Durlach (du¨r´la˙h), a town in Baden, 4 miles E.S.E. of Carlsruhe, at the foot of the Turmberg, with manufactures of machinery, chemicals, and leather. Pop. 13,896.
Durmast, a species of oak, Quercus sessiliflora, or according to some, Q. pubescens, so closely allied to the common oak (Q. robur) as to be reckoned only a variety of it. Its wood is, however, darker, heavier, and more elastic, less easy to split, not so easy to break, yet not so difficult to bend. It is highly valued, therefore, by the builder and cabinet-maker.
Duroc (du˙-rok), Michel Géraud Christophe, Duke of Friuli, a distinguished general under Bonaparte, born at Pont-à-Mousson in 1772, killed, 1813, at the battle of Bautzen. He served as aide-de-camp to Napoleon in the Italian and Egyptian campaigns. In 1805 he was made grand-marshal of the palace; and was frequently employed in diplomatic missions, though he still
took his full share in the wars of France till the time of his death. He was a great favourite of Napoleon, and was killed by his side.
Durra, or Dhurra, Indian millet, the seed of Sorghum vulgāre, after wheat the chief cereal crop of the Mediterranean region, and largely used in those countries by the labouring classes for food. Varieties are grown in many parts of Africa, one of them being known as Kaffir corn.
Dürrenstein (du˙r´en-stīn), a village in Lower Austria, on the Danube, 41 miles west by north of Vienna. Here are the ruins of the castle in which Leopold, Duke of Austria, imprisoned Richard Cœur-de-Lion on his return from Palestine, 1192.
Duruy (du˙-ru˙-ē), Victor, French historian and educationist, born at Paris 1811, died in 1894. His father was a workman in the Gobelins tapestry works, and the boy did not begin his education until he was grown up. He was admitted to the École Normale Supérieure in 1830, graduated in 1833, and was appointed successively teacher of history in the Lycée Henri IV, then at the Normal School and the Polytechnic School, inspector of the Academy of Paris, inspector-general of secondary education, and Minister of Public Instruction (1863-9). He is author of Géographie Politique de la République Romaine et de l'Empire, Géographie Historique du Moyen Age, Histoire Romaine, Histoire de France, Histoire Grecque, Histoire Populaire Contemporaine, &c. Some of these are simply school-books, but his Histoire des Romains (translated into English) and his Histoire de la Grèce Ancienne (translated into English) are extensive and important works, the former especially.
Duse, Eleonora, Italian actress, born at Vigevano, near Venice, in 1859. At the age of thirteen she made her first appearance on the stage, and in 1883 she acted at Rome, when she was recognized as one of the greatest Italian, and even one of the greatest living actresses. From that time her career was one of uninterrupted success, and she gained a world-wide reputation. Duse is one of the dramatic artists who discard the customary mannerisms of the stage, and all that is conventional but unreal in modern acting. Some of d'Annunzio's best plays were specially written for her. Among her most remarkable impersonations are those of Francesca da Rimini, Marguerite Gautier in La Dame aux Camélias, Magda, La Tosca, Paula in The Second Mrs. Tanqueray, and Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House. She appeared for the first time in London in 1897.
Düsseldorf (du˙s´sel-dorf), a town of Germany, in the Rhine province, beautifully situated among villas and gardens on the right bank of the Rhine, 22 miles N.N.W. of Cologne, one of the handsomest towns in the valley of the Rhine. It is a great focus of railway and steamboat communication, and has a number of handsome public buildings, and several remarkable churches. Among the public institutions particular notice is due to the Academy of Art, founded in 1767, by the Elector Theodore, and afterwards directed by Cornelius, Schadow, and Bendemann. It has the honour of having founded a school of painting, which takes the name of Düsseldorf, and has had a large number of distinguished pupils. The industries embrace iron, machinery, railway plant, cotton, leather, chemicals, and beer, and the trade is large. Pop. 358,728.
Dust, solid matter in a fine state of division. Spores of plants, bacteria, &c., are found in the atmosphere, but in general organic particles are numerous only over thickly populated districts. Inorganic particles are derived from various sources. Where the soil is dry, dust is whirled aloft by the winds, this cause giving rise to the great sand-storms of tropical desert regions. Volcanoes in eruption eject large quantities of dust. It is estimated that millions of meteors are encountered by the earth per day. Most of these are excessively minute. They are speedily disintegrated, and generally entirely reduced to dust at high levels. Evaporation is almost always proceeding over seas and oceans, and from foam thrown up and swept along by the winds the dissolved salts are liberated as solid particles. Again vast quantities of dust are produced in the consumption of fuel.