De Quincey
THOMAS, an English author; born in Manchester, Aug. 15, 1785. He received a classical education at the grammar-school of Bath, and entered the University of Oxford in 1803, where he remained till 1808. While there he contracted the habit of eating opium. In 1809, after leaving Oxford, he resided at Grasmere for 27 years. Here he cultivated the friendship of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey, and other distinguished authors. He made German literature and philosophy his special study, and translated some of the works of Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Lessing, and Richter. At first he took opium only once a week, but gradually the evil habit grew upon him, and at last he took it daily. The consequences he describes in his principal work, "The Confessions of an English Opium-eater." In 1823 he went to London, where he published his " "Suspiaria de Profundis," his "Templar's Dialogues," etc. His published works include: "Letters to a Young Man Whose Education has been Neglected" (1823); "Logic of Political Economy" (1844); "Klosterheim" (1839); etc. He died in Lasswade, near Edinburgh, Dec. 8, 1859.
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De Reszke (EDOUARD a Polish opera singer)
EDOUARD, a Polish opera singer, born in 1855 at Warsaw. In the early years of his life he studied scientific agriculture and for some time took care of the family estates in Silesia. About 1875 at the suggestion of his older brother he studied voice culture under the eminent masters of his day, and in 1876 made his début in Paris as a basso. During the last decade of the 19th century he was one of the most popular singers in the operas given in New York and London . He died in 1917.
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De Reszke (JEAN a dramatic tenor born)
JEAN, a dramatic tenor, born in Poland in 1850. His voice attracted attention while he was yet a boy. He studied law and obtained his degree, but chose a singing career in preference to a legal one. After some years of training he made his first appearance at Venice in 1874, but was physically unequal to the strain of continued singing. For a while he gave up the career he had preferred, but gaining in strength later, he re-entered the profession and for a quarter of a century was one of the most successful and accomplished singers on either side of the Atlantic.
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De Soto
FERNANDO, a Spanish de los Caval at Jeres at Jeres discoverer; born leros, in Estremadura, about 1496, of a good but impoverished family; accompanied Pedrarias Davila to Darien in 1519; served on the expedition to Nicaragua in 1527; and afterward assisted Pizarro in the conquest of Peru, returning to Spain with a fortune. Charles V. now gave him permission to conquer Florida at his own expense, and appointed him governor of Cuba; and in 1538 he sailed richly equipped rom San Lucar with a rich company. The fleet anchored in the bay of Espiritu Santo (now Tampa Bay) on May 25, 1539; the ships were sent back to Cuba, and the long search for gold was begun. For three years, harassed by Indians and enduring every privation, the company continued the quest. In 1541 the Mississippi was reached and crossed, and the third winter was spent on Washita river. Returning to the Mississippi in the spring, De Soto, worn out by disappointments, died of a fever on its banks, in June, 1542; and that his death might be concealed from the Indians, was lowered at midnight into the waters of the great stream he had discovered. In the following his panions, reduced to half their original number, sailed down the river, and finally reached the town of Panuco, in Mexico.
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De Soto
a city of Missouri, in Jefferson co. It is on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern railroad. In the neighborhood are important lead and zinc mines. The city has a large trade in grain, flour, produce, and live stock. Its industries include a shoe factory, shops. flour mills, and railroad machine Pop. (1910) 4,721; (1920) 5,003.
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De Valera
EAMON. (See IRISH FREE STATE.)
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De Vere
SIR AUBREY, an Irish poet; born in Currah Chase, Aug. 28, 1788. His works are: "Julian the Apostate; a Dramatic Poem" (1822); "The Duke of Mercia: a Historical Drama," the volume containing also "The Lamentations of Ireland" (1823); "The Song of Faith," (1842); ; and Drama" Historical "Mary Tudor: a (1847). His sonnets Wordsworth declared to be "the most perfect of our age." He died July 5, 1846.
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De Vinne
THEODORE LOW, an American printer; born in Stamford, Conn., Dec. 25, 1828. He learned the printer's trade and became an employe and later partner of Francis Hart, upon whose death he founded the firm of Theodore L. De Vinne & Co. in New York City. He wrote "The Practice of Typography" (1900); "Title Pages" (1902); "Notable Printers of Italy in the 15th Century" (1910). He died in 1914.
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De Vries
HUGO, a Dutch botanist, born in 1848 at Harlem. He was educated at Leyden and German universities, and in 1871 joined the staff of the University of Amsterdam as a lecturer. He afterward became professor of botany but at that institution. He devoted special , attention to the development of the theory of mutation and made important , contributions to that branch of evolutionary science. His researches resulted in a change of the method of studying evolution from observation to experimental work. He wrote several books, including " Plant Breeding" (1907).
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De Wet
CHRISTIAN, a Boer military officer; born in Smithfield, Orange Free State (now Orange ange River State), in October, 1859. He was bred a farmer and made a small fortune. He became a member of the Volksraad. Though practically without military experience, he served ably in the Boer-British War of 1899-1900, attaining the rank of general and outwitting the pursuit of Kitchener and Roberts in the summer of 1900, and of the former in the early part of 1901. His stand at Sanna's Post was highly praised by military experts. In 1907 he was a member of the first Parliament of the Orange River Colony and Minister of Agriculture. In October, 1914, he led an insurrection and surrendered to General Louis Botha on Dec. 2, 1914. He was sentenced to six years' imprisonand pay fine of $10,000, but within a short time was pardoned. He published "Three Years of War" (1902).
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