Dreikaiserbund See Three Emper¬ ors' League
Dreiser VdrI-zoiA, Theodore (Herman Albert) (b. Aug. 27, 1871, Terre Haute, Ind., U.S.—d. Dec. 28, 1945, Hollywood, Calif.) U.S. novelist. Born to poor German immigrant parents, Dreiser left home at age 15 for Chicago. He worked as a journalist, and in 1894 he moved to New York, where he had a successful career as a magazine editor and pub¬ lisher. His first novel, Sister Carrie (1900), about a young kept woman who goes unpunished for her trans¬ gressions, was denounced as scandal¬ ous. His subsequent novels would confirm his reputation as the out¬ standing American practitioner of naturalism. After the success of Jen¬ nie Gerhardt (1911), he began writ-
Theodore Dreiser.
THE GRANGER COLLECTION, NEW YORK CITY
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
572 I Dresden ► Dreyfus
ing full-time, producing a trilogy consisting of The Financier (1912), The Titan (1914), and The Stoic (published 1947), which was followed by The Genius ( 1915) and its sequel, The Bulwark (published 1946). An American Tragedy ( 1925), based on a murder tidal and itself the basis for the 1931 film by that name and for a 1951 film entitled A Place in the Sun, made him a hero among social reformers.
Dresden City (pop., 2002: 478,600), situated on the Elbe River, east¬ ern Germany. Originally a Slavonic settlement, it was the residence of the margraves of Meissen in the early 13th century. The Dresden china indus¬ try originated there but was moved to Meissen in 1710 (see Meissen por¬ celain). Napoleon I made Dresden a centre of military operations and won his last great battle there in 1813. Dresden was occupied by Prussia in 1866. In World War II, it was severely damaged by Allied bombing raids in 1945. Several of its historic buildings have been restored or recon¬ structed. It is known for its art galleries, museums, and other cultural institutions. Industries produce precision and optical instruments.
Dresden Codex Latin Codex Dresdensis One of the few pre- Columbian Maya codices to survive book burnings by Spanish clergy. It contains exceptionally accurate astronomical calculations, including ECUPSE-prediction tables and the synodic period of Venus. The reputation of the Maya as astronomers is based largely on these figures.
dress Covering, or clothing and accessories, for the human body. The term encompasses garments as shirts, togas, footwear, hats, and gloves; hairstyles, facial hair, and wigs; and cosmetics, jewelry, and other forms of body decoration. In cultures thoughout the world, perhaps the most obvi¬ ous function of dress is to provide warmth and protection, but it can also serve religious or ritual purposes. Other basic functions of dress include identifying the wearer (by providing information about sex, age, occupa¬ tion, or other characteristic) and making the wearer appear more attrac¬ tive. In the West up through the modern era, dress has often functioned as a reflection of social and economic standing. See also fashion.
dressage \dr9-'sazh\ French "training" Equestrian sport involving the execution of precision movements by a trained horse in response to barely perceptible signals from its rider. Particularly important are the animal’s pace and bearing in performing walks, trots, canters, and more specialized maneuvers. Training is divided into the elementary campagne and the advanced haute ecole. Dressage competitions have been included in the Olympic Games since 1912. Riders compete as individuals and in teams.
Dressier, Marie orig. Leila Marie Koerber (b. Nov. 9, 1868, Cobourg, Ont., Can.—d. July 28, 1934, Santa Barbara, Calif., U.S.) Canadian-U.S. actress. She began her acting career as a vaudeville come¬ dian and made her film debut in Tillie’s Punctured Romance (1914), in which Charlie Chaplin also appeared. After a period of obscurity, she expe¬ rienced a career revival with the coming of sound films. In the 1930s she was known for her portrayals of self-sufficient, humorous old women (often costarring with Wallace Beery) in films such as Min and Bill (1931, Academy Award) and Tugboat Annie (1933).
Drew, Charles Richard (b. June 3, 1904, Washington, D.C., U.S.—d. April 1, 1950, near Burlington, N.C.) U.S. physician and surgeon. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. While researching the prop¬ erties and preservation of blood plasma, he developed efficient ways to process and store plasma in blood banks. He directed the U.S. and Brit¬ ain’s World War II blood-plasma programs until 1942. An African Ameri¬ can, he resigned over the segregation of the blood of blacks and whites in blood banks.
Drew, Daniel (b. July 29, 1797, Carmel, N.Y., U.S.—d. Sept. 18, 1879, New York, N.Y.) U.S. railway financier. In 1844 he founded the Wall Street brokerage firm of Drew, Robinson, and Co., which became one of the principal traders in railroad stocks in the U.S. The “Erie War” of 1866-68, in which Drew joined Jay Gould and James Fisk against Corne¬ lius Vanderbilt in a struggle for control of the Erie Railroad Co., eventually led to his ruin, and he filed for bankruptcy in 1876.
Drew family U.S. theatrical family. Louisa Lane (later Louisa Lane Drew; 1820-97) began her stage career at age eight in Philadelphia, where her widowed mother had brought her from England. Her many success¬ ful parts included Lady Teazle, Mrs. Malaprop, and such “breeches” roles as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Mark Antony. In 1850 she married the Irish comic actor John Drew (1827-62), who made his U.S. debut in 1842 and comanaged the Arch Street Theatre in Philadelphia. He toured widely, and
she managed the theatre from 1861, directing the renamed Mrs. John Drew’s Arch Street Theatre company with notable success until 1892. Their son John Drew, Jr. (1853-1927), made his debut (1873) with his mother’s company, then joined the companies of Augustin Daly (1838— 99) and Charles Frohman (1860-1915). He was noted for his roles in Shakespearean comedies, society dramas, and light comedies. Their daughter Georgiana Emma Drew (1854-93) made her acting debut with her mother’s company (1872). She became the wife of the actor Maurice Barrymore and the mother of the actors Lionel, Ethel, and John Barry¬ more (see Barrymore family).
Drexel, Anthony J(oseph) (b. Sept. 13, 1826, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—d. June 30, 1893, Carlsbad, Bohemia) U.S. banker and philanthro¬ pist. He and his brothers inherited his father’s Philadelphia banking house and built it into a successful investment-banking concern, specializing in flotation of government bonds, railroad organization, mining develop¬ ment, and urban real estate. In 1891 he founded the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry, now Drexel University. He was the uncle of St. Katherine Drexel.
Drexel, Saint Katharine (b. Nov. 26, 1858, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—d. March 3, 1955, Cornwells Heights, Pa.; canonized Oct. 1, 2000; feast day March 3) U.S. missionary. The niece of banker and philanthro¬ pist Anthony J. Drexel, she inherited a vast fortune, which she used to fund her charitable enterprises, including mission schools in Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and New Mexico. In 1887 Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) asked her to become a missionary. In 1891 she founded the Blessed Sac¬ rament Sisters for Indians and Colored People (now Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament), a congregation of missionary nuns dedicated to the welfare of Native Americans and African Americans. She also founded several schools for minority students as well as Xavier University in New Orleans (1915). She was the second U.S.-born saint; the first was Elizabeth Ann Seton, canonized in 1975.