R. Buckminster Fuller (1895 - 1983)

R. Buckminster Fuller Inventor, architect, engineer, mathematician, poet and cosmologist. He was awarded 25 U.S. patents, authored 28 books, received 47 honorary doctorates in the arts, science, engineering and the humanities. He received dozens of major architectural and design awards including, among many others, the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects and the […]

R. G. Armstrong (1917 - 2012)

R. G. Armstrong R. G. Armstrong Jr., a rough-hewed character actor known for playing sheriffs, outlaws and other macho roles, died on Friday at his home in Studio City, Calif. He was 95. His death was confirmed by his daughter Robbie Armstrong-Dunham. Mr. Armstrong’s five-decade career took off with guest spots on virtually all the […]

R. J. Adams (1942 - 2015)

R. J. Adams was born in St. Catharines, Ontario where he spent his early childhood until his family headed across the border to Niagara Falls, New York. Known to his friends as Bob Adams, the aspiring actor/radio D.J. spent just a couple of years attending Bishop Duffy High school before dropping out and moving to […]

Raaj Kumar (1926 - 1996)

Raaj Kumar was born in Loralai, Balochistan, Pakistan in a Kashmiri Pandit family. In the late 1940s he moved to Mumbai, India where he became Sub-inspector of the Mumbai Police. He married Jennifer, an Anglo-Indian, whom he met on a flight where she was the airhostess. She later changed her name to Gayatri per Hindu […]

Rabbi Judah Monis (1683 - 1764)

America’s first Hebrew instructor. He taught at Harvard University for 38 years, from 1722-1760. He was one of the earlist Jewish converts to Christianity in the United States. In 1735, he published the first Hebrew grammar textbook in North America. (bio by: Rich H.)  Family links:  Spouse:  Abigail Marrett Monis (1701 – 1760)* *Calculated relationship […]

Rabbi Menachem Froman (1945 - 2013)

Israeli Orthodox rabbi, educator and negotiator. He was one of the few Israelis who spoke with Palestinian Islamists of Hamas and  thought that was  possible peace with this movement that advocates the destruction of Israel. He was the rabbi of the Jewish settlement of Tekoa, south of the occupied West Bank Border, that believed that […]

Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

Rabindranath Tagore (Listeni/rəˈbindrəˈnɑːt ˈtɑːɡɔr/; Bengali pronunciation: [robind̪ro nat̪ʰ ʈʰakur]), also written Rabīndranātha Thākura, (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941),γ[›] sobriquet Gurudev,δ[›] was a Bengali polymath who reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Author of Gitanjali and its “profoundly sensitive, […]

Rachel Carson (1907 - 1964)

Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, author, and conservationist whose book Silent Spring and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement. Rachel Carson began her career as an aquatic biologist in the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, and became a full-time nature writer in […]

Rachel Félix (1828 - 1970)

Rachel Félix She became a prominent figure in French society, and was the mistress of, among others, Napoleon III and Napoleon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte. Efforts by newspapers to publish pictures of her on her deathbed led to the introduction of privacy rights into French law. Rachel Félix was born as Elisabeth Félix on 28 […]

Rachel Jackson (1767 - 1828)

Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson, born Rachel Donelson, (June 15, 1767 – December 22, 1828) was the wife of Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States. She lived with him at their home at The Hermitage, but died before his inauguration in 1829, and therefore was never First Lady. Rachel Donelson was born near […]

Rachel Louise Carson (1907 - 1964)

Biologist, Writer, Ecologist. The youngest of three children, Rachel grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania, where she credits her mother for instilling and nurturing a passion for nature. She graduated with honors from the Pennsylvania College for Women in 1929, and received her Masters in Marine Biology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932. After […]

Rachel Roberts (1927 - 1980)

Rachel Roberts was born in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. After a Baptist upbringing (against which she rebelled), followed by study at the University of Wales and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she began working with a repertory company in Swansea in 1950. She made her film debut in the Welsh-set comedy Valley of Song (1953), […]

Rachel Scott (1981 - 1999)

Rachel Scott was born on August 5, 1981, in Denver, Colorado, the third of five children of Darrell Scott (1949 – ) and Beth Nimmo (1953 – ). Her older sisters are Bethanee (1975 – ) and Dana (1976 – ) and her two younger brothers are Craig (1983 – ) and Mike (1984 – […]

Rae Brown (1970 - 2000)

Rae Brown is probably best remembered for her portrayal of down-to-earth, warm-hearted Molly, the owner of Molly’s Reach Cafe in the long-running Beachcombers series which was shot on location in Gibsons, B.C.  Rae Brown is probably best remembered for her portrayal of down-to-earth, warm-hearted Molly, the owner of Molly’s Reach Cafe in the long-running Beachcombers […]

Raf Vallone (1916 - 2002)

Raffaele “Raf” Vallone (17 February 1916 – 31 October 2002) was an Italian footballer, actor and an international film star. Born in Tropea, Calabria, the son of a lawyer, Vallone attended Liceo classico Cavour in Turin, and studied Law and Philosophy at the University of Turin and entered his father’s law firm. He played professional Football […]

Rafael Alberti (1902 - 1999)

Poet. Born in Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain, hw founded the revolutionary magazine “Octubre” and fought against the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. He is best remembered for his books “Marinero en tierra” (1924), “Sobre los ángeles” (1928), and “Entre el clavel y la espada” (1939). He was cremated and his ashes scattered in […]

Rafael Alonso (1920 - 1998)

He was born in Madrid in 1920. After the Spanish Civil War, he began studying Declamation and Dramatic Art along with Fernando Fernán Gómez and Manuel Alexandre. Once concluded, he began working in the theatre company of Ricardo Calvo, in which he made his premiere in 1940 with the piece “La vida es sueño”. He […]

Rafael Bardem (1889 - 1972)

Actor. He was born in Barcelona (Catalunya) and died in Madrid. He began his career on stage at the age of 20 in the company of Rosario Pino and became one of the legendary spanish stage actors of the Twentieth Century. On stage, he worked in “Un Espíritu Burlon” (1946), “El Caso de la Mujer […]

Rafael Barradas (1890 - 1929)

Painter. Born of Spanish parents in Montevideo, Uruguay,  he moved to Barcelona in 1913, where he would spend most of his career. He worked as illustrator for the magazine “Alfar”,  and with Jorge Luis Borges for “Tableros.” Barradas became a leader of the avant-garde in Spanish painting. Among his works are “Los Emigrantes”, “García Lorca […]

Rafael Campos, Jr (1936 - 1985)

Actor. He is best remembered for his role as ‘Ramon Diaz Jr.’ on the “Rhoda” television series from 1977 to 1978. Among his films are, “The Return Of Josey Wales” (1986), “Fever Pitch” (1985), “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1984), “Heartbreaker” (1983), “V” (1983), “The Return Of Frank Cannon” (1980), “Where The Buffalo Roam” (1980), “The […]

Rafael Guastavino (1842 - 1908)

Builder and architect who created Grant’s Tomb, the Great Hall at Ellis Island, Grand Central Station, Carnegie Hall, and Biltmore, among many others.  (bio by: S. Donaldson)  Family links:  Children:  Rafael Guastavino Expósito (1872 – 1950)* *Calculated relationship

Rafaela Aparicio (1906 - 1996)

Actress. A poplar theater and motion picture actress, he is best remembered for her films “Atraco a las Tres” (1962), “Sor Citroen” (1967), “El Extraño Viaje” (1967), “La Casa de los Martínez” (1971), “Mamá Cumple 100 Años” (1979), “El Sur” (1982), “El Mar y el Tiempo” (1989), “Mala Yerba” (1991), and “Oh, Cielos” (1994), which […]

Rafaela Ottiano (1888 - 1942)

Actress. The severe-looking character actress from stage and film, will probably best be remembered as Greta Garbo’s overly protective caretaker, Suzette, in the 1932 classic ‘Grand Hotel’. Ottiano established herself as a stage actress in Europe before appearing on Broadway in ‘Sweeney Todd’ (1924), ‘Diamond Lil’ (1928), and the play version of ‘Grand Hotel’ (1930). […]

Rainey Bethea (1909 - 1936)

Criminal. He was the last person to be publicly executed in America.  Born ca. 1909-1913 in Roanoke, Virginia, Bethea, a young African-American, moved to Owensboro, Kentucky, in order to find work in the tobacco fields.  Local police charged him with various petty offenses, but in 1935, he was convicted of stealing a purse and sentenced […]

Raita Fujiyama (1863 - 1938)

Raita Fujiyama Fujiyama was born in Matsuura-gun in Hizen Province (modern-day Imari City, Saga Prefecture), to the village headman and a feudal retainer of the Saga Domain. After studying at the Kodokan (a school of the Saga Domain), he studied at the Nagasaki Normal School (a school of education). When he graduated, he took jobs […]

Raleigh Bond (1935 - 1989)

Actor. He appeared in “The Onion Field” (1979), “Pennies from Heaven” (1981), “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” (1982), and as ‘Raleigh’ on the television series “Alice”(1979 to 1981). (bio by: Ginny M)

Raleigh Bond (1935 - 1989)

Actor. He appeared in “The Onion Field” (1979), “Pennies from Heaven” (1981), “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” (1982), and as ‘Raleigh’ on the television series “Alice”(1979 to 1981).

Ralf Belmont (1882 - 1964)

Actor. American stage figure of the 1920s through the 1960s. Died instantly when he and friend/actor Percy Kilbride were struck by a car while out walking. (bio by: A.J. Marik) Cause of death: Struck by automobile

Ralph Adams Cram (1863 - 1942)

Architect, Author. Inspired by the influential English critic John Ruskin, he became an ardent advocate of and authority on English and French Gothic styles. He produced many collegiate and ecclesiastical works in a neo-Gothic style. Winning the West Point competition brought national attention to him and in 1907 Cram was appointed Campus Architect, a position […]

Ralph Albert Blakelock (1847 - 1919)

Artist. American romantic painter. One of the great original romantic artists of late-19th-century America. After attending a year and a half of college, he dropped out and inspired to take up painting. His highly original work, often painted from memories, was not highly popular among contemporaries. His favorite theme was the deep forest with its […]