- Riemann surface (mathematics)
analysis: Analysis in higher dimensions: âŠwas the concept of a Riemann surface. The complex numbers can be viewed as a plane (see Fluid flow), so a function of a complex variable can be viewed as a function on the plane. Riemannâs insight was that other surfaces can also be provided with complex coordinates, and certainâŠ
- Riemann zeta function (mathematics)
Riemann zeta function, function useful in number theory for investigating properties of prime numbers. Written as ζ(x), it was originally defined as the infinite series ζ(x) = 1 + 2âx + 3âx + 4âx + âŻ. When x = 1, this series is called the harmonic series, which increases without boundâi.e., its sum
- Riemann, Bernhard (German mathematician)
Bernhard Riemann was a German mathematician whose profound and novel approaches to the study of geometry laid the mathematical foundation for Albert Einsteinâs theory of relativity. He also made important contributions to the theory of functions, complex analysis, and number theory. Riemann was
- Riemann, Georg Friedrich Bernhard (German mathematician)
Bernhard Riemann was a German mathematician whose profound and novel approaches to the study of geometry laid the mathematical foundation for Albert Einsteinâs theory of relativity. He also made important contributions to the theory of functions, complex analysis, and number theory. Riemann was
- Riemann, Hugo (German musicologist)
Hugo Riemann was a German musicologist whose works on music harmony are considered to have been the foundation of modern music theory. Riemannâs early musical training was in piano and theory, and he later studied law, philosophy, and history before returning to his musical studies at the Leipzig
- Riemann, Karl Wilhelm Julius Hugo (German musicologist)
Hugo Riemann was a German musicologist whose works on music harmony are considered to have been the foundation of modern music theory. Riemannâs early musical training was in piano and theory, and he later studied law, philosophy, and history before returning to his musical studies at the Leipzig
- Riemannian geometry (mathematics)
Riemannian geometry, one of the non-Euclidean geometries that completely rejects the validity of Euclidâs fifth postulate and modifies his second postulate. Simply stated, Euclidâs fifth postulate is: through a point not on a given line there is only one line parallel to the given line. In
- Riemenschneider, Tilman (German sculptor)
Tilman Riemenschneider was a master sculptor whose wood portrait carvings and statues made him one of the major artists of the late Gothic period in Germany; he was known as the leader of the Lower Franconia school. Riemenschneider was the son of the mint master of WĂŒrzburg and opened a highly
- Rienzi (opera by Wagner)
Richard Wagner: Early life: Nevertheless, in 1840 he completed Rienzi (after Bulwer-Lyttonâs novel), and in 1841 he composed his first representative opera, Der fliegende HollĂ€nder (The Flying Dutchman), based on the legend about a shipâs captain condemned to sail forever.
- Riesch, Maria (German skier)
Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games: Notable events from the Vancouver Winter Games: February 19:
- Riese, Der (work by Sternheim)
Carl Sternheim: âŠfirst play, Die Hose (The Underpants), was published and performed in 1911 under the title Der Riese (âThe Giantâ) because the Berlin police had forbidden the original title on the grounds of gross immorality. It has as its main character Theobald Maske. He and others of the Maske familyâŠ
- Riesener, Jean-Henri (German cabinetmaker)
Jean-Henri Riesener was the best-known cabinetmaker in France during the reign of Louis XVI. Riesener was the son of an usher in the law courts of the elector of Cologne. After moving to Paris he joined the workshop of Jean-François Oeben in 1754, and, when Oeben died in 1763, Riesener was put in
- Riesenflugzeug (aircraft)
military aircraft: Bombers: âŠbombers known as Riesenflugzeug, or R-planes. Typical of these was the Staaken R.VI number R.25, which was powered by four 260-horsepower Mercedes engines. This had a takeoff weight of 11,372 kg (25,269 pounds), which included a crew of seven and a bomb load of up to 1,800 kg (4,000 pounds).
- Riesengebirge (mountains, Europe)
Giant Mountains, mountains, major segment of the Sudeten in northeastern Bohemia and part of the western Czech-Polish frontier. The highest peak in both the mountains and Bohemia is SnÄĆŸka (5,256 feet [1,602 m]). The Elbe (Czech: Labe) River rises in Bohemia on the southern slope, and tributaries
- Riesling (wine)
Alsace: Geography: Riesling, GewĂŒrztraminer, Sylvaner, Auxerrois, and Pinot Blanc are among the notable white wines produced. Colmar is the principal centre of the wine-growing region, whose vineyards extend in a narrow strip along the lower slopes of the Vosges west of the city. Parts of the alluvialâŠ
- Riesman, David (American sociologist)
David Riesman was an American sociologist and author most noted for The Lonely Crowd: A Study of the Changing American Character (with Reuel Denney and Nathan Glazer, 1950), a work dealing primarily with the social character of the urban middle class. âThe lonely crowdâ became a catchphrase
- Riess, Adam (American astronomer)
Adam Riess is an American astronomer who was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics for his discovery of dark energy, a repulsive force that is the dominant component (73 percent) of the universe. He shared the prize with physicist Saul Perlmutter and astronomer Brian Schmidt. Riess wrote
- Riess, Adam Guy (American astronomer)
Adam Riess is an American astronomer who was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics for his discovery of dark energy, a repulsive force that is the dominant component (73 percent) of the universe. He shared the prize with physicist Saul Perlmutter and astronomer Brian Schmidt. Riess wrote
- Riesz, Frigyes (Hungarian mathematician)
Frigyes Riesz was a Hungarian mathematician and pioneer of functional analysis, which has found important applications to mathematical physics. Riesz taught mathematics at the University of KolozsvĂĄr (Cluj) from 1911 and in 1922 became editor of the newly founded Acta Scientiarum Mathematicarum,
- Riesz-Fischer theorem (mathematics)
Frigyes Riesz: The Riesz-Fischer theorem of 1907, concerning the equivalence of the Hilbert space of sequences of convergent sums of squares with the space of functions of summable squares, formed the mathematical basis for demonstrating the equivalence of matrix mechanics and wave mechanics, a major breakthrough in earlyâŠ
- Riete (Italy)
Rieti, city, Lazio (Latium) regione, central Italy, on the Velino River in the Abruzzi Apennines, just southeast of Terni. The ancient town was first settled by the Sabines and then became the Roman Reate. It belonged to the Lombard duchy of Spoleto in the early European Middle Ages and later
- Rieti (Italy)
Rieti, city, Lazio (Latium) regione, central Italy, on the Velino River in the Abruzzi Apennines, just southeast of Terni. The ancient town was first settled by the Sabines and then became the Roman Reate. It belonged to the Lombard duchy of Spoleto in the early European Middle Ages and later
- Rietveld, Gerrit Thomas (Dutch architect)
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld was a Dutch architect and furniture designer notable for his application of the tenets of the de Stijl movement. He was an apprentice in his fatherâs cabinetmaking business from 1899 to 1906 and later studied architecture in Utrecht. Rietveld began his association with the
- Rievaulx (abbey, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom)
Rievaulx, ruined Cistercian abbey, Ryedale district, administrative county of North Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England. It lies in the seclusion of a deep valley to which it has given its name, in the North York Moors National Park. The monastery was the mother church of the
- Rif (people)
Rif, any of the Berber peoples occupying a part of northeastern Morocco known as the Rif, an Arabic word meaning âedge of cultivated area.â The Rif are divided into 19 groups or social units: 5 in the west along the Mediterranean coast, 7 in the centre, 5 in the east, and 2 in the southeastern
- Rif (Jewish scholar)
Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi was a Talmudic scholar who wrote a codification of the Talmud known as Sefer ha-Halakhot (âBook of Lawsâ), which ranks with the great codes of Maimonides and Karo. Alfasi lived most of his life in FĂšs (from which his surname was derived) and there wrote his digest of the
- Rif (mountains, Morocco)
Rif, mountain range of northern Morocco, extending from Tangier to the Moulouya River valley near the Moroccan-Algerian frontier. For the greater part of its 180-mile (290-km) length, the range hugs the Mediterranean Sea, leaving only a few narrow coastal valleys suitable for agriculture or urban
- Rif language
Rif: The others generally speak Rif, a regionally variable Berber language, but many also speak Spanish or Arabic. The Rif are Muslims.
- Rif mountains (mountains, Morocco)
Rif, mountain range of northern Morocco, extending from Tangier to the Moulouya River valley near the Moroccan-Algerian frontier. For the greater part of its 180-mile (290-km) length, the range hugs the Mediterranean Sea, leaving only a few narrow coastal valleys suitable for agriculture or urban
- Rif War (Spanish history)
Rif War, (1921â26), conflict between Spanish colonial forces and Rif peoples led by Muhammad Abd el-Krim. It was fought primarily in the Rif, a mountainous region of northern Morocco. The war was the last and perhaps the most significant of many confrontations over the centuries between the Rifâthe
- Rif, Al- (mountains, Morocco)
Rif, mountain range of northern Morocco, extending from Tangier to the Moulouya River valley near the Moroccan-Algerian frontier. For the greater part of its 180-mile (290-km) length, the range hugs the Mediterranean Sea, leaving only a few narrow coastal valleys suitable for agriculture or urban
- Rif, Republic of the (former state, North Africa)
Abd el-Krim: âŠand founder of the short-lived Republic of the Rif (1923â26). A skilled tactician and a capable organizer, he led a liberation movement that made him the hero of the Maghrib (northwest Africa).
- Rifai, Samir al- (prime minister of Jordan)
Jordan: Arab Spring and reform: âŠanger on Jordanâs prime minister, Samir Rifai, and his government rather than on the king. The government responded to that popular discontent by announcing a package of subsidies for basic goods, but that did little to placate critics, and protests continued. On February 1 King Abdullah dismissed the government andâŠ
- rifampicin (drug)
antibiotic: Mechanisms of action: One antibiotic, rifampin, interferes with ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis in bacteria by binding to a subunit on the bacterial enzyme responsible for duplication of RNA. Since the affinity of rifampin is much stronger for the bacterial enzyme than for the human enzyme, the human cells are unaffectedâŠ
- rifampin (drug)
antibiotic: Mechanisms of action: One antibiotic, rifampin, interferes with ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis in bacteria by binding to a subunit on the bacterial enzyme responsible for duplication of RNA. Since the affinity of rifampin is much stronger for the bacterial enzyme than for the human enzyme, the human cells are unaffectedâŠ
- rifapentine (drug)
tuberculosis: Treatment: such as ethambutol, pyrazinamide, or rifapentine, in order to avoid the development of drug-resistant bacilli.
- RifÄÊż, Al- (Bahrain)
Al-RifÄÊż, municipality in the state and emirate of Bahrain, on north-central Bahrain island, in the Persian Gulf. It is on the north rim of the islandâs central depression, site of the countryâs chief oil fields. The municipality is an agglomeration of four originally distinct population clusters,
- RifaÊża (Bahrain)
Al-RifÄÊż, municipality in the state and emirate of Bahrain, on north-central Bahrain island, in the Persian Gulf. It is on the north rim of the islandâs central depression, site of the countryâs chief oil fields. The municipality is an agglomeration of four originally distinct population clusters,
- RifÄÊżÄ«yah (áčąĆ«fÄ« order)
RifÄÊżÄ«yah, fraternity of Muslim mystics (áčąĆ«fÄ«s), known in the West as howling dervishes, found primarily in Egypt and Syria and in Turkey until outlawed in 1925. An offshoot of the QÄdirÄ«yah established in Basra, Iraq, by Aáž„mad ar-RifÄÊżÄ« (d. 1187), the order preserved his stress on poverty,
- Rifbjerg, Klaus (Danish writer)
Klaus Rifbjerg was a Danish poet, novelist, playwright, and editor. Rifbjerg first attracted public notice with an ironic collection of autobiographical prose poems, Under vejr med mig selv (1956; âFindings About Myselfâ). Efterkrig (1957; âAfter the Warâ) contains much of his earliest poetry. His
- Rifbjerg, Klaus Thorvald (Danish writer)
Klaus Rifbjerg was a Danish poet, novelist, playwright, and editor. Rifbjerg first attracted public notice with an ironic collection of autobiographical prose poems, Under vejr med mig selv (1956; âFindings About Myselfâ). Efterkrig (1957; âAfter the Warâ) contains much of his earliest poetry. His
- Riff (people)
Rif, any of the Berber peoples occupying a part of northeastern Morocco known as the Rif, an Arabic word meaning âedge of cultivated area.â The Rif are divided into 19 groups or social units: 5 in the west along the Mediterranean coast, 7 in the centre, 5 in the east, and 2 in the southeastern
- Riff War (Spanish history)
Rif War, (1921â26), conflict between Spanish colonial forces and Rif peoples led by Muhammad Abd el-Krim. It was fought primarily in the Rif, a mountainous region of northern Morocco. The war was the last and perhaps the most significant of many confrontations over the centuries between the Rifâthe
- Riff-Raff (film by Loach [1991])
Ken Loach: âŠof the British working class: Riff-Raff (1991) depicts the travails of a London construction crew, and Raining Stones (1993) follows a man searching for money to buy a dress for his daughter. The latter took the jury prize at Cannes. Loach also received praise for Ladybird Ladybird (1994), a downbeatâŠ
- Riffaterre, Michael (American literary critic)
Michael Riffaterre was an American literary critic, whose textual analyses emphasize the responses of the reader and not the biography and politics of the author. Riffaterre was educated in France at the University of Lyon (1941) and at the Sorbonne of the University of Paris (M.A., 1947) before
- Riffaterre, Michael Camille (American literary critic)
Michael Riffaterre was an American literary critic, whose textual analyses emphasize the responses of the reader and not the biography and politics of the author. Riffaterre was educated in France at the University of Lyon (1941) and at the Sorbonne of the University of Paris (M.A., 1947) before
- Riffi (people)
Rif, any of the Berber peoples occupying a part of northeastern Morocco known as the Rif, an Arabic word meaning âedge of cultivated area.â The Rif are divided into 19 groups or social units: 5 in the west along the Mediterranean coast, 7 in the centre, 5 in the east, and 2 in the southeastern
- Riffian (people)
Rif, any of the Berber peoples occupying a part of northeastern Morocco known as the Rif, an Arabic word meaning âedge of cultivated area.â The Rif are divided into 19 groups or social units: 5 in the west along the Mediterranean coast, 7 in the centre, 5 in the east, and 2 in the southeastern
- riffle (hydrology)
pool and riffle: âŠloop is deep and undercut; riffles form in the shallow water of the short, straight, wide reaches between adjacent loops. The pools and riffles form sequences spaced at a repeating distance of about five to seven widths of the channel and often appear in stream development long before the streamâŠ
- riffle beetle (insect)
Coleoptera: Annotated classification: Family Elmidae (riffle beetles) Varied habitat; several hundred widely distributed species. Family Eulichadidae A few species in Asia, North America. Family Heteroceridae (variegated mud-loving beetles) About 500 widely distributed species;
- Rififi (film by Dassin [1955])
Jules Dassin: Blacklist and exile: In 1955 he helmed Rififi, a taut caper yarn about a quartet of low-life jewel thieves. The film drew much critical praise, especially for a 25-minute robbery sequence that contained no dialogue or music, and Dassin won the best director award at the Cannes film festival. The provocative WhereâŠ
- Rifkinâs Festival (film by Allen [2020])
Christoph Waltz: Branching out in later work: âŠin Woody Allenâs romantic comedy Rifkinâs Festival (2020). In 2021 he appeared in Wes Andersonâs The French Dispatch, a dramedy about the final edition of a newspaperâs magazine supplement. In the animated film Guillermo del Toroâs Pinocchio (2022), Waltz provided the voice of Count Volpe. In 2025 he reunited withâŠ
- Rifkind, Malcolm (British politician)
Malcolm Rifkind is a British Conservative Party politician who served in the cabinets (1986â97) of Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major and who encouraged a pro-European stance in his partyâs policies. Rifkind was born into a Jewish family of Lithuanian descent and went on to receive a
- Rifkind, Sir Malcolm Leslie (British politician)
Malcolm Rifkind is a British Conservative Party politician who served in the cabinets (1986â97) of Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major and who encouraged a pro-European stance in his partyâs policies. Rifkind was born into a Jewish family of Lithuanian descent and went on to receive a
- rifle (weapon)
rifle, firearm with a rifled boreâi.e., having shallow spiral grooves cut inside the barrel to impart a spin to the projectile, thus stabilizing it in flight. A rifled barrel imparts much greater accuracy to a projectile, as compared with a smoothbore barrel. The name rifle, most often applied to a
- rifle company (military unit)
company: âŠnormal part of the infantry rifle company. In the U.S. Army the rifle company in 1945 had a strength of 6 officers and 187 men and was composed of a company headquarters, three rifle platoons of three squads each, and a weapons platoon in which were placed light, crew-served weaponsâŠ
- rifle grenade (military technology)
grenade: âŠfrom the muzzle of a rifle either by the force of a cartridge or by the expanding gases of a blank cartridge. Such grenades usually have long, streamlined bodies, in contrast to the round shapes of hand grenades. There are also small-arm grenade rounds, shaped like bullets but of muchâŠ
- riflebird (bird)
riflebird, any of certain bird-of-paradise (q.v.)
- rifleman (bird)
rifleman, (Acanthisitta chloris), a New Zealand wren of the family
- Riflemen, Union of (Polish history)
JĂłzef PiĆsudski: Attempts to organize a Polish army: âŠ1908 he formed a secret Union of Military Actionâfinanced with a sum of money stolen from a Russian mail train by an armed band led by PiĆsudski himself. In 1910, with the help of the Austrian military authorities, he was able to convert his secret union into a legal UnionâŠ
- rifling (weaponry)
small arm: Early rifling: As killing machines, smoothbore infantry muskets were relatively inefficient. Their heavy round lead balls delivered bone-crushing and tissue-destroying blows when they hit a human body, but beyond 75 yards even trained infantrymen found it difficult to hit an individual adversary. Volley fire against massedâŠ
- Riforma, La (Italian journal)
Agostino Bertani: In 1866 he founded La Riforma, a journal advocating social reforms. When the left came to power in 1876 with Premier Agostino Depretis, who introduced a system known as transformism in which he built up his following by taking ministers from both right and left, Bertani, hostile to theâŠ
- rift (landform)
rift valley, any elongated trough formed by the subsidence of a segment of the Earthâs crust between dip-slip, or normal, faults. Such a fault is a fracture in the terrestrial surface in which the rock material on the upper side of the fault plane has been displaced downward relative to the rock
- rift mountain
continental landform: Orogenic geomorphic systems: âŠfollowing set of special attributes:
- rift valley (landform)
rift valley, any elongated trough formed by the subsidence of a segment of the Earthâs crust between dip-slip, or normal, faults. Such a fault is a fracture in the terrestrial surface in which the rock material on the upper side of the fault plane has been displaced downward relative to the rock
- Rift Valley
Rift Valley, major branch of the East African Rift
- Rift Valley (geological feature, Africa-Asia)
Andisol: âŠto New Zealand), in the Rift Valley of Africa, and in volcanic regions of Mediterranean countries.
- Rift Valley fever (disease)
Rift Valley fever, viral infection of animals that is transmissible to humans and is caused by a type of Phlebovirus known as Rift Valley fever virus. The virus is borne by mosquitoes and is spread by the insectâs bite, although humans also can contract the disease by handling tissues or secretions
- rift volcano (geology)
volcano: Rift volcanoes: Rift volcanoes form when magma rises into the gap between diverging plates. They thus occur at or near actual plate boundaries. Measurements in Iceland suggest that the separation of plates is a continuous process but that the fracturing is intermittent, analogous to aâŠ
- rifting (geology)
plate tectonics: Continental rifting: Upwelling of magma causes the overlying lithosphere to uplift and stretch. (Whether magmatism [the formation of igneous rock from magma] initiates the rifting or whether rifting decompresses the mantle and initiates magmatism is a matter of significant debate.) If the diverging plates are cappedâŠ
- RifÊżat, Tall (ancient city, Syria)
Arpad, ancient city in northwestern Syria. Arpad is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament and in Assyrian texts. Coming under Assyrian influence in the 9th century bc, Arpad regained its independence in 754, and it successfully sided with Sardur II of Urartu until the Assyrian king
- Rīga (national capital, Latvia)
Riga, city and capital of Latvia. It occupies both banks of the Daugava (Western Dvina) River, 9 miles (15 km) above its mouth on the Gulf of Riga. Pop. (2011) 658,640; (2021 est.) 614,618. An ancient settlement of the Livs and Kurs, Riga emerged as a trading post in the late 12th century. Seagoing
- Riga (national capital, Latvia)
Riga, city and capital of Latvia. It occupies both banks of the Daugava (Western Dvina) River, 9 miles (15 km) above its mouth on the Gulf of Riga. Pop. (2011) 658,640; (2021 est.) 614,618. An ancient settlement of the Livs and Kurs, Riga emerged as a trading post in the late 12th century. Seagoing
- Riga, Gulf of (Baltic Sea)
Gulf of Riga, large gulf of the Baltic Sea, bounded by the northern coast of Latvia and the western coast of Estonia, about 7,000 sq mi (18,000 sq km) in area. The gulf is separated from the Baltic Sea proper by Estoniaâs Muhu archipelago, but navigation is possible through several straits. The
- Riga, Treaty of (Europe [1921])
Treaty of Riga, (1921) treaty between Poland and Russia signed in Riga, Latvia, that ended the Russo-Polish War of 1919â20 and set their mutual border. The treaty, which gave Poland parts of Belorussia (now Belarus) and Ukraine, lasted until World War II, after which a new treaty established a new
- rigadoon (dance and musical form)
rigaudon, sprightly 17th-century French folk dance for couples. Its hopping steps were adopted by the skillful dancers of the French and English courts, where it remained fashionable through the 18th century. Conjecture assigns its origins to Provençal sailors and its name to a Marseille dance
- Rigas Feraios (Greek revolutionary)
Greece: Rigas Velestinlis: Toward the end of the 18th century, Rigas Velestinlis (also known as Rigas Pheraios), a Hellenized Vlach from Thessaly, began to dream of and actively plan for an armed revolt against the Turks. Rigas, who had served a number of Phanariote hospodars inâŠ
- Rīgas Jƫras Līcis (Baltic Sea)
Gulf of Riga, large gulf of the Baltic Sea, bounded by the northern coast of Latvia and the western coast of Estonia, about 7,000 sq mi (18,000 sq km) in area. The gulf is separated from the Baltic Sea proper by Estoniaâs Muhu archipelago, but navigation is possible through several straits. The
- Rigas Velestinlis (Greek revolutionary)
Greece: Rigas Velestinlis: Toward the end of the 18th century, Rigas Velestinlis (also known as Rigas Pheraios), a Hellenized Vlach from Thessaly, began to dream of and actively plan for an armed revolt against the Turks. Rigas, who had served a number of Phanariote hospodars inâŠ
- rigatoni (food)
rigatoni, a tubular ridged pasta of Italian origin, strongly associated with the ordinary food of Rome and central and southern Italy. Rigatoni takes its name from the Italian rigati, âridged.â The semolina dough is pressed through a ridged mold, forming lengthwise striations all around the pasta,
- rigattieri (art dealing)
art market: Venice and Florence: âŠof secondhand dealers, known as rigattieri or strazzaruoli. These vendors originally traded in old clothing and leather but also came to deal in objects pertaining to the bedchamber: cassoni (marriage chests), tables, chairs, tapestries, statuary, and painted images. By the early 15th century, Florence had become a tough mercantile republicâŠ
- Rigau y Ros, Hyacinthe François Honoré Mathias Pierre André Jean (French painter)
Hyacinthe Rigaud was one of the most prolific and successful French portrait painters of the Baroque period. He was trained at Montpellier before moving to Lyon and finally to Paris in 1681, where he devoted himself to portraiture. By 1688, when he received his first royal commission, he already
- Rigaud, André (Haitian leader)
Alexandre SabĂšs PĂ©tion: âŠthose of the mulatto general AndrĂ© Rigaud. Fleeing to France after Toussaint defeated Rigaud, who had set up a mulatto state in the southern provinces, PĂ©tion returned in 1802 with the French army sent to reconquer the colony but then became one of the first Haitian officers to revolt againstâŠ
- Rigaud, Hyacinthe (French painter)
Hyacinthe Rigaud was one of the most prolific and successful French portrait painters of the Baroque period. He was trained at Montpellier before moving to Lyon and finally to Paris in 1681, where he devoted himself to portraiture. By 1688, when he received his first royal commission, he already
- rigaudon (dance and musical form)
rigaudon, sprightly 17th-century French folk dance for couples. Its hopping steps were adopted by the skillful dancers of the French and English courts, where it remained fashionable through the 18th century. Conjecture assigns its origins to Provençal sailors and its name to a Marseille dance
- Rigault de Genouilly, Charles (French admiral)
Charles Rigault de Genouilly was an admiral who initiated the French invasion of Vietnam in 1858 and the subsequent conquest of Cochinchina, now southern Vietnam. Rigault de Genouilly entered the navy in 1827 and attained the rank of ensign three years later. In 1841 he was promoted to captain and
- Rigdon, Sidney (American religious leader)
Sidney Rigdon was an American churchman, an early convert to Mormonism (1830) and first counselor to its founder, Joseph Smith. After the Mormons moved to Missouri (1838) and then to Nauvoo, Ill. (1839), Rigdon became estranged from Smith. When Smith was murdered (1844), however, Rigdon attempted
- Rigel (star)
Rigel, one of the brightest stars in the sky, intrinsically as well as in appearance. A blue-white supergiant in the constellation Orion, Rigel is about 860 light-years from the Sun and is about 47,000 times as luminous. A companion double star, also bluish white, is of the sixth magnitude. The
- RÄ«gestÄn (desert, Afghanistan)
RÄ«gestÄn, (Persian: âcountry of sandâ), arid plateau region in southwestern Afghanistan. RÄ«gestÄn is, for the greater part, a sandy desert with ridges and small, isolated hills of red sand. The sand ridges and dunes, reaching heights of between 50 and 100 feet (15 and 30 m), alternate with
- RÄ«gestÄn Square (square, Samarkand, Uzbekistan)
Samarkand: RÄ«gestÄn Square, an impressive public square in the old city, is fronted by several madrasahs (Islamic schools): that of Timurâs grandson, the astronomer UlĆ«gh Beg (1417â20), and those of Shirdar (1619â1635/36) and Tilakari (mid-17th century), which together border the square on three sides. Samarkand hasâŠ
- Riget (Danish television miniseries)
Lars von Trier: âŠtelevision miniseries called Riget (The Kingdom), which was set in a hospital and focused on the supernatural and macabre. It proved so popular that it was followed by a sequel, Riget II (1997), and later inspired an American version, adapted by American horror novelist Stephen King, for which vonâŠ
- Rigg, Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth (British actress)
Diana Rigg was an English actress who gained worldwide fame during the 1960s for her portrayal of Emma Peel on the television series The Avengers. The daughter of a government railway supervisor, Rigg spent her early childhood in India, returning to her native Yorkshire at age eight. While
- Rigg, Diana (British actress)
Diana Rigg was an English actress who gained worldwide fame during the 1960s for her portrayal of Emma Peel on the television series The Avengers. The daughter of a government railway supervisor, Rigg spent her early childhood in India, returning to her native Yorkshire at age eight. While
- Riggin, Aileen (American swimmer and diver)
Aileen Riggin was an American swimmer and diver who won three Olympic medals and was the first competitor to win a medal in both a swimming and a diving event at the same Olympics. When Riggin began diving in 1919, she quickly learned that her gender and age would often be obstacles to her desire
- rigging (ship equipment)
rigging, the sails, masts, booms, yards, stays, and lines of a sailing vessel, or its cordage only. The basis of all rigging is the mast, which may be composed of one or many pieces of wood or metal. The mast is supported by stays and shrouds that are known as the standing rigging because they are
- Riggins, Helen (American actress and singer)
Helen Morgan was an American actress and singer whose talent was shown to greatest effect in the 1920s and â30s as a nightclub performer of songs of heartbreak and hard living. Helen Riggins took the name Morgan in her childhood when her divorced mother remarried. Various conflicting accounts of
- Riggins, Jay, Jr. (American musician)
Floyd Dixon was an American rhythm and blues (R&B) musician who was one of the principal exponents of the up-tempo blues style known as West Coast jump blues. Dixon moved with his family to Los Angeles as a child. He taught himself to play the piano and entered amateur music contests, at one of
- Riggins, John (American football player)
Washington Commanders: Running back John Riggins, wide receiver Art Monk, and cornerback Darrell Greenâall future Hall of Famersâstarred for the Redskins during their Super Bowl-winning run, which was also famous for featuring rugged offensive lines known by the nickname âthe Hogs.â Gibbs retired in 1993, and the team promptlyâŠ
- Riggs, Bobby (American tennis player)
Bobby Riggs was an American tennis player who was one of the top-ranked players in the United States in the 1930s and â40s but who was best known for the 1973 âBattle of the Sexes,â a match in which he was defeated by Billie Jean King. Riggs, the son of a minister, began taking tennis lessons at
- Riggs, Elmer (American paleontologist)
Apatosaurus: American paleontologist Elmer Riggs in 1903 ascribed the differences between the two genera to growth and deemed Apatosaurus to be a young Brontosaurus. Since Apatosaurus had been described first, that became the species name. The change took some time to become accepted in museumsâand much longer inâŠ