Redgrave, Sir Michael (Scudamore) (b. March 20, 1908, Bris¬ tol, Gloucestershire, Eng.—d. March 21, 1985, Denham, Buckingham¬ shire) British actor. He made his stage debut in 1934 and acted with the Old Vic and the National Theatre in classic roles from William Shake¬ speare, Henrik Ibsen, and Anton Chekhov and in modem works such as Family Reunion (1939) and Tiger at the Gate (1955). Noted for his refined good looks and expressive voice, he began his film career in The Lady Vanishes (1938) and continued with roles in Dead of Night (1945), Mourn¬ ing Becomes Electra (1947), and The Browning Version (1951).
Redgrave, Vanessa (b. Jan. 30, 1937, London, Eng.) British actress. The daughter of actor Michael Redgrave, she made her London stage debut in 1958 and won praise as Rosalind in As You Like 7/ (1961). Her perfor¬ mances in such movies as Blow-Up (1966), Camelot (1967), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), and Julia (1977, Academy Award) won her critical adu¬ lation. Though criticized by some for her left-wing political activism, especially on behalf of Palestinians, she continued to win acclaim for her work on stage and screen. Her later films included The Bostonians (1984), Howards End (1992), and Mrs. Dalloway (1998).
Redi Vre-de\, Francesco (b. Feb. 19, 1626, Arezzo, Italy—d. March 1, 1697, Pisa) Italian physician and poet. While working as physician to the dukes of Tuscany, he demonstrated in 1668, in one of the first bio¬ logical experiments with proper controls, that the presence of maggots in rotting meat does not result from spontaneous generation. Redi set up a series of flasks containing different meats; half were sealed, half open. He repeated the experiment, replacing the sealed flasks with gauze-covered flasks. Though the meat in all the flasks rotted, Redi found that only in the uncovered flasks, which flies had entered freely, did the meat contain maggots. As a poet, he is known chiefly for his “Bacco in Toscana”
(1685).
Redon \r3-'do n \, Odilon (b. April 20, 1840, Bordeaux, Fr.—d. July 6, 1916, Paris) French painter, lithogra¬ pher, and etcher. He studied under Jean-Leon Gerome and learned lithog¬ raphy under Henri Fantin-Latour. He came to be associated with the Sym¬ bolist painters. His oils and pastels, chiefly still lifes with flowers, won him admiration as a colourist from
Odilon Redon, self-portrait, 1904; in a private collection.
ARCHIVES PHOTOGRAPHIQUES, PARIS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1600 I Redoute ► reed instrument
Henri Matisse and other painters. His prints (nearly 200 in all), which explore fantastic, often macabre themes, foreshadowed Surrealism and Dada.
Redoute \r9-du-'ta\, Pierre Joseph (b. July 10, 1759, Saint-Hubert, Luxembourg—d. June 20, 1840, Paris, France) French botanical painter. He became a favoured artist at the court of France, patronized by kings from Louis XVI to Louis- Philippe. His delicate botanical prints were not only framed as pictures but also used for china patterns. His Les Liliacees (1802-15) contained 500 plates of lilies. However, roses became his spe¬ cialty; Les Roses (1817-21) is considered his finest series, and its classic images are still widely reproduced.
redox See oxidation-reduction
redshift Displacement of the spectrum of an astronomical object toward longer wavelengths (visible light shifts toward the red end of the spec¬ trum). In 1929 Edwin Hubble reported that distant galaxies had redshifts proportionate to their distances (see Hubble's constant). Since redshifts can be caused by motion of an object away from the observer (the Doppler effect), Hubble concluded that all galaxies are receding from each other. This became the cornerstone of theories of an expanding universe.
redstart Any of about 11 species of Old World chat-thrushes (see chat) in the genus Phoenicurus (family Turdidae) or about 12 New World species of wood warblers (family Parulidae) of similar appearance and behaviour. Old World redstarts have a red tail, which they constantly flit or shiver. They are about 6 in. (14 cm) long. The male common redstart (P. phoenicurus) is gray, with a black face and throat and reddish breast.
New World redstarts (genera Seto- phaga and Myioborus) are usually strikingly marked with black, white, and red.
reduction Any of a class of chemi¬ cal reactions in which the number of electrons associated with an atom or group of atoms is increased. The electrons taken up by the substance reduced are supplied by another substance, often hydrogen (H 2 ), which is thereby oxidized. See also oxidation-reduction.
redwood or sequoia Coniferous evergreen timber tree ( Sequoia sem- pervirens) of the family Taxodiaceae, found in the fog belt of west-coastal North America. It grows in the coastal range from southwestern Oregon to central California at elevations up to 3,300 ft (1,000 m). The genus name commemorates the Cherokee Indian Sequoyah. The redwood is sometimes called coast redwood to distinguish it from the Sierra redwood (or big tree) and the Japanese redwood (or Japanese cedar). Redwoods are the tallest living trees, often exceeding 300 ft (90 m) in height; one has reached 368 ft (112 m). Typical trunk diameters are 10-20 ft (3-6 m) or more. The redwood tree takes 400-500 years to reach maturity; some are known to be more than 1,500 years old. As the tree ages, the lower limbs fall away, leaving a columnar trunk. Redwood timber has been used for furniture, shingles, fence posts, paneling, and fine wood objects. Today many of the remaining redwood stands are protected (see Redwood National Park; Sequoia National Park). See also dawn redwood.
Redwood National Park National park, northwestern comer of California, U.S. It was established in 1968, expanded in 1978, and des¬ ignated a World Heritage site in 1980. It preserves virgin groves of ancient redwood trees, including the world’s tallest, 367.8 ft (112.1 m) high. It also includes 40 mi (65 km) of scenic Pacific coastline. It covers an area of 172 sq mi (445 sq km), including land in three state parks.
reed In botany, any of several species of large aquatic grasses, especially the four species in the genus Phragmites (family Poaceae, or Gramineae). The common, or water, reed (P. australis ) occurs along the margins of lakes, fens, marshes, and streams from the Arctic to the tropics. It is a broad-leaved grass, about 5-15 ft (1.5-5 m) tall, with feathery flower clus¬ ters and stiff, smooth stems. Bur reed (genus Sparganium) and reed mace (genus Typha ) are plants of other families. Dried reed stems have been used for millennia as thatching and construction material, in basketry, for arrows and pens, and in musical instruments (see reed instruments).
Reed/ Sir Carol (b. Dec. 30, 1906, London, Eng.—d. April 25, 1976, London) British film director. He made his stage debut as an actor in 1924 and as a director in 1927, staging Edgar Wallace’s detective thrillers. He began directing films in 1935, winning praise for The Stars Look Down (1939), Night Train (1940), and the wartime semidocumentary The True Glory (1945). Noted for his technical mastery of the suspense-thriller genre, he had great success with Odd Man Out (1947), The Fallen Idol (1948), and the classic The Third Man (1949). His later films include The Key (1958), Our Man in Havana (1959), and Oliver! (1968, Academy Award). He was the first British film director to be knighted.