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Born in Springfield, Massachusetts in the Spring of 1842, D. was a surprisingly
brilliant student. Impressing his teachers with his intelligence and
creativity, he breezed through school. Since his parents hadn't been able to
send him to a University, D. was left with the option of apprenticing, looking
for work, or trying to make it on his own. Along came Horace Smith & D.B.
Wesson offering work to able bodied people in their new Gun factory. D. signed
up as a base level machinist, and quickly moved up into designing. By the
beginning of the Civil War, D. had a solid future as one of Smith & Wesson's top
gunsmiths.
Troughout the war, D., Jacob Henry and other notable inventors tackled the arduous task of creating a repeating rifle. Taking Henry's design, money from investors like Winchester (as in Winchester rifles), D. perfected what became the Winchester repeating rifle, Smith & Wesson having backed out of the idea several months before hand. As the rifle, which would become the "Gun that won the West," became a top seller in the arms market, D. turned to other work in the gunmaking industry...specifically weapons engraving. This would prove to be a less than advantageous move for the now 23 year old gunmaker.
His work in engraving, caught the eye of a young Toreador named Christine Leah, who approached D. offering to teach him how to improve his work significantly. She laid out the basic problem as one of time, "...since most people only live into their forties, chances are you won't be able to master your arts by the time you die. I have a way you can greatly increase your life expectancy," thats all it took to hook D. into the World of Darkness.
By 1900, D. had been shown the hot spots in America and Europe. Christine took him on a whirlwind tour stretching from San Francisco to Berlin. Everywhere he went, D. only saw the nice side of the World of Darkness. He saw nothing of the Sabbat, Lupines, or any other dangers to his unlife. Then in a shadowy alley in Berlin, an unknown assailant changed his whole view. A hulking beast ripped Christine to shreds, then removed D's ability to speak permanently. The happy go lucky neonate was replaced by a bitter, untrusting ancilla in the blink of an eye. After that day, D. did more than party, work on his art and basically enjoy himself. He studied his opponents...anyone who stood in his way, from Primogen to Sabbat packs.
Since D. lost his voice, he's been travelling with his Great-grandsire and a Malkavian named Reno (or Rino, D. never bothered to learn how to spell it). And in that time, D. and his Elder have devised a means of communication...a private form of sign language based upon the early uses of signs as a means for the deaf or mute to speak. D. continues to create weapons, both firearms and melee...seeing weapons as the quintessential form of Art.