426 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



Day, James Roscoe, clergyman, educator; born in 

 Whitney ville, Me , October 17, 1845; graduate of Bow- 

 doin, 1874, S. T. D.; (D. D., Wesleyan, Conn., and Dick- 

 inson College; LL. D., Northwestern University; D. C. 

 L., Cornell College, la.)- Methodist Episcopal clergy- 

 man in Bath, Portland, Boston, and New York. Chan- 

 cellor Syracuse University since 1894. Elected bishop 

 Methodist Episcopal Church, 1904. but resigned. Is a 

 vigorous writer and speaker, and well known publicist. 



Day, William Rufus, jurist; born in Ravenna, (>., 

 April 17, 1849; graduate of University of Michigan, 1870; 

 studied in law department, same; admitted to bar, 1872; 

 established in practice at Canton, O.; judge court of 

 common pleas, 1886-90; elected as nominee of both 

 political parties; appointed, 1889, judge United States 

 District Court, northern district of Ohio, but because of 

 failing health resigned before taking office; appointed 

 assistant secretary of State, March, 1897; succeeded 

 John Sherman as secretary of State, April 26, 1898, but 

 in September, 1898, was succeeded by John Hay, be- 

 coming chairman United States peace commissioners 

 at Paris, at close of war with Spain; judge United States 

 Circuit Court, sixth circuit, 1899-1903; associate justice 

 United States Supreme Court since February, 1903. 



Drcatur, Stephen, a United States naval com- 

 mander, born in 1779. On various occasions he was 

 distinguished by his skill and courage. In the war of 

 1812, oetween England and America, he captured the 

 "Macedonian" English frigate. In the year 1815, he 

 was taken by the British, after maintaining a running 

 fight for more than two hours. He died in 1820, being 

 shot in a duel which he fought with Commodore Barron. 



Defoe (de-io'), Daniel, a much admired English 

 novelist; born in 1660, was the son of a butcher. In 

 1688 he kept a hosier's shop in Cornhill, but proving 

 unsuccessful, he was obliged to depend upon his literary 

 powers for a livelihood. He obtained, in 1695, the ap- 

 pointment of accountant to the commissioners of glass 

 duty, which office he held till that duty was repealed in 

 1701. He was an active writer, but his "Robinson 

 Crusoe," the work for which he was most celebrated, 

 did not appear till 1719. Among his productions may 

 be mentioned "A Journal of the Plague in 1665," by a 

 supposed witness of it. He died in 1731. 



De Kalb (kdlb), John, Baron, was born about 1732, 

 in Alsace, France. After studying the art of war in the 

 French army, he accompanied Lafayette to America 

 in 1777. After being appointed a major-general by 

 Congress, he served in the field in New Jersey and Mary- 

 land, and was second in command to General Gates. 

 He was killed in the battle of Camden, 1780. 



Deland, Margaretta Wade, author; born (Camp- 

 bell) in Allegheny, Pa., February 23, 1857; educated in 

 private schools. Author: "John Ward, Preacher," 

 'The Old Garden and Other Verses," "Philip and His 

 Wife," " Florida Days," " Sydney," " The Story of a 

 Child," "The Wisdom 'of Fools/' "Mr. Tommy Dove 

 and Other Stories," "Old Chester Tales," "Dr. Laven- 

 dar's People," "The Common Way." 



Delcasse, Theophile, was born in Pamiers, March 

 1, 1852, educated in Paris, and began his career as a 

 journalist. He was elected to the chamber in 1889, for 

 Foix; in 1893, became under-secretary for the colonies 

 under MM. Ribot and'Dupuy, and colonial minister in 

 the Dupuy cabinet of May, 1894. He has always been 

 a consistent advocate of colonial expansion. When M. 

 Brisson formed his ministry in 1898, he entrusted for- 

 eign affairs to M. Delcasse", and it fell to his lot to deal 

 with the difficult position at Fashoda. He retained 

 his portfolio in M. Dupuy's ministry, after the defeat of 

 the Brisson administration. In 1899, he negotiated the 

 agreement with Great Britain as to the Nile Valley and 

 Central Africa, and still remained foreign minister when 

 M. Waldeck-Rousseau succeeded M. Dupuy, and when 

 M. Combes, in 1902, succeeded M. Waldeck-Rousseau. 

 He brought about the rapprochement with Italy, visited 

 England with the president in 1903, and with Lord 

 Lansdowne prepared the Anglo-French Agreement, 

 signed April 8, 1904. The difficulty with Germany 

 about Morocco caused his retirement in 1905. 



Del mas, Delphin Michael, lawyer; born in France, 

 April 14, 1844; removed to California in boyhood; 

 graduate of Santa Clara College, California, A. B., 1862; 

 A. M., 1863; Ph. D., 19(W; graduate of Yale Law 

 School, LL. B., 1865. Admitted to California bar, 1866; 

 practiced in San Jose, Cal., 1866-83; since then in San 

 Francisco. District attorney of Santa Clara County, 

 Cal., 1868; regent of University of California, 1885; 

 delegate-at-large of Democratic National Convention, 

 St. Louis, 1904. Author: "Speeches and Addresses." 



Demetrius, surnamed Poliorcetes, King of Macedon, 

 was defeated near Gaza by Ptolemy in 318. He deliv- 

 ered Athens from Demetrius Phafereus, but the suc- 



I cessors of Alexander defeated him at Ipsus (301). In 

 290, he seized the throne of Macedonia, but was ex- 

 pelled (287), and died in captivity (286 C. 1?.). 



Demosthenes, born circa 385 B. C.; Greek orator, 

 resolved to study rhetoric, though his lungs were weak, 

 his pronunciation bad, and his gesture awkward. He 

 persevered till he surpassed all other orators, and is 

 I noted for his "Philippics and Olynthiacs," aimed 

 against Philip of Macedon. On the advance of Anti- 

 pater he fled, and poisoned himself in preference to 

 falling into his enemies' hands. Died, 322 B. C. 



Deneon, Charles Samuel, governor; born in Ed- 

 wardsville, 111., May 4, 1863j educated in public schools 

 at Lebanon, 111., and McKendree College (graduated, 

 1882); taught school about three years; studied law; 

 admitted to bar. Elected to Illinois House of Repre- 

 sentatives, 1892; served one term as attorney for sani- 

 tary district of Chicago, December, 1895-96; State's 

 attorney of Cook County, 111., 1896-1904; governor of 

 Illinois, 1904-08. 



Depew, Chauncey Mitchell, an American lawyer: 

 born in Peekskill, N. Y., April 23. 1834; was graduated 

 at Yale College in 1856, and engaged in the presidential 

 campaign for Fremont immediately afterward; studied 

 law, and was admitted to the bar in 1858. He was 

 appointed United States minister to Japan, and after 

 holding: the commission a month, declined, and began 

 his career as a railroad official as attorney for the New 

 York and Harlem Railroad. He was made attorney 

 and director of the consolidated Hudson River and 

 New York Central railroads in 1869; general counsel of 

 the whole Vanderbilt system in 1875; second vice- 

 president of the reorganized New York Central Railroad 

 in .1882, and president in 1885. His political career, 

 since 1866, embraces his unsuccessful candidacy as 

 lieutenant-governor on the Liberal Republican ticket in 

 1872; his election by the legislature as a regent of the 

 State University in 1874; his candidacy for United 

 States senator to succeed Thomas C. Platt, in which he 

 withdrew his name after eighty-tw9 days of balloting, 

 in 1881; his declination of the United States senator- 

 ship tendered by the Republicans of the legislature in 

 1884; his candidacy for the presidential nomination in 

 the national convention in 1888; and his election to 

 the United States Senate, January 17, 1899. He has 

 an international reputation as an unusually entertaining 

 speaker, is constantly in request as a lecturer, and has 

 delivered many addresses of large public importance. 



De Quincey, Thomas, English essayist; born in 

 Manchester in 1785. His father, Thomas Quincey (not 

 De Quincey), was a merchant, and left his family well 

 provided for. De Quincey was first educated at Sal- 

 ford and at Bath, and afterwards at Winckworth and 

 the Manchester grammar school, from which he ran 

 away, and subsequently went through the adventures 

 and privations which he described in the "Confessions 

 of an English Opium Eater." In 1803, he went up to 

 Worcester College, Oxford, which he left without a 

 degree, and soon after became acquainted with Cole- 

 ridge and Wordsworth, took a cottage at Grasmere, 

 and became one of the famous Lake scholars. Here he 

 remained for many years, occasionally visiting London 

 and Edinburgh. In 1830, he removed, with his wife 

 and eight children, to the latter place, and lived there 

 till his wife's death, in 1837. He had acquired the 

 I habit of taking opium by using it to cure an attack of 

 neuralgia, and so greatly did it grow upon him that he 

 was known to take as many as 12,000 drops, equal to 

 ten wineglasses, in a day. He was engaged in prepar- 

 ing fourteen volumes of his works for the press within 

 a few days of his death. Besides the "Opium Eater," 

 the following works may be mentioned: ' Murder Con- 

 sidered as One of the Fine Arts," "Suspiria de Profun- 

 dis." "The English Mail Coach." and ".A Vision of 

 Sudden Death." Died, 1859. 



De Reszke, Edouard, operatic singer; born in 

 Varsoyie, Poland, December 22, 1853; studied under 

 Ciaffei and Coletti; de'but, Theatre des Italiens, Paris, 

 as the king in "Aida," April 22, 1876; later, sang at 

 Turin, Milan, and other European cities; London de'but 

 as Indra in "Royal Italian Opera," April 13, 1880, 

 remaining there four seasons. Has since then appeared 

 in grand opera in Europe and United States, taking 

 basso r61es. 



De Reszke, Jean, operatic singer,; born in Varsovie, 

 Poland, January 14, 1850; studied under Ciaffei, Cotogni, 

 and Sbriglia; de'but as baritone singer in Favorita, 

 Venice, January, 1874; tenor de'but, Madrid, 1879; 

 has appeared in leading r&les in grand opera in Europe 

 and United States. 



Descartes, Rene (da-k&hrt') , a great French philos- 

 opher and mathematician, was born in Touraine in 1596. 

 "He early adopted the profession of arms, and served in 



