Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 03.djvu/446

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DIX 384 DIZFUL inessenger to the court of Denmark. He resigned from the army in 1828, and be- gan practicing law in Cooperstown, N. Y. Later he was Secretary of State and Ad- jutant-General of New York, and was prominently associated with the "Albany Regency," the controlling power of the Democratic party. In 1841 he was elected to the State Assembly, and in 1845-1849 was a United States Senator. In 1861 he was appointed Secretary of the Treasury by President Buchanan, and his appointment led to the breaking of a financial deadlock in the affairs of the government. When he became secretary there were two revenue cutters at New Orleans, and he ordered them to New York. The captain of one refused to obey his order, and Dix telegraphed to put him under arrest, adding the state- ment which has made him famous, "If any one attempts to haul down the Amer- ican flag, shoot him on the spot." At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was elected president of the Union Defense Committee, and organized 17 regiments. He was commissioned a Major-General of volunteers, and through his active meas- ures saved Maryland to the Union cause. He was elected governor of New York in 1872, but was defeated on a renomination in 1874. He died in New York City, April 21, 1879. DIX, JOHN ALDEN, an American public official, born in Glens Falls, N. Y., in 1860. He graduated from Cornell University in 1883. He engaged in busi- ness and became identified with a number of important financial and industrial organizations. He was also active in politics and in 1908 was Democratic nominee for lieutenant-governor of New York. He was defeated, but was elected governor for the term 1910-1912. DIX, MORGAN, an American clergy- man; born in New York, Nov. 1, 182^, son of Gen. John A. Dix. He was gradu- ated at Columbia in 1848 and at the Gen- eral Theological Seminary in 1852, being ordained priest in the Protestant Epis- copal Church in 1853. After 1862 he was rector of Trinity Parish, New York City. He published "The Seven Deadly Sins"; "Sermons"; "Gospel and Phi- losophy," etc. He died April 29, 1908. DIXMUDE, a small town in the north of Belgium, about ten miles S. of Ostend and equally distant, in a northerly di- rection, from Ypres. It was the center of that little portion of the western edge of Belgium which the Belgian army was able to hold after the invasion of their country by the Germans, in the latter part of 1914, and was the center of a continuous struggle that lasted during the entire war. The Belgians were firmly intrenched here, and Dixmude was the center of the heaviest of the German artillery and infantry attacks. One of the biggest engagements fought on this sector was that which began on July 31, 1917, when the British and French forces launched their offensive against the Ger- mans on a twenty-mile front, extending from Dixmude to Warneton, to the south, and which resulted in a notable victory, ten towns and 5,000 prisoners being cap- tured during the first day. DIXON, a city of Illinois, the county- seat of Lee CO. It is on the Rock river, and on the Chicago and Northwestern and the Illinois Central railroads. Its industries include the manufacture of condensed milk, shoes, plows, wagons, wire, cloth, furniture, Portland cement, etc. It is the seat of the Northern Illi- nois Normal School and the Rock River Military Academy, and has a handsome court house and a public library. Pop. (1910) 7,216; (1920) 8,191. DIXON, WILLIAM HEPWORTH, an English author; born in Manchester, June 30, 1821. In 1849 he published a memoir of Howard the philanthropist, which was followed by the "Life of William Penn" (1851), and by a work on Admiral Blake (1852). In 1853, after having been a contributor, he became chief editor of the "Athenaeum," a post which he retained till 1869. During this period he published several very pop- ular works, including the "Personal History of Lord Bacon," "The Holy Land," "New America," and "Spiritual Wives." After his retirement from the "Athenaeum," he published about 25 volumes of history, travel, and fiction, among others, "Free Russia"; "Her Majesty's Tower"; "The Switzers"; "History of Two Queens, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn"; etc. He died in London, Dec. 27, 1879. DIXON ENTRANCE, a strait on the W. coast of North America, separating Queen Charlotte Islands from the Prince of Wales Archipelago, and so dividing Britsh territory from a part of Alaska. DIXY, HENRY, an American actor, born in Boston in 1859. In 1868 he be- came a member of the stock company of the Howard Athenseum of Boston. He afterward appeared in various com- panies. He made a great success in "Adonis," acting as a comedian in many plays in England and the United States. DIZFUL (dez-folO, a town in the Per- sian province of Khuzistan, about 190 miles W. of Ispahan, on the river Diz, here crossed by a handsome bridge of 20 arches. It has over 35 sacred tombs, and