R/x
R/x, symbol used on medical prescriptions.
21st Century Webster's Family Encyclopedia - Romanesque art and architecture to Sadducees
R/x
R/x, symbol used on medical prescriptions.
Roman Forum
Roman Forum See: Forum.
Roman gods
Roman gods See: Mythology.
Roman numerals
Roman numerals, system of numerical representation based on symbols invented by the ancient Romans c.500 B.C.
Roman Republic
Roman Republic See: Rome, Ancient.
Roman walls
Roman walls, walls constructed by the ancient Romans in what is now Germany, Romania, and northern England.
Romanesque art and architecture
Romanesque art and architecture, artistic style prevalent in Christian western Europe from c.A.D. 950 to 1200.
Romania
Romania, or Rumania, republic in southeastern Europe occupying the northeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula and bordering the Black Sea. Once part of the Roman Empire, its language is directly descended from Latin and closely resembles modern Italian. Although Romania was a communist country and a member of the Warsaw Pact, its foreign and economic policies were independent of those of the Soviet…
Romanov
Romanov, ruling dynasty of Russia (1613–1917).
Grigoriy Vasilyevich Romanov
Romanov, Grigoriy Vasilyevich (1923– ), former USSR Communist Party official and member of the Politburo (1976–1985).
Epistle to the Romans
Romans, Epistle to the, New Testament book written by Saint Paul to the Christians of Rome (A.D. 58).
Romanticism
Romanticism, 19th-century European artistic movement. Its values of emotion, intuition, imagination, and individualism were in opposition to the ideals of restraint, reason, and harmony promoted by classicism. The word “romantic” was first applied to art by Friedrich von Schlegel in 1798. It was later used as a label for works emphasizing the subjective, spiritual, or fantastic; thos…
Sigmund Romberg
Romberg, Sigmund (1887–1951), Hungarian-born U.S. composer.
Rome
Rome (Italian: Roma; pop. 2,723,300), capital and largest city of Italy, located on the rolling plain of the Roman Campagna, 15 mi (24 km) from the Thyrrenian Sea. Rome has been a center of Western civilization for over 2,000 years. “The Eternal City” was capital of the Roman Empire and is of unique religious significance as the site of the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church i…
Rome
Rome (pop. 43,826), city in Oneida County in central New York State.
Ancient Rome
Rome, Ancient, city-state in central Italy that grew into a vast empire.
Erwin Rommel
Rommel, Erwin (1891–1944), German field marshal, named the “Desert Fox” for his tactical genius as commander of the Afrika Korps (1941–43).
George Romney
Romney, George (1734–1802), English portrait painter, rival of Sir Joshua Reynolds in late-18th-century London.
Carlos Pena Romulo
Romulo, Carlos Pena (1901–85), Filipino journalist and statesman.
Romulus Augustulus
Romulus Augustulus (b. c.A.D. 461), last Western Roman emperor (475–6), puppet of his father Orestes.
Romulus and Remus
Romulus and Remus, mythical founders of Rome (by tradition in 753 B.C.), twin sons of Rhea Silvia, descendant of Aeneas, by the god Mars.
Rondo
Rondo, musical form in which a main theme is repeatedly stated between two contrasting sections.
Pierre de Ronsard
Ronsard, Pierre de (1524–85), French “Prince of Poets,” leader of the influential group of poets called Pléiade.
Linda Ronstadt
Ronstadt, Linda (1946– ), U.S. singer.
Roof
Roof, cover for the top of a building.
Rook
Rook (Corvus frugilegus), European bird in the crow family.
Roosevelt Campobello International Park
Roosevelt Campobello International Park , jointly administered by the United States and Canada, covers about 2,700 acres (1,090 hectares) on Campobello Island, southwest New Brunswick, Canada.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Roosevelt, Eleanor (1884–1962), U.S. humanitarian, wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and niece of Theodore Roosevelt.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (1882–1945), 32nd president of the United States. Roosevelt was elected to four terms, more than any other U.S. president, and led the nation through two major crises: a severe depression and a global war. His flexible, experimental approach to politics enabled him to lead the U.S., with widespread support of the people, through one of the most formative periods i…
Nicholas J. Roosevelt
Roosevelt, Nicholas J. (1767–1854), U.S. engineer who, at the request of Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston, built and operated the New Orleans, the first Mississippi paddle-wheel steamer (1811).
Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt, Theodore (1858–1919), 26th president of the United States. Widely known as “Teddy” or “T.R.,” he was one of the most popular, colorful, and controversial presidents, and the youngest (at 42) ever inaugurated. He also was a prolific writer. Roosevelt was born into a well-to-do family. A sickly child, he built up his strength through strenuous exercise. …
Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
Roosevelt, Theodore, Jr. (1887–1944), U.S. politician, explorer, soldier, and author; son of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Root
Root, quantities that when taken a designated number of times will result in a specific quantity.
Root
Root, part of a plant that absorbs water and nutrients and anchors the plant.
Elihu Root
Root, Elihu (1845–1937), U.S. statesman.
John Wellborn Root
Root, John Wellborn (1850–91), U.S. architect, member of the Chicago School.
Rope
Rope, thick, strong cord made from twisted lengths of fiber.
Ned Rorem
Rorem, Ned (1923– ), U.S. composer of melodic art-songs whose texts are drawn from the works of 20th-century U.S. poets.
Rosario
Rosario (pop. 1,096,300), city in east-central Argentina on the Paraná River.
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Rosas, Juan Manuel de (1793–1877), Argentine dictator, governor of Buenos Aires province (1835–52), who built up a private army of gauchos (cowboys).
Quintus Roscius
Roscius, Quintus (Quintus Roscius Gallus; d. 62 B.C.), Roman actor of such renown that “Roscius” was long a compliment for actors.
Rose
Rose, popular name for various woody shrubs and vines of the genus Rosa, with tough thorns and colorful flowers.
Rose chafer
Rose chafer, or rose bug (Macrodactylus subspinosus), beetle found in the eastern and central regions of the United States.
Ernestine Potowski Rose
Rose, Ernestine Potowski (1810–92), advocate for women's rights.
Rose of Jericho
Rose of Jericho See: Resurrection plant.
Saint Rose of Lima
Rose of Lima, Saint (1586–1617), born in Lima, Peru, first canonized saint in the New World (1671) and patron saint of South America.
Pete Rose
Rose, Pete (1941– ), U.S. baseball player.
Rose of Sharon
Rose of Sharon, or Althaea (Hibiscus syriacus), shrub in the mallow family.
Rose window
Rose window See: Stained glass.
Roseau
Roseau (pop. 11,000), capital city of Dominica, one of the Windward Islands in the Caribbean Sea.
William Starke Rosecrans
Rosecrans, William Starke (1819–98), Union general in the U.S.
Rosefish
Rosefish, or Norway Haddock, important food fish of the family Scorpaenidae.
Rosemary
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), evergreen shrub of the mint family, found in southern Europe and western Asia.
Rosenberg
Rosenberg, husband and wife, the only U.S. citizens put to death in peacetime for espionage.
Alfred Rosenberg
Rosenberg, Alfred (1893–1946), Nazi propagandist and newspaper editor, early associate of Adolf Hitler.
James Albert Rosenquist
Rosenquist, James Albert (1933– ), U.S. painter who turned his early billboard-painting career into a style of art.
Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone, inscribed basalt slab, discovered in 1799, that provided the key to Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Rosewood
Rosewood, any of a genus (Dalbergia) of trees in the pea family.
Rosh Ha-Shanah
Rosh Ha-Shanah (Hebrew, “head of the year”), Jewish New Year, observed on the 1st and 2nd days of the 7th Jewish month, Tishri (Sept.–Oct.).
Rosin
Rosin, resin derived from certain pine trees from North America and Europe.
Betsy Ross
Ross, Betsy (1753–1836), U.S. seamstress who is said to have made, to George Washington's design, the first U.S. flag (1776).
Ross Dependency
Ross Dependency, section of Antarctica on the Ross Sea.
George Ross
Ross, George (1730–79), colonial politician and lawyer from Pennsylvania.
Harold Wallace Ross
Ross, Harold Wallace (1892–1951), founder (1925) and lifetime editor of the New Yorker magazine.
John Ross
Ross, John (1790–1866), Cherokee chief and, from 1839, chief of the united Cherokee nation.
Nellie Tayloe Ross
Ross, Nellie Tayloe (1876–1977), U.S. public official.
Sir James Clark Ross
Ross, Sir James Clark (1800–62), British polar explorer who reachedapoint farther south (78°10'S) than any explorer until 1900.
Sir John Ross
Ross, Sir John (1777–1856), British explorer whose first, unsuccessful expedition in search of the Northwest Passage was made in 1818 with James Ross and William Parry.
Sir Ronald Ross
Ross, Sir Ronald (1857–1932), British physician awarded the 1902 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his investigations of the Anopheles mosquito in relation to the transmission of malaria.
Roberto Rossellini
Rossellini, Roberto (1906–77), Italian film director.
Rossetti
Rossetti, two leading English artists, brother and sister.
Gioacchino Antonio Rossini
Rossini, Gioacchino Antonio (1792–1868), Italian composer best known for his comic operas, especially The Barber of Seville (1816).
Rosso II
Rosso, II (Giovanni Battista di Iacopo di Gasparre; c.1495–1540), Italian painter, one of the founders of mannerism.
Edmond Rostand
Rostand, Edmond (1868–1918), French dramatist, best known for his play Cyrano de Bergerac (1897), which led a romantic revival.
Rostock
Rostock (pop. 246,000), city in eastern Germany, located on the Baltic Sea and the Warnow River.
Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don, or Rostov (pop. 1,025,000), important city in Russia, near the Sea of Azov on the Don River.
Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich
Rostropovich, Mstislav Leopoldovich (1927– ), Soviet cellist, who has had works created for him by many composers.
Theodore Roszak
Roszak, Theodore (1907–81), U.S. sculptor.
Rot
Rot, the name given to several fungi and bacteria that destroy plants.
Rotary engine
Rotary engine, internal-combustion engine that uses rotors instead of pistons. The most important parts of this type of engine are the triangle-shaped rotor and the chamber. The movement of the rotor keeps the chamber divided into three sections in which different stages of the combustion process occur. Depending on the engine, there may be several rotors, each containing its own chambers. The rot…
Rotary International
Rotary International, worldwide service organization, consisting of members from various professions and businesses.
Rotary wing aircraft
Rotary wing aircraft See: Helicopter; V/STOL; Autogiro.
ROTC
ROTC See: Reserve Officers Training Corps.
Rotenone
Rotenone, naturally occurring insecticide.
Mark Roth
Roth, Mark (1951– ), U.S. professional bowler.
Philip Roth
Roth, Philip (1933– ), U.S. writer.
Mark Rothko
Rothko, Mark (1903–70), U.S. painter, a leading abstract expressionist.
Rothschild
Rothschild, family of European Jewish bankers who wielded considerable political influence for nearly two centuries.
Rotifer
Rotifer, or wheel animal, microscopic roundworm only a fraction of an inch long.
Rotterdam
Rotterdam (pop. 602,100), commercial and industrial seaport in South Holland province, second largest city in the Netherlands, and the largest harbor in the world.
Rottweiler
Rottweiler, large work dog, ancestor to the Doberman pinscher.
Georges Rouault
Rouault, Georges (1871–1958), French artist known especially for his intense religious paintings such as The Three Judges (1913).
Rouen
Rouen (pop. 105,500), city and major port on the Seine River, industrial and commercial center, capital of historic Normandy and of today's Seine-Maritime department, northwestern France.
Rough Riders
Rough Riders (1st Regiment of U.S.
Roulette
Roulette, game of chance.
Roumania
Roumania See: Romania.
Round Table
Round Table, table at which the medieval King Arthur and his knights sat. The actual table is claimed as an artifact that can be seen in the remains of a castle in Winchester, England. The 15th-century author Sir Thomas Malory wrote about the Round Table knights in his book Le Morte d'Arthur. The Round Table knights also were mentioned in the 12th-century French history Le Roman de Brut by …
Roundheads
Roundheads, derogatory name for Puritans in the Parliamentary forces in the English Civil War (1642–8).
Roundworm
Roundworm, or nematode, any of more than 10,000 species of worms making up the phylum Nematoda, found in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine forms.
Francis Peyton Rous
Rous, Francis Peyton (1879–1970), U.S. physician.
Henri Rousseau
Rousseau, Henri (1844–1910), self-taught French primitive painter much admired by Gauguin, Picasso, and others.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1712–78), Swiss-born French writer, philosopher, and political theorist. Greatly influenced by Denis Diderot, Rousseau first gained fame from his essay Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts (1750), an attack on the arts as a source for the increased wealth of the rich and an instrument of propaganda. In his Discourse on Inequality (1755), he professed the equality a…
Théodore Rousseau
Rousseau, Théodore (1812–67), French landscape painter, a leader of the Barbizon school.
Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel
Roussel, Albert Charles Paul Marie (1869–1937), French composer.
Carl Thomas Rowan
Rowan, Carl Thomas (1925– ), U.S. journalist and statesman.
Rowing
Rowing, propelling a boat by means of oars operated by hand.
Henry Augustus Rowland
Rowland, Henry Augustus (1848–1901), U.S. physicist and engineer.
Thomas Rowlandson
Rowlandson, Thomas (1756–1827), English caricaturist.
Manuel Roxas y Acuña
Roxas y Acuña, Manuel (1894–1948), Philippine politician.
Gabrielle Roy
Roy, Gabrielle (1909– ), French-Canadian novelist noted for her portrayals of poor urban workers in The Tin Flute (1947) and The Cashier (1955).
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canadian federal police force.
Royal Gorge
Royal Gorge, canyon created by the Arkansas River in south-central Colorado, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas.
Royal Household of Great Britain
Royal Household of Great Britain, those who administer the private business and court life of the monarchy of Great Britain.
Royal palm
Royal palm, tree (genus Roystonea) in the palm family, found in the southeastern United States, the West Indies, and Central America.
Josiah Royce
Royce, Josiah (1855–1916), U.S. philosopher, a major proponent of idealism.
Ruanda-Urundi
Ruanda-Urundi, Belgium-supervised United Nations territory (1946), which later became the independent nations of Rwanda and Burundi (1962).
Rubaiyat
Rubaiyat, collection of quatrains written by Omar Khayyám, an 11th century Persian poet, and translated to English by Edward Fitzgerald (1859).
Rubber
Rubber, elastic substance; that is, one which quickly restores itself to its original size after it has been stretched or compressed.
Rubber plant
Rubber plant, any of several plants, including the Ceará tree, Pará rubber tree, and guayule, that are sources of latex, a milky fluid used to make rubber.
Rubella
Rubella, or German measles, contagious viral disease that presents little danger unless contracted in the first trimester of pregnancy, when it may cause serious damage to a fetus.
Peter Paul Rubens
Rubens, Peter Paul (1577–1640), Flemish artist, one of the greatest baroque painters.
Rubicon
Rubicon, Italian stream, famous for the crossing made by Julius Caesar in 49 B.C.
Rubidium
Rubidium, chemical element, symbol Rb; for physical constants see Periodic Table.
Anton Gregor Rubinstein
Rubinstein, Anton Gregor (1829–94), Russian piano virtuoso and composer.
Arthur Rubinstein
Rubinstein, Arthur (1889–1982), Polish-born U.S. pianist who remained at the top of his profession for over 70 years.
Ruby
Ruby, deep-red gemstone, a variety of corundum colored by a minute proportion of chromium ions, found in Upper Burma, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.
Rudolf I
Rudolf I (1218–91), German king, elected in 1273, who established the Habsburg dynasty by gaining control of Austria and Styria.
Rudolf II
Rudolf II (1552–1612), king of Bohemia and Hungary.
Paul Rudolph
Rudolph, Paul (1918– ), U.S. architect, connected with Yale University (1958–65).
Ruff
Ruff (Philomachus pugnax), bird in the sandpiper family.
Ruffed grouse
Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus), bird in the grouse subfamily, Tetraoni-nae, in the family Phasianidae.
Edmund Ruffin
Ruffin, Edmund (1794–1865), U.S. planter, father of soil chemistry in the United States.
Rugby
Rugby, ball game that originated (1823) at Rugby School in England during a soccer match.
Rugs and carpets
Rugs and carpets, thick, heavy fabric, most often used as a floor covering.
Ruhr
Ruhr, important coal-mining and industrial region in Germany, east of the Rhine River, between the valleys of the Ruhr and Lippe rivers.
Ruhr River
Ruhr River, river and tributary of the Rhine River in Germany.
or Ruysdael Ruisdael Jacob van
Ruisdael, or Ruysdael, Jacob van (1629–82), celebrated Dutch landscape painter and etcher.
Adolfo Ruiz Cortines
Ruiz Cortines, Adolfo (1891–1973), Mexican president (1952–58).
Rules of order
Rules of order See: Parliamentary procedure.
Rumania
Rumania See: Romania.
Rumba
Rumba, or rhumba, ballroom dance of Afro-Cuban origin popular in the 1930s and 1940s.
Benjamin Thompson Rumford Count
Rumford, Benjamin Thompson, Count (1753–1814), U.S.-British scientist best known for his recognition of the relation between work and heat (inspired by observation of heat generated by friction during the boring of a cannon).
Jalal-ed-Din Rumi or Jalal-ud-Din
Rumi, Jalal-ed-Din, or Jalal-ud-Din (1207–73), Sufi poet and mystic of Persia.
Ruminant
Ruminant, any of a group of even-toed, hoofed mammals (e.g., giraffes, camels, goats, cows) that regurgitate and rechew their food after swallowing it.
Rummy
Rummy, group of card games, all of which, including gin rummy and canasta, are variants on a set of fundamental rules.
Rump Parliament
Rump Parliament, in English civil war, remaining members of Parliament after “Pride's Purge” (led by Col.
Donald Henry Rumsfeld
Rumsfeld, Donald Henry (1932– ), powerful U.S. politician and businessman.
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt
Rundstedt, Karl Rudolf Gerd von (1875–1953), German field marshal.
Runes
Runes, characters of a pre-Christian writing system used by the Teutonic tribes of northern Europe from as early as the 3rd century B.C. to as late as the 10th century A.D. and sometimes after.
Running
Running, pastime and popular sport since ancient times.
Runnymede
Runnymede, or Runnimede, meadow in Surrey, South England, on the southern bank of the Thames River.
Damon Runyon
Runyon, Damon (1884–1946), U.S. journalist and writer.
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, vast, mineral-rich region of northwest Canada granted to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670 by Charles II.
Rupture
Rupture See: Hernia.
Rural Electrification Administration
Rural Electrification Administration (REA), U.S.
Rush
Rush, tall, grasslike plant (of various genera) in the family Juncaceae, found in marshes, on lake edges, and in paths and ditches.
Rush-Bagot Convention
Rush-Bagot Convention (1817), negotiations, after the War of 1812, between U.S. diplomat Richard Rush and the British minister to Washington, Sir Charles Bagot, which agreed to mutual U.S.-British disarmament on the Great Lakes.
Benjamin Rush
Rush, Benjamin (1745–1813), U.S. physician and political leader.
Salman Rushdie
Rushdie, Salman (1947– ), British writer and critic born in India.
Mount Rushmore
Rushmore, Mount See: Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
Dean Rusk
Rusk, Dean (1909–94), U.S. politician and educator.
Ernst August Friedrich Ruska
Ruska, Ernst August Friedrich (1906–88), German physicist and teacher, winner, with Gerd Binnig of Germany and Heinrich Rohrer of Switzerland, of the Nobel Prize (1986) for inventing the electron microscope, allowing scientists to study single atoms.
John Ruskin
Ruskin, John (1819–1900).
Russell
Russell, prominent family in British politics. The first member to gain national fame was John Russell (c. 1486–1555), created first earl of Bedford for helping Edward VI to quell a 1549 rebellion. The family fortune, including Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, was acquired during this period. Francis Russell (1593–1641), fourth earl, built the square of Covent Garden (c.1631) and was acti…
Bertrand Russell
Russell, Bertrand (1872–1970), British philosopher, mathematician, and man of letters. Initially a subscriber of idealism he broke away in 1898 and eventually became an empiricist. His most important work was relating logic and mathematics. Russell endeavored to reduce all mathematics to logical principles. His results appeared in The Principles of Mathematics (1903) and, in collaboration w…
Bill Russell
Russell, Bill (1934– ), U.S. basketball player and coach.
Russell Cave National Monument
Russell Cave National Monument, location of artifacts related to pre-Columbian man in northeastern Alabama.
Charles Marion Russell
Russell, Charles Marion (1864–1926), U.S. cowboy painter, sculptor, and author.
George William Russell
Russell, George William (1867–1935), Irish poet, nationalist, mystic, and painter, known by the pseudonym A.E.
Henry Norris Russell
Russell, Henry Norris (1877–1957), U.S. astronomer.
Lillian Russell
Russell, Lillian (Helen Louise Leonard; 1861–1922), U.S. singer, actress, and flamboyant beauty of the “Gay Nineties.” She became a star in the show The Great Mogul (1881).
Lord John Russell
Russell, Lord John (1792–1878), British political figure, leader of the British reform movement.
Richard Brevard Russell
Russell, Richard Brevard (1897–1971), influential U.S.
Russia
Russia See: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; Russian Federation.
Russian
Russian, chief official language of Russia, member of the East Slavic Indo-European languages (Byelorussian and Ukrainian diverged c.1300).
Russian Federation
Russian Federation, or Russia, largest country in the world. Its 6,592,850 sq mi (17,075,400 sq km) cover Asia's north and a major part of eastern Europe. The capital is Moscow. The federation consists of 21 republics, one autonomous province, 10 autonomous regions, and 55 dependent provinces. After the disintegration of the USSR in 1991 the federation replaced the Russian Federal Soviet Re…
Russian literature
Russian literature, fiction, poetry, prose, and religious writings written in the Russian language. Throughout its history, Russian literature has been characterized by a deep concern for moral, religious, and philosophical problems. Western influence became important in the 17th century when numerous translations appeared and the first theater in Russia was established (1662). The most notable wr…
Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church See: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; Eastern Orthodox Church.
Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution, momentous political upheaval that changed the course of world history. It destroyed the autocratic tsarist regime and culminated in the establishment of the world's first Communist state, the Soviet Union (1922). Its roots lay in the political and economic backwardness of Russia, the chronic poverty of most of the people, and rising discontent in the middle and lower cla…
Russian wolfhound
Russian wolfhound See: Wolfhound.
Russo-Finnish wars
Russo-Finnish wars, conflicts during World War II.
Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War (1904–05), culmination of rivalry in the Far East between powers who sought expansion at the expense of the decaying Chinese empire.
Russo-Turkish wars
Russo-Turkish wars (1697–1878), conflicts resulting in Russian expansion into Ottoman territory. The first Russian success was the capture of Azov by Peter I (the Great) in 1696; it was subsequently recaptured (1711) by the Turks and lost again (1739). The 2 earliest major wars (1768–74, 1787–92), the first was declared by Sultan Mustafa III with France's encouragement,…
John Brown Russwurm
Russwurm, John Brown (1799–1851), Jamaican-born U.S. abolitionist who led a “back to Africa” movement in the 1820s and eventually settled in Liberia (1829).
Rust
Rust, brownish-red substance that forms on the surface of iron or steel when exposed to oxygen in the air.
Rust
Rust, in botany, fungi of the order Uredinales and the plant diseases they cause.
Bayard Rustin
Rustin, Bayard (1910–87), U.S. civil rights activist and pacifist.
Rutabaga
Rutabaga, also called Swedish turnip, plant in the mustard family.
Babe Ruth
Ruth, Babe (George Herman Ruth; 1895–1948), U.S. baseball player.
Book of Ruth
Ruth, Book of, name of Old Testament book in the Bible.
Ruthenia
Ruthenia, region in western Ukraine, southwest of the Carpathian Mountains, covering 4,940 sq mi (12,800 sq km).
Ruthenium
Ruthenium, chemical element, symbol Ru; for physical constants see Periodic Table.
Ernest Rutherford
Rutherford, Ernest (1871–1937), New Zealand-born English physicist.
Rutherfordium
Rutherfordium See: Element 104.
Rutile
Rutile, mineral (TiO2) found in the United States, Brazil, Europe, Australia, and India.
Rutin
Rutin, yellow pigment used as a medicine to treat problems in the circulatory system.
Rutland
Rutland (pop. 18,436), second largest city in southwestern Vermont.
Rutledge
Rutledge, family of U.S. politicians.
Ann Rutledge
Rutledge, Ann (c.1813–35), daughter of an innkeeper at New Salem, Ill., where Abraham Lincoln lived 1831–37.
Ruwenzori Range
Ruwenzori Range, east-central African mountain range between Uganda and Zaïre.
Jacob van Ruysdael
Ruysdael, Jacob van See: Ruisdael.
Rwanda
Rwanda, small independent republic in east-central Africa. It is one of the most densely populated counties in Africa. The land of Rwanda is dominated by the Rift Valley Highlands. From the high volcanic Virunga Mountains in the northwest, the land falls away southeastward in a series of steeply sloping flat-ridged hills. The forests that once covered these hills have been largely cleared for farm…
Nolan Ryan
Ryan, Nolan (1946– ), U.S. baseball player.
Thomas Fortune Ryan
Ryan, Thomas Fortune (1851–1928), U.S. financier and businessman.
Albert Pinkham Ryder
Ryder, Albert Pinkham (1847–1917), U.S. painter, noted for his darkly poetic landscapes, seascapes, and allegorical scenes such as Toilers of the Sea (1884), The Flying Dutchman (1890), and The Race Track (1895).
Albert Pinkham Ryder
Ryder, Albert Pinkham (1847–1917), U.S. painter, noted for his darkly poetic landscapes, seascapes, and allegorical scenes such as Toilers of the Sea (1884), The Flying Dutchman (1890), and The Race Track (1895).
Rye
Rye (Secale cereale), grain of the grass family, hardiest of all cereal crops.
Rye
Rye (Secale cereale), grain of the grass family, hardiest of all cereal crops.
Aleksei Ivanovich Rykov
Rykov, Aleksei Ivanovich (1881–1938), Russian communist leader.
Aleksei Ivanovich Rykov
Rykov, Aleksei Ivanovich (1881–1938), Russian communist leader.
Ryukyu Islands
Ryukyu Islands, archipelago, of approximately 1,850 sq mi (4,790 sq km), forming a 650-mi (1,050-km) arc between Japan and Taiwan.
Ryukyu Islands
Ryukyu Islands, archipelago, of approximately 1,850 sq mi (4,790 sq km), forming a 650-mi (1,050-km) arc between Japan and Taiwan.
Jim Ryun
Ryun, Jim (1947– ), U.S. athlete who set world records for middle-distance running.
Jim Ryun
Ryun, Jim (1947– ), U.S. athlete who set world records for middle-distance running.
Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov
Ryzhkov, Nikolai Ivanovich (1929– ), former prime minister of the USSR (1985–91).
Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov
Ryzhkov, Nikolai Ivanovich (1929– ), former prime minister of the USSR (1985–91).
S
S, 19th letter in the alphabet, corresponding to the Semitic letter sin, meaning tooth, represented by a rounded W shape derived from an ancient Egyptian symbol for tusk.
or Sadi Saadi
Saadi, or Sadi, (1184–1292), Persian lyric poet.
Saadia ben Joseph
Saadia ben Joseph (882–952), known as Saadia Gaon, leading figure in medieval Judaism.
Saar
Saar, or Saarland, state in southwest Germany, 991 sq mi (2,567 sq km), bordering France.
Saarinen
Saarinen, 2 modern architects, father and son.
Carlos Saavedra Lamas
Saavedra Lamas, Carlos (1880–1959), Argentinian lawyer and statesman.
Sabah
Sabah, formerly North Borneo, state in the Federation of Malaysia, on the northern tip of the island of Borneo, Malay archipelago.
Paul Sabatier
Sabatier, Paul (1854–1941), French chemist who shared with Victor Grignard the 1912 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on catalyst action in organic syntheses; especially his discovery that finely divided nickel accelerates hydrogenation.
Sabbath
Sabbath, seventh day of the Hebrew week.
Sabbatical year
Sabbatical year, among ancient Jews every seventh year was a year of rest for the land, ordered by the law of Moses.
Saber-toothed cat
Saber-toothed cat, either of 2 genera of extinct cats of the Cenozoic: Smilodon of North America and Machairodus of Europe and Asia.
Albert Bruce Sabin
Sabin, Albert Bruce (1906– ), U.S. virologist best known for developing an oral poliomyelitis vaccine, made from live viruses (1959).
Sabine River
Sabine River, in northeast Texas, rises in Hunt County and flows about 360 mi (580 km) east and southeast to form the southern part of the Texas-Louisiana boundary.
Sabines
Sabines, ancient people of the Sabine Hills (Apennines) in central Italy, northeast of Rome.
Sable
Sable (Martes zibellina), carnivorous fur-bearing mammal related to the martens.
Sable Island
Sable Island, small north Atlantic island about 95 mi (150 km) southeast of Nova Scotia, Canada.
Sac
Sac See: Sauk.
or Sacajawea Sacagawea
Sacagawea, or Sacajawea (1787?–1812?), guide and interpreter (1804–5) for the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Saccharides
Saccharides, or carbohydrates, chemical compounds composed of simple sugar or sugars in combination, including table sugar, starch, and cellulose.
Saccharin
Saccharin, calorie-free sweetening agent, much sweeter than sucrose, normally used in its soluble sodium salt form.
Sacco-Vanzetti case
Sacco-Vanzetti case, famous legal battle (1920–21) that polarized opinion between U.S. liberal-radicals and conservatives.
Hans Sachs
Sachs, Hans (1494–1576), most popular German poet and dramatist of his time, one of the Meistersingers, and by trade a shoemaker.
Julius von Sachs
Sachs, Julius von (1832–97), German botanist.
Nelly Sachs
Sachs, Nelly (1891–1970), German-born Swedish poet who fled Nazi Germany in 1940.
Thomas Sackville t Earl of Dorset (1s)
Sackville, Thomas, 1st Earl of Dorset, (1536–1608), English statesman and poet.
Victoria Mary Sackville-West
Sackville-West, Victoria Mary (1892–1962), English poet, novelist, and biographer, associated (like her husband, Sir Harold Nicolson) with the Bloomsbury Group.
Sacrament
Sacrament, in Christian theology, visible sign and pledge of invisible grace, ordained by Jesus Christ.
Sacramento
Sacramento (pop. 382,800), capital city of California since 1854, and seat of Sacramento County, at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers in central California.
Sacramento River
Sacramento River, longest tributary in California, rising in the Klamath Mountains in the north, flowing southwest for about 380 mi (610 km) to join the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley, before exiting at San Francisco Bay.
Sacrifice
Sacrifice, cultic act found in almost all religions, in which an object is consecrated and offered by a priest in worship to a deity.
Anwar el- Sadat
Sadat, Anwar el- (1918–81), president of Egypt (1970–81).
Saddle
Saddle, seat to support a rider on the back of an animal.
Sadducees
Sadducees, Jewish sect active in Judea, Palestine, during the 1st century B.C. and active until the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, A.D. 70.