Richard Dobbs Spaight Sr. was an American politician. He was born in 1758 and died in 1802. He was a delegate from North Carolina to the Continental Congress from 1782 to 1784, and to the Convention of 1787, and was a signer of the Constitution. He was Governor of North Carolina in 1792, and served in the US Congress as a Democrat from 1798 to 1801. Research R. D. Spaight Sr.
Rabbi is a title of honour among the Hebrews, corresponding nearly to the English master. There are two other forms of the title, rabboni and rabbani, the former of which is found in the New Testament. It is supposed that this title first came into use at the period immediately preceding the birth of Christ. In the time of the New Testament it was applied generally to all religious teachers, and hence sometimes to Christ himself. Now the term rabbi or rabbin is applied to regularly appointed teachers of Talmudic Judaism. Research Rabbi
Naturalists and ethnographers have traditionally divide mankind into several distinct varieties, or races. Georges Cuvier refers everyone to one of three races; Pritchard enumerates seven, Agassiz eight, Pickering eleven and Blumenbach five, and his is one of the common classifications comprising: the Caucasian, or white race, to which belong the greater part of the European nations and those of Western Asia; the Mongolian, or yellow race, occupying Tartary, China, Japan, and the Far East; the Ethiopian, or Negro race, occupying most of Africa (except the north), Australia, Papua, and other Pacific Islands; the American, or red race, comprising the Indians of North and South America; and the Malayan, or brown race, which occupies the islands of the Indian Archipelago, etc. Later writers often classified the Malay and American races as branches of the Mongolian race. With the advent of multi-cultural societies and inter-breeding through the races the distinctions have become even more blurred, epitomised by the Jamaican national motto 'Out of many, one people' summarising the creation of a distinct race of people (the Jamaicans) through several hundred years of inter-breeding between members of all the classic races. Research Race
Radovan Karadzic is a Serbian politician. He was born in 1945 at Montenegro. The leader of the Bosnian-Serb community's unofficial government of 1992 to 1996, he co-founded the Serbian Democratic Party of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1990 and in 1992 launched the siege of Sarajevo that started a civil war. A succession of peace initiatives to end the conflict failed because of his ambitious demands for Serbianterritory, and he was subsequently implicated in war crimes allegedly committed in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the autumn of 1995, following a sustained NATObombardment of BosnianSerb military positions around Sarajevo, he agreed to enter peace negotiations and in November signed the American-sponsored Dayton peace accord, under the terms of which he was forced to step down as the BosnianSerbprime minister. The accord divided Bosnia into separate Muslim, Croat, and Serb areas, and although this sought to excluded him from further political leadership he remained a dominant force behind the scenes. In 1995 he was
charged with genocide and crimes against humanity at the Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands - a tribunal he refuses to recognise - and subsequently defied NATO orders to arrest him on sight by continuing to travel openly about the region until he was finally arrested in 2000 and taken to The Hague to stand trial. Research Radovan Karadzic
Raimondo Montecuculi, or, more correctly, Raimondo Montecoucoli was an Italian prince and solder. He was born in 1608 near Modena and died in 1680. He entered the Austrian service, and served during the Thirty Years' War with great distinction. After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 he visited Sweden and England in a diplomatic capacity; and in 1657 the emperor sent him to the aid of the King of Poland against Rakoczy and the Swedes, and next year he assisted the Danes against the latter. In 1664 he gained a great victory over the Turks after having driven them out of Transylvania. In 1673 he was placed at the head of the imperial troops, and checked the progress of Louis XIV by the capture of Bonn, and by forming a junction with the Prince of Orange in spite of Turenne and Conde. Montecuculi's subsequent advance into Alsace was repulsed by the Prince of Conde. His last military exploit was the siege of Philipsburg. Research Raimondo Montecuculi
Rajah or raja was in India, originally a title which belonged to those princes of Hindu race who, either as independent rulers or as feudatories, governed a territory; subsequently, is was a title given by the native governments, and in later times by the British government, to Hindus of rank. It was later frequently assumed by the zemindars or landholders, the title Maharajah (great rajah) being generally reserved to the more or less powerful native princes. Research Rajah
The Rajput are a Hindu people, predominantly soldiers and landowners, widespread over north India. The Rajput states of north west India are now merged in Rajasthan. Rajasthani languages belong to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family. Research Rajput
Sir Ralph Abercromby was a Scottish general. He was born in 1734 at Menstrie, Clackmannshire and died in 1801. He entered the army in 1756 as cornet in the 3rd Dragoon Guards and eventually rose to the rank of major-general in 1787. After serving in Europe during the Seven Years War from 1756 to 1763 he was member of parliament for Clackmannshire from 1774 to 1780 before rejoining the army in 1793 leading successful operations against the French in St Lucia and Trinidad between 1795 and 1796. He was fatally wounded while leading the Anglo-Turk forces against the French at Aboukir Bay in 1801. Research Ralph Abercromby
Ralph David Abernathy was an American civil rights activist. He was born in 1929 at Linden, Alabama and died in 1990. A Baptist minister, he became friends with Martin Luther King Jr and together with him organised a successful bus in 1955 boycott to protest at segregation. After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, Ralph Abernathy led the Poor People's March on Washington DC. Research Ralph Abernathy
Ralph Allen was an English celebrated philanthropist. He was born in 1694 and died in 1764. A friend of Pope, Fielding, and the elder Pitt, he lived mostly at Bath, where he made a large income as farmer of a system of posts and as owner of quarries. He was the prototype of Squire Allworthy in Fielding's novelTom Jones; and after the novelist's death he took charge of his family. Pope, who received many kindnesses at his hands, referred to him in the lines: Let humble Allen, with an awkward shame, Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame. With Pitt he was on intimate terms, and left him 1000 pounds by will. Hurd, Sherlock, and Warburton were also his friends. Research Ralph Allen
Ralph Cudworth was an English divine and philosopher. He was born in 1617 and died in 1688. He took his degree and fellowship at Cambridge in 1639; in 1644 was chosen master of Clare Hall; in the following year regius professor of Hebrew; and in 1654 master of Christ's College, Cambridge, where he spent the rest of his life. In 1678 he published his True Intellectual System of the Universe; wherein all the Reason and Philosophy of Atheism is confuted, and its Impossibility demonstrated (folio) - a work of an exceedingly erudite kind, though tediously discursive in argument. Research Ralph Cudworth
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, philosopher and poet. He was born in 1803 at Boston, Massachusetts and died in 1882. Educated at Harvard, for five years he taught in a school, and in 1829 he became a Unitarian minister at Boston, resigning in 1832 because he could not sympathize with the formalities practiced in the church. He went abroad, working as a lecturer visiting England. Returning to America in 1833 he settled at Concord, Massachusetts
He was one of the original editors of the Dial, a transcendental magazine begun in 1840. Two volumes of his essays were published in 1841 and 1844, and his poems in 1846. His miscellaneous addresses had been published in England in 1844, and on visiting Great Britain in 1847 he was welcomed by a large circle of admirers. In 1850 he published Representative Men; in 1856, English Traits; in 1860, The Conduct of Life; in 1869, May Day and Other Poems, and Society and Solitude; in 1871, Parnassus, a collection of poems; in 1876, Letters and Social Aims. Emerson showed certain similarities with Carlyle, of whom he was a friend and correspondent. Their correspondence appeared in 1883. He was one of the most original and influential writers that the United States have produced, Research Ralph Emerson
Ralph Erskine was a Scottish divine. He was born in 1685 and died in 1752. He was ordained to the parish of Dunfermline in 1711, and in 1737 joined his brother - Ebenezer Erskine - who had seceded from the Established Church. His Gospel Sonnets and other religious works were once very popular. Research Ralph Erskine
Ralph I Ingersoll was an American politician. He was born in 1788 and died in 1872. He was a prominent member of the Connecticut Legislature from 1819 to 1825,a Democratic Representative to Congress from 1825 to 1833, and Minister to Russia from 1846 to 1848. Research Ralph Ingersoll
Ralph Izard was an American statesman. He was born in 1742 and died in 1804. He was a commissioner to Tuscany from 1776 to 1779, and resided at Paris. He pledged his estate as security for a Governmental debt during the American War of Independence. He represented South Carolina in the Continental Congress from 1781 to 1783. He was a US Senator from 1789 to 1795. He was able and eloquent, but possessed an uncontrollable temper. Research Ralph Izard
Sir Ralph Lane was an English colonial governor. He was born in 1530 and died in 1604. He assumed charge of Sir Walter Raleigh's Virginia colony sent out in 1585. The colony was established on Roanoke Island, but was abandoned in 1585, and Sir Ralph Lane returned to England. Research Ralph Lane
Ralph Nader is an American lawyer and reformer. He was born in 1934. He initiated a campaign on behalf of public safety that gave impetus to the consumer rights movement of the 1960s onwards. His views on defective car design, set out in 'Unsafe at Any Speed' in 1965, led to Federal legislation on safety standards. Nader was also a moving force behind legislation concerning radiation hazards, food packaging, and the use of insecticides. Research Ralph Nader
Sir Ralph Sadler was an English diplomatist. He was born in 1507 at Hackney and died in 1587. Thomas Cromwell, earl of Essex, in whose family he had been employed for some time, brought him under the notice of Henry VIII, and the king charged him with several important missions to Scotland, and created him a knight in 1543. As a staunchProtestant he relinquished public life during the reign of Mary, but on the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558 he entered parliament, became a privy-councillor, and the queen employed him again in Scotland. During Queen Mary's imprisonment at Tutbury Ralph Sadler was for a time her keeper, and after her execution in 1587, and just about a month before his own death, he had to perform the duty of carrying Elizabeth I's letter of condolence and apology to James VI of Scotland. Research Ralph Sadler
Rameses I was the first king of the nineteenth dynasty, and was not among the most remarkable of the series of kings called Rameses. Research Rameses I
Rameses II was the third Egyptian king of the ninteenth dynasty, and his reign may be dated with fair accuracy from 1340 to 1273 BC. He is identified by many with the Sesostris of Greek writers. His first achievement was the reduction of Ethiopia to subjection. He defeated a confederation among whom the Khita or Hittites were the chief in a great battle near the Orontes in Syria, and in a subsequent stage of the war took Jerusalem and other places. He was a zealous builder and a patron of art and science. He is supposed to have been the king who oppressed the Hebrews, and the father of the king under whom the exodus took place. Research Rameses II
Rameses III was a king of Egypt. He was the Rhampsinitus of Herodotus, belonged to the twentieth dynasty, and was uniformly successful in war. He endeavoured to surpass his ancestors in the magnificence of his buildings. Research Rameses III
Rammohun Roy was an Indian rajah, and the founder of the Brahmo-Somaj sect of theists. He was born in 1776 at Burdwan, Bengal and died in 1833. His parents were Brahmans of high rank. He acquired a mastery of Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, English, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. A careful study of the sacred writings of the Hindus had convinced him that the original Hindu religion was theistic, and he became anxious to reform the creed and practice of his countrymen in this direction. From the perusal of the New Testament he found the doctrines of Christ more in harmony with his own opinions than any others which had come to his knowledge, and in 1820 he accordingly published a work entitled the Precepts of Jesus the Guide to Peace and Happiness, consisting chiefly of a selection of moral precepts from the Evangelists. Rammohun Roy, in his doctrinal views, was a Unitarian, or Arian, holding, however, the pre-existence and superangelic dignity of Christ. In 1833 he visited England as ambassador from the King of Delhi, and while there was seized with a fever, which proved fatal. Research Rammohun Roy
Ramon Maria Narvaez, Duke of Valencia, was a Spanish statesman and soldier. He was born in 1800 and died in 1868. Early in life he entered the Spanish army, and he rapidly acquired distinction. When Gomez, the Carlist general, was engaged in his adventurous march through Spain in 1836, Narvaez, who then commanded a division under Espartero, was directedto pursue him, and totally routed him near Arcos. He then devoted himself to politics, and became the rival of Espartero himself. Having taken part in an unsuccessful rising of the progressista party in 1838 he fled to France and remained there five years. In 1843 he returned to Spain, put himself at the head of an insurrection, and entered Madridvictorious in July 1843. In the following year he formed his first ministry, and received from Queen Isabella the rank of marshal and the title of Duke of Valencia. His government was overthrown in 1816, but he was soon recalled, and during the remainder of his life was several times intrusted with the formation of a cabinet. Research Ramon Narvaez
Randall L Gibson was an American politician. He was born in 1832 and died in 1892. He entered the Confederate army as a private, and rose to various commands at Shiloh, Murfreesboro and Chickamauga. He represented Louisiana in the U S Congress from 1875 to 1883, and in the Senate from 1883 to 1892. Research Randall Gibson
Randolph B Marcy was an American soldier and explorer. He was born in 1813 and died in 1887. He served in the Mexican War, and was brevetted major-general for services during the American Civil War. From 1869 to 1881 he was inspector-general. He published 'Exploration of the Red River' in 1852. Research Randolph B Marcy
Randolph Caldecott was an English artist. He was born in 1846 at Chester and died in 1886. A former bank clerk, he began his artistic career in 1872 at London with sketches for 'London Society' and other periodicals. He became famous as the illustrator of the works of Washington Irving. He produced a series of coloured books for children, beginning in 1878 with 'John Gilpin' and 'The House That Jack Built'. Research Randolph Caldecott
Lord Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill was an English politician. He was born in 1849 and died in 1895. The second son of the sixthDuke of Marlborough, having entered parliament in 1874, by 1884 he had risen to the position of a recognized leader of the Conservative party, and in 1885 became Indian secretary in Lord Salisbury's government. On the defeat of Gladstone's Irish Bill in 1886 Randolph Churchill became leader of the House of Commons and Chancellor of the Exchequer, posts which he unexpectedly resigned in December 1886. Research Randolph Churchill
In England, a ranger was formerly a sworn officer of a forest, appointed by the king's letters-patent, whose business was to watch the deer, prevent trespasses, etc, but now a ranger is merely a government official connected with a royal forest or park. Research Ranger
Rannulph Flambard (Ralph Flambard) was a Norman politician. He died in 1128. Of humble origin he was early connected with William the Conqueror's court, and being handsome, clever, and unscrupulous, he gained great influence with the king, and rose to still greater favour with Rufus, whom he encouraged in his tyrannical and rapacious courses. His flagrant extortions earned the hatred of the people, and his character is painted in the blackest characters by the chroniclers. In 1099 he was made Bishop of Dnrham; but on the death of William the Conqueror he was committed to the Tower of London by Henry I. He managed to escape, however, by a rope conveyed to him in a vessel of wine, and instigated Robert, duke of Normandy, to invadeEngland. He was subsequently forgiven by Henry I and restored to Durham, where latterly he lived peaceably, much engaged in architectural works connected with the city and the cathedral, until his death in 1128. Research Rannulph Flambard
Ranters was a natme given by way of reproach to a denomination of Christians which sprang up in 1645. They called themselves Seekers, the members maintaining that they were seeking for the true church and its ordinances, and the Scriptures, which were lost. Research Ranters
Ranulph de Glanvil (Ranulph de Glanville) was an English lawyer and soldier of the 12th century. In the reign of Henry II he held the office of justiciary, and repelled the invasion of William the Lion, king of Scotland, who was taken prisoner as he was besieging the Castle of Ainwick. Richard I is said to have imprisoned Glanvil, and obliged him to purchase his freedom with, 15,000 pounds towards a crusade to the Holy Land. He accompanied his master on this expedition, and died at the siege of Acre in 1190. To Glanvil is attributed a treatise on the laws and customs of England (de Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae), written about 1181, and first printed in the year 1554, being the earliest treatise on English law. Research Ranulph de Glanvil
Raphael (Raphaello) was an Italian painter. He was born in 1483 at Urbino and died in 1520. His early training was under Timoteo Viti, but when he was seventeen he went to Perugia, to work in the studio of Perugino, who made a lasting impression upon Raphael. Later, Raphael when to Florence where he made a study of the work in sculpture of Donatello and Michelangelo, and of the paintings of Leonardo, and while in Florence became very friendly with Fra Bartolommeo. In 1508 Raphael was in Rome, and entrusted by Julius II with the decoration of certain rooms in the Vatican. In 1512, Leo X commissioned other frescoes which Raphael finished in 1514. Research Raphael
Raphael Sanzio Morgen was an Italian engraver. He was born in 1758 and died in 1838. He studied at Rome under Volpato, whom he assisted in engraving the famous pictures by Raphael in the Vatican. In 1793 he settled in Florence as professor of engraving in the Academy of Arts. His works number about 200 in all, many of them of large size. Among the chief are: the engraving of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper; the Transfiguration, after Raphael; a Magdalen, after Murillo; a Head of the Saviour, after Da Vinci; the Car of Aurora, after Guido; The Hours, after Poussin; the Prize of Diana, after Domenichino; the Monument of Clement XIII, after Canova; Theseus vanquishing the Minotaur; portraits of Dante, Petrarca, Ariosto, Tasso, etc. Research Raphael Morghen
Raphael Semmes was an American Confederate naval commander. He was born in 1809 and died in 1877. He served for many years in the American navy, including during the Mexican War, and in 1861 joined the Southern side. In the period just before the commencement of hostilities, he was very active in procuring supplies for the naval department of the new Confederacy. As commander of the Sumter he captured many American merchantmen until he was blockaded at Tangier. He then sold the Sumter, and in 1863 assumed charge of the Alabama. In this privateer he made sixty-two captures, but the Alabama's career was ended off Cherbourg, on June the 19th, 1864, by the Kearsage. Semmes escaped in a British vessel, made his way to the South, and was appointed rear-admiral. He was arrested in 1865 after the close of the war, but was released. Research Raphael Semmes
Rashi, properly Rabbi Salomon-Ben-Isaak, was a French Jewish rabbi. He was born in 1040 at Troyes and died in 1105. His first instructor in Talmudic literature was his father, who was chief rabbi at Worms. To perfect his knowledge he made extensive journeys through Italy, Greece, Palestine, Egypt, Persia, and Germany, where he was particular in visiting the towns which possessed learned Jewish schools. His most famous work is a Commentary on the Pentateuch;
he also wrote commentaries on the Prophets, the Talmud, and various treatises on miscellaneous subjects. Research Rashi
Raskolniks was the collective name given to the adherents of the dissenting sects in Russia, which originated by secession from the state church. The great majority of these sects date originally from the middle of the 17th century, when the liturgical books, etc, were revised under the patriarch Nikon. The Raskolniks clung fanatically to the old and corrupted texts, and regarding the czar and the patriarch as the representatives of Antichrist, called themselves Staro-obryadtsy (old ritualists) or Staro-vertsy (followers of the old faith). They split up into a large number of sects, which could be grouped generally in two classes; those who had a priesthood, and those who had none. The tendency of the Raskolniks was communistic; and they did much to spread Russian influence by advancing colonies on the outskirts of the empire. They underwent much persecution at the hands of the government, but buy the end of the 19th century were generally unmolested. They included about one-third of the merchant class, and nearly all the Cossacks, but none of the noble or cultivated class. Their numbers were variously estimated at from 3 to 14 millions at the start of the 20th century. Research Raskolniks
Rasmus Christian Rask was a Danishphilologist. He was born in 1787 and died in 1832. After he had studied at the University of Copenhagen he journeyed through Sweden, Russia, and Iceland to increase his knowledge of northern languages, with the result that he published An Introduction to the Knowledge of the Icelandic or Old NorseTongue in 1811; an edition of Haldorsen's IcelandicDictionary in 1817; and an Anglo-Saxon Grammar in 1817. In 1817-1822 he made, at the expense of the government, a second journey to Russia, Persia, and India. He then returned to Copenhagen in 1822, was appointed professor of literary history and subsequently professor of oriental languages and librarian to the university. During this period he published a Spanish Grammar, a work on the Frisian language, and a treatise on the Zendavesta, in which he showed that the language was closely akin to Sanskrit. Research Rasmus Rask
The Raute are a traditionally nomadic, hunter-gatherer people of Nepal. Though nomadic and secretive by nature, some have now settled and opened up to other peoples. Research Raute
Rawlins Lowndes was an American jurist and politician. He was born in 1722 and died in 1800. He was appointed a Judge in South Carolina by the crown, and affirmed the validity of unstamped public papers. He was president of the province from 1778 to 1780. He opposed the adoption of the American Constitution as fatal to liberty. Research Rawlins Lowndes
Ray Charles (real name Ray Charles Robinson) was an American musician. He was born in 1930 at Atlanta, Georgia and died in 2004. He went blind at the age of five, but despite that became an accomplished pianist and singer. Research Ray Charles
Raymond Russell Lindwall was an Australian cricketer. A fast bowler with New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian national side he set a Test record taking 228 wickets for Australia before his retirement in 1959. In the 1948 Test series against England he took 27 wickets, and in the final match took six wickets for just twenty runs. Research Ray Lindwall
Raymond Lully was a Spanish scholastic philosopher. He was born about 1235 at Majorca and died in 1315. When about 30 years of age he renounced the world and devoted himself to philosophy and religion. Encouraged by visions, he undertook the task by studying the eastern languages in order to convert the Moslems. For this purpose he made several journeys into Northern Africa, during one of which he was stoned to death. He was canonized in 1419. The number of his works is usually estimated at 300. They include treatises on logic, metaphysics, grammar, theology, casuistry, geometry, astronomy, medicine, etc, and the so-called 'Lullian art.' The Ars Lulliana, once extensively taught throughout Europe, consists mainly in categorizing ideas and combining them mechanically, by which means Lully thought to exhaust their possible combinations. Research Raymond Lully
Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb was a Scottish scholar of Greek. He was born in 1841 at Dundee, and died in 1905. Educated at St Columba's College, Dublin, the Charterhouse, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, he graduated as senior classic in 1862. In 1869 he became public orator of the university, was professor of Greek at Glasgow from 1875 to 1889, and was then appointed Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge. His best-known works are The Attic Orators; Modern Greece; a life of Richard Bentley; Homer: an Introduction to the Iliad and Odyssey; his admirable edition of Sophocles, with notes and translation; and an edition of Bacchylides (1905). He was member of parliament for Cambridge University from 1891 onward and was knighted in 1900. Research Rchard Jebb
Rebecca was a title given to the leader of an anti-turnpike conspiracy which was commenced in Wales, in 1839, by breaking down the turnpike-gates. The leader and his followers, who were generally dressed in women's clothes, were called 'Rebecca and her daughters,' and made their attacks by night on horseback. The name was derived from a strange application of a passage in the book of Genesis Research Rebecca
Among the ancient Jews, a Rechabite was one of a family or tribe of Kenites whom Jonadab the son of Rechab bound to abstain from wine, from building houses, from sowing seed, and from planting vines. In modern application the Rechabites are a benefit society composed of total abstainers from intoxicating drinks, also called the Independent Order of Rechabites. Research Rechabite
Recollet or recollect was a name given to a reformed body of Franciscans. The society was founded in Spain, and then spread throughout Europe, so that in France, before the revolution, they had 168 houses. The order still existed at a few places as late as the start of the 20th century. Research Recollet
In England, the recorder is the chief judicial officer of a borough or city, exercising within it, in criminal matters, tlie jurisdiction of a court of record, whence his title is derived. The same name was given to similar legal functionaries elsewhere, as in certain previous colonial settlements. Research Recorder
In the English Church, a rector is a clergyman who has the charge and cure of a parish, and has the parsonage and tithes; or the parson of a parish where the tithes are not impropriate. The heads of Exeter and Lincoln Colleges, Oxford, are also so called, and the chief elective officer of the Scottish universities receives the same title. In Scotland it is also the title of the head-master of an academy or important public school. Research Rector
In English history, after the Reformation, the recusants were people who refused or neglected to attend divine services on Sundays and holidays in the Established Church, or to worship according to its forms. Heavy penalties were formerly inflicted on such persons, but they pressed far more lightly on the simple recusant or nonconformist than on the Roman Catholic recusant. In 23 Elizabeth the fine was made for every month 20 pounds; and later in the same reign it was enacted that if recusants did not submit within three months after conviction they might, upon the requisition of four justices of the peace, be compelled to abjure and renounce the realm; and if they did not depart, or if they returned without due license, they were to be treated as felons, and suffer death without the benefit of clergy. Research Recusant
The Red Sticks were a faction of American Creek Indians. They lived in the area now known as Alabama, and were invaded by European settlers. They oppossed the encroachment of settlers onto their lands and a war ensued with the Americans. The Red Sticks were seriously defeated and forced to cede three quarters of their territory to the Americans in 1813. Research Red Sticks
Red-Jacket was an American Indian chief. He was born in 1751 and died in 1830. He was chief of the Wolf tribe of the Senecas, and served with the Six Nations against the Americans during the American War of Independence. In the War of 1812 he assisted the United States. He made an eloquent speech against the treaty of Port Stanwix in 1784. Research Red-Jacket
From the earliest settlement of the American colonies, particularly the middle colonies, indented servants formed a large part of the population. Many came over from England under bond for their passage to serve a number of years. Many also were kidnapped and placed in enforced slavery for a term of years. They served four, five, or seven years, according to contract. At the end of these terms they were released, awarded fifty acres of land and became free citizens. Hence the term 'Redemptioners'. This system was introduced in Virginia in 1607 with the first colony; in Massachusetts in 1631. It also existed in Maryland, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The practice was not discontinued in the middle colonies until 1750. Research Redemptioners
The Redemptorists are a religious congregation founded in Naples by Liguori in 1732. They devote themselves to the education of youth and the spread of Roman Catholicism. They style themselves members of the congregation of the Holy Redeemer. Expelled from Germany in 1873, they were re-admitted in 1894. In 1880 they were driven out of France. They are also called Liguorists, Research Redemptorists
Sir Redvers Henry Buller was an English general. He was born in 1839 at Devonshire and died in 1908. He joined the army in 1858 and served in China in 1860, in the Red River Expedition in 1870, in the Ashanti War in 1874 and the Zulu War of 1878 - 1879 during which he was awarded the Victoria Cross, having been made lieutenant-colonel in 1878. In the Boer War of 1881 he was chief of the staff to Sir Evelyn Wood, and in the war in Egypt next year he won special distinction at Tel-el-Kebir and elsewhere. In the Soudan campaign of 1884-1885 he was chief of the staff to Lord Wolseley, and at the Battle of Abu-Klea he took command when Sir Herbert Stewart was wounded. In 1887-1990 he was quartermaster-general, in 1890-1897 adjutant-general; KOB. in 1885, lieutenant-general in 1891, GCB. in 1894. In 1899 he went to Natal as commander in the war with the Boer republics. His great task was the relief of Ladysmith, in which, however, he was foiled for a time (especially at Colenso and Spion Kop), though he was ultimately successful (after LordRoberts had arrived to take the chief command in South Africa), and rendered valuable services in clearing the Boers out of Natal and subsequently. He held the Aldershot command (1st Army Corps) in 1901, but was relieved from this post on account of public utterances that were held to be a breach of military discipline and regulations, and retired on half-pay. Research Redvers Buller
In old English history, a reeve was an official having authority for fiscal and other purposes within a defined area. The reeve of a borough was called a borough-reeve, of a mercantile town, a port-reeve; and of a shire, a shire-reeve or sheriff. Research Reeve
A refugee is a person who seeks safety in a foreign country to escape persecution for religious or political opinions. One of the first historical movements of this kind occurred when the Edict of Nantes was repealed in France in 1685. Such were the oppressions then put upon the Protestants by the dominant Roman Catholic party that 800,000 of the former, it is estimated, sought refuge in England, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, and Germany. Research Refugee
A regent is a person who governs a kingdom during the minority, absence, or disability of the king or queen. In most hereditary governments the maxim is, that this office belongs to the nearest relative of the sovereign capable of undertaking it; but this rule is subject to many limitations. In the English universities the name is given to members who have certain peculiar duties of instruction or government. Research Regent
Reginald Barratt was an English watercolour artist famous for his perfection of draughtmanship. He was born in 1861 and died in 1917. Research Reginald Barratt
Sir Reginald James Bowker was a British statesman. He was born in 1901. He was ambassador to Burma from 1948 to 1950, ambassador to Turkey from 1954 to 1958 and ambassador to Austria from 1958 to 1961. Research Reginald Bowker
Reginald Heber was an English poet and bishop. He was born in 1783 and died in 1826. In 1800 he entered Brasenose College, Oxford, and in 1803 wrote his celebrated prizepoem of Palestine. After travelling on the Continent in 1807 he became rector of Hodnet, and having married Amelia, daughter of the dean of St Asaph, was appointed prebend of the cathedral On the death of Bishop Middleton, Reginald Heber was consecrated Bishop of Calcutta in 1823; but he had only occupied the position for about two years when he died of apoplexy at Trichinopoli, in 1826. In addition to his hymns, the best known productions are Palestine; an edition of the works of Jeremy Taylor (with biography); Poems and Translations. Research Reginald Heber
Reginald Pole was an English cardinal and statesman. He was born in 1500 at Staffordshire and died in 1558. He was the son of Sir Richard Pole, LordMontacute, cousin to Henry VII, by Margaret, daughter of the Duke of Clarence, brother to Edward IV. He was educated at Oxford, and had several benefices conferred on him by Henry VIII, with whom he was a great favourite. In 1519 he visited Italy, and fixed his residence at Padua. He returned to England in 1525, but about 1531 lost the favour of Henry by his opposition to the divorce of Queen Catherine. He retired to the Continent for safety, was attainted, and his mother and brother were executed. On the accession of Mary in 1553 he returned to England as papal legate, and on the death of Cranmer became Archbishop of Canterbury, and was at the same time elected chancellor of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. He died in Lambeth Palace the day after Mary's death. He seems to have been noted for his mildness, generosity, and comparative moderation, in an age when persecution was deemed lawful on all sides. Research Reginald Pole
Reginald Scot (also known as Reynold Scot) was an English writer and campaigner against witchcraft, alchemy, astrology and superstition in general. He was born in 1538 and died in 1599. A younger son of Sir John Scot of Scotshall, in Kent he studied at Oxford, and spent his life in the study of old and obscure mystical authors, and the pleasures of gardening, His 1584 book 'Discoverie of Witchcraft' waged war against the popular belief in witchcraft in Britain, and was ordered to be burned by James I who also replied to it in his Demonology. Refutations were also published by Meric Casaubon, Joseph Glanvil, and others. Research Reginald Scot
In Britain, the registrar-general is an officer appointed by the crown, under the great seal, to whom the general superintendence of the whole system of registration of births, deaths, and marriages is intrusted. Research Registrar-General
Regius Professors is the name given to those professors in the English universities whose chairs were founded by Henry VIII. In the Scotch universities, the same name is given to those professors whose professorships were founded by the crown. Research Regius Professor
Regular Clergy is the term applied in the Roman Catholic Church to priests who have taken the vows, and who are bound to follow the rules of some monastic order, as opposed to the secular clergy, that is parish priests, etc, not connected with any of the orders. Research Regular Clergy
The Regulators were a body of insurgents in North Carolina just before the American Revolution. Heavy taxes and fees aroused the resistance of the back-country people against Governor William Tryon in 1766. The rebellion spread, but William Tryon signally defeated the armed bands at Alamance, on the Haw, in 1771. His successor, Martin, compromised with the Regulators. Research Regulators
Reinhart Dozy was a Dutch orientalist and historian. He was born in 1820 and died in 1883. He was thoroughly versed in most of the Semitic tongues, and spoke and wrote almost all the European languages with facility. Among his works (sometimes in Dutch, sometimes in French) are Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne de 711-1110; Geographic d'Edrisi; De Israeliten te Mekka; Het Islamisme; Supplements aux Dictionnaires Arabes. Research Reinhart Dozy
Reinhold Pauli was a German historical writer. He was born in 1823 at Berlin and died in 1882. He was educated at Berlin and Bonn; resided in London for eight years, where he was secretary to the Prussian minister; and afterwards became a professor successively at Rostock, Tubingen, and Gottingen. His published works are: A Life of King Alfred (1851), a continuation of Lappenberg's History of England, A History of England since the Treaties of 1814 and 1815, Pictures of Old England, a monograph on Simon de Montford, and Essays on English History. Research Reinhold Pauli
Formerly a relieving-officer was the officer appointed by the board of guardians of an English poor-law union to superintend the relief of the poor in the parish or district. His office was to receive applications for relief, inquire into facts, and ascertain that the case was within the conditions required by law. He had to give immediate relief in urgent cases. Research Relieving-Officer
Rembrandt Harmensz van Rhyn was a 17th century Dutch painter. He was born in 1606 at Leyden and died in 1669. His father was a well-to-do miller at Leyden. Displaying a passionate love for art at a young age, Rembrandt received instructions from Van Swanenburch of Leyden, a painter of little note, and afterwards studied in Amsterdam under Pieter Lastman. But he soon returned home, and pursued his labours there, taking nature as his sole guide, and confining himself to delineations of common life. In 1630 he moved to Amsterdam, which he never left again. In 1634 he married Saskia van Uilenburg, daughter of the burgomaster of Leeuwarden. Rembrandt has rendered her famous through numerous etched and painted portraits. She died in 1642. Rembrandt became the master of numerous pupils, Gerard Douw being among the number. His paintings and etchings were soon in extraordinary demand, and he must have acquired a large income by his work, but his expenditure seems to have been greater; and in 1656 he was declared bankrupt, his property remaining in the hands of trustees until his death.
He had married a second time, but the second wife's name is not known. Rembrandt excelled in every branch of painting, and his treatment of light and shade has never been surpassed. His works display profound knowledge of human nature, pathos, tragic power, humour, and poetic feeling. His eminence in portraiture may especially be noted, in portrait-groups in particular. His artistic development may be broadly divided into three periods. To the first of these (1627-1639), which shows less mastery than the succeeding two, belong his St Paul, Samson in Prison, Simeon in the Temple, Lesson in Anatomy (Tulp the anatomist), and various character portraits of his wife as Queen Artemisia, Bathsheba, the Wife of Samson, etc.
To his middle period (1640-1654) belong The Night Watch, The Woman taken in Adultery, Tobit and his Wife, The Burgomaster and his Wife, Descent from the Cross, Portrait of Coppenol, Bathsheba, and Woman Bathing.
Among the works of his last period (1655-1668) may be mentioned John the Baptist Preaching, Portrait of Jan Six, The Adoration of the Magi, the Syndics of Amsterdam, and various portraits of himself. His etchings in technique and deep suggestion have not yet been equalled. He was the first and as yet the greatest master of this department of art. Research Rembrandt
Rembrandt Peale was an American artist. He was born in 1778 at Pennsylvania and died in 1860. He attained prominence as a portrait painter. One of his most famous pictures is a likeness of George Washington. He painted the famous Court of Death and The Roman Daughter. Research Rembrandt Peale
Remy Belleau was a French poet of the Renaissance, and member of the Pleiad. He was born in 1528 and died in 1577. His chief works were Commentaries on Ronsard's Amours and La Bergerie, a pastoral in prose and verse. Research Remy Belleau
Renatus I of Anjou (Rene) was a titular king of Naples. He was born in 1409 at Angers and died in 1480. He was the second son of Louis II of Naples, duke of Anjou, and Iolante, daughter of John, king of Aragon. Having married Isabella, daughter of Charles II, duke of Lorraine, in 1442, on the death of his father-in-law in 1431 he laid claim to that dukedom; but CountAntony of Vaudemont, son of the brother of Charles II, contested his right, drove him out of Lorraine, captured him, and held him a prisoner for several years. In 1434 his elder brother, Louis III of Anjou, who had been in actual possession of the throne of Naples and Sicily, died and left to him Provence, Anjou, Naples, Sicily, and Jerusalem. In 1437 Rene bought his liberty and the acknowledgment of his right to Lorraine for 400,000 florins, and in the following year he led an army to Naples, where his claims were disputed by Alfonso, king of Aragon. Rene was unsuccessful, and in 1442 returned to Lorraine, the government of which he gave up to his son John, who, after his mother Isabella's death, entered into full possession under the title of John II. On this Rene retired into Provence, and devoted himself to agriculture, manufactures, literature, and art. His subjects called him the Good, and his court was the resort of poets and artists. His closing years were spent in the company of his daughter Margaret, the exiled queen of Henry VI of England. His sons having all died before him he made a will in favour of Louis XI of France, and at his death most of his possessions fell to the French crown. Research Renatus I
Renaud Coucy, Chatelain De Coucy, was a French poet. He was born about 1160 and died in 1191. His songs are distinguished by great warmth of passion. He is the hero of a celebrated romance of the 13th century. Research Renaud Coucy
Rene Jules Gustave Coty was a French lawyer and statesman. He was born in 1882 at Le Havre and died in 1962. He was educated at the University of Caen and began to practice law in his native city in 1902 and subsequently held various local administrative posts. During the Great War he served with distinction in the French army. In 1923 he was elected to his first term in the French Chamber of Deputies, where he became interested in constitutional reform. From 1935 to 1940 he served in the Senate. He was politically inactive during the Second World War until 1944, when General Charles de Gaulle formed a provisional government and Coty was a member of the constituent assemblies elected to draft a new constitution. Following the establishment of the Fourth Republic in 1946, he served in the National Assembly and, after 1948, in the Council of the Republic. Coty was elected president of France in 1953 and served until 1959, when de Gaulle became president of the Fifth Republic. Coty then became a member of the
Constitutional Council. Research Rene Coty
Rene de Birague was an Italian-born French cardinal and politician. He was born in 1507 at Milan and died in 1583. He sought an asylum in France from the hostility of Louis Sforza, and became a cardinal and chancellor of France. He was a party in the secret council at which the massacre of St Bartholomew was organized; and he was generally believed to have repeatedly employed poison to rid himself and his patroness, Catharine de Medici, of persons who stood in their way. Research Rene de Birage
Rene Descartes was a French mathematician and philosopher. He was born in 1596 at La Haye, Touraine and died in 1650. He was educated at the Jesuit College of La Fleche, where he showed great talent. He entered the military profession and served in Holland and in Bavaria. In 1621 he left the army, and after a variety of travels finally settled in Holland, and devoted himself to philosophical inquiries.
Rene Descartes, seeing the errors and inconsistencies in which other philosophers had involved themselves, determined to build up a system anew for himself, divesting himself first of all the beliefs he had acquired by education or otherwise, and resolving to accept as true only what could stand the test of reason. Proceeding in this way he found (Meditationes de Prima Philosophia) that there was one thing that he could not doubt or divest himself of the belief of, and that was the existence of himself as a thinking being, and this ultimate certainty he expressed in the celebrated. phrase 'Cogito, ergo sum' (I think, therefore I am). Here, then, he believed he had found the test of truth. Starting from this point Rene Descartes found the same kind of certainty in such propositions as these: that the thinking being or soul differs from the body (whose existence consists in space and extension) by its simplicity and immateriality and by the freedom that pertains to it; that every perception of the soul is not distinct; that it is so far an imperfect finite being;
that this imperfection of its own leads it to the idea of an absolutely perfect being; and from this last idea he deduces all further knowledge of the truth.
Rene Descartes also contributed greatly to the advancement of mathematics and physics. The higher departments of geometry were greatly extended by him. His system of the universe attracted great attention in his time, though long since exploded. It rested on the hypothesis of celestial vortices, immense currents of ethereal matter, by which he accounted for the motion of the planets (Principia Philosophise, 1644). His works effected a great revolution in the principles and methods of philosophising. In 1647 the French court granted him a pension of 3000 livres, and two years later, on the invitation of Christina of Sweden, he went to Stockholm, where he died on February the 11th, 1650. Research Rene Descartes
Rene Duguay-Trouin was a French seaman. He was born in 1673 at St Malo and died in 1736. As commander of a privateer he took many prizes from the British between 1690 and 1697. He then entered the royal marine as a captain, and distinguished himself so much in the Spanish war that the king granted him letters of nobility, in which it was stated that he had captured more than 300 merchant ships and twenty ships of war. By the capture of Rio de Janeiro in 1711 he brought the crown, more than 25,000,000 francs. Under Louis XV he rendered important services in the Levant and the Mediterranean. Research Rene Duguay-Trouin
Rene Joachim Henri Dutrochet was a French physiologist. He was born in 1776 at Poitou and died in 1847. He served for some time as medical attendant to Joseph Bonaparte during the Spanish campaign 1808-1809; but latterly he returned to France, and retired to the estate of Chateaurenault, where he devoted himself exclusively to physical and physiological studies. His chief works were published in 1837 as a collective form with the title Memoires pour servir a l'Histoire Anatomique et Physiologique des Vegetaux et dea Animaux. Research Rene Dutrochet
Rene Just Hauy was a French physicist and mineralogist. He was born in 1742 at Picardy and died in 1822. He studied theology, became an abbe, and was a teacher at the college of Navarre in 1764 and afterwards in that of the Cardinal Le Moine and in 1781 discovered the geometrical law of crystallisation, leading to his being known as 'the father of crystallography'. In 1783 he was elected to the Academy of Sciences and afterwards was curator in the School of Mines and professor at the museum of natural history. On the outbreak of the French Revolution Rene Hauy was imprisoned for refusing to subscribe to the new constitution, but his life was saved by the exertions of Geoffroi de St. Hilaire. In 1793 he was appointed a member of the Commission of Measures and Weights, in 1791 conservator of the Cabinet des Mines, and in 1795 teacher of physics in the Ecole Normale. In 1802 Napoleon made him professor of mineralogy in the Musee d'Histoire Naturelle, and also shortly after in the Faculte des Sciences. Rene Hauy was remarkable for the extreme modesty of his disposition. His principal writings are his Essai sur la Theorie et la Structure des Cristaux (1784), his Traite de Mineralogie (1802), his Traite elementaire de Physique (1803), and his Traite de Cristallographie (second edition, 1822), etc. Research Rene Hauy
Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec was a French physician who invented the stethoscope. He was born in 1781 and died in 1826. He became an army surgeon in 1799 and editor of the Journal de Medicine in 1814. In 1816 he became principle physician to the Hopital Necker where he invented the stethoscope. Research Rene Laennec
Rene Mayer was a French statesman and economist. He was born in 1895 at Paris and died in 1972. He was minister of finance from 1947 to 1948 and from 1951 to 1952; minister of justice from 1949 to 1951; Prime Minister from January to May 1953; and chairman of the High Authority of European Coal and Steel Community from 1955 to 1957. Research Rene Mayer
Rene Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur was a French physicist and naturalist. He was born in 1683 at La Rochelle and died in 1757. He studied under the Jesuits at Poitiers and afterwards at Bourges. He went to Paris in 1703 and in 1708 he was chosen a member of the Academy of Sciences; and for nearly fifty years he continued to be one of its most active members. As a natural philosopher he is celebrated for the invention of an improved thermometer, which he made known in 1731 but his greatest work is the Memoires pour servir a 1'Histoire Naturelle des Insectes. Research Rene Reaumur
Rene Francois Armand Sully-Prudhomme was a French poet. He was born in 1839 at Paris and died in 1907. Educated at the Lycee Bonaparte in science, he devoted himself entirely to literature from 1865 onwards and in 1881 he was elected to the Academy and in 1901 awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. Research Rene Sully-Prudhomme
Rene Viviani was a French independent Socialist statesman. He was born in 1862 at Sidi-bel-Abbas, Algeria and died in 1925. After studying at the bar he entered Chambers as a deputy for Paris in 1893, was defeated in 1902 and regained his seat in 1906 and in the same year became minister of labour and public hygiene in the Clemenceau administration. He represented France at the first meeting of the League of Nations at Geneva in 1920. Research Rene Viviani
Resurrectionists or body-snatchers were persons who formerly made a business of stealing newly-buried corpses from graveyards and selling them to teachers of anatomy. Before the passing of the Anatomy Acts, which regulate the supply of subjects for anatomicaldissection, and especially during the early years of the 19th century, many circumstances combined to render the loathsome practice of resurrectionism highly remunerative. The celebrated case of Burke and Hare revealed the fact that the more unscrupulous resurrectionists might also be systematic murderers, and led to the passing of the first Anatomy Act in 1832. Research Resurrectionists
The retiarii were a class of ancient Roman gladiator. The retiarii were equipped with a trident and net, the net being used to entangle the opponent and the trident to then despatch them. Research Retiarii
Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr. was an American politician. He was born in 1765 and died in 1825. He represented Ohio in the US Senate as a Democrat from 1809 to 1810. He was Governor of Ohio from 1810 to 1814. He was Postmaster-General from 1814 to 1823 in the Cabinets of Madison and Monroe. Research Return J. Meigs Jr.
A returning officer is the presiding officer who conducts an election and who returns the persons duly elected. In counties it is usually the sheriff, in boroughs the chief magistrate, or deputies acting for them. Research Returning Officer
Reuben Eaton Fenton was an American politician. He was born in 1819 at New York and died in 1885. He was a Representative to Congress from New York from 1857 until 1864, when he was elected Governor and served until 1868. He succeeded B. D. Morgan in the US Senate and served from 1869 until 1875, and was chairman of the US Commission at the Paris International Monetary Conference in 1878. He was a prominent Republican leader. Research Reuben Eaton Fenton
Reverdy Johnson was an American lawyer and diplomat. He was born in 1796 and died in 1876. He reached a high rank at the Marylandbar, and was US Senator from 1845 to 1849, and Attorney-General in President Taylor's administration, from 1849 to 1850. He was a member of the Peace Conference, and in 1863 re-entered the Senate as a Republican. He held a prominent position among the leaders, and in 1868 was sent to represent the USA at London. Besides achieving great popularity in England, he negotiated the so-called Johnson-Clarendon Treaty, which, however, failed to be ratified by the US Senate. Research Reverdy Johnson
The reverend Rowland Hill was an English preacher, notable for his humour and eccentricities. He was born in 1744 and died in 1833. He was ordained in the AnglicanChurch, but embracing the views of the Calvinistic Methodists, he soon began to preach in barns and meeting-houses, and when they were too small or too distant, or not to be procured, in streets, fields, and highways. In 1783 he laid the foundation of SurreyChapel in the Blackfriars Road, London, where he preached with great success every winter for about fifty years, making summer excursions to the provinces, where his preaching attracted immense crowds. He published sermons and other theological works, of which the best known are his Village Dialogues. Research Reverened Rowland Hill
The rhapsodists were the wandering minstrels among the ancient Greeks, who sang the poems of Homer (these were also called Homeridoe) and of other poets. After the poems were committed to writing the rhapsodists lost their importance. Research Rhapsodists
Rhoda Broughton was an English novelist. She was born in 1840 and died after 1905. The daughter of a clergyman, she was much less prolific than some English lady novelists, and her early works attracted much more attention than her later. Among the chief are Cometh up as a Flower (1867); Not Wisely but too Well (1869); Red as a Rose is She (1870); Good-bye, Sweetheart, Good-bye (1872); Nancy (1873); Joan (1876); Belinda (1883); Scylla or Charybdis (1895) ; Dear Faustina (1897); Lavinia (1902). Her earlier novels show a cleverness, vigour, and originality of plot and characterization hardly maintained in her later ones. Research Rhoda Broughton
The Ribbonmen were the members of a secret society organized among the Roman Catholics in Ireland about the beginning of the 19th century in opposition to that of the Orangemen. It originated in Armagh, and spread thence to County Down, Antrim, Tyrone, and Fermanagh. The organization of the society was similar to that of the Orangemen, but by no means so complete. The membership from the first was drawn almost exclusively from the lowest classes of the population. Research Ribbonmen
Richard Abegg was a German chemist. He was born in 1869 at Danzig and died in 1910 in a ballooning accident. He developed the 'rule of eight' in 1904, concerning the electrical basis of linkages between atoms, which was an important stage in the development of modern valency theory. In addition, he did significant work on osmotic pressure, the freezing points of dilute solutions and the dielectric constant of ice. Research Richard Abegg
Richard Allein was an English Nonconformist divine. He was born in 1611 and died in 1681. The rector for twenty years of Batcombe in Somerset he was deprived of his living at the Restoration, and imprisoned for preaching. He wrote, among other things, Vindicise Pietatis, or a Vindication of Godliness, which was condemned to be burned in the royal kitchen. Research Richard Allein
Sir Richard Arkwright was an English inventor. He was born in 1732 at Preston, Lancashire and died in 1792. The youngest of thirteen children, he was a barber by trade, while travelling the country dealing in hair for wigs he became interested in the slow and clumsy processes used for spinning and weavingcotton, and when about thirty-five years of age he gave himself up exclusively to the subject of inventions for spinningcotton. The thread spun by Hargreaves' jenny could not be used except as weft, being destitute of the firmness or hardness required in the longitudinal threads or warp. But Richard Arkwright supplied this deficiency by the invention of the spinning-frame, which spins a vast number of threads of any degree of fineness and hardness, leaving the operator merely to feed the machine with cotton and to join the threads when they happen to break.
His invention introduced the system of spinning by rollers, the carding, or roving as it is technically termed (that is, the soft, loose strip of cotton), passing through one pair of rollers, and being received by a second pair, which are made to revolve with (as the case may be) three, four, or five times the velocity of the first pair. By this contrivance the roving is drawn out into a thread of the desired degree of tenuity and hardness. His inventions being brought into a pretty advanced state, Richard Arkwright removed to Nottingham in 1768 in order to avoid the attacks of the same lawless rabble that had driven Hargreaves out of Lancashire. Here his operations were at first greatly fettered by a want of capital; but two gentlemen of means having entered into partnership with him, the necessary funds were obtained, and Richard Arkwright erected his first mill, which was driven by horses, at Nottingham, and took out a patent for spinning by rollers in 1769. As the mode of working the machinery by horse-power was found too expensive he built a second factory on a much larger scale at Cromford, in Derbyshire, in 1771, the machinery of which was turned by a water-wheel. Having made several additional discoveries and improvements in the processes of carding, roving, and spinning, he took out a fresh patent for the whole in 1775, and thus completed a series of the most ingenious and complicated machinery. Notwithstanding a series of lawsuits in defence of his patent rights, and the destruction of his property by mobs, he amassed a large fortune. He was knighted by George III in 1786. Research Richard Arkwright
Richard Aungerville known as Richard de Bury (from his birthplace Bury St Edmund's), was an English statesman, bibliographer, and correspondent of Petrarch. He was born in 1281 at Bury St Edmund's and died in 1345. He entered the order of Benedictine monks, and became tutor to the Prince of Wales, afterwards Edward III. Promoted to several offices of dignity, he ultimately became Bishop of Durham, and Lord-chancellor of England. During his frequent embassies to the Continent he made the acquaintance of many of the eminent men of the day. He was a diligent collector of books, and formed a library at Oxford. He was the author of Philobiblon, 1473; Epistolae Familiarium, including letters to Petrarch, etc. Research Richard Aungerville
Sir Richard Baker was an English historian. He was born in 1568 at Kent and died in 1645. Educated at Oxford, knighted in 1603 by James I, in 1620 he was appointed high sheriff of Oxfordshire, where he had estates. Having given security for a debt incurred by his wife's family, he was thrown into Fleet Prison, where, after continuing some years, he died in 1645. During his imprisonment he wrote some devotional books and his Chronicle of the Kings of England, first published in 1643, and afterwards continued by Edward Phillips, the nephew of Milton, and others - a work of great popularity in its day, though of no permanent value. Research Richard Baker
Richard Bancroft was an English bishop. He was born in 1544 at Lancashire and died in 1610. Educated at Cambridge, he entered the church, and rose rapidly during the reign of Elizabeth I until he obtained the see of London in 1597. James I made him Archbishop of Canterbury on the death of Whitgift. He suppressed the Puritans mercilessly, and they in return never ceased to abuse him. Research Richard Bancroft
Richard Harris Barham was an English writer. He was born in 1788 at Canterbury and died in 1845. Educated at St Paul's School and Brasenose College Oxford. In 1813 he took orders and became a minor cannon of St Paul's in 1821 and in 1842 received the living of South Faith's in the City of London. He is best known for his 'Ingoldsby Legends', the firsts series of which contributed to Bentley's Miscellany in 1837, published collectively in 1840. Research Richard Barham
Richard Bassett was an American politician. He died in 1815. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and a signatory to the American constitution. From 1789 to 1793 he was a Senator from Delaware and Federalist governor of Delaware from 1798 until 1801. Research Richard Bassett
Richard Baxter was an English nonconforming divine. He was born in 1615 at Rowton, Shropshire and died in 1691. He was ordained in 1638 and became parish minister of Kidderminster in 1640. The imposition of the oath of universal approbation of the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England (the coetera oath) detached him from the Establishment. After the battle of Naseby he accepted the chaplaincy of Colonel Whalley's regiment. He can scarcely be said, however, to have separated as yet in spirit from the Establishment. He upheld the monarchy, condemned the execution of the king and the election of Oliver Cromwell, preached against the Covenant and against separatists and sectaries, but his piety won him the respect of all parties. At the Restoration he became king's chaplain, but declined the bishopric of Hereford, and on the passage of the Act of Uniformity threw in his lot entirely with the nonconformists. In 1685 he was arrested, refused a hearing by Jeffreys, and imprisoned. After his release he lived in retirement. He left about 150 treatises, of which his Saints' Everlasting Rest and Call to the Unconverted have been the most popular. Research Richard Baxter
Richard Bellingham was colonial Governor of Massachusetts. He was born in 1592 and died in 1672. He went to America in 1634 and in 1635 was appointed deputy-governor, and in 1641 Governor of Massachusetts. He opposed innovations in religion and was particularly opposed to the Quakers. Research Richard Bellingham
Richard Bentley was an English classical scholar and critic. He was born in 1662 near Wakefield, Yorkshire and died in 1742. At the age of fourteen he entered St John's College, Cambridge, where he took the degree of BA in 1680. In 1682 he became a master of Spalding School, and in the following year was appointed tutor to Dr. Stillingfleet's son.
He lived in Dr. Stillingfleet's house during 1683 to 1689, studying deeply, and accompanied his pupil to Oxford. In 1684 he took his MA degree at Cambridge, and in 1689 at Oxford, where two years later he won immediate reputation by the publication of his epistle to Mill on the Greek Chronicle of Malelas.
Dr. Stillingfleet having been raised to the bishopric of Worcester made Richard Bentley his chaplain, and in 1692 a prebendary in his cathedral. The same year he delivered the first series of the Boyle Lectures, his subject being a confutation of atheism. In 1694 he was appointed keeper of the royal library at St James's Palace, and in 1696 came into residence there. Two or three years after began his famous controversy with the Honourable Charles Boyle, afterwards Earl of Orrery, relative to the genuineness of the Greek Epistles of Phalaris, an edition of which was published by Boyle, then a student at Christ Church, Oxford.
In this dispute Richard Bentley was completely victorious, though the greatest wits and critics of the age, including Pope, Jonathan Swift, Garth, Atterbury, Aldrich, Dodwell, and ConyersMiddleton came to Boyle's assistance. Richard Bentley's Dissertation on the Epistles of Phalaris appeared in 1699 and was described as 'a monument of controversial genius' and 'a storehouse of exact and penetrating erudition.'
In 1700 he was presented to the mastership of Trinity College, Cambridge, and from this period until 1738 he was at feud with the fellows of that college. A lawsuit, which lasted more than twenty years, was decided against him, but his opponents were unable to carry out the sentence depriving him of his mastership. In 1711 he published an edition of Horace, and in 1713 his remarks on Collins's Discourse on Free-thinking, by Phileleutherus Lipsiensis. He was appointed regius professor of divinity in 1716. In 1726 he published an edition of Terence and Phsedrus.' He meditated an edition of Homer, but left only notes.
In Homeric criticism he has the merit of having detected the loss of the letter 'digamma' from the written texts. His last work was an edition of Milton's Paradise Lost, with conjectural emendations published in 1732. Research Richard Bentley
Richard Bergmann was an Austrian table tennis player. He was born in 1920 at Vienna and died in 1970. He won four men's singles world championships, the first in 1937 and the last in 1950. Research Richard Bergmann
Sir Richard Blackmore was an English physician and writer in verse and prose. He was born about 1650 and died in 1729. The son of an attorney in the county of Wiltshire he entered the University of Oxford in 1668; became a schoolmaster; then travelled on the Continent, took the degree of MD at Padua, and was admitted Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1687. In 1695 he published his heroic poem Prince Arthur, and two years later was knighted and appointed physician to William III. A ponderously worthy man, though very middling poet, he became the common butt of the day, no amount of ridicule, however, being sufficient to restrain his desire for literary distinction. His Paraphrases on Job published in 1700 was followed by Eliza, an Epic in Ten Books published in 1705 and by the Nature of Man published in 1711.
His poem the Creation published in 1712 received the praise of Addison and Johnson; but his Redemption, in six books published in 1722, and his Alfred, in twelve published in 1723, reverted to the unrelieved monotony of his earlier style. He left several prose works on theology and medicine.
Richard Doddridge Blackmore was an English novelist. He was born in 1825 at Longworth, Berkshire and died in 1900. Educated at Blundell's School, Tiverton and Exeter College, Oxford, he was called to the bar in 1852 but soon afterwards ceased practising and after a few years teaching at school retired to live upon a legacy left to him. He is best known for his 1869 book 'Lorna Doone'.
Other novels by him are: Clara Vaughan (1864); Cradock Nowell, a Tale of the New Forest (1866); The Maid of Sker (1872); AliceLorraine, a Tale of the South Downs (1875); Cripps the Carrier (1876); Erema (1877); Mary Anerley (1880); Christowell (1882); Tommy Upmore (1884); Springhaven, (1887) ; Perlycross (1894), etc. He also published a translation of Virgil's Georgics (1862 and 1871). Research Richard Blackmore
Richard Parkes Bonington was an English painter. He was born in 1801 and died in 1828. He spent the greater part of his life in France, was solely a water-colourist up until 1824, and then began to paint in oil. In 1826 he first exhibited in England, but never lived long there. His subjects were chiefly landscapes, views in cities, and historical genre pictures; and his position as an artist, notwithstanding his early death, is extraordinarily high. Among his work are views in Venice; Francis I and the Queen of Navarre; Henry III receiving the Spanish Ambassador; and the Fish Market, Boulogne. Research Richard Bonington
Richard Southwell Bourke (Sixth earl of Mayo) was an Irish politician. He was born in 1822 and died in 1872, Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, he travelled in Russia and published the result in a work on St Petersburg and Moscow (1845). He entered parliament in 1847 under the title of ViscountNaas and was made chief secretary for Ireland under the Derby administrations (1852-1868). He succeeded to the earldom in 1867, and was appointed viceroy of India by Disraeli in 1868. After a successful career in this capacity, he was assassinated at Port Blair in the Andamans by an Islamic convict in 1872. Research Richard Bourke
Richard Boyle, the Earl of Cork, was an English statesman. He was born in 1566 and died in 1643. In 1588 he went to Dublin with little or no money, but with good recommendations, and by prudence and ability he managed to acquire considerable estates. As clerk of the Council of Munster he distinguished himself by his talents and activity, and became successively a knight and privy-councillor. BaronBoyle of Youghal, and finally, in 1620, Viscount Dungarvan and Earl of Cork. He was an able and energetic ruler, introducing many useful arts and manufactures amongst the people. Disaffection and rebellion he put down with a strong and vigorous hand. Research Richard Boyle
Richard Brome was a poet and dramatist. He died in 1652. He wrote The Jovial Crew; The Northern Lass, and many other plays, ten of which were edited and published by Alexander Brome soon after his death. He was originally a servant of Ben Jonson's, on whose style he endeavoured to mould his own. Research Richard Brome
Richard Brothers was an English prophet. He was born about 1760 and died in 1824. He served as a lieutenant in the army, which he quit in 1789, refusing from conscientious scruples to take the oath necessary to entitle him to his half-pay. He announced himself in 1793 as the apostle of a new religion, dating his call from 1790. He styled himself the Nephew of the Almighty, and Prince of the Hebrews, appointed to lead them to the land of Canaan. In 1794 he published A Revealed Knowledge of the Prophecies and Times, in two books. He was committed to Newgate for prophesying the death of the king, and subsequently to Bedlam as a dangerous lunatic, but was released in 1806. Research Richard Brothers
Richard Evelyn Byrd was an American scientist and explorer. He started his career in the navy, but took up flying. In 1926 he flew over the North Pole. He was born in 1888 and died in 1957. William Byrd was an English composer. He was born in 1543 and died in 1623. Research Richard Byrd
Richard K Call was an American soldier and politician. He was born in 1791 and died in 1862. In 1814 he was appointed first-lieutenant, in 1823 brigadier-general of the West Florida Militia, and from 1823 until 1825 was a delegate to Congress. From 1835 until 1840 and again from 1841 until 1844 he was Governor of Florida. Research Richard Call
Richard Cameron was a Scottish Covenanter. He was born at Falkland in Fife and died in 1680. Becoming an enthusiastic votary of the pure Presbyterian system, on the 20th of June, 1680, at the head of a small band of followers, he entered Sanquhar, and formally renounced allegiance to the king (Charles II) on account of his misgovernment. The little band kept in arms for a month in the mountainous country between Nithsdale and Ayrshire, but were at length surprised by a much superior force at Aird's Moss, and after a stubborn fight overcome. Cameron was amongst those killed. Research Richard Cameron
Richard Carlile was an English freethinker. He was born in 1790 at Ashburton in Devon and died in 1843. In 1817 he took to publishing in London and reprinted the suppressed Parodies of William Hone, and wrote other parodies in imitation of it, for which he was imprisoned for eighteen weeks. In 1818 he was fined 1500 with three years' imprisonment for issuing the works of Thomas Paine. In all he spent over nine years in prison for defying English censorship and suppression. Research Richard Carlile
Richard Cobden was an English politician. He was born in 1804 and died in 1865. Known as the apostle of free trade, after receiving a very meagre education he was taken as an apprentice into a warehouse in London belonging to his uncle, and in this situation he rapidly made up for the defects of his education by his own diligence.
In 1830, being left by the failure of his uncle to his own resources, along with some relatives he started a cotton manufactory in Manchester, which in a few years was very successful. His first political writing was a pamphlet on England, Ireland, and America, which was followed by another on Russia. In both of these he gave clear utterance to the political views to which he continued through his life rigidly to adhere, advocating non-intervention in the disputes of other nations, and maintaining it to be the only proper object of the foreign policy of England to increase and strengthen her connections with foreign countries in the way of trade and peaceful intercourse.
Having joined the Anti-Corn-Law League, formed in 1838, it was chiefly the extraordinary activity of Richard Cobden, together with Bright and other zealous fellow-workers, which won victory for the movement. In 1841 Richard Cobden entered parliament as member for Stockport, and after several years of unwearied efforts at last induced Sir Robert Peel, then prime minister, to bring in a bill for the repeal of the corn laws, a measure which became law in 1846.
Next year he was chosen member for the West Riding of Yorkshire, a constituency which he represented for ten years. His business, once highly prosperous, had suffered while he devoted himself to the agitation, and as a compensation for the loss he had thus sustained a national subscription was made, and a sum of about 70,000 pounds presented to him. Richard Cobden continued his labours as an advocate of parliamentary reform, economy, and retrenchment, and a policy of non-intervention, in all of which he found a firm and ready ally in Bright, both being strong opponents of the Crimean War. In 1859 he was chosen member for Rochdale, and was offered, for the second time, a place in the government, but again preferred to keep his independent position. He refused also a baronetcy and several other dignities. His last great work was the commercial treaty which he was the means of bringing about between Britain and France in 1860. During his later years he lived a good deal in retirement. Research Richard Cobden
Richard Corbet was an English bishop and poet. He was born in 1582 and died in 1635. He was educated at Westminster school and Christ Church, Oxford, took orders, became university proctor, and was appointed one of the royal chaplains by James I. After being dean of Christ Church he was made bishop of Oxford in 1624, and was translated to Norwich in 1632. He had a life-long reputation as a wit, jester, and convivial spirit, and was on intimate terms with Ben Jonson. His poems are mostly satiric and humorous, but one of the best known, a lament for the fairies, is in a more serious vein. Research Richard Corbet
Richard Cosway was an English painter. He was born in 1742 at Devonshire and died in 1821. He trained in art in London. Having gained the friendship of the prince of Wales, later King George IV, Cosway won appointment as court painter. He painted members of the royal family, such as Mrs. Maria Fitzherbert, the first wife of the prince of Wales. Cosway's subjects also included aristocrats of both England and France, such as Madame du Barry, mistress of King Louis XV of France. Cosway was one of the first painters to use delicate brushwork in watercolour to bring out the beauties of the ivory on which miniatures were painted. He expressed with great skill the artificial grace and charm that characterized the age in which he lived. He amassed a large fortune and a valuable collection of paintings and curios. His wife, MariaHadfield , who had been trained in Italy, was also a noted miniaturist. Research Richard Cosway
Richard Crashaw was an English poet. He was born in 1613 at London and died in 1649. Educated at the Charterhouse and at Cambridge, in 1637 he became a fellow of Peterhouse, and having been admitted to orders was noted as an eloquent and powerful preacher. In 1644 he was ejected from his fellowship by the Parliamentarians, and proceeded to Paris, where he became a convert to the Roman Catholic faith, and was appointed to a canonry at Loretto. Epigrammata Sacra appeared in 1634; Steps to the Temple, Sacred Poems, with other Delights of the Muses, was published in London in 1646; and a posthumous volume appeared at Paria in 1652, under the titleCarmen Deo Nostro. Richard Crashaw displays considerable poetic genius in the treatment of religious subjects, and his works are said to have furnished hints to both Milton and Pope. Research Richard Crashaw
Richard Cromwell was LordProtector of England and the son of Oliver Cromwell. He was born in 1626 and died in 1712. He served with his father in the Parliamentary Army and was an MP from 1654 until 1656. He succeeded to the protectorate in 1658 and resigned in 1659 under pressure from the Army. Research Richard Cromwell
Richard Cumberland was an English dramatist. He was born in 1732 at Cambridge and died in 1811. After studying at Westminster and Cambridge he became private secretary to LordHalifax, who bestowed on him a few years later a clerkship of reports in the office of trade and plantations. After one or two failures in writing for the stage, his West Indian, brought out by Garrick in 1771, proved eminently successful, and it was followed by the less popular Fashionable Lover, The Choleric Man, The Note of Hand, and The Battle of Hastings. In 1775 he became secretary to the Board of Trade, and in 1780 was employed on a mission to Lisbon and Madrid, but failing to satisfy the ministry was compelled to retire. His subsequent works include his Anecdotes of Spanish Painters, the Observer, the novels of Arundel, Henry and John de Lancaster, the poem of Calvary, the Exodiad (in conjunction with Sir James Bland Burgess), a poem called Retrospection, and the Memoirs of his own Life. He also edited the London Review. Research Richard Cumberland
Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English theatrical producer. He was born in 1844 and died in 1901. He founded the Richard D'Oyly Carte light opera company in 1881 at London primarily for the presentation of the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. Research Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard Henry Dana was an American lawyer and poet. He was born in 1787 at Cambridge, Massachusetts and died in 1879. Educated at Harvard, he was admitted to the Massachusettsbar in 1811, was one of the projectors of the North American Review in 1815, and associate editor until 1821. He wrote poems, of which 'The Buccaneer' is the most noted.
Richard Henry Dana the 2nd was an American writer. He was born in 1815 and died in 1883. He contributed largely to legal publications. He was author of the book 'Two Years Before the Mast', and revised 'Wheaton's International Law', taking it up to 1866. Research Richard Dana
Richard Doyle was an English artist. He was born in 1824 and died in 1883. He worked on the staff of Punch magazine from 1843 to 1850 when he resigned on religious grounds. He illustrated many books and had designs appear on the cover of Punch. Research Richard Doyle
Richard was Earl of Cornwall and Emperor of Germany between 1256 and 1272, during the so-called interregnum. A son of King John of England, he was born in 1209 and deid in 1272. In his youth he commanded with success the army of his brother Henry III in France. In 1236 he took the cross and went to the Holy Land, but was not able to effect much in the East. In 1256 he was chosen emperor of Germany by a faction, and was crowned king of the Romans at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1257. He was unable to obtain general recognition, and was more than once driven to take refuge in England. He was taken prisoner by Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Lewes in 1264. In 1268 he again visited Germany, and held a diet at Worms in the following year. Research Richard Earl of Cornwall
Richard Earlom was an English engraver. He was born in 1743 and died in 1822. His engravings from Reynolds, Hogarth, Van Huysum, etc, and from Claude's Liber Veritatis are exceptionally fine, and are standard works in their department. Research Richard Earlom
Richard S Ewell was an American soldier. He was born in 1817 and died in 1872. He graduated at the US Military Academy in 1840, and served in the Mexican War from 1846 until 1848. He entered the Confederate army as a brigadier-general, fought at Blackburn's Ford and at Bull Run, and was promoted major-general in the Shenandoahcampaign. He served with distinction at Malvern Hill and at Cedar Mountain. In 1863 he commanded Jackson's troops, and fought at Gettysburg, the Wilderness and Spottsylvania Court House. He surrendered to Sheridan in 1865 at Sailor's Creek with his entire force of 6000 men. Research Richard Ewell
Sir Richard Fanshaw was an English diplomatist, poet, and translator. He was born in 1608 and died in 1666. He studied at Cambridge; was secretary of the English embassy at Madrid; and took the royal side on the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1641. He was made a baronet in 1650, was taken prisoner at Worcester, but permitted to go free on bail. After the restoration he was employed on several diplomatic missions, and in 1664, as ambassador at Madrid, negotiated a peace between England, Spain, and Portugal. Research Richard Fanshaw
Richard Farrant was an English composers . Very little is known of his history. He was a gentleman of the chapel royal in 1564, and subsequently organist and choir-master. He is supposed to have died about 1580. His music, which is ecclesiastical, is distinguished by purity, simplicity, tenderness, and elevation. The anthems Call to Remembrance, and Hide not Thou Thy Face, composed by him, were well known and highly esteemed. Research Richard Farrant
Richard Ford was an English writer on Spanish subjects. He was born in 1796 and died in 1858. Educated at Winchester and at Trinity College, Oxford, where he took his BA degree in 1817, he then studied law and was called to the bar, but never practised. From 1830 to 1834 he lived with his family in Spain, and in many riding-tours acquired an intimate knowledge of the country. Returning to England he took up his residence near Exeter, and contributed several articles to the Quarterly and Edinburgh Reviews and other periodicals, dealing with Spanish art and architecture. In 1845 appeared the original edition of his excellent Handbook for Travellers in Spain, a veritable storehouse of information, rich alike in knowledge and in wit and humour. In subsequent editions this work underwent various changes, and was much reduced in bulk. Research Richard Ford
Sir Richard Francis Burton was an English explorer and linguist. He was born in 1821 and died in 1890. He joined the Indian army in 1842, and showed a remarkable facility in acquiring the languages and manners of the natives. In 1853 he went to Arabia, and visited Mecca and Medina disguised as a Muslimpilgrim a sufficiently dangerous journey. After serving in the Crimean War he made a journey to East Africa along with CaptainSpeke, which led to the discovery of the great lakeTanganyika. He was British consul at Fernando Po, at Santos in Brazil, and from 1872 at Trieste. He visited many countries and published many works, amongst which were Sindh and the Races that inhabit India; Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to ElMedinah and Mecca; The Lake Regions of Central Africa; The City of the Saints and across the Rocky Mountains to California; The NileBasin; The Highlands of Brazil; Ultima Thule, or a Summer in Iceland; The Gold Mines of Midian; The Book of the Sword; translations of Camoens' Lusiads and of the Arabian Nights; etc. Research Richard Francis Burton
Richard AustinFreeman was a British novelist. He was born in 1862 and died in 1943. Himself a doctor, he created a medical detective, Dr. Thorndyke who appeared in numerous books: the model for his hero was the authority on poisons and medical jurist A S Taylor. Research Richard Freeman
Richard Jordan Gatling was an American inventor. He was born in 1818 at North Carolina and died in 1903. Richard Gatling studied and qualified as a doctor, but never practised. He invented the Gatling gun, a hemp-breaking machine and a steamplough. Research Richard Gatling
Richard Gibson was an English painter. He was born in 1615 and died in 1690. A page of the back stairs of the court of Charles I he was noticeable on account of being a dwarf, reportedly three feet and ten inches tall. He married Anne Shepherd, a dwarf of similar statue, and the king honoured their wedding with his presence. Research Richard Gibson
Richard Glover was an English poet. He was born in 1712 and died in 1785. Though engaged in mercantile pursuits he devoted much of his attention to literature, and acquired a high reputation as a scholar and a poet. In 1760 he entered parliament, where his abilities gained him considerable influence. He was the author of two epics, Leonidas and the Atheniad; London, or the Progress of Commerce; two tragedies, Boadicea and Medea, etc. Research Richard Glover
Richard Gonzales was an American lawntennis player. He was born in 1928. He turned professional in 1949 after winning the US singles title two years running and became world champion, dominating men's tennis during the 1950's. Research Richard Gonzales
Sir Richard Grenville was an Elizabethan English seaman and politician. He was born in 1541 at Buckland Abbey, Devon and died in 1591 from wounds received in battle. He was member of parliament for Cornwall from 1571 to 1584 and was knighted in 1577. He commanded his cousin Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition to Virginia and, in 1591, was sent to the Azores for the purpose of intercepting homeward-bound Spanish treasure-ships. Suddenly the Spaniards appeared with an overwhelming force of men-of-war, and Thomas Howard seeing that resistance was useless, gave the enemy the slip. Sir Richard Grenville, however, was cut off from his countrymen, either by his own intention or accidentally, and instead of surrendering determined to fight to the last. Eor fifteen hours he kept up a desperate resistance, and when at last the Revenge was reduced to a helpless wreck the sorely wounded hero and the remnants of his gallant crew were overpowered and taken prisoners. Sir Richard died within two or three days on board one of the Spanish vessels, and soon after the Revenge went down in a great storm. Research Richard Grenville
Richard Hakluyt was one of the earliest English collectors of voyages and maritime journals. He was born in 1553 and died in 1616. He entered Christ Church College, Oxford, in 1575, and became so eminent for his acquaintance with cosmography, that he was appointed public lecturer on that science. About 1584 he went to Paris as chaplain to the English ambassador, and stayed there five years. After his return home he prepared for the press his collection of The Principal Navigations, Voyages, and Discoveries of the English Nation, made by Sea, or over Land, within the Compass of these 1500 Years. The first volume, in folio, was published in 1589, and the third and last in 1600. Besides narratives of nearly 220 voyages, these volumes comprise patents, letters, instructions, and other documents, not readily to be found elsewhere. In 1606 he appealed to the king for a charter for the colonization of Virginia, and was one of the members of the South Virginia Company. On his death he was a prebendary of Westminster and rector of Wetheringset in Suffolk, and was interred in Westminster Abbey. Research Richard Hakluyt
Richard Burdon Haldane (1st Viscount Haldane) was a Scottish philosophical writer and politician. He was born in 1856 and died in 1928. Educated with distinction at Edinburgh and Gottingen he was called to the bar in 1879. He entered parliament as Liberal member for Haddingtonshire in 1885, a constituency which he still represented (as a Liberal Imperialist) in 1906. He became queen's counsel in 1890, and a privy councillor in 1902. In 1905 he was elected LordRector of Edinburgh University and took the post of Secretary of State for War under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, and brought forward new army proposals in 1906 and formed the Territorial Army. He was Gifford Lecturer at St. Andrews University from 1902 to 1904. He was LordChancellor between 1912 and 915 and again in 1924 following his move to the Labour Party, and wrote a Life of Adam Smith; Education and Empire; The Pathway to Reality; and was part author of Essays on Philosophical Criticism, and part translator of Schopenhauer's World as Will and Idea. Research Richard Haldane
Richard Hammond is an English television presenter. He was born in 1969 at Birmingham. Originally a Radio presenter, he is best known as a co-presenter of the BBC television motoring show 'Top Gear' which he been involved with since 2002. Research Richard Hammond
Richard Henderson was an American jurist. He was born in 1734 and died in 1785. A Judge in the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1769, he organized the 'Transylvania Land Company' in 1775, and established a government over that Western region, but was declared guilty of an infringement of the rights of Virginia by the Legislature of that State. Research Richard Henderson
Richard Henry Lee was an American politician. He was born in 1732 and died in 1794. A member of a noted Virginia family, he was educated in England. For many years, from 1761 to 1788, he was a leader in the Virginia House of Burgesses and legislature. He earnestly opposed the slave trade, the Stamp Act, and was one of the first among the American insurgent chiefs to suggest the employment of the famous committees of correspondence. As a delegate to the first Continental Congress he was on the committee to draft the address, and in the Second Congress he drew up the American address to the people of Great Britain. On June the 7th, 1776, he moved the resolutions of independence. Meanwhile as the American War of Independence proceeded, Richard Henry Lee was active in strictly Virginian as well as in national matters, and opposed vigorously the paper-money policy in his State. He was president of Congress, and in 1788 he was an Anti-Federalist champion for the rejection of the Federal Constitution. From 1789 to 1792 he was US Senator. Research Richard Henry Lee
Richard Hildreth was an American historian and anti-slavery campaigner. He was born in 1807 and died in 1865. In 1832 he became associate editor of the Boston Atlas which attained considerable eminence as a daily Whig journal. In 1837 he published articles opposing the annexation of Texas, and while residing in the South published the anti-slavery novel, Archy Moore, republished as 'The White Slave'. In 1840 he published 'Despotism in America', in 1843 a 'Theory of Politics', and in 1854 'The Legal Basis of Slavery'. He is most prominent as author of a history of the United States in six volumes, which is brought down to the close of Monroe's first term, and is of excellent quality, though of warm Federalist sympathies. Research Richard Hildreth
Richard M Hoe was an American inventor. He was born in 1812 at New Yorkand died in 1886. He invented a rotary press known as 'Hoe's lightning press', which in one minute would print, cut and fold a sheet of paper almost 244 meters long. Research Richard Hoe
Richard Hooker was an English divine. He was born in 1553 and died in 1600. He went up to Oxford in 1563, and became a Fellow of Christ C'hurch in 1577. In 1579 he was appointed deputy professor of Hebrew; took orders in 1581, and was made preacher at Paul's Cross. About this period he was induced to marry the daughter of a Mrs Churchman, who had charge of the dwelling set apart for the preachers - a marriage which proved unhappy. In 1584 he became rector of Drayton Beauchamp, and in 1585 Master of the Temple. In 1595 he received the living of Bishopsbourne, in Kent, where he ended his days. His Ecclesiastical Polity, published at various dates, and written in defence of the Church of England, is no less remarkable for learning and extent of research than for the richness and purity of its style, which entitles its author to be regarded as one of the classics of the Elizabethan age. Research Richard Hooker
Richard Hengist Horne was an English poet, dramatist, and miscellaneous writer. He was born in 1803 and died in 1884. He was educated for the army at Sandhurst, entered the Mexican navy, and served during the war between Mexico and Spain. In 1828 he began his literary career, and produced several tragi-comedies of an ironical and satirical kind, and a large quantity of miscellaneous work. In 1843 he made his historic appeal to public judgment by publishing his epicOrion at one farthing. In 1844 A New Spirit of the Age, a critical work in which he was assisted by Miss Barrett (Mrs Browning) and Robert Bell, appeared. In 1852 he took to gold-digging in Australia, still keeping in touch with his literary work. Of his many writings, the best known are Orion, Cosmo de Medici, The Death of Marlowe, and Prometheus. Research Richard Horne
Richard Howe (the Earl Howe) was a British sailor. He was born in 1725 and died in 1799. The second son of Emanuel Scrope, the second ViscountHowe, he joined the navy at the age of fourteen, and served under Anson until 1745, when, though only twenty years of age, he obtained the command of the Baltimoresloop of war, in which he took part in the siege of Fort William, during the last Jacobite rebellion. In 1758 he reduced Cherbourg, and in the same year succeeded to the title of ViscountHowe. A British rear-admiral, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the naval forces in North America in 1776. In conjunction with his brother, Sir William Howe, he was commissioned to conciliate the colonies, but found this impossible. He then took possession of Long Island and New York in 1776 and of Philadelphia in 1777.
In 1778 he encountered the French fleet, under Count d'Estaing, off the coast of Rhode Island; both fleets were badly shattered by a storm which prevented a decisive engagement. He resigned his charge to Admiral Byron soon afterwards and returned to England. He published 'Narrative of the Transactions of the Fleet' in 1780, vindicating his conduct during his command in America.
In 1782 he was created an earl. In the course of the same year he sailed to the relief of Gibraltar, which he effected in spite of the combined fleets of the enemy. In 1783 he accepted the post of first lord of the admiralty, which, with a partial intermission, he continued to hold until 1793, when, on the breaking out of the war with France, he took the command of the British fleet, and bringing the enemy to an action on June, the 1st, 1794, he obtained over them a decisive victory, for which he received the thanks of parliament and other honours. In 1797 LordHowe exerted himself with great success to quell the mutiny among the seamen at Portsmouth. Research Richard Howe
Richard I Coeur de Lion (the Lionheart) was a blood-thirsty French King of Normandy and Anjou who ruled England from 1189 to 1199. Richard I was the elder son of Henry II. He lived for only war and slaughter, and used England to finance his main ambition by going on a crusade in 1190, leaving the ruling of England to others. After his victories over Saladin at the siege of Acre and the battles of Arsuf and Jaffa, concluded by the treaty of Jaffa in 1192, Richard I was returning from the Holy Land when he was captured in Austria later that year.
In early 1193, Richard I was transferred to emperor Henry VI's custody. In Richard's absence, king Philip of France failed to obtain Richard's French possessions through invasion or negotiation. In England, Richard's brother John occupied WindsorCastle and prepared an invasion of England by Flemish mercenaries, accompanied by armed uprisings. Richard I's mother, queen Eleanor, took firm action against John by strengthening garrisons and again exacting oaths of allegiance to the king. John's subversive activities were ended by the payment of a crushing ransom of 150,000 marks of silver - more than four times the total GNP for England at the time - to the emperor, for Richard I's release in 1194.
Richard I is remembered favourably in history because his crusades received the blessing of the church, and favourable documentation by the scholastic monks, and his love of war enabled the powerful barons to extract levies from the people, and warmed them to the king whom they exalted. Richard's emblem, three lions, is still on the British Royal coat of arms. Warned by Philip's famous message 'look to yourself, the devil is loosed', John fled to the French court. On his return to England, Richard I was re-crowned at Winchester in 1194. Five years later he died in France during a minor siege against a rebellious baron. By the time of his death, Richard I had recovered all his lands. His success was short-lived. In 1199 his brother John became king and Philip successfully invaded Normandy. By 1203, John had retreated to England, losing his French lands of Normandy and Anjou by 1205. Research Richard I
Richard II was the son of Edward The Black Prince and King of England from 1371 to 1399. Richard II succeeded to the throne at the age of ten, on his father Edward's death. In 1381 the Peasants' Revolt broke out and Richard, aged 14, bravely rode out to meet the rebels at Smithfield, London. Wat Tyler, the principal leader of the peasants, was killed and the uprisings in the rest of the country were crushed over the next few weeks (Richard was later forced by his Council's advice to rescind the pardons he had given). Highly cultured, Richard II was one of the greatest royal patrons of the arts; patron of Chaucer, it was Richard II who ordered the technically innovative transformation of the Norman Westminster Hall to what it is today.
Richard II's authoritarian approach upset vested interests, and his increasing dependence on favourites provoked resentment. In 1388 the 'Merciless Parliament' led by a group of lords hostile to Richard II (headed by the King' s uncle, Gloucester) sentenced many of the King's favourites to death and forced Richard II to renew his coronationoath. The death of his first queen, Anne of Bohemia, in 1394 further isolated Richard II, and his subsequent arbitrary behaviour alienated people further.
Richard II took his revenge in 1397, arresting or banishing many of his opponents; his cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke, was also subsequently banished. On the death of Henry's father, John of Gaunt (a younger son of Edward III), Richard II confiscated the vast properties of his Duchy of Lancaster (which amounted to a state within a state) and divided them among his supporters.
His expeditions to Ireland failed to reconcile the Anglo- Irish lords with the Gaels. In 1399, while Richard II was in Ireland, Henry of Bolingbroke returned to claim his father's inheritance. Supported by some of the leading baronial families (including Richard II's former Archbishop of Canterbury), Henry of Bolingbroke captured and deposed Richard II and Henry of Bolingbroke was crowned King as Henry IV. Risings in support of Richard II led to his murder in PontefractCastle; Henry V subsequently had his body buried in WestminsterAbbey. Research Richard II
Richard III was the last Yorkist King of England from 1483 to 1485. Before he claimed the crown in 1483 from his nephew Edward V - who was just a child - to prevent his scheming sister-in-law from gaining power, Richard III had a strong power base in the north, and his popularity with the ordinary people and dislike of war was to cause much resentment among the barons who relied upon wars to raise money for themselves. A firm pacifist, Richard III concluded a truce with Scotland and attempted genuine reconciliation by showing consideration to Lancastrians purged from office by Edward IV, and moved Henry VI's body to St George's Chapel at Windsor.
A champion of the people, Richard III changed the law so that court proceedings were conducted in English, rather than Latin. In 1484, Richard's only son, Edward, died. Resentment against Richard III from the Barons grew and eventually, after a failed coup, on the 7th of August 1485, Henry Tudor (a direct descendant through his mother MargaretBeaufort, of John of Gaunt, one of Edward III's younger sons) landed at MilfordHaven in Wales to claim the throne for the barons. On the 22nd of August in a two-hour battle at Bosworth, Henry's forces (assisted by Lord Stanley's private army of around 7,000 which was deliberately posted so that he could join the winning side) defeated Richard's larger army and Richard III was killed. Buried without a monument in Leicester, Richard III's bones were scattered during the English Reformation. Richard III was subsequently much aligned, the powerful barons and William Shakespeare spreading propaganda about him, and a portrait of Richard III - the first realistic royal portrait - was altered to show Richard III as a hunchback, which he wasn't. Research Richard III
Richard Ingle was a British sailor. He was born early in the seventeenth century. He usurped the government of Maryland in 1645, in revenge for the seizure of his ship by the royalist Governor in 1642. Research Richard Ingle
Richard Jefferies was an English naturalist and author. He was born in 1848 at Wiltshire and died in 1887. He began his literary career as a local journalist, and first attracted attention by a letter to the Times in November, 187'2, on 'The Wiltshire Labourer'. In 1877 he moved to London, gaining a success the next year with his book The Gamekeeper at Home, which consisted of sketches of natural history and rural life. He afterwards produced a number of works on similar subjects, together with a few novels. Among his more important works are: The Amateur Poacher (1880), The Story of My Heart (1883), Life of the Fields (1884), The Open Air (1885), and After London, or Wild England (1885). Research Richard Jefferies
Richard William Jelf was an English educationalist and divine. He was was born in 1798 and died in 1871. He was educated at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford, and took holy orders in 1821. He remained at Oxford until 1826, when he was appointed tutor to Prince George of Cumberland. In 1847 he was one of the six doctors whose report led to the suspension of Dr. Pusey. Appointed principal of King's College, London, in 1844, he rsmained there until his retirement in 1868. Among his published works are his Bampton lectures, a volume of sermons, and lectures on the Thirty-nine Articles. Research Richard Jelf
Richard M Johnson was an American politician. He was born in 1781 and died in 1850. He served in the Kentucky Legislature in 1804. He represented Kentucky in the US Congress as a Republican from 1807 to 1819. In 1813 he commanded a regiment in the war. In 1813 he fought at Chatham and in the Battle of the Thames, where he is said to have killed Tecumtha. He served in the US Senate from 1819 to 1829, and in the US House of Representatives from 1829 to 1837. He was elected Vice-President of the United States by the Senate in 1837, and served from 1837 to 1841, with Martin Van Buren as President. Research Richard Johnson
Richard Kirwan was an Irish scientist. He was born in 1733 at County Galway and died in 1812. Educated in France he was called to the Irish bar in 1766 but abandoned law for science studying in London from 1768 until 1773. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1780 and in 1782 was awarded the Copley medal for his papers on chemical affinity. In 1787 he returned to Ireland and became president of the Royal Irish Academy in 1799. In 1787 he published his controversial Essay on Phlogiston and the constitution of Acids, identifying Phlogiston with hydrogen. Research Richard Kirwan
Richard Knolles or Richard Knowlles was an English historian. He was born about 1543 and died in 1610. He was educated at Oxford, and became master of the free school of Sandwich, in Kent. He wrote a General History of the Turks (published in 1603 and 1610), the style of which is highly commended by Johnson, Hallam, and other critics, and Lives and Conquests of the Ottoman Kings and Emperors, continued to and printed in 1621. Research Richard Knolles
Richard Lemon Lander was an English explorer. He was born in 1804 at Truro and died in 1834. He accompanied Clapperton's Niger expedition in 1825 as a servant and on his return wrote accounts of it. In 1830 he and his brother John Lander were sent by the government to explore the lower course of the Niger which they surveyed and proved it flowed into the Gulf of Guinea. In the beginning of 1834, while on a trading expedition in the delta of the Niger, he was wounded by the natives, and though he was able to reach Fernando Po, he died soon after. He published Records of Captain Clapperton's last Expedition in Africa, with Richard Lander's Journal, 1829; Journal of an Expedition to Explore the Course and Termination of the Niger, 1832. Research Richard Lander
Richard le Gallienne was an English poet and journalist. He was born in 1866 at Liverpool and died in 1947. In 1898 he settled in the USA. Research Richard le Gallienne
Richard Lovelace was an English poet and Cavalier. He was born in 1618 at Bethersden and died in 1658. He was educated at Charterhouse and at Gloucester Hall, Oxford, where he wrote a comedy, 'The Scholar' and a tragedy, 'The Soldier'. He shone at court, but preferred warfare and in 1645 took arms on behalf of the king. In 1646 he was fighting for France against Spain, and was wounded at Dunkirk. On his return to England he was imprisoned at Aldersgate, and occupied his captivity with preparing his poems for the press, which were published by his brother in 1659. Research Richard Lovelace
Sir Richard Maitland (Lord Lethington) was a Scottish poet, lawyer, and statesman. He was born in 1496 and died in 1586. He studied at St Andrews and in France, and on his return to Scotland was employed in various conmissions by James V, and afterwards by the Regent Arran and Mary of Guise. In 1551 he took his seat on the bench as an extra ordinary lord of session. In 1560 he became blind. In 1561 he was appointed an ordinary lord of session, and assumed the title of Lord Lethington. From 1562 to 1567 he held the office of lordprivy-seal. He collected the decisions of the Court of Session from September 1550 to July 1565, and made a celebrated collection of early Scottish poetry. The Maitland Club, named after him, published a volume of his own poems in 1830. Research Richard Maitland
Richard Mant was an English theologian. He was born in 1776 at Southampton and died in 1848. His father held a living in the church, and he began his ecclesiastical career as vicar of Coggeshall, in Essex, in 1810. In 1820 he became bishop of Killaloe; in 1823 bishop of Down and Connor;
and in 1842 was translated to the see of Dromore. The works of Dr. Richard Mant consist of a vast number of sermons and tracts, but his celebrity rests on an edition of the Bible, which he prepared in conjunction with Dr. D'Oyley. Research Richard Mant
Richard Meade OBE is a British three-day event horseman. He was born in 1938. He was a member of Britain's gold-medal winning team at the 1968 MexicoOlympic Games and won the 1970 Badminton championship riding 'The Poacher', and later in 1970 was a member of the British winning team at the world championships. At the 1972 MunichOlympic Games he won a gold medal in both the individual and team events riding 'Laurieston'. Research Richard Meade
Richard Monckton Milton Milnes (Lord Houghton, Baron Houghton) was an English writer and academic. He was born in 1809 at Yorkshire and died in 1885. Educated at Cambridge, he made some reputation as a writer of verse, essays, memoirs, etc, but it was rather his social and conversational powers, and his kindly patronage of literary aspirants, than the merit of his writings which gave him his prominent position in London society. In 1837 he entered parliament as member for Pontefract, at first as a Tory, but afterwards as a supporter of Russell and Palmerston. He was an active member of numerous learned societies and institutions, president of the Royal Society of Literature, trustee of the British Museum, foreign secretary of the Royal Academy, etc. Research Richard Milnes
Richard Montgomery was a British soldier. He was born in 1736 and died in 1775. He went to America as a British soldier in 1757. He was engaged at Louisbourg in 1758 and at Montreal in 1760. He retired from the British army in 1772. He was a delegate to the Provincial Congress in New York City in 1775. He was appointed brigadier-general in the Continental army. The disability of General Philip Schuyler placed him in command of the expedition to Canada in 1775, and he captured Fort Chambly, St John's and Montreal. He led the assault on Quebec, and was killed at the first discharge of the British artillery. Research Richard Montgomery
Richard Morris was an English scholar. He was born in 1833 at London and died in 1894. He was educated at Battersea College; became lecturer on the English language and literature at King's College School in 1869; took holy orders, and became curate of Christ Church, Camberwell, in 1871, and headmaster of the Royal Masonic Institution for boys in 1875. He did excellent service to the national study of English, and was long an important member of the Early English Text and Chaucer Societies. He edited Early English Alliterative Poems, Old English Homilies, Legends of the Holy Rood, the works of Chaucer and Spenser, Specimens of Early English, etc, and wrote several grammatical works. He was also a distinguished Pali scholar. Research Richard Morris
Richard Nash (known as Beau Nash) was an English celebrity. He was born in 1674 at Swansea and died in 1761. He was master of the ceremonies at Bath, and for many years was solearbiter of fashion. He died in comparative indigence. Research Richard Nash
Richard Neville (Earl of Warwick) was an English Baron. He was born in 1428 and died in 1471. He was the son of an earl of Salisbury, and became Earl of Warwick by marrying the heiress of the title and estates. Taking the Yorkist side in the Wars of the Roses, he was the main instrument in placing Edward IV on the throne in 1461 in place of Henry VI. He was nicknamed the king-maker and distinguished himself at St Albans under the Duke of York in 1455. Quarrelling with Edward IV on account of the latter's marriage, he went over to Henry's side, and was able to place him again on the throne but he was defeated and slain by Edward IV at Barnet in 1471. Research Richard Neville
Sir Richard Nicolls was an English colonial governor. He was born in 1634 and died in 1672. He went to America with a fleet from England in 1664. New Netherlands surrendered to him without resistance, and he remained Governor until his resignation in 1667. He changed the name to New York, published the first code of English law in America, established English municipal government in the city, and managed the affairs of the colony most creditably. Research Richard Nicolls
Richard Milhous Nixon was 37th President of the USA. Richard Nixon was born in 1913 at Yorba Linda, California and died in 1994. A lawyer by training, he became a Republican politician and leading member of the oppressive 'Un-American Activities Committee'. As a politician he persistently discredited his rivals by making false public claims that they were Communists or Communist sympathisers. He became president in 1968, and was re-elected in 1972 though in 1974 he was forced to resign after it became known that he was involved in a break-in at Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate building, an affair that became known as the 'Watergate Affair'. Research Richard Nixon
Richard Oastler was a British social reformer. He was born in 1789 and died in 1861. He campaigned against child labour and in 1847 helped to achieve the ten-hour day. Research Richard Oastler
Richard Oswald was an Englisg diplomat. He was born in 1705 and died in 1784. He was appointed by Great Britain diplomatic agent in 1782 to negotiate the treaty of peace with the United States which was signed at Paris in 1783. Research Richard Oswald
Sir Richard Owen was an English comparative anatomist and palaeontologist. He was born in 1804 at Lancaster and died in 1892. Educated at LancasterGrammar School and the medical schools of Edinburgh, Paris, and London, having settled in the metropolis he became assistantcurator of the Hunterian Museum. In 1834 he was appointed professor of comparative anatomy at St Bartholomew's Hospital; in 1836 professor in anatomy and physiology at the Royal College of Surgeons, and in 1856 superintendent of the natural history department in the British Museum, from which fast post he retired in 1883.
He was the greatest palaeontologist since Cuvier, and as a comparative anatomist was a worthy successor to Hunter. He was a voluminous writer on his special subjects, and an honorary fellow of nearly every learned society of Europe and America. Among his works are Lectures on the Comparative Anatomy of the Invertebrate Animals; Lectures on the Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrate Animals; History of British Fossil Mammals and Birds; History of British Fossil Reptiles; Principles of Comparative Osteology; On the Anatomy of Vertebrates; The Fossil Reptiles of South Africa; The Fossil Mammals of Australia; etc. Research Richard Owen
Richard Penn was an English colonial governor. He was born in 1735 and died in 1811. He went to America from England in 1763. He was Lieutenant-Governor of Pennsylvania from 1771 to 1773. His rule was marked by unprecedented prosperity. Research Richard Penn
Richard Person was an Emglish critic and classical scholar. He was born in 1759 at East Ruston, Norfolk and died in 1808. In 1777 he entered Trinity College, Cambridge where he highly distinguished himself in classics, and in 1782 took the degree of BA and was chosen to a fellowship. This he resigned in 1792, since it could no longer be held by a layman, and Richard Person declined to take holy orders. Soon after he was unanimously elected Greek professor, a post which however, brought him an income of only 40 pounds sterling a year. He edited and annotated several Greek works, especially four of the dramas of Euripides, and enjoyed the reputation of being one of the best Greek scholars and critics of the age, not with standing which he experienced little patronage, a circumstance partly attributable to his intemperate habits. In 1805 he was appointed librarian to the London Institution. He was familiar with English literature, and wrote for some of the chief periodicals of the day. Research Richard Person
Richard Peters was an American jurist and politician. He was born in 1744 and died in 1828. He was secretary of the ContinentalBoard of War from 1776 to 1781, represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress from 1783 to 1783, and was a US district judge from 1789 to 1828. Research Richard Peters
Richard Price was an English religious and economical writer. He was born in 1723 and died in 1791. For most of his life he was a pastor to various Dissenting churches in the metropolis. He commenced his literary career in 1758 by his Review of the Principal Difficulties in Morals, which was followed by Four Dissertations on the Importance of Christianity, the Nature of Historical Evidence, and Miracle, etc (1767). In 1769 he received the diploma of DD from the University of Glasgow, having four years previously been chosen a fellow of the Royal Society. In 1771 appeared his Observations on Reversionary Payments and Annuities, and later the celebrated Northampton Mortality Tables. He also published a number of political tracts, in one of which he advocated the cause of the American colonies in 1776. When Pitt became prime-minister he consulted Richard Price in his schemes for the reduction of the national debt, and the establishment of the sinking fund was the result of his recommendation. At the commencement of the French Revolution, in a sermon published in 1789 On the Love of Country, he warmly expressed his delight at the emancipation of the French people. This discourse produced Burke's Reflections, in which Richard Price was severely treated. Research Richard Price
Richard Anthony Proctor was an English astronomer. He was born in 1837 at Chelsea and died in 1888. He was educated at King's College, London, and at Cambridge University. Having devoted himself specially to the study of astronomy, he published a number of valuable works on the subject, including Saturn and its System, Handbook of the Stars, Half Hours with the Telescope, Half Hours with the Stars, Other Worlds than Ours (a very popular work), Light Science for Leisure Hours, The Transits of Venus, The Cycloid and Cycloid Curves, several Star Atlases, The Universe of Stars, The Moon, Old and New Astronomy, etc, besides two treatises on whist. In his later years he resided a good deal in the United States. Research Richard Proctor
Sir Richard Quain was an Irish physician. He was born in 1816 at Mallow, county Cork and died in 1898. In 1837 he began his medical course in University College, London, where he gained great distinction, graduating MB in 1840, and MD in 1842, and being elected fellow in 1843. He became a member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1846, fellow in 1851, and subsequently vice-president and member of the council. For a number of years he was connected with the BromptonHospital for diseases of the chest. In 1863 he was appointed a crown representative on the General Medical Council, of which he was president from 1891 until his death in 1898. He was elected FRS in 1871, and was created a baronet in 1891. Besides publishing several medical treatises he edited a well-known Dictionary of Medicine. Research Richard Quain
Richard Redgrave was an English painter. He was born in 1804 at London and died in 1888. He became a student of the Royal Academy in 1826. His first notable picture was Gulliver at the Farmer's Table; in 1810, when he exhibited The Reduced Gentleman's Daughter, he was elected an Associate, and in 1851 became a Royal Academician. Among his other pictures may be named The Moor-hen's Haunt (1847); The Trout's Dark Haunt (1848); The Solitary Pool (1849); The Attiring of Griselda (1850); The Poet's Study (1851); An Old English Homestead (1854).
From being head-master of the Government School of Design he became inspector-general of art schools, and arranged the Museum of Art at South Kensington. He was joint author with his brother of A Century of Painters (1866). Among his later pictures were Sermons in Stones (1871); The Oak of the Mill Head (1876); Friday Street, Wotton (1878); and Hidden Among the Hills (1881). Research Richard Redgrave
Richard Rothe was a German Protestant theologian. He was born in 1799 and died in 1867. From 1823 until 1828 he was chaplain to the Prussianembassy at Rome. He afterwards held various professorial posts at Wittenberg (1828-1837), Heidelberg (1837-1849), and Bonn (1849-1854), and finally returned to Heidelberg, where he died. The work upon which his fame principally rests is his Theologische Ethik, a complete system of speculative theology, published in 1845-1848, occupying a middle position between the rationalistic and orthodox schools of theology. According to Richard Rothe the rational man is developed by the processes of animalevolution, but spirit is a super-physical development. Research Richard Rothe
Richard Rowlands was a Welshman hanged at Beaumaris for the murder of his father-in-law in 1862. Richard Rowlands protested his innocence to the moment he died, and examination of the case reveals that he was innocent of the crime and convicted upon the word of a single witness. Research Richard Rowlands
Richard Rush was an American statesman. He was born in 1780 at Philadelphia and died in 1859. He was a son of Benjamin Rush. In 1811 he became controller of the United States Treasury, and from 1814 to 1817 was attorney-general in Madison's Cabinet. From 1817 to 1825 he acted as minister to England; in 1825 to 1829 secretary to the Treasury; and minister to France from 1847 to 1851. Research Richard Rush
Richard Savage was an English poet. He was born in 1697 and died in 1743. Believed to be the illegitimate son of Richard Savage (Lord Rivers) and the Countess of Macclesfield, the mysterious story of his birth and the protracted persecution to which he claimed to have been subjected by his mother, although believed by Dr. Johnson, have not been above suspicion. What is certain is that he was apprenticed to a shoemaker, and displayed his literary capacities in the two comedies of Woman's a Riddle and Love in a Veil. These efforts procured him favourable notice, and he afterwards produced his tragedy of Sir Thomas Overbury, and the poems, the Bastard and the Wanderer. In 1727 he was condemned to death for killing a Mr Sinclair in a tavern brawl, but his pardon was procured. Thereafter he lived upon the charity of his friends and a pension from the government of 50 pounds but his dissipation and extravagance eventually brought him to a debtors' prison in Bristol, where he subsequently died. Research Richard Savage
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was a British dramatist and politician. He was born in 1751 at Dublin and died in 1816. His father was Thomas Sheridan, the actor, and latterly teacher of elocution. He was sent for a short time to a school in Dublin, and in 1762 to Harrow, where he did not distinguish himself. In 1772 he eloped to France with a Miss Linley, a young singer of great beauty and accomplishments. Shortly before his marriage he had entered at the Middle Temple, but failed to pass his law course and he was never called to the bar. Without financial means or a profession he applied himself to composition for the stage, and on the 17th of January, 1775, brought out The Rivals, which, after a temporary failure from bad acting, attained a brilliant success. On the 21st of November he produced the comic opera, The Duenna, which had a run of seventy-five nights, an unprecedented success. In 1776 he managed to find money to become one of the proprietors of Drury Lane Theatre, where, in 1777, appeared The School for Scandal, his most famous comedy, and in 1779 The Critic, a farce, which like The Duenna and The School for Scandal was a model of its kind, and shared in their brilliant success. His dramatic reputation, and especially his social gifts, brought him into intimacy with Fox, Burke, Windham, and other Whig leaders, and in 1780 Fox got him returned to parliament for Stafford.
In 1782 he became under-secretary of state; in 1783 secretary of the treasury; in 1806 treasurer of the navy and privy-councilor. He never became a statesman, but his fame soon rose high as an orator. His greatest effort was his 'Begum' speech on the impeachment of WarrenHastings made in 1787, which Pitt said 'surpassed all the eloquence of ancient and modern times.'
His wife died in 1792 and in 1795 he married a Miss Ogle, a wealthy daughter of the Dean of Winchester, providing him with a large income. He was on terms of intimacy with the Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV), which did not improve his naturally dissolute and extravagant habits. His parliamentary career ended in 1812, and the remainder of his life was constantly harassed by debt and disappointment. He died in 1816, having narrowly escaped arrest for debt on his death-bed.
Sheridan's plays are especially distinguished for their wit, which, though brilliant, is easy and natural. In plot and character there is little originality, but admirable selection. His wit was studiedly polished and refined, and what he borrowed was, if not improved, always at least brilliantly set. Research Richard Sheridan
Richard Shilleto was an English classical scholar. He was born in 1809 at Yorkshire and died in 1867. He was educated at Repton and at Shrewsbury school and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He graduated as second classic in 1832 and took orders and lived at Cambridge as a coach and lecturer. He was elected a fellow of Peterhouse in 1867. A consummate Greek scholar, he published very few works or editions. Research Richard Shilleto
Sir Richard Solomon was a South African statesman. He was born in 1850 at Cape Town and died in 1913. Educated at Cape Town and at Cambridge, he was called to the bar of Inner Temple in 1879. Returning to South Africa, he was elected to the Cape Colony house of assembly, and was attorney-general from 1898 until 1900, holding the same post in the Transvaal government from 1902 until 1907. He was acting lieutenant-governor of the Transvaal from 1905 until 1906 and agent-general in London for the Transvaal from 1907 until 1910 when he was appointed high commissioner of the Union of South Africa, a post he held until his death. He was knighted in 1901. Research Richard Solomon
Richard Somers was an American sailor. He was born in 1778 and died in 1804. He was given command of the Nautilus in Treble's squadron during the Tripolitan War from 1803 to 1804. He commanded a division of gunboats, and was distinguished for gallantry. He attempted to destroy the Tripolitan fleet by exploding a bomb-vessel in their midst, however, the vessel exploded prematurely killing all on board. Research Richard Somers
Sir Richard Steele was an Irish author, founder, editor and, with Joseph Addison, chief contributor of 'The Tatler' and also 'The Spectator' and 'The Guardian' (both of which he founded together with Joseph Addison). He was born in 1672 at Dublin and died in 1729. His father was an attorney in Dublin and by the influence of his uncle, who was secretary to the Duke of Ormonde, Richard Steele was educated at the Charter-house, where he formed a friendship with Joseph Addison, and at Oxford. After three years spent at the university he left without taking his degree, and in 1691 enlisted as a private in the Royal Horse Guards.
He soon after gained the favour and patronage of Lord Cutts, colonel of the Coldstream Guards, who made him his secretary and aide-de-camp, and appointed him an ensign in his own regiment. In 1702 he obtained a captaincy in Lord Lucas's newly-raised regiment of fusiliers. Shortly before this time in 1701 he published a prose treatise called The Christian Hero, the object of which was to reform the manners of the time. Its severe morality, however, brought ridicule upon its author (who was by no means over-strict in his own conduct), and, to establish his character as a wit, he wrote the comedies of The Funeral, The Lying Lover, The Tender Husband, and a number of years afterwards he added to these The Conscious Lovers.
In 1707 he was appointed, by the influence of Joseph Addison, to the editorship of the Gazette. Two years later he started, and was afterwards aided by Joseph Addison in maintaining, a light miscellany called The Tatler, which, with its successors The Spectator and The Guardian, established the fame of the two friends as the first of English essayists.
As a zealousWhig Richard Steele entered parliament, but he was expelled in 1714 for the alleged sedition of his pamphlet called The Crisis. In the following year his fortunes improved when the Hanoverian party came into power, and he became deputy-lieutenant of Middlesex, and was knighted. Various were the journals which he started, such as The Reader, The Englishman, Town Talk, and The Plebeian, and among his pamphlets was an Apology for myself and my writings published in 1714. Notwithstanding the lucrative positions which he held under the government, and the fact that he received a fortune with both his wives, the impulsive free-handedness of Richard Steele brought him constantly into financial difficulties. For this reason he was obliged to retire from London into Wales, where he died. Research Richard Steele
Richard Stockton was an American jurist. He was born in 1730 and died in 1781. He was called to the bar in 1754 and attained great reputation. He became a member of the New Jersey Executive Council in 1768 and a Judge of the Provincial Supreme Court in 1774. He hoped for a reconciliation between the colonies and England, and wrote 'An Expedient for the Settlement of the American Disputes', in which he proposed a plan of colonial self-government. He was a delegate from New Jersey to the Continental Congress from 1776 to 1777, and signed the American Declaration of Independence. He was appointed to inspect the Northern army, but was captured by Loyalists. Research Richard Stockton
Richard Henry Stoddard was an American poet and critic. He was born in 1825 at Hingham, Massachusetts and died in 1903. While working at an ironfoundry he privately published a volume of his verse which attracted attention and obtained him a post in the Custom House which he held from 1853 until 1870. Research Richard Stoddard
Sir Richard Strachey was an Anglo-Indian administrator. He was born in 1817 at Sutton Court, Somerset and died in 1908. He entered the service of the East India Company in 1834 and in 1846 served with distinction in the campaign against the Sikhs, and afterwards explored in the Himalayas paying special attention to botany and geology. In 1856 he became a secretary in the Indian Public Works Department, being made head in 1862. He was made a GCSI in 1897 and did much to develop railways and irrigation in India. Research Richard Strachey
Richard Talbot was an Irish soldier and the Earl of Tyrconnel. He was born in 1630 and died in 1691. The son of Sir William Talbot, an Irish politician, he belonged to a family settled in Ireland for over 400 years. After fighting in Ireland he left the country on the defeat of the royalist cause and for the next few years was serving the royal family. In 1660 he returned to England and was attached to James, duke of York, serving with the fleet. When James became king, Richard Talbot, in the full confidence of his master, was made commander-in-chief in Ireland where he had held a command since 1681, and was created earl of Tyrconnel. In 1691 he was created duke of Tyrconnel by James II, but the title was only recognised by the Jacobites. As lord deputy after 1687 he worked to secure Ireland for James, which he did by displacing as many Protestants as he could from both civil and military employment. Research Richard Talbot
Sir Richard Tangye was an English industrialist. He was born in 1833 at Cornwall and died in 1906. The son of a farmer, he was educated at a school run by the Society of Friends, afterwards becoming a teacher and then a clerk at Birmingham before in 1856 starting his own business. Together with his brother George he developed his business into a large concern making machinery of almost every kind. He was knighted in 1894. Sir Richard Tangye was also noted for his collection of Cromwellian relics. Research Richard Tangye
Richard Grenville Temple (1st Earl Temple) was a British politician. He was born in 1711 and died in 1779. Educated at Eton, he became member of parliament for Buckingham in 1732. In 1752 he inherited the title of Earl of Temple from his mother, Countess Temple. In 1756 he became first lord of the admiralty after Pitt had married his sister. In 1757 he was made lord privy seal, resigning with Pitt in 1761. Research Richard Temple
Richard Chenevin Trench was a British divine and philologist. He was born in 1807 at Dublin and died in 1886. Educated at Harrow and at Trinity College, Cambridge he was ordained and became curate to Samuel Wilberforce and rector of Itchenstoke before being made professor of divinity at King's College, London in 1846. In 1856 he was made dean of Westminster, and in 1864 archbishop of Dublin, resigning in 1884 due to ill health. He was famed as a poet and also as a writer. His works include Notes on the Parables (1841), Notes on the Miracles (1846), On the Study of Words (1851), Proverbs and their Lessons (1853), Synonyms of the New Testament
(1854), English Past and Present (1855), On Plutarch (1874:), Lectures on Mediaeval ChurchHistory (1878), and many others. Research Richard Trench
Richard Trevithick was an English engineer and inventor. He was born in 1771 at Illogan, Cornwall and died in 1833. Trained as a mining engineer he made a study of the steam engine and quickly started to make improvements to its design. He invented the high-pressure steam engine in 1796 and in 1800 he invented a double-acting high-pressure engine which came into widespread use in the mining districts of Cornwall and south Wales. In 1801 he brought out a steamroad carriage, the first of its kind, and afterwards he built a number of others, including locomotives for running on rails. In 1816 he went to Peru to superintend the installing of his engines in the silver mines, but lost everything he posessed in the war of independence. He returned to England and in 1827 assisted Robert Stephenson before dieing in poverty in 1833. Research Richard Trevithick
Richard Valpy was an English scholar. He was born in 1754 and died in 1836. He was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford and graduated in 1776. He entered the church, and for several years held a living at Bury St Edmunds. From 1781 to 1830 he was head-master of Reading Grammar school, and compiled a Latin and a Greek grammar, and several classical text-books, which enjoyed a wide reputation. Research Richard Valpy
Richard Varick was an American politician. He was born in 1753 and died in 1831. He was secretary to General Schuyler in the Northern Department from 1776 to 1780. He was Washington's recording secretary from 1781 to 1783, and was Mayor of New York from 1791 to 1801. Research Richard Varick
Sir Richard Wallace was an English art collector. He was born in 1818 at London and died in 1890. He was probably a natural aon of the third Marchioness of Hertford, After amassing and dispersing a splendid collection of art objects, he assisted his half-brother, the fourth Marquis of Hertford, to form a still finer collection. On the marquis' death in 1870 he became heir to this collection and also to Hertford House, in London, a house in Paris, and estates in Ireland. His services during the siege of Paris earned him a baronetcy in 1871, and in 1878 he was created a KCB. He sat in parliament as member for Lisburn during 1878-1885. After his death, his widow, daughter of a French officer, at her death in 1897 bequeathed the Wallace collection to the British government, which acquired Hertford House as a home for it. Research Richard Wallace
Richard Everard Webster (Viscount Alverstone, created Lord Alverstone in 1900) was an English lawyer and politician. He was born in 1842 and died in 1915. Educated at Charterhouse and Trinity College, Cambridge and was called to the bar in 1868, entering Lincolns Inn. and in 1878 he became a QC. He was renowned as one of the most brilliant and successful lawyers of his time, chiefly in commercial, railway, and patent cases.
In 1885 he entered the House of Commons as Conservative member for Launceston, and later the same year was member for the Isle of Wight, remaining member until 1900. He was appointed attorney-general three times under LordSalisbury (June 1885 to January 1886, August 1886-1892, June 1895-August 1900),. He represented the British government in the arbitrations relating to the Bering Sea with Sir Charles Russell in 1893, and Venezuela (1898-1899); was for a few months Master of the Rolls in 1900 and transferred to Lord Chief Justice in 1900, a position he held until 1913.
In 1903 presided over the tribunal which was constituted under a treaty between Great Britain and the United States to define the Canadian and American boundaries of Alaska. As Attorney-general he conducted what was practically the prosecution in the ParnellCommission (1888-1889). Research Richard Webster
Richard Colley Wellesley (Viscount, Vmarquis and Earl of Mornington) was an Irish statesman. He was born in 1760 at Dublin and died in 1842. The eldest son of Garrett, first earl of Mornington, and the eldest brother of Arthur Wellesley (the Duke of Wellington) he was educated at Eton and at University College, Oxford. On his majority he took his seat as Earl of Mornington in the Irish House of Peers, and three years after was returned to the British House of Commons as member for Beeralston. Thus, by a curious anomaly, he was at once a peer and a commoner. He distinguished himself in 1789 in the debates on the regency question. In this discussion, his defence of the royal prerogative, made known to George III. after his recovery, pleased him so much that the earl at the next general election was returned for Windsor, and made a member both of the Irish and the English privy-council. These were only preliminaries to the higher appointment of Governor-general of India, which was conferred upon him in 1797, along with a British peerage under the title of BaronWellesley. His administration forms an era in the history of the British Indian Empire. He returned to England in 1805, and in 1809 became foreign secretary under Perceval. In 1812 he resigned his place, chiefly because he was in favour of Catholic emancipation. He did not return to office until 1822, when he became Lord-lieutenant of Ireland. This post he retained until 1827. In the Grey ministry he again in 1833 became lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, but finally retired from public life in 1835. Research Richard Wellesley
Sir Richard Westmacott was an English sculptor. He was born in 1775 at London and died in 1856. In 1793 he went to Rome to study under Canova, and made such progress that he gained the pope's annual gold medal for sculpture. He also obtained a first prize for sculpture at Florence. In 1798 he returned to England, and rose rapidly in his profession. Many of the monuments in St Paul's are from his chisel. He also designed the Achilles in Hyde Park, the statue of LordErskine in Lincoln's Inn Old Hall, that of Nelson in the Liverpool Exchange, besides statues of Addison, Pitt, etc. He was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1805, a full member in 1816, and in 1827 succeeded Flaxman as lecturer on sculpture. He was knighted in 1837 Research Richard Westmacott
Richard Whately was an English divine and writer . He was born in 1787 at London and died in 1863. The son of the reverend Joseph Whately of Nonsuch Park, Surrey, prebendary of Bristol, he was educated at a private school at Bristol, and at Oriel College, Oxford. He graduated BA in 1808, and in 1810 won the English essayprize. In 1819 he made his first appearance as an author by publishing his famous Historic Doubts relative to Napoleon Bonaparte.
In 1822 Richard Whately was appointed Bampton lecturer at Oxford, and delivered eight lectures On the Use and Abuse of Party Feeling in Matters of Religion. He held the living of Halesworth in Suffolk in 1822-1825, and was then appointed principal of St. Alban's Hall, Oxford. In the latter year he published Essays on Some of the Peculiarities of the Christian Religion. A second series of essays On Some Difficulties in the Writings of St. Paul and Other Parts of the New Testament, came out in 1828; and a third series, The Errors of Romanism traced to their Origin in Human Nature, in 1830. In 1827 was published The Elements of Logic, and the scarcely less popular Elements of Rhetoric in 1828. Both of these works were written originally for the Encyclopaedia Metropolitana. He occupied the chair of political economy at Oxford in 1830-1831, and afterwards published Introductory Lectures on Political Economy. In 1831 he was appointed archbishop of Dublin, a position in which he did much for national education and other worthy objects in Ireland, including the foundation and endowment of a chair of political economy in Trinity College. Besides the works already mentioned he wrote or edited many others. Research Richard Whately
Richard Whittington (popularly known as Dick Whittington) was an English coalmerchant and lordmayor of London. He was born in 1358 and died in 1423. The son of a Gloucestershireknight, in 1380 he was a substantial city mercer, and records exist of him having lent large sums of money to Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. He was lordmayor in 1397 and again in 1406. His benefactions aided St Bartholomew's Hospital, Greyfriars library and the Guildhall. He rebuilt Newgate, and founded a small hospital and college (which was suppressed in 1548) near his parishchurch of St Michael de Paternoster. Details of his life were recorded in the book 'The Model Merchant of the Middle Ages' by Samuel Lysons, published in 1860. In the popular legend, Dick whittington was accompanied by a cat. It is very likely that the term cat refers not to a feline animal, but rather to a type of ship used for transporting coal, the coaltrade being how Dick Whittington made his fortune. Research Richard Whittington
Richard Wilson was an English landscape-painter. He was born in 1714 and died in 1782. After being a pupil for some years to a portrait-painter in London, he went to Italy, where he met Zuccarelli, who persuaded him to devote himself wholly to landscape. Having stayed some time at Rome and Naples he returned to England in 1755, and settled in the metropolis of London; but his paintings were treated with indifference, and he himself lived in abject poverty until his appointment as librarian to the Royal Academy in 1776. He is now, however, regarded as one of the first of English landscape-painters. Among his best works are the Niobe, the Ruins of the Villa of Maecenas, Phaethon, Snowdown, the View of Rome from the Villa Madama, etc. Research Richard Wilson
Richard Adolf Zsigmondy was an Austrian-born German chemist. He was born in 1865 at Vienna and died in 1929. He studied at Munich, staying in Germany, becoming professor at Gottingen in 1908. Working at the Glass Manufacturing Company in Jena from 1897 to 1900, Zsigmondy became concerned with coloured and turbid glasses and he invented a type of milkglass. This aroused his interest in colloids, because it is colloidal inclusions that give glass its colour or opacity. His belief that the suspended particles in goldsols are kept apart by electric charges was generally accepted, and the sols became model systems for much of his later work on colloids. He devised and built an ultramicroscope in 1903. The microscope's illumination was placed at right angles to the axis. Zsigmondy's arrangement made it possible to observe particles with a diameter of 10- millionth of a millimetre. Using the ultramicroscope Zsigmondy was able to count the number of particles in a given volume and indirectly estimate their sizes. He showed that colour
changes in sols reflect changes in particle size caused by coagulation when salts are added, and that the addition of agents such as gelatin stabilizes the colloid by inhibiting coagulation. He won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1925. Research Richard Zsigmondy
Ricimer was a Roman general of barbarian descent who ruled the western Roman Empire by means of emperors whom he set up and put down at will. He dethroned Avitus in 456, and appointed Majorianus emperor, whom he had assassinated in 461. He then placed Livius Severus on the throne, and on his death in 465 he carried on the government for some time alone. In 467 Anthemius was put on the throne, and gave his daughter in marriage to Ricimer. The latter soon took up arms against his father-in-law, who was assassinated in 472. Ricimer died soon after. Research Ricimer
Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian singer. She was born in 1988 at St Michael, Barbados. She was introduced by a New Yorkrecord producer who was visiting Barbados on holiday, and he introduced her to the world of professional music. Research Rihanna More pictures of Rihanna
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