noticed its foundries, ironworks, potteries, glass-houses, iron-shipbuilding, engine and machine works, and chemical works. For parliamentary purposes it is divided into eleven divisions, each of which sends one member to the House of Commons. It was formerly one of
the three counties called counties palatine. The chief towns besides Durham are Sunderland, Gateshead, South Shields, Stockton, Darlington, and Hartlepool. Pop. 1,369,860.— Cf. Victoria History of the County of Durham.
Durham University, founded in 1832, opened in 1833, incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It is connected with the bishopric of Durham, the office of warden being annexed to the deanery of Durham, and a canonry in the cathedral being annexed to each of the professors of divinity and classical literature. There are also professors of mathematics, Hebrew, medicine, &c. The students mostly reside within the university buildings, but in 1870 a regulation was passed dispensing with the necessity of residing in any college, hall, or house connected with the university in order to be admitted as a member. The management of the university is entrusted, under the Bishop of Durham as visitor, to the dean and chapter of the cathedral as governors, and to the warden, senate, and convocation, the last including all persons regularly admitted since the opening of the university to the degrees of Doctor in Divinity, Civil Law, and Medicine, and to the degree of Master of Arts. The academical year is divided into three terms—Michaelmas, Epiphany, and Easter. For the degree of B.A., or a licence in theology, a residence of two years (of six months each) is necessary. The M.A. degree may be obtained by a graduate who is of the standing of nine terms since taking his degree of B.A. Armstrong College, founded in 1874, and the College of Medicine, both at Newcastle-on-Tyne, form part of the University of Durham.
Durian, or Durion (Durio zibethīnus), a large and lofty tree growing in the Malayan Archipelago. The largish flowers, of a yellow-green colour, are produced on the stem or main branches, and are followed by the large fetid fruit, which is of the size of a man's head, and is a favourite food of the natives during the time (May and June) when it is in season. There is usually a second crop in November. The smell is offensive, like putrid animal matter, but with this is associated the most delicious flavour, which places it, notwithstanding the odour, in the opinion of many, in the foremost place among tropical fruits.
Dürkheim (du˙rk´hīm), an old town in Rhenish Bavaria (the Palatinate), 14 miles W.S.W. of Mannheim, well known for its mineral water. The town was destroyed by the French in 1689. Pop. 6523.
Durkheim, Émile, French philosopher and sociologist, born at Les Vosges 15th April, 1858, died in Paris 15th Nov., 1917. Educated at the École Normale Supérieure, he travelled in Germany, where he studied social conditions. In 1887 he founded the first French chair in sociology at the University of Bordeaux. Durkheim's merit consists in having separated sociology from mere psychology, and in having made a distinction between individual mental phenomena and Folk-psychology. In 1898 he founded and published annually L'Année Sociologique. His other works include: De la division du travail social (1893); Les règles de la méthode sociologique (1894); Le Suicide (1897); Les formes élémentaires de la vie réligieuse; Sociologie et sciences sociales (1910); Le système totémique en Australie (1912); La Sociologie (in La Science Française, 1915); Qui a voulu la guerre?; Les Origines de la guerre, d'après les documents diplomatiques (1915).