Duncan, Isadora orig. Angela Duncan (b. May 26, 1877, or May 27, 1878, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.—d. Sept. 14, 1927, Nice, Fr.) U.S. interpretive dancer. She rejected the conventions of classical ballet and based her technique on natural rhythms and movement inspired by ancient Greece, dancing barefoot in a tunic without tights. Enjoying little success in the U.S., she moved to Europe in 1898. She toured Europe, giving recitals to great acclaim throughout her life and earning notoriety for her liberated unconventionality, and she founded several dance schools. She was strangled when her long scarf became entangled in the rear wheel of the car in which she was riding. Her emphasis on “free dance” made her a precursor of modern dance, and she became an inspiration to many avant-garde artists.
Dundee \,d3n-'de\ City and royal borough (pop., 2001: 145,663), east¬ ern Scotland. It constitutes the council area of Dundee City in the historic county of Angus. An important seaport, it is situated on the Firth of Tay, an inlet of the North Sea. Earliest mention of the town dates from the late 12th century, and over the next four or five centuries it was repeatedly sacked, with much bloodshed, by the English. Among surviving build¬ ings, the City Churches, a collection of three parish churches housed under
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580 I dune ► Dupleix
one roof, are a focal point in the modem city centre. Dundee was a world centre for jute manufacturing in the 19th century. Textiles are still pro¬ duced, but since World War II light engineering has become the predomi¬ nant industry. The University of Dundee was founded in 1881.
dune See sand dune
dung beetle Any member of one subfamily (Scarabaeinae) of scarab beetles, which shapes manure into a ball (sometimes as large as an apple) with its scooperlike head and paddle-shaped antennae. They vary from 0.2 to more than 1 in. (5-30 mm) long. In early summer it buries itself and the ball and feeds on it. Later in the season the female deposits eggs in dung balls, on which the larvae will later feed. They are usually round with short wing covers (elytra) that expose the end of the abdomen. They can eat more than their own weight in 24 hours and are considered help¬ ful because they hasten the conversion of manure to substances usable by other organisms.
Dungannon Won-'ga-nonV District (pop., 2001: 47,735), Northern Ire¬ land. Created in 1973, it extends from Lough Neagh to the district of Fer¬ managh and from the foothills of the Sperrin Mountains to the River Blackwater and the republic of Ireland. An essentially pastoral area, its early history is linked with the O’Neills, earls of Tyrone, whose chief resi¬ dence was at the town of Dungannon, the district seat. The Irish Parlia¬ ment’s independence was first proclaimed there in 1782.
Dungeness crab Vdon-jo-nosN Edible crab ( Cancer magister ) found along the Pacific coast from Alaska to lower California, one of the coast’s largest and most important commercial crabs. The male is 7-9 in. (18-23 cm) wide and 4-5 in. (10-13 cm) long. The reddish brown upper surface is lighter toward the back; the legs and undersurface are yellowish. It lives on sandy bottoms below the high-tide mark. Closely related North Ameri¬ can species are the rock crab of the Atlantic coast, the Jonah crab in coastal waters from New England to Canada, and the red and Pacific rock crabs, both in Pacific coastal waters. All are edible, but their commercial impor¬ tance varies.
Dunham, Katherine (b. June 22, 1910, Joliet, Ill., U.S.) U.S. dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist noted for her interpretation of tribal and ethnic dances. In 1931 she opened a dance school in her native Chicago. In 1940 she formed the U.S.’s first all-black dance company, for which she choreographed revues based on her anthropological research in the Caribbean; her early works included Tropics and Le Jazz hot. She later received a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Chicago. Many well-known black dancers were trained in her studios in Chicago and New York City. In the 1950s she toured in Europe with her company. She also choreographed Broadway stage productions, operas, and movies.
dunite Vdii-.nlt, 'do-.nlA Yellowish green to green igneous rock composed almost entirely of olivine. Chromite and magnetite also occur in dunite, as do spinel, ilmenite, pyr- rhotite, and platinum in some cases. Dunites may be a source of chromium. Places of occurrence include Dun Mtn., New Zealand (the source of its name), South Africa, and Sweden.
Dunkirk Evacuation (1940) In World War II, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force and other Allied troops, cut off by the Germans, from the French seaport of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) to England. Naval ves¬ sels and hundreds of civilian boats were used in the evacuation, which began on May 26. When it ended on June 4, about 198,000 British and 140,000 French and Belgian troops had been saved. The operation’s suc¬ cess was due to fighter cover by the RAF and (unintentionally) to Adolf Hitler’s order of May 24 halting the advance of German armored forces into Dunkirk.
Dunmore's War, Lord See Lord Dunmore's War
Dunne, Finley Peter (b. July 10, 1867, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—d. April 24, 1936, New York, N.Y.) U.S. journalist and humorist. A son of Irish immigrants, Dunne began contributing Irish-dialect sketches to Chicago newspapers in 1892. In these he created the character Martin Dooley, who commented on current events in a rich Irish brogue. Mr. Dooley soon became a force for clear thinking and tolerance in public affairs. Dunne wrote more than 700 dialect essays, some of which were republished in eight volumes, including Mr. Dooley in Peace and War and Mr. Dooley’s Philosophy, from 1898 to 1919.
Dunnet Head Cape, northeastern Scotland. A rounded headland, it is the northernmost point of the Scottish mainland, jutting into the North Sea. It is crowned by a lighthouse, 346 ft (105 m) high, built in 1831.
Duns Scotus Vdonz-'sko-tosX, John (b. 1266, Duns, Lothian, Scot.—d. Nov. 8, 1308, Cologne) Medieval Scottish philosopher and Scholastic theologian. He studied and taught at Oxford, where he joined the Fran¬ ciscans, and later taught at the University of Paris, from which he was briefly exiled for supporting Pope Boniface VIII in his quarrel with King Philip IV. In 1307 he became professor of theology at Cologne, perhaps to escape charges of heresy over his defense of the doctrine of the Immacu¬ late Conception, which the Dominicans and secular authorities opposed. His two major works are Ordinatio and Quaestiones quodlibetales, both left unfinished at his death.
Dunstable Vdon-sto-boR, John (b. c. 1385, England—d. Dec. 24, 1453, London) English composer. His life and career are almost com¬ pletely obscure. After his death he came to be credited with the achieve¬ ments of all his English contemporaries, including Leonel Power (c. 1380-1445). He left at least 50 compositions, all for three and four voices and almost all sacred. Their full triadic harmony and frequent parallel motion in the voices represented an important innovation that influenced composers such as Guillaume Dufay and Gilles Binchois (c. 1400-60), softening the austerity of 14th-century polyphony.
Dunstan of Canterbury, Saint (b. c. 909, near Glastonbury, Eng.—d. May 19, 988, Canterbury; feast day May 19) Archbishop of Canterbury. He served as a chief adviser to the kings of Wessex, begin¬ ning with Edmund I, who made him abbot of Glastonbury (c. 943). Under King Eadred he served as minister of state, working to conciliate the Danish section of the kingdom and reform the church. Dunstan was out¬ lawed (955) under King Eadwig and went into exile in Flanders, but he was recalled by King Edgar (957) and continued his reforms, restructur¬ ing English monasticism on the continental model. He became archbishop of Canterbury in 959.