Category: Biography
John Reith, 1st Baron Reith John Reith, 1st Baron Reith (1889-1971). British administrator and businessman, first director-general of the BBC (1927-38). Reith was born in Scotland, and brought up …
Django Reinhardt Django Reinhardt, real name Jean Baptiste Reinhardt (1910-53). Belgian gypsy jazz guitarist. A French-speaker, Reinhardt spent his youth in gypsy caravans in northern France. He taught himself …
Sir Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Redgrave, (1908-85). British actor. The son of an acting family, he first appeared on stage in 1934. He performed in many Shakespearean roles and …
Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan, W(ilson) (1911- ). US film actor and politician; 40th president of the US (1981-89). The son of a shoe salesman, Reagan worked as a sports …
Maurice Ravel Maurice Ravel, (1875-1937). French composer of Swiss and Basque parentage. Ravel studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Gabriel Faure and made his name with the opera The …
Grigori Rasputin Grigori Rasputin, (c. 1872-1916). Russian monk and political figure. An uneducated peasant, he visited Greece as a young man and on his return to his native village …
Raphael Raphael (1483-1520). Italian painter, born Raffaoello Santi. Raphael studied with Perugino and was influenced by the works of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. In 1508 Pope Julius II …
Rameses II Rameses II (d. c. 1237 BC). King of Egypt from 1304 BC, who restored Egyptian influence after the disastrous reigns of Akhenaton and his successors. His campaigns …
