DREUX, a town of north-western France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Eure-et-Loir, 27 m. N.N.W. of Chartres by rail. Pop. (1931) 9,861. Dreux was the capital of the Gallic tribe of the Durocasses. In 1188 it was taken and burnt by the English; and in 1562 Gaspard de Coligny, and Louis I., prince of Conde, were defeated there by Anne de Mont morency and Francis, duke of Guise. In Henry IV. cap tured the town. It was occupied by the Germans in Oct. 187o, was later evacuated, and again taken, on Nov. 17, by General von Tresckow. In the loth century Dreux was the chief town of a countship, which Odo, count of Chartres, ceded to King Robert. Later, Louis VI. gave it to his son Robert, whose grandson Peter of Dreux, younger brother of Count Robert III., became duke of Brittany by his marriage with Alix, daughter of Constance of Brittany by her second husband Guy of Thouars. By the mar riage of the countess Jeanne II. with Louis, viscount of Thouars (d. 137o), the Capetian countship of Dreux passed into the Thouars family. In 1377 and 1378, however, Perronelle and Mar guerite, two of the three co-heiresses of Jeanne, sold their shares of the countship to King Charles V. Charles VI. gave it to Arnaud Amanien d'Albret, but took it back in order to give it to his brother Louis of Orleans (14o7); later he gave it back to the lords of Albret. Francis of Cleves laid claim to it in the 16th century as heir of the d'Albrets of Orval, but the parlement of Paris declared the countship to be crown property. It was given to Catherine de' Medici , then to Francis, duke of Alencon (1569) ; it was pledged to Charles de Bourbon, count of Soissons, and through him passed to the houses of Orleans, Ven dome and Conde. Dreux stands on the Blaise, which there divides into several arms. It is overlooked from the north by a hill with a ruined mediaeval castle, within the enclosure of which is a gorgeous chapel, begun in 1816 by the dowager duchess of Orleans, and completed and adorned by Louis Philippe. It con tains the tombs of the Orleans family, chief among them that of Louis Philippe, whose remains were removed from England to Dreux in 1876. The sculptures on the tombs and the stained glass of the chapel windows are masterpieces of modern art. The older of the two hotels de ville of Dreux was built in the early 16th century, chiefly by Clement Metezau, the founder of a famous family of architects, natives of the town. It is notable for the carvings of the façade and for the staircase. The church of St. Pierre is Gothic and contains good stained glass and other works of art. Dreux is the seat of a sub-prefect. Among the public institutions are tribunals of first instance and of com merce. The manufacture of boots and electric fittings and metal f ounding are carried on, and there is also a trade in wheat and poultry. (X.) Battle of Dreux (1562).—The battle of Dreux was the first regular engagement of the Huguenot Wars in France, and it was fought on Dec. 19, 1562. Henry II., king of France, was acciden tally killed at a tourney in 1559, and was succeeded by his ten year old son, Charles IX., whose mother, Catherine de' Medici, claimed the right to conduct the government. On March 1, 1562, the duke of Guise massacred 6o Huguenots at Vassy and the leaders of the reformed faith, Conde and Admiral de Coligny, ap pealed to the Queen but received no satisfaction. War now be gan, the Huguenots being declared rebels. As they were vastly in the minority they sought assistance from England and Germany, obtaining promises of money from the first, and 9,00o reiters and landsknechts from the second. Leaving d'Andelot and his 9,000 Germans at Orleans, in November, Conde made a dash for Paris, but found Guise and Saint-Andre already there. To gain time to collect her forces, the Queen-mother made overtures for peace, but as no result was reached, on Dec. 10 Conde moved on Char tres, the royal army following and threatening Orleans. Conde now wished to counter-march on Paris, but Coligny persuaded him to move into Normandy and join hands with an English force which had landed there. Thus it came about that the army marched on Dreux. There the Huguenots found their road blocked, and though inferior in numbers were compelled-to accept battle, for as Coli gny said : "We must now look to our hands to save us, not to our feet." On each side the left wing was victorious. In all some 6,000 were killed or wounded, and though no true decision was gained the royalists held the field. Marshal Saint-Andre and the duke of Nevers were killed on the royalist side, and Conde was taken prisoner. After the battle Coligny withdrew his men in good order to Beaugency. The forces engaged were approximately 4,000 horse and 8,000 infantry on the side of the Huguenots, and 3,00o horse and 13,00o infantry on that of the royalists.
See Kervyn de Lettenhove, Les Huguenots et les Gueux (1885) ; Aumale, Hist. des Princes de Conde pendant les et XVII»te siecles (1864) ; The Cambridge Modern History, vol. iii. (19o4)• (J. F. C. F.) DREW, the name of a family of American actors. JOHN DREW (1827-1862) was born in Dublin and made his first New York appearance in 1846. He played Irish and light comedy parts with success in all the American cities, and was manager of the Arch street theatre in Philadelphia. He visited England in and Australia in 1859; he died in Philadelphia. His wife, LoUtsE LANE DREW (182o-1897), was the daughter of a London actor, and in 1827 went to America, appearing as the Duke of York to the elder Booth's Richard III., and as Albert to Edwin Forrest's William Tell. After this she starred as a child actress, and then as leading lady. She had been twice married before she became Mrs. Drew in 185o. From 1861 to 1892 she had the management of the Arch street theatre in Philadelphia. In 188o she toured with Joseph Jefferson in his elaborate revival of The Rivals, playing Mrs. Malaprop to perfection. She had three children, John, Sidney and Georgiana, wife of Maurice Barrymore 1905 ), and mother of Lionel, Ethel and John Barrymore, all actors.
The eldest son, JOHN DREW (1853-1927), began his stage career under his mother's management in Philadelphia as Plumper in Cool as a Cucumber, March 22, 1873 ; and after playing with Edwin Booth and others, became leading man in Augustin Daly's company in 1879. His association with this company, and with Ada Rehan as the leading lady, constituted a brilliant period in recent stage history, his Petruchio being only one, though perhaps the most striking, of a series of famous impersonations. In 1892 he left Daly's company, and began a career as a "star," appearing among other plays in A Marriage of Convenience, One Summer Day, Richard Carvel, Much Ado About Nothing, The Will, The Circle (1921-23), School for Scandal (1923) , Trelawney of the Wells (1925-26-27). He died in San Francisco (Calif.), July 9, 1927, while on tour.
See Moses, Famous Actor-Families in America (1906) ; Winter, Wallet of Time (1913).