A rotary friction damper in a device for connecting a door to an adjacent structure such that the door pivots about an axis during opening and closing of the same and including a torsion spring operatively connected to the door and to the structure for movement about the pivot axis to store energy during opening of the door and to release energy to provide closing during closing of the door. The rotary friction damper is operatively associated with the torsion spring and has an axis of rotation disposed substantially parallel to the pivot axis for controlling the door closing speed. A damper housing rotates in response to application of input rotational force, and damper shoes within the housing are moved radially outwardly into frictional engagement with the housing. An arrangement of disc springs applies biasing force in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the damper, and the biasing force is directed to cause radial outward movement of the shoes. The biasing force is varied as a function of the rotational position of the applied force by the combination of a cam having a surface profile shaped to vary the biasing force and a cam element contacting the surface and moved in response to application of the input rotational force.