Burdwan: Of historic interest are the Rajbari (the maharaja’s palace and gardens), several ancient Muslim tombs, and 108 Shiva linga in a cluster of 18th-century temples. The Rajbari houses the University of Burdwan, founded in 1960, with several affiliated colleges in the city. The city was constituted a municipality in 1865.

Whirlwind: …Jay Forrester of MIT and Jan Aleksander Rajchman of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), who had come up with a new kind of memory based on magnetic cores that was fast enough to enable real-time operation.

Vasundhara Raje is an Indian politician and government official who rose to become a senior leader in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She was the first woman chief minister of Rajasthan state and served two terms (2003–08 and 2013–18). Raje was born into the wealthy Scindia (Sindhia) royal

Chola dynasty: His son Rajendracola Deva I (reigned 1014–44) outdid Rajaraja’s achievements. He placed a son on the throne at Madurai, completed the conquest of Sri Lanka, overran the Deccan (c. 1021), and in 1023 sent an expedition to the north that penetrated to the Ganges (Ganga) River and…

Chola dynasty: His son Rajendracola Deva I (reigned 1014–44) outdid Rajaraja’s achievements. He placed a son on the throne at Madurai, completed the conquest of Sri Lanka, overran the Deccan (c. 1021), and in 1023 sent an expedition to the north that penetrated to the Ganges (Ganga) River and…

Cambodia: Angkorean civilization: …abandoned for nearly 30 years—Rajendravarman II (ruled 944–968) restored the capital and set in motion a period of peace and prosperity that lasted nearly a century. During the reign of his successor, Jayavarman V (968–c. 1000), the rose-colored sandstone shrine of Banteai Srei—arguably the loveliest temple at Angkor—was built…

Rajgarh, town, northwestern Madhya Pradesh state, central India. It is situated on the Malwa Plateau between the Newaj and Parbati rivers. The town was founded about 1640 and served as the capital of Rajgarh princely state, established by Umat Rajputs (a warrior caste). It is an agricultural market

Rajgir Hills, small isolated upland region of central Bihar state, northeastern India. The hills are known for their scenic beauty and as a historical and religious centre for Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains. The formation, composed of massive quartzites, rises sharply from the South Bihar Plains. The

skate: …25 genera across three families—Rajidae, Arynchobatidae, and Anacanthobatidae—while others place all skates into family Rajidae.

skate, (order Rajiformes), in zoology, any of numerous flat-bodied cartilaginous fishes constituting the order Rajiformes. Skates are found in most parts of the world, from tropical to near-Arctic waters and from the shallows to depths of more than 2,700 metres (8,900 feet). Most classifications

Rajinikanth is an Indian actor whose unique mannerisms and stylized line delivery made him one of the leading stars of Tamil cinema. With roles in 170 films, he also enjoyed considerable success in Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada movies. Known for his charismatic screen presence and the extreme

Rajinikanth is an Indian actor whose unique mannerisms and stylized line delivery made him one of the leading stars of Tamil cinema. With roles in 170 films, he also enjoyed considerable success in Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada movies. Known for his charismatic screen presence and the extreme

India: Mauryan government: …rural areas, such as the rajjukas (surveyors), combined judicial functions with assessment duties. Fines constituted the most common form of punishment, although capital punishment was imposed in extreme cases. Provinces were subdivided into districts and these again into smaller units. The village was the basic unit of administration and has…

Hungary: Political developments: …leader of this latter group, László Rajk, was executed on questionable charges in October 1949, and his chief adherents were similarly executed or imprisoned. Meanwhile, hundreds were executed or imprisoned as war criminals, many of them for no offense other than loyalty to the Horthy regime. Many thousands more were…

Rajkot, city, west-central Gujarat state, west-central India. It lies near the centre of the Kathiawar Peninsula, about 45 miles (72 km) southeast of Jamnagar. The city was the capital of the former princely state of Rajkot and of the former Western India States Agency. It is now an important

rajm, in Islam, ritual stoning as a punishment, especially as prescribed for fornication. The term also refers to the ritual casting of stones at the Devil during the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). That particular rite co-occurs with Eid al-Adha, the Muslim festival commemorating Abraham’s willingness

Rajmahal, historic town, far northeastern Jharkhand state, northeastern India. It lies west of the Ganges (Ganga) River. The town is located in the Rajmahal Hills, which run in a broad northeast–southwest-trending arch for some 120 miles (190 km) from the Ganges southward almost to Dumka. They rise

Rajnandgaon, city, west-central Chhattisgarh state, east-central India. It lies in a region of fertile farmland in the western part of the Chhattisgarh Plain and is drained by several small tributaries of the Seonath River, which flows just to the south of the city. Rajnandgaon was ruled by a

biological weapon: Biological terrorism: The “Rajneeshies” took political control of the nearby town of Antelope, changing its name to Rajneesh, and in 1984 they attempted to extend their political control throughout the county by suppressing voter turnout in the more populous town of The Dalles. Leading up to the countywide…

Rajneesh movement, religious sect founded by the Indian mystic and spiritual leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, also known in later life as Osho. Rajneesh first initiated people into his order of neo-sannyasins in the early 1970s and set up the movement’s headquarters in Pune, India, in 1974. In 1981

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was an Indian spiritual leader who preached an eclectic doctrine of Eastern mysticism, individual devotion, and sexual freedom. As a young intellectual, Rajneesh visited with and absorbed insights from teachers of the various religious traditions active in India. He studied

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was an Indian spiritual leader who preached an eclectic doctrine of Eastern mysticism, individual devotion, and sexual freedom. As a young intellectual, Rajneesh visited with and absorbed insights from teachers of the various religious traditions active in India. He studied

biological weapon: Biological terrorism: The “Rajneeshies” took political control of the nearby town of Antelope, changing its name to Rajneesh, and in 1984 they attempted to extend their political control throughout the county by suppressing voter turnout in the more populous town of The Dalles. Leading up to the countywide…

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh: …and, the following year, incorporated Rajneeshpuram, a new city he planned to build on an abandoned ranch near Antelope, Oregon. During the next few years many of his most-trusted aides abandoned the movement, which came under investigation for multiple felonies, including arson, attempted murder, drug smuggling, and vote fraud in…

Andry Rajoelina is a Malagasy entrepreneur and politician who served as president of Madagascar from 2009 to 2014 after coming to power in a coup. He again served as president (2019–23; 2023– ) after winning the 2018 and 2023 presidential elections. Prior to his terms as president, he served as the

skate, (order Rajiformes), in zoology, any of numerous flat-bodied cartilaginous fishes constituting the order Rajiformes. Skates are found in most parts of the world, from tropical to near-Arctic waters and from the shallows to depths of more than 2,700 metres (8,900 feet). Most classifications

skate, (order Rajiformes), in zoology, any of numerous flat-bodied cartilaginous fishes constituting the order Rajiformes. Skates are found in most parts of the world, from tropical to near-Arctic waters and from the shallows to depths of more than 2,700 metres (8,900 feet). Most classifications

Rajouri, town, western Jammu and Kashmir union territory, northern India, in the Kashmir region of the Indian subcontinent. The town is situated in a deep valley of the southern flank of the Pir Panjal Range on the Tawi River. It was referred to as Rajpuri in Kalhana’s Rajatarangini (12th century

Mariano Rajoy is a Spanish politician who served as prime minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018. Rajoy was raised in the Galicia region of northern Spain. He studied law at the University of Santiago de Compostela, receiving a degree in 1978. After briefly working as a land registrar, he embarked on

Rajput, (from Sanskrit raja-putra, “son of a king”), any of about 12 million landowners organized in patrilineal clans and located mainly in central and northern India. They are especially numerous in the historic region of Rajputana (“Land of the Rajputs”) that also included portions of

Rājput painting, the art of the independent Hindu feudal states in India, as distinguished from the court art of the Mughal emperors. Whereas Mughal painting was contemporary in style, Rājput was traditional and romantic. It developed in the 16th and early 17th centuries, and its late period lasted

Rajputana, former group of princely states chiefly constituting what is now Rajasthan state, northwestern India. The name means “land of the Rajputs.” The area, 132,559 square miles (343,328 square km), consisted of two geographic divisions: the area northwest of the Aravalli Range, this being

Rajshahi, city, west-central Bangladesh. It lies just north of the upper Padma River (Ganges [Ganga] River) and of the border with West Bengal state in India. Rajshahi was selected by the Dutch in the early 18th century as the site of a factory (trading post) and was constituted a municipality

Bangladesh: Education of Bangladesh: …University of Dhaka (1921), the University of Rajshahi (1953), or the University of Chittagong (1966). Other prominent institutions include Jahangirnagar University (1970) on the outskirts of the capital, the Bangladesh Agricultural University (1961) at Mymensingh, the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (1962) at Dhaka, and the Islamic University (1980)…

Rajapalayam: …city is named for its Raju inhabitants, Telugu speakers who migrated there during the Vijayanagar (1336–1565) conquest. The city grew as a centre for cotton hand-looming and weaving. It has cotton mills and a cement factory. Pop. (2001) 122,307; (2011) 130,442.

India: Central Asian rulers: …Shaka rulers of note were Rajuvala and Shodasa. Ultimately the Shakas settled in western India and Malava and came into conflict with the kingdoms of the northern Deccan and the Ganges valley—particularly during the reigns of Nahapana, Cashtana, and Rudradaman—in the first two centuries ce. Rudradaman’s fame is recorded in…

Rajputana, former group of princely states chiefly constituting what is now Rajasthan state, northwestern India. The name means “land of the Rajputs.” The area, 132,559 square miles (343,328 square km), consisted of two geographic divisions: the area northwest of the Aravalli Range, this being

Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s bicameral legislature. The Rajya Sabha was designed by the framers of the Indian constitution as a check on the power of the Lok Sabha (“House of the People”), the legislature’s lower house. It represents the interests of the states and union territories. The

Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty: Their last important king, Rajyapala, was driven from Kannauj by Maḥmūd of Ghazna in 1018 and was later killed by the forces of the Chandela king Vidyadhara. For about a generation longer a small Pratihara principality apparently survived in the area of Allahabad.

For a long time, London pop was cynical, inept, or ironic. In the early 1970s a new generation of producers—heedful of Phil Spector’s description of his work as “little symphonies for the kids”—injected a new sense of market-driven buoyancy into the pop single. Mickie Most was a North Londoner, but

RAK Records: For a long time, London pop was cynical, inept, or ironic. In the early 1970s a new generation of producers—heedful of Phil Spector’s description of his work as “little symphonies for the kids”—injected a new sense of market-driven buoyancy into the pop single. Mickie Most…

Apichatpong Weerasethakul: …Rak ti Khon Kaen (2015; Cemetery of Splendor). He also directed a segment in Ten Years Thailand (2018).

Rakahanga Atoll, one of the northern Cook Islands, a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean. It is a sparsely populated rectangular coral atoll 3 miles (5 km) long comprising eight islets. Rakahanga has also been known as Grand Duke Alexander Island,

Rakaia River, river in east-central South Island, New Zealand. It rises in the Lyell and Ramsay glaciers of the Southern Alps near Whitcombe Pass. The river flows east and southeast for 90 miles (145 km) before entering Canterbury Bight of the Pacific Ocean through a delta just west of Banks

arhat, in Buddhism, a perfected person, one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved nirvana (spiritual enlightenment). The arhat, having freed himself from the bonds of desire, will not be reborn. The state of an arhat is considered in the Theravada tradition to be

mask: Therapeutic uses: …Sri Lanka, where 19 distinct sickness demon masks have been devised. These masks are of ferocious aspect, fanged, and with fiendish eyes. Gaudily coloured and sometimes having articulating jaws, they present a dragonlike appearance.

Battle of Talikota, confrontation in the Deccan region of southern India between the forces of the Hindu raja of Vijayanagar and the four allied Muslim sultans of Bijapur, Bidar, Ahmadnagar, and Golconda. The battle was fought on January 23, 1565, at a site southeast of Bijapur, in what is now

Joel Lehtonen: In Rakastunut rampa (1922; “The Amorous Cripple”), however, Lehtonen bitterly rejects the tributes to individualism and genius worship that marked his youthful phase. The main character has deluded himself into believing that he is a superman, but as circumstances assail him he becomes overwhelmed with shame…

Arabia: The Hejaz and Asir: The sand plain of Rakbah unrolls south of the Kishb Lava Field, which is southeast of Medina. Among the lava fields east of Mecca is one surrounding the mountains of Ḥaḍan (Ḥiḍn), the traditional border area between the Hejaz and Najd.

William Hogarth: Reputation and success of William Hogarth: …and held back the eight-part Rake’s Progress until a law of that nature, known as the Hogarth Act, was passed in 1735. In the following year Hogarth moved into the house in Leicester Fields that he was to occupy until his death.

Igor Stravinsky: Life and career: …on his only full-length opera, The Rake’s Progress, a Neoclassical work (with a libretto by W.H. Auden and the American writer Chester Kallman) based on a series of moralistic engravings by the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth. The Rake’s Progress is a mock-serious pastiche of late 18th-century grand opera but…

theatre: The revival of theatre building in Italy: …scaenae frons, he introduced a raked platform, slanted upward toward the rear, on which the perspective setting of a street was made up of painted canvases and three-dimensional houses. Since the perspective required that the houses rapidly diminish in size with distance, the actors were able to use only the…

Wernher von Braun: Early life: …he acquired a copy of Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen (“The Rocket into Interplanetary Space”) by a rocket pioneer, Hermann Oberth. Frustrated by his inability to understand the mathematics, he applied himself at school until he led his class.

Pakistan: Plant and animal life: Dry scrub forests, called rakhs, grow in parts of the arid plain. In the northern and northwestern foothills and plains, shrub forests, principally acacia, and wild olive are found. In the wetter parts of the northern and northwestern mountains, evergreen coniferous softwood forests, with some broad-leaved species, grow. Fir,…

Marma: …Bengal; the other group, the Rakhaing Marma, are recent immigrants, having come from Arakan toward the end of the 18th century, when their kingdom was conquered by the Burmese.

Raksha Bandhan, joyful family holiday in late summer observed predominantly but not exclusively among Hindus of north India that celebrates the bond between sisters and brothers. In a ceremony, a sister ties a string bracelet or amulet, usually of red or yellow thread, called a rakhi on the right

Raksha Bandhan, joyful family holiday in late summer observed predominantly but not exclusively among Hindus of north India that celebrates the bond between sisters and brothers. In a ceremony, a sister ties a string bracelet or amulet, usually of red or yellow thread, called a rakhi on the right

Arakanese, ethnic group centred in the Arakan coastal region of Myanmar (Burma), in the state of Rakhine. Most Arakanese speak an unusual variety of the Burmese language that includes significant differences from Burmese pronunciation and vocabulary. An independent Arakanese kingdom was probably

Rakhine Mountains, mountain arc in western Myanmar (Burma), between the Rakhine (Arakan) coast and the Irrawaddy River valley. The arc extends northward for about 600 miles (950 km) from Cape Negrais (Myanmar) to Manipur (India) and includes the Naga, Chin, Mizo (Lushai), and Patkai hills. The

Rakhine Mountains, mountain arc in western Myanmar (Burma), between the Rakhine (Arakan) coast and the Irrawaddy River valley. The arc extends northward for about 600 miles (950 km) from Cape Negrais (Myanmar) to Manipur (India) and includes the Naga, Chin, Mizo (Lushai), and Patkai hills. The

Sergey Rachmaninoff was a composer who was the last great figure of the tradition of Russian Romanticism and a leading piano virtuoso of his time. He is especially known for his piano concerti and the piece for piano and orchestra titled Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934). Rachmaninoff was born

Michael Curtiz: Last films of Michael Curtiz: …songwriter Gus Kahn (played by Danny Thomas). The Story of Will Rogers followed in 1952.

Iranian languages: Dialects: …six groups: Eastern Hill dialects; Rākhshānī dialects including that of Mary; Sarawānī; Kechī; Loṭunī; and the coastal dialects. Of these, Rākhshānī is the most widely spoken and is used for broadcasting both in Pakistan and in Afghanistan, but the coastal dialects have the greatest prestige and the most extensive literature.…

naval warfare: The age of fighting sail: Popular aims were raking (firing a broadside the length of an enemy ship from across the bow or stern) or doubling (concentrating force by putting ships on both sides of the enemy line). The most reliable way to concentrate gunfire was to build it into ships vertically by…

Al-Raqqah, town, northern Syria, on the Euphrates River just west of its confluence with the Balīkh River. Al-Raqqah is on the site of an ancient Greek city, Nicephorium, and a later Roman fortress and market town, Callinicus. It flourished again in early Arab times when the ʿAbbāsid caliph Hārūn

Rákóczi family, Noble Magyar family prominent in 17th-century Hungary. Its members included György I (1593–1648), who as prince of Transylvania (1630–48) allied himself with Sweden against the Habsburgs and won religious freedom for Protestants in Hungary. His son György II (1621–1660), prince of

Ferenc Rákóczi, I was a scion of a noble Magyar family, and in 1670 a leader of an unsuccessful Hungarian–Croatian revolt against the Habsburgs. Rákóczi, the son of György Rákóczi II, had been designated (1652) to become prince of Transylvania, but never did reign after his father’s death (1660).

Ferenc Rákóczi, II was a prince of Transylvania who headed a nearly successful national rising of all Hungary against the Habsburg empire. He was born of an aristocratic Magyar family. Both his father and his stepfather had led insurrections against the Habsburgs, and Rákóczi grew up in an

György Rákóczi, I was a prince of Transylvania from 1630, who, as a champion of Protestantism, fought for and won religious freedom in Hungary and made his principality virtually an independent state. György was the youngest son of Zsigmond Rákóczi, prince of Transylvania (1607–08). György took a

György Rákóczi, II was the prince of Transylvania from 1648, who had the laws of the principality codified, but whose foreign policy led to the restoration of Turkish hegemony over Transylvania. György II succeeded his illustrious father György I as prince in 1648 and continued his policy of

John Amos Comenius: Social reform of John Amos Comenius: …Hungary, where the young prince Zsigmond Rákóczi wanted to establish a model pansophic school at Sárospatak. Comenius, arriving there in 1650, received a warm reception. The school opened with about 100 pupils, but it proved unsuccessful. The students were ill prepared to learn anything beyond the rudiments of reading and…

Mátyás Rákosi was the Hungarian Communist ruler of Hungary from 1945 to 1956. An adherent of Social Democracy from his youth, Rákosi returned to Hungary a Communist in 1918, after a period as prisoner of war in Russia. He served as commissar for Socialist production in the short-lived Communist

Georgi Sava Rakovski was a revolutionary leader and writer, an early and influential partisan of Bulgarian liberation from Ottoman Turkish rule. Already a national revolutionary by the age of 16, he participated in an insurrection against the Turks in 1841. Later, as an employee of the Turkish war

Khristian Georgiyevich Rakovsky was a Bulgarian revolutionary who conducted subversive activities in Romania before joining the Russian Bolshevik Party and becoming a leading political figure in Soviet Russia. The grandson of the Bulgarian revolutionary Georgi Rakovski, he became involved in

Cancer Ward, novel by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Though banned in the Soviet Union, the work was published in 1968 by Italian and other European publishers in the Russian language as Rakovy korpus. It was also published in English translation in 1968. Solzhenitsyn based Cancer Ward on his own

rakshasa, in Hindu mythology, a type of demon that figures prominently in Hindu epic and Puranic literature. Rakshasas have the power to change their shape at will and appear as animals, as monsters, or, in the case of the female demons, as beautiful women. The mythology of Hinduism includes a wide

rakshasa, in Hindu mythology, a type of demon that figures prominently in Hindu epic and Puranic literature. Rakshasas have the power to change their shape at will and appear as animals, as monsters, or, in the case of the female demons, as beautiful women. The mythology of Hinduism includes a wide

Raksha Bandhan, joyful family holiday in late summer observed predominantly but not exclusively among Hindus of north India that celebrates the bond between sisters and brothers. In a ceremony, a sister ties a string bracelet or amulet, usually of red or yellow thread, called a rakhi on the right

rakshasa, in Hindu mythology, a type of demon that figures prominently in Hindu epic and Puranic literature. Rakshasas have the power to change their shape at will and appear as animals, as monsters, or, in the case of the female demons, as beautiful women. The mythology of Hinduism includes a wide

Kali: …Durga to slay the demon Raktabija (“Blood-Seed”). During the struggle a new demon emerges from each drop of Raktabija’s blood as it hits the ground; to prevent this, Kali laps up the blood before it can reach the ground. She is also said to have been born when the goddess…

raku ware, Japanese hand-molded lead-glazed earthenware, originally invented in 16th-century Kyōto by the potter Chōjirō, who was commissioned by Zen tea master Sen Rikyū to design wares expressly for the tea ceremony. Quite distinct from wares that preceded it, raku represents an attempt to arrive

Rokkaku Shisui: …in the excavation of Korean rakurō—artifacts brought to Korea by Chinese conquerors during the Han dynasty (206 bc–ad 220). He was elected to the National Art Academy in recognition of the quality of his research on lacquer ware.

Mukai Kyorai was a Japanese haiku poet of the early Tokugawa period (1603–1867) who was one of the first disciples of the haiku master Matsuo Bashō. Kyorai first trained as a samurai, but at age 23 he gave up martial service and turned to the writing of poetry. In 1684 he made the acquaintance of

Islam: Prayer: …to four genuflection units (rakʿah); each unit consists of a standing posture (during which verses from the Qurʾān are recited—in certain prayers aloud, in others silently), as well as a genuflection and two prostrations. At every change in posture, “God is great” is recited. Tradition has fixed the materials…

Madagascar: The colonial period (1896–1945): In 1920 a teacher, Jean Ralaimongo, launched a campaign in the press to give the Malagasy “subjects” French citizenship and to make Madagascar a French département. When France failed to respond to the demand for assimilation, the movement turned toward nationalism. In 1940 Madagascar, though hesitant at first, rallied…

Khmer literature: French influence: Mao Somnang’s prizewinning Ralak pok khsac (1996; “The Waves”), for example, in which the poor, orphaned heroine eventually overcomes a succession of obstacles, to find love and happiness, is typical of the kind of plot that had been popular almost half a century earlier; where it differs, is…

Levi ben Gershom was a French Jewish mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, and Talmudic scholar. In 1321 Levi wrote his first work, Sefer ha-mispar (“Book of the Number”), dealing with arithmetical operations, including extraction of roots. In De sinibus, chordis et arcubus (1342; “On Sines,

cardiovascular disease: Myocardial infarction: …by subtle evidence such as rales (abnormal respiratory sounds) in the lungs or a gallop rhythm of the heartbeat may the evidence of some minor degree of heart failure be detected. In a small percentage of cases, the state of shock occurs, with pallor, coolness of the hands and feet,…

Romanian literature: After World War II: …and criticism were written by Mihai Ralea, who also published travel books and philosophical and psychological works, and by Tudor Vianu, who revealed in his writings a materialistic and methodological approach after first having adhered to the aesthetic school.

Sir Walter Raleigh was an English adventurer and writer, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, who knighted him in 1585. Accused of treason by Elizabeth’s successor, James I, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London and eventually put to death. Raleigh was a younger son of Walter Raleigh (d. 1581) of

Battle of Manila Bay: Composition of forces: … (his flagship), USS Boston, USS Raleigh, and USS Baltimore—the gunboats USS Concord and USS Petrel, the armed revenue cutter USS Hugh McCulloch, and a pair of locally purchased British supply steamers. Dewey gathered his force at Mirs Bay (Dapeng Wan), northeast of Hong Kong, on April 27 and arrived off…

Raleigh, city, capital of North Carolina, and seat (1771) of Wake county, central North Carolina, U.S. It lies roughly 25 miles (40 km) southeast of both Chapel Hill and Durham, the three cities forming one of the state’s major urban areas—the Research Triangle. The site was selected in 1788, and

Sir Walter Raleigh was an English adventurer and writer, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, who knighted him in 1585. Accused of treason by Elizabeth’s successor, James I, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London and eventually put to death. Raleigh was a younger son of Walter Raleigh (d. 1581) of

Sir Walter Raleigh was a Scottish man of letters and critic who was a prominent figure at the University of Oxford in his time. He held the chair of modern literature at Liverpool (1889–1900) and of English at Glasgow and was appointed Oxford’s first professor of English literature in 1904. Raleigh

Sir Walter Raleigh was a Scottish man of letters and critic who was a prominent figure at the University of Oxford in his time. He held the chair of modern literature at Liverpool (1889–1900) and of English at Glasgow and was appointed Oxford’s first professor of English literature in 1904. Raleigh

Marshall Islands: …to the east and the Ralik, or Sunset, to the west. The chains lie about 125 miles (200 km) apart and extend some 800 miles northwest to southeast.

Günther Rall was a German World War II combat pilot, the third highest scoring fighter ace in history. He flew more than 600 combat missions, scored 275 victories (mostly against Soviet aircraft), and was shot down eight times. He was one of the founders of Germany’s postwar air force, serving as

Battles of Trenton and Princeton: The British campaign of 1776: Johann Rall at Trenton, New Jersey, with about 1,400 men.

Rallidae, the rail family, a bird family that includes the species known as rail, coot, crake, and gallinule

water rail, (Rallus aquaticus), slender marsh bird of the family Rallidae (order Gruiformes), native to most of Europe and Asia. Its length is about 28 cm (11 inches), and it has a moderately long beak. The sides of the bird have black and white bands. The name water rail also is used as a general