DUKER

duker, carl andreas (1670-1752), german classical scholar and jurist, was born at unna in westphalia. he studied at the university of franeker under jacob perizonius. in 1700 he was appointed teacher of history and eloquence at the herborn gymnasium, in 1704 vice-principal of the school at the hague, and in 1716 he succeeded (with drakenborch as colleague) to the professorship formerly held by peter burmann at utrecht. after eighteen years' tenure he resigned his post, and lived in retirement at ysselstein and vianen. his health finally broke down under excessive study, and he died, almost blind, at the house of a relative in meiderich near duisburg, on the 5th of november 1752. his chief classical works were editions of florus (1722) and thucydides (1731, considered his best). he brought out the 2nd edition of perizonius's _origines babylonicae et aegyptiacae_ (1736) and his commentary on pomponius mela (1736-1737). duker was also an authority on ancient law, and published _opuscula varia de latinitate veterum jurisconsultorum_ (1711), and a revision of the _leges atticae_ of s. petit (1741). see c. saxe, _onomasticon litterarium_, vi. 267; articles in _allgemeine deutsche biographie_ and in ersch and gruber's _allgemeine encyklopadie_.