DIDIUS, JULIANUS, a Roman emperor who in 193 purchased the imperial purple from the praetorian guards, and was after two months murdered by the soldiers when Severus was approaching the city.
DIDO, the daughter of Belus, king of Tyre, and the sister of Pygmalion, who, having succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, put Sichaeus, her husband, to death for the sake of his wealth, whereupon she secretly took ship, sailed away from the city with the treasure, accompanied by a body of disaffected citizens, and founded Carthage, having picked up by the way 80 virgins from Cyprus to make wives for her male attendants; a neighbouring chief made suit for her hand, encouraged by her subjects, upon which, being bound by an oath of eternal fidelity to Sichaeus, she erected a funeral pile and stabbed herself in presence of her subjects; Virgil makes her ascend the funeral pile out of grief for the departure of AEneas, of whom she was passionately in love.
DIDOT, the name of a French family of paper-makers, printers, and publishers, of which the most celebrated is Ambroise Firmin, born in Paris, a learned Hellenist (1790-1876).
DIDYMUS (twin), a surname of St. Thomas; also the name of a grammarian of Alexandria, a contemporary of Cicero, and who wrote commentaries on Homer.
DIEBITSCH, COUNT, a Russian general, born in Silesia; commander-in-chief in 1829 of the Russian army against Turkey, over the forces of which he gained a victory in the Balkans; commissioned to suppress a Polish insurrection, he was baffled in his efforts, and fell a victim to cholera in 1831.
DIEFFENBACH, JOHANN FRIEDRICH, an eminent German surgeon, born at Koenigsberg; studied for the Church; took part in the war of liberation, and began the study of medicine after the fall of Napoleon; was appointed to the chair of Surgery in Berlin; his fame rests on his skill as an operator (1792-1847).
DIEFFENBACH, LORENZ, a distinguished philologist and ethnologist, born at Ostheim, in the grand-duchy of Hesse; was for 11 years a pastor; in the end, until his death, librarian at Frankfort-on-the-Main; his literary works were numerous and varied; his chief were on philological and ethnological subjects, and are monuments of learning (1806-1883).
DIEGO SUAREZ, BAY OF, is situated on the NE. of Madagascar, and has been ceded to France.