De Beers Consolidated Mines World’s largest producer and dis¬ tributor of diamonds. Diamonds were first discovered in southern Africa in the mid 1860s on the de Beer farm. The urban centre that resulted is now known as Kimberley. Two diamond mines dug there (no longer in operation) were at one time the world’s most productive. Cecil Rhodes bought a claim to the De Beers mine in 1871, and eventually bought claims to most of southern Africa’s diamond mines. To keep prices high and demand steady, he formed the London Diamond Syndicate in the 1890s as a means of limiting the supply of diamonds reaching the mar¬ ket. Renamed the Central Selling Organization (CSO), it came to control nearly 80% of the world diamond trade by the late 1980s. Dwindling demand caused the CSO to be replaced by the Diamond Trading Com¬ pany (DTC) in 2000. It was among the first companies in South Africa to sponsor drug treatments for its workers infected with HIV. De Beers also has interests in synthetic diamonds, minerals and ores, and in min¬ ing production and processing equipment. Through its large market share and its willingness to work with competitors, De Beers has continued to influence the price and availability of diamonds worldwide, prompting accusations that it has engaged in unfair trading practices. A controlling interest in the company is held by Anglo American PLC.
de Colmar Vdi-'kol-.marV Charles Xavier Thomas (b. 1785, Col¬ mar, Fr.—d. 1870, Paris) French mathematician. In 1820, while serving in the French army, he built his first arithmometer, which could perform basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The first mechanical calculator to gain widespread use, it became a commercial success and was still being used up to World War I.
De Forest, Lee (b. Aug. 26, 1873, Council Bluffs, Iowa, U.S.—d. June 30, 1961, Hollywood, Calif.) U.S. inventor. He had invented many gad¬ gets by age 13, including a working silverplating apparatus. After earn¬ ing a Ph.D. from Yale University, he founded the De Forest Wireless Telegraph Co. (1902) and the De Forest Radio Telephone Co. (1907). In 1907 he patented the Audion vacuum tube detector, which allowed more sensitive reception of radio signals such as his live broadcast of a perfor¬ mance by Enrico Caruso (1910). He developed a sound-on-film optical- recording system called Phonofilm and demonstrated it in theatres (1923— 27). A poor businessman who was twice defrauded by business partners, he eventually sold his patents at low prices to such firms as American Telephone & Telegraph Co., which profited highly from their commercial
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520 I De Gasperi ► De Leon
development. Though embittered, he was widely honoured as the father of radio and the grandfather of television.
De Gasperi \da-gas-'pa-re\, Alcide (b. April 3, 1881, Pieve Tesino, near Trento, Tyrol, Austria-Hungary—d. Aug. 19, 1954, Sella di Valsug- ana, Italy) Italian prime minister (1945-53). He served in the Austrian parliament (1911-19) and sought the annexation of his native region of Tyrol to Italy. He later served in the Italian parliament (1921-27) as one of the founders of the Italian Popular Party. After 16 months’ imprison¬ ment as an antifascist, he became a Vatican librarian in 1929. In World War II he was active in the Resistance, and after the fall of the fascist regime he became leader of the newly formed Christian Democratic Party. As prime minister (1945-53), he enacted a new constitution, instituted land reform, and oversaw Italy’s postwar economic reconstruction. Under his leadership Italy joined NATO, and he helped organize the Council of Europe and the European Coal and Steel Community.
de Gaulle, Charles (-Andre-Marie-Joseph) (b. Nov. 22, 1890, Lille, France—d. Nov. 9, 1970, Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises) French sol¬ dier, statesman, and architect of France’s Fifth Republic. He joined the army in 1913 and fought with distinction in World War I. He was promoted to the staff of the supreme war council in 1925. In 1940 he was promoted to brigadier general and served briefly as undersecretary of state for defense under Paul Reynaud. After the fall of France to the Germans, he left for England and started the Free French movement. Devoted to France and dedicated to its liberation, he moved to Algiers in 1943 and became president of the French Committee of National Liberation, at first jointly with Henri-Honore Giraud. After the liberation of Paris, he returned and headed two provisional governments, then resigned in 1946. He opposed the Fourth Republic, and in 1947 he formed the Rally of the French People (RPF), but severed his connections with it in 1953. He retired from pub¬ lic life and wrote his memoirs. When an insurrection in Algeria threat¬ ened to bring civil war to France, he returned to power in 1958, as prime minister with powers to reform the constitution. That same year he was elected president of the new Fifth Republic, which ensured a strong presi¬ dency. He ended the Algerian War and transformed France’s African ter¬ ritories into 12 independent states. He withdrew France from NATO, and his policy of neutrality during the Vietnam War was seen by many as anti- Americanism. He began a policy of detente with Iron Curtain countries and traveled widely to form a bond with French-speaking countries. After the civil unrest of May 1968 by students and workers, he was defeated in a referendum on constitutional amendments and resigned in 1969.
De Grey River \do-'gra\ River, northwestern Western Australia. It rises as the Oakover River in the Robertson Range and flows north. Midway in its course, it turns northwest to join the Nullagine River and becomes the De Grey, continuing 118 mi (190 km) to the Indian Ocean. In 1888 the rich Pilbara goldfield attracted many settlers to the river’s valley. The river supports pastureland for the grazing of sheep and cattle.
De Havilland, Sir Geoffrey (b. July 27, 1882, Haslemere, Surrey, Eng.—d. May 21, 1965, Watford, Hertfordshire) British aircraft designer and manufacturer. In 1910 he built and flew an airplane with a 50-horsepower engine. He formed his own company in 1920 and built the commercially successful two-seater Moth. In World War II the twin- engined Mosquito was the company’s most successful product. After the war he pioneered the manufacture of jet-propelled airplanes with his Comet passenger jet and Vampire and Venom jet fighters.
de Havilland \d9-'ha-v3-bnd\, Olivia (Mary) (b. July 1, 1916, Tokyo, Japan) U.S. film actress. Born to British parents, she was raised in California. She made her film debut in 1935 and played the delicate heroine opposite Errol Flynn in swashbucklers such as Captain Blood (1935) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). She revealed dramatic depth in Gone with the Wind (1939), To Each His Own (1946, Academy Award), The Snake Pit (1948), and The Heiress (1949, Academy Award). Her victory in a landmark lawsuit against Warner Brothers (1945) limited actors’ contracts to seven years, including suspension periods. She moved to Paris in 1955 and made only rare film appearances thereafter.
de Klerk \do-'klerk\, F(rederik) W(illem) (b. March 18, 1936, Johannesburg, S.Af.) President of South Africa (1989-94). He brought the apartheid system to an end and negotiated a transition to majority rule. Replacing P.W. Botha as leader of the National Party and president, de Klerk quickly moved to release all important political prisoners, includ¬ ing Nelson Mandela, and to lift the ban on the African National Congress. He and Mandela jointly received the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. Following
the country’s first universal suffrage elections in 1994, Mandela became president and de Klerk was appointed second deputy president. He retired from politics in 1997.