duodenum X.du-o-'de-nom, du-'a-d 3 n-om\ First and shortest (9-11 in., or 23-28 cm) segment of the small intestine. It curves down and then up from the pylorus of the stomach, where chyme enters it. Ducts from the pancreas and gallbladder bring in bicarbonate to neutralize stomach acid, pancreatic enzymes to further digestion, and bile salts to break up fats. Nutrient absorption begins in the lower duodenum, which has a mucous lining. Exposure to stomach acid makes the upper duodenum susceptible to peptic ulcers, the duodenum’s most common problem. Compression of the lower duodenum between the liver, pancreas, and major blood ves¬ sels can require surgery.
Duparc NdtE-'parkX, (Marie-Eugene-) Henri (b. Jan. 21, 1848, Paris, France—d. Feb. 12, 1933, Mont-de-Marsan) French song composer. He studied music with Cesar Franck while also studying law. His composing career lasted about 16 years; he stopped composing at age 36 for psy¬ chological reasons. Highly self-critical, he destroyed an incomplete opera and other works and acknowledged only 13 completed songs, including “L’lnvitation au voyage,” “Phidyle,” “Testament,” and “Extase,” as his lifetime oeuvre. Almost all the songs, universally admired, were origi¬ nally for voice and piano; he later orchestrated eight of them.
Dupleix Vdte-'pleksR English \dii-'pleks\, Joseph-Francois (b. 1697, Landrecies, France—d. Nov. 10, 1763, Paris) French colonial adminis¬ trator who attempted to establish a French empire in India. His father, a director of the French East India Company, secured him an appointment in 1720 to the superior council of Pondicherry, capital of French India, and in 1742 he was named governor-general of French India. He fought the British in India during the War of the Austrian Succession (1744) and later attempted to undermine the British position in southern India. His schemes exhausted French finances, and he was recalled to France, dis¬ credited, in 1754.
1910, Joliet, Ill., U.S.) U.S. dancer,
Katherine Dunham in Tropical Revue
(1945-46).
COURTESY OF THE DANCE COLLECTION, NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
DuPont Co. ► Diirer I 581
DuPont Co. in full E.l. du Pont de Nemours & Co. U.S. chemi¬ cal, coatings, and fibre manufacturer. The company was founded near Wilmington, Del., in 1802 by a French immigrant, Eleuthere Irenee du Pont de Nemours, son of the eminent economist Pierre-Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817). The company originally manufactured gun¬ powder and other explosives. It was incorporated in 1899 after nearly a century as a partnership, after which it began to diversify its product line, partly through extensive acquisitions. DuPont developed nitrocellulose plastics in 1915 and synthetic rubber in 1931 and later developed the fibres nylon, Orion, Dacron, Kevlar, and Lycra, as well as Mylar film and Teflon resin, among many other synthetics. The company was run by the Du Pont family until World War II. Today it is a highly diverse conglomerate with interests in chemicals, agriculture, electronics, and packaging.
Dupuytren NdiE-pwye-traA, Guillaume later Baron Dupuytren
(b. Oct. 5, 1777, Pierre-Buffiere, near Limoges, Fr.—d. Feb. 8, 1835, Paris) French surgeon and pathologist. Dupuytren was the first to excise the lower jaw and to clearly describe the pathology of congenital hip dis¬ location. He revised the classification of burns and devised surgery for cervical cancer and for creation of an artificial anus, among other advances. He is best known for surgical procedures to alleviate Dupuytren contracture, in which fibrosis in the palm causes permanent retraction of one or more fingers.
Dura-Europus Vdur-o-yu-'ro-posV Ancient town on the Euphrates River, Syria. Originally a Babylonian town, it was rebuilt as a military colony c. 300 bc under the Seleucid dynasty. Annexed by the Romans in ad 165, it became a frontier fortress. Shortly after 256 it was overrun and destroyed by the Sasanian dynasty. Its ruins give an unusually detailed picture of everyday life there and provide information about the fusion of Hellenistic and Semitic culture.
Durance River \dui- , ra n s\ ancient Druentia. River, southeastern France. The principal river draining the French side of the Alps toward the Mediterranean, its origin is in the Montgenevre region. To its conflu¬ ence with the Rhone River below Avignon, it is 189 mi (304 km) long. It is the site of extensive hydroelectric projects that were established after World War II.
Durand \du-'rand\, Asher B(rown) (b. Aug. 21, 1796, Jefferson Vil¬ lage, N.J., U.S.—d. Sept. 17, 1886, Jefferson Village) U.S. painter, engraver, and illustrator. He had established his reputation as an engraver by 1823 with his print of John Trumbull’s Declaration of Independence and his portraits of prominent contemporary Americans. He later devoted himself to landscape painting, becoming a founder of the Hudson River school and one of the earliest U.S. artists to work directly from nature. In 1826 he cofounded the National Academy of Design in New York City and served as its president (1845-61).
Durango \du-Tai]-go\ State (pop., 2000: 1,448,661), north-central Mexico. It covers 47,560 sq mi (123,181 sq km), and its capital is Durango. The western portion of the state lies within the mineral-laden Sierra Madre Occidental; semiarid plains, used for ranching, comprise the eastern portion. The Nazas River, which flows about 375 mi (600 km), is the largest in the state and is a main source of water for commercial agri¬ culture. Along the river’s lower course is the Laguna cotton district, a large state-operated cooperative that Durango city shares with Coahuila state. First explored by Europeans in 1562, Durango shared the colonial history of Chihuahua as a major part of Nueva Vizcaya; the two states separated in 1823.
Durango officially Victoria de Durango City (pop., 2000: 427,135), capital of Durango state, north-central Mexico. It lies in a fer¬ tile valley of the Sierra Madre, about 6,200 ft (1,890 m) above sea level. North of the city is the Cerro del Mercado, a hill of nearly pure iron ore representing one of the world’s largest deposits of that mineral. First settled in 1556, Durango was the political and ecclesiastical capital of Nueva Vizcaya, which included Durango and Chihuahua until 1823. The city, long known as a health resort, is an important commercial and min¬ ing centre.
Durant \du-'rant\, Will(iam James) and Ariel Ariel Durant orig. Ada Kaufman or Ida Kaufman (respectively b. Nov. 5, 1885, North Adams, Mass., U.S.—d. Nov. 7, 1981, Los Angeles, Calif.; b. May 10, 1898, Prosurov, Russia—d. Oct. 25, 1981, Los Angeles) U.S. writers. After the great success of Will’s Story of Philosophy (1926), they cowrote the 11-volume The Story of Civilization (1935-75), including Rousseau
and Revolution (1967, Pulitzer Prize). Though involved in the writing of every volume, Ariel was not listed as coauthor until the seventh.
Durant, William C(rapo) (b. Dec. 8, 1861, Boston, Mass., U.S.—d. March 18, 1947, New York, N.Y.) U.S. industrialist, founder of General Motors Corp. He established a carriage company in 1886 and joined the new but failing Buick Motor Car Co. (founded by David Buick in 1902) in 1903-04, quickly reviving it. In 1908 he brought together several auto¬ motive manufacturers to form the General Motors Co. He lost control of the company two years later. With Louis Chevrolet (1878-1941) he founded the Chevrolet Motor Co., which acquired control of General Motors in 1915. As president of General Motors Corp. until 1920, he pre¬ sided over its steady expansion.
Durante \d3-'ran-te\, Jimmy orig. James Francis Durante (b.
Feb. 10, 1893, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Jan. 29, 1980, Santa Monica, Calif.) U.S. comedian. By age 16 he was playing piano in nightclubs in New York City’s Bowery. In the 1920s the team of Durante, Lou Clay¬ ton, and Eddie Jackson starred in vaudeville and nightclubs; they appeared on Broadway in Florenz Ziegfeld’s Show Girl (1929). Durante made his film debut in Roadhouse Nights (1930) and over the next 30 years bright¬ ened many films and musicals with his gravelly voice, malapropisms, and warmhearted buffoonery. Nicknamed “Schnozzola” for his large nose, he is remembered for ending his many radio and television programs with the line “Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.”