Revolution of 1688 See Glorious Revolution Revolutionary War See American Revolution
Revolutions of 1848 Series of republican revolts against European monarchies. The revolutions began in Sicily and spread to France, the German and Italian states, and the Austrian Empire. In France the revo¬ lution established the Second Republic, and in central Europe liberal politi¬ cal reform and national unification appeared likely. However, the armies loyal to the monarchies soon reestablished their power and rescinded most of the promised reforms. The revolts eventually ended in failure and repression, and they were followed by widespread disillusionment among liberals.
revolver Pistol with a revolving cylinder that provides multishot action. Some early versions, known as pepperboxes, had several barrels, but as early as the 17th century pistols were being made with a revolving cham¬ ber to load cartridges into a single barrel. The first practical revolver was not designed until 1835, when Samuel Colt patented his version. He estab¬ lished the standard of a cylinder with multiple chambers, each of which successively locked in position behind the barrel and was discharged by pressure on the trigger. In Colt’s early single-action revolvers, the cylin¬ der revolved as the hammer was cocked manually. Double-action revolv¬ ers, in which the hammer is cocked and the cylinder revolves as the trigger is pulled, were developed soon afterward, along with metal cartridges.
revue Theatrical production of brief, loosely connected, often satirical skits, songs, and dances. Originally derived from the medieval French street fair, the modern revue dates from the early 19th century with the Parisian Folies Marigny and later at the Folies-Bergere. The English revue developed in two forms: one as the costume display and spectacle of the Court Theatre productions in the 1890s and another as the Andre Chariot Revues of the 1920s and the London Hippodrome shows, which empha¬ sized clever repartee and topicality. In the U.S. the Ziegfeld Follies began in 1907 and usually featured a star personality. Revues appeared periodi¬ cally on Broadway and West End stages until competition from movies and television moved the form to small nightclubs and improvisational theatres.
Rexroth, Kenneth (b. Dec. 22, 1905, South Bend, Ind., U.S.—d. June 6, 1982, Santa Barbara, Calif.) U.S. painter, essayist, poet, and translator. The largely self-educated Rexroth spent much of his youth traveling in the West, organizing and speaking for unions. His early poems were experimental, influenced by Surrealism; his later work was praised for its tight form and its wit and humanistic passion. He was an early champion of the Beat movement. His works include essays in Assays (1962) and With Eye and Ear (1970); and many translations of Japanese, Chinese, Greek, Latin, and Spanish poetry.
Rey See Rhagae
Reye syndrome Acute neurological illness in children, following influenza, chickenpox, or other viral infections. Vomiting, lethargy, and confusion begin as the child appeal’s to be recovering. These symptoms are followed hours or days later by drowsiness, disorientation, seizures, respiratory arrest, and coma. At worst, the syndrome includes fatty liver degeneration and potentially fatal brain swelling. There is no specific cure, but treatment of imbalances helps over 70% of patients survive (some with brain damage). The incidence has decreased since the recognition that it often follows use of aspirin or other salicylic acid derivatives in chil¬ dren during a viral illness. It can also result from aflatoxin or warfarin poisoning.
Reykjavik Vra-kya-,vek\ City (pop., 1999 est.: 109,152), capital of Ice¬ land. According to tradition, it was founded in 874 by the Norseman Ingolfur Arnarson. Until the 20th century it was a small fishing village at the southeastern corner of Faxa Bay, ruled and largely inhabited by Danes. It became the capital of a self-governing Iceland under the Danish king in 1918 and of the independent Republic of Iceland in 1944. During World War II it was a U.S. naval and air base. In 1986 arms-control talks between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. were held there. It is the commercial, industrial, and cultural centre of the island, its major fishing port, and the site of nearly half of the nation’s industries.
Reymont Vra-.montV, Wtadystaw (Stanistaw) or Wtadystaw Stanistaw Rejment (b. May 7, 1867, Kobiele Wielkie, Pol., Russian Empire—d. Dec. 5, 1925, Warsaw, Pol.) Polish novelist. He never finished his schooling and worked in his youth as a shop apprentice, a lay brother in a monastery, a railway official, and an actor. His short stories and novels are written in a naturalistic, factual style with short sentences. His best work, The Peasants (1904-09), is a four-volume chronicle of peasant life over the
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1614 I Reynaud ► rhesus monkey
course of a year, written in peasant dialect. Translated into many languages, it won Reymont the 1924 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Reynaud Nra-'noV, Paul (b. Oct. 15, 1878, Barcelonnette, France—d. Sept. 21, 1966, Paris) French politician and premier (1940). After serv¬ ing in World War I, he served in the Chamber of Deputies (1919-24, 1928^-0) and in cabinet positions (1930-32). As minister of finance (1938^40) and premier (1940), he called on France to resist Nazi Ger¬ many. After the German invasion, Reynaud resigned rather than conclude an armistice; he was arrested and kept in captivity (1940-45). He returned to the Chamber of Deputies (1946-62) and helped draft the constitution of the Fifth Republic.
Reynolds, Sir Joshua (b. July 16, 1723, Plympton, Devon, Eng.—d. Feb. 23, 1792, London) British portrait painter. Son of a clergyman- schoolmaster, he was apprenticed to a London portraitist in 1740. His large group portrait The Eliot Family (c. 1746) reveals the influence of Anthony Van Dyck. The impressions he gained during two years in Italy (1750-52), particularly in Venice, inspired his painting for the rest of his life. He established a portrait studio in London in 1753 and was imme¬ diately successful. His early London portraits introduced new vigour into English portraiture. After 1760, with the increasing vogue for Greco- Roman antiquity, his style became increasingly Classical and self- conscious. He was elected the first president of the Royal Academy in 1768. Through his art and teaching, Reynolds led British painting away from the anecdotal pictures of the early 18th century toward the formal rhetoric of continental academic painting. His Discourses Delivered at the Royal Academy (1769-90), advocating rigorous academic training and study of the Old Masters, ranks among the most important art criticism of the time.
Reynolds, Osborne (b. Aug. 23, 1842, Belfast, Ire.—d. Feb. 21, 1912, Watchet, Somerset, Eng.) British engineer and physicist. Educated at Cambridge University, he became the first professor of engineering at the University of Manchester (1868). Best known for his work in hydrau¬ lics and hydrodynamics, he formulated the law of resistance in parallel channels (1883), the theory of lubrication (1886), and the standard math¬ ematical framework used in turbulence work (1889). He studied wave engineering and tidal motions in rivers and made pioneering contributions to the concept of group velocity. The Reynolds stress in fluids with tur¬ bulent motion and the Reynolds number are named for him.