Diebitsch-Sabalkanski, Hans Karl, a Russian general, born at Grossleippe, in Silesia, in 1785, died 9th June, 1831. He was educated at the military school of Berlin, but in 1801 quitted the Prussian service for that of Russia. He was present at the battles of Austerlitz and Friedland, served with distinction in the campaign of 1812, took part in the battles of Dresden and Leipzig, and was made lieutenant-general at the age of twenty-eight. He had the chief command in the Turkish War of 1828-9, stormed Varna, and made the famous passage of the Balkans, for which the surname of Sabalkanski was conferred on him. In 1830 he commanded the army sent against the revolted Poles, but did not distinguish himself in this service.—Cf. Bantych-Kamenski, Biographies of Russian Field-marshals.
Dieffenbach (dē´fen-ba˙h), Johann Friedrich, German surgeon, born at Königsberg in 1792, died in 1847. After having studied at Bonn and Paris, he settled in Berlin, where his talent as an operator soon attracted notice. Surgery is particularly indebted to him for new methods of forming artificial noses, eyelids, and lips, and curing squinting and stammering.
Diego Garcia. See Chagos.
Di´electric, in electricity, a name applied by Faraday to any medium through or across which electrostatic induction can take place. See Electricity (Electrostatics). Faraday first showed that electrostatic induction was not action at a distance, but took place by means of the insulating medium separating the two conductors. The medium he named a dielectric, and measured its specific inductive capacity by taking that of common air as unity.
Diëly´tra, or Dicentra, a genus of plants, of the nat. ord. Fumariaceæ or Fumitories. The best known is D. spectabilis, a native of Northern China and Siberia, now common in European and other gardens. It blossoms in April and May, and its long drooping racemes of purplish-red blossoms present a very graceful appearance. It grows freely in the open air. It is sometimes called bleeding heart or virgin's heart from the shape of the blossoms.
Diemen (dē´men), Anton van, Dutch administrator, was born in 1593, died in 1645. Having gone to India, he speedily rose to the highest dignities, and was at length, in 1636, made Governor-General. He administered the government with much ability, and contributed much to the establishment of the Dutch commerce in India. Abel Tasman, whom he sent with a vessel to the South Seas in 1642, gave the name of Van Diemen's Land to the island now called Tasmania.
Dieppe (dē-ep´), a seaport town, France, department of Seine-Inférieure, on the English Channel, at the embouchure of the Arques, 93 miles N.N.W. of Paris. Almost the only public edifices worth special notice are the two Gothic churches, St. Jacques, begun in the thirteenth century, and St. Rémi, founded in 1522, and the old castle (1433), now a barracks. To the west of Dieppe proper is the suburb La Barre; and on the opposite side of the harbour Le Pollet, inhabited chiefly by sailors and fishermen. The old port is spacious, but a new channel with its own harbour system has been added, and vessels of 20-foot draft can now enter. Dieppe is one of the chief watering-places of France, and is much frequented by visitors in summer and autumn. The great bathing establishment forms a luxurious retreat for bathers and invalids, and includes a ballroom. The manufactures include works in ivory, horn, and bone, lace-making, sugar-refining, and shipbuilding. There is a busy fishery, and the foreign trade is still considerable. There is constant steam intercourse between this port and Newhaven. In early times Dieppe was the chief port of France, but its prosperity diminished after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685). During the European War Dieppe was an important Allied base. Pop. 23,973.
Dierx, Léon, French poet, born in the Island of Réunion in 1838. Educated in Paris, he became one of the foremost of the Parnassians. His works include: Aspirations, Poèmes et Poésies, La rencontre, and Les Amants. His collected poems (1889-90) were crowned by the Académie. He died in Paris, 11th June, 1912.
Dies and Die-sinking. Die-sinking is the art of preparing dies, a die being a plate or block, usually of metal, so cut or shaped as to be capable, by means of stamping or pressure, of transferring a given design to some article which is to be manufactured in quantity. The
pressure may be applied by any sort of power, from hand to hydraulic.