Chapter Davis to Defoe of D by Biographical Dictionary of English Literature

Davis to Defoe

Davis, or Davys, John (1550?-1605).—Navigator, known as Davis of Sandridge to distinguish him from another of the same name. He was one of the most enterprising of the Elizabethan sailors, who devoted themselves to the discovery of the North-west Passage. Davis Strait was discovered by, and named after, him. He made many voyages, in the last of which he met his death at the hands of a Japanese pirate. He was the author of a book, now very scarce, The World’s Hydrographical Description, and he also wrote a work on practical navigation, The Seaman’s Secrets, which had great repute.

Davis, Thomas Osborne (1814-1845).—Poet, born at Mallow, educated at Trinity Coll., Dublin, and called to the Irish Bar 1838. He was one of the founders of The Nation newspaper, and of the Young Ireland party. He wrote some stirring patriotic ballads, originally contributed to The Nation, and afterwards republished as Spirit of the Nation, also a memoir of Curran the great Irish lawyer and orator, prefixed to an edition of his speeches; and he had formed many literary plans which were brought to naught by his untimely death.

Davy, Sir Humphrey (1778-1829).—Chemist and man of letters, son of a wood-carver, was born at Penzance. He early showed an enthusiasm for natural science, and continued to pursue his studies when apprenticed in 1795 to a surgeon. He became specially interested in chemistry, to which in 1797 he began more exclusively to devote himself. Thereafter he assisted Dr. Beddoes in his laboratory at Bristol, and entered upon his brilliant course of chemical discovery. His Researches, Chemical, and Philosophical (1799), led to his appointment as Director of the Chemical Laboratory at the Royal Institution, where he also delivered courses of scientific lectures with extraordinary popularity. Thereafter his life was a succession of scientific triumphs and honours. His great discovery was that of the metallic bases of the earths and alkalis. He also discovered various metals, including sodium, calcium, and magnesium. In 1812 he was knighted, and married a wealthy widow. Thereafter he investigated volcanic action and fire-damp, and invented the safety lamp. In 1818 he was created a baronet, and in 1820 became president of the Royal Society, to which he communicated his discoveries in electro-magnetism. In addition to his scientific writings, which include Elements of Agricultural Chemistry (1813), and Chemical Agencies of Electricity, he wrote Salmonia, or Days of Fly Fishing (1828), somewhat modelled upon Walton, and Consolations in Travel (1830), dialogues on ethical and religious questions., Davy sustained an apoplectic seizure in 1826, after which his health was much impaired, and after twice wintering in Italy, he died at Geneva, where he received a public funeral. Though not attached to any Church, Davy was a sincerely religious man, strongly opposed to materialism and scepticism. He holds a foremost place among scientific discoverers.

Day, John (born 1574).—Dramatist, son of a Norfolk yeoman, was at Cambridge, 1592-3. It is only since 1881 that his works have been identified. He collaborated with Dekker and others in plays, and was the author of The Isle of Gulls (1606), Law Trickes (1608), and Humour out of Breath (1608), also of an allegorical masque, The Parliament of Bees.

Day, Thomas (1748-1789).—Miscellaneous writer, was born in London, educated at the Charterhouse and at Oxford, and called to the Bar 1775, but having inherited in infancy an independence, he did not practise. He became a disciple of Rousseau in his social views, and endeavoured to put them in practice in combination with better morality. He was a benevolent eccentric, and used his income, which was increased by his marriage with an heiress, in schemes of social reform as he understood it. He is chiefly remembered as the author of the once universally-read History of Sandford and Merton.

Defoe, Daniel (1661?-1731).—Journalist and novelist, son of a butcher in St. Giles, where he was born His father being a Dissenter, he was educated at a Dissenting college at Newington with the view of becoming a Presbyterian minister. He joined the army of Monmouth, and on its defeat was fortunate enough to escape punishment. In 1688 he joined William III. Before settling down to his career as a political writer, Defoe had been engaged in various enterprises as a hosier, a merchant-adventurer to Spain and Portugal, and a brickmaker, all of which proved so unsuccessful that he had to fly from his creditors. Having become known to the government as an effective writer, and employed by them, he was appointed Accountant in the Glass-Duty Office, 1695-1699. Among his more important political