Dock-yards, establishments supplied with all sorts of naval stores, materials and conveniences for the construction, repairs, and equipment of ships of war. In England the royal dock-yards are at Chatham, Sheerness, Portsmouth, Devonport, and Pembroke, besides the Deptford and Woolwich store-yards. There are also royal dock-yards or naval victualling yards at Haulbowline in Cork Harbour, Rosyth, Invergordon, at the Cape of Good Hope, Gibraltar, Malta, Bermuda, Bombay, Calcutta, Hong-Kong, Sydney, and Wei-hai-wei. Others in the colonies have been given up. The dock-yards are under the direct control of the Admiralty. The chief officer of the greater or home dock-yards is generally an admiral, with a considerable staff of officials under him, professional and other. Since the introduction of steam the engineering department has become an important one in such establishments.
Doctor, a term literally signifying teacher. In the Middle Ages, from the twelfth century, it came into use as a title of honour for men of great learning, such as Thomas Aquinas (Doctor Angelicus) and Duns Scotus (Doctor Subtilis). It was first made an academical title by the University of Bologna, and emperors and Popes soon afterwards assumed the right of granting universities the power of conferring the degree in law. The University of Paris followed in the footsteps of Bologna, and in 1145 the title was bestowed on Peter Lombard. The faculties of theology and medicine were soon included, but for a long time the faculty of arts retained the older title of Magister, till the German universities substituted that of Doctor. In England the Doctor's degree was introduced into the universities during the reign of John or Henry III. The title of Doctor is in some cases an honorary degree, and in other cases (as in medicine and science) conferred after examination. The title of D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Law), for example, at the Universities of Oxford and Durham, is frequently an honorary degree, and so also are those of D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) and LL.D. (Doctor of Laws) at various universities. The Popes and the Archbishops of Canterbury exercise the right of conferring the degree of Doctor both in law and divinity. Oxford and Cambridge, and many other universities, create doctors of music (Mus.D.).
Doctors' Commons was a college founded in 1567 for the Doctors of the Civil Law in London, and was at one time the seat of the Court of Arches, the Archdeacon's Court, and the Court of Admiralty. The practitioners in these courts were called advocates and proctors. In 1857 an Act was passed empowering the college to sell its property and dissolve, and making the privileges of the proctors common to all solicitors.
Doctors of the Church, a name given to four of the Greek Fathers (Athanasius, Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, and Chrysostom) and five of the Latin Fathers (Hilary, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and Gregory the Great). The Roman Catholic Church, however, recognizes eighteen 'Doctors of the Church', including, besides those already mentioned, Chrysologus, Leo, Isidore, Peter Damian, Anselm, Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventura, and Alphonsus of Liguori. The title is conferred only after death.
Doctrinaires, a section of French politicians, represented by the Duc de Broglie, Royer-Collard, Guizot, and others, who became prominent after the Restoration in 1815. They favoured a constitutional monarchy similar to that which then existed in Britain. In the Chambers they thus occupied a place between Radicals and ultra-Royalists. They received the name of doctrinaires because they were looked upon more as theoretical constitution-makers than practical politicians, and the term is now used with a wider application to political theorists generally.
1, Pistil. 2, Corolla.
Dodder, the common name of the plants of the genus Cuscŭta, a group of slender, branched, twining, leafless pink or white annual parasites, nat. ord. Convolvulaceæ. The seeds germinate on the ground, but the young plant speedily attaches itself to some other plant, from which it derives all its nourishment. Four species are common in England—C. europæa, found on nettles and vetches; C. Epithymum, on furze, thyme, and heather (these two being natives); C. trifolii, on clover; C. Epilīnum, on cultivated flax (both introduced from abroad).
Doddridge, Philip, D.D., an English Dissenting divine, born in London in 1702, died in 1751. He was an earnest pastor, and the author of many hymns and devotional treatises. The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul and The Family Expositor are amongst his best known works. Many of his hymns are still sung, such as O God of Bethel, by whose hand; and O happy day that fixed my choice.
Dodecanese (Gr., twelve islands), a name applied since the Turko-Italian War of 1912-3 to a group of islands lying off the south-west coast of Asia Minor, the base of the Italian troops. The group, consisting of the Southern Sporades, includes the Islands of Patmos, Cos,