roasting In metallurgy, usually the first step in smelting ore to extract metal. The ore is heated in the presence of an abundant flow of air to drive off moisture and, if the metal-bearing mineral is a sulfide, convert it to an oxide. Sulfur fumes from ore roasting have been a major source of environmental pollution in the past.
Rob Roy orig. Robert MacGregor (baptized March 7, 1671, Bucha¬ nan, Stirlingshire, Scot.—d. Dec. 28, 1734, Balquhidder, Perthshire) Scot¬ tish Highland outlaw. Nephew of the chief of the MacGregor clan, he became a freebooter and apparently engaged in the time-honoured Bor¬ der practices of cattle stealing and blackmail. After the penal laws against the MacGregors were reintroduced (1693), he took the surname Camp¬ bell and frequently signed himself Rob Roy (“Red Rob”), in reference to his red hair. He became a brigand after his financial ruin in 1712 and exacted tribute for protection against thieves. Arrested in 1722, he was pardoned in 1727. He was glamorously portrayed as a Scottish Robin Hood in Walter Scott’s novel Rob Roy.
Robbe-Grillet \rob-gre-'ya\, Alain (b. Aug. 18, 1922, Brest, France) French writer. Trained as a statistician and agronomist, he became a writer and leading theoretician of the nouveau roman (“new novel”), the French antinovel that emerged in the 1950s. His narratives lack conventional ele¬ ments such as chronological plot and are composed largely of recurring images and repeated fragments of dialogue. Among his works are fiction, including The Erasers (1953), Jealousy (1957), and Djinn (1981); the essay “Towards a New Novel” (1963); and the memoir Ghosts in the Mir¬ ror (1984). He is also a screenwriter and film director; his best-known screenplay is that for Last Year at Marienbad (1961).
robber fly or assassin fly Any of about 4,000 species of predatory dipterans in the family Asilidae, found worldwide. Robber flies are the largest of all dipterans; some spe¬ cies are 3 in. (8 cm) long. Most have a dull-coloured, stout body resem¬ bling that of a bumblebee and a moustache of bristles between the large-faceted eyes. They use their long legs to capture insects in flight and hold them while eating; a fluid injected into the victim breaks down muscle tissue. A few species are seri¬ ous pests of apiaries.
robbery See theft
Robbia family, Della See Delia Robbia family
Robbins, Jerome orig. Jerome Rabinowitz (b. Oct. 11, 1918, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. July 29, 1998, New York City) U.S. dancer, choreographer, and director. He joined Ballet Theatre (later American Bal¬ let Theatre) as a dancer in 1940. His first choreographic success was Fancy Free (set to a musical score by Leonard Bernstein), which was expanded into the musical On the Town (1944). He joined the New York City Ballet in 1948 and soon became associate director (1950-59), creating many works for the company. For the Broadway stage he choreographed suc¬ cessful musicals such as The King and I (1951; film, 1956), West Side Story (1957; film, 1961), Gypsy (1959; television, 1993), and Fiddler on the Roof( 1964). Returning to the New York City Ballet, he was resident choreographer and ballet master (1969-83) and then codirector with Peter Martins until retiring in 1990. His choreography is marked by a blend of modern, academic, and popular dance styles in a variety of American idi¬ oms. See photograph above.
Robert Guiscard \ges-'kar\ (b. c. 1015, Normandy—d. July 17, 1085, near Cephalonia, Greece, Byzantine Empire) Norman adventurer and duke of Apulia (1059-85). Born into a family of Norman knights, he
joined his brothers and half brothers in southern Italy, defeating the Byz¬ antines, Lombards, and papacy (1053) and taking over Apulia. He allied with the papacy (1059), agree¬ ing to oppose the Byzantines and expel the Arabs from Sicily. His brother Roger (later Roger I) helped him to conquer Sicily and Calabria, and he gained control of Salerno in 1076, making it the capital of his duchy. Robert made an abortive attempt to gain the Byzantine throne (1083) but returned to Italy to defend Pope Gregory VII from his enemies.
Robert I known as Robert the Bruce (b. July 11, 1274—d. June 7, 1329, Cardross, Dumbartonshire, Scot.) King of Scotland (1306-29). Though Robert was of Anglo- Jerome Robbins in Fancy Free, 1944. Norman ancestry and held lands in FR E D FEHL both England and Scotland, he sided
with the Scots against England and supported the rebel William Wallace. He gained the Scottish throne in 1306 after stabbing a rival to death in a quarrel. Twice defeated by Edward I (1306), he became a fugitive, hiding on a remote island off the Irish coast. Within a year, Robert returned to Scotland and began gathering supporters, and in 1314 he defeated Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn. Edward III finally recognized him and confirmed Scottish independence in 1328.
Robert II known as Robert Curthose \'kur-toz\ (b. c. 1054—d. Feb¬ ruary 1134, Cardiff, Wales) Duke of Normandy (1087-1106). The eldest son of William I, he was named heir to Normandy but rebelled twice (c. 1077, c. 1082). Robert was exiled to Italy but returned as duke on his father’s death. He pawned Normandy to his brother William II and joined the First Crusade, in which he fought bravely and helped capture Jerus¬ alem (1099). He led an unsuccessful invasion of England after Henry I became king (1100); Henry then invaded Normandy (1105-06) and cap¬ tured Robert, who spent the rest of his life as a prisoner.
Robert II (b. March 2, 1316 —d. April 19, 1390, Dundonald, Ayrshire, Scot.) King of Scotland (1371-90). Grandson of Robert I, he served as regent during the periods of exile and of imprisonment by the English of his uncle, David II, and took the throne on David’s death in 1371 as the first Stuart king and thus was the founder of the house of Stuart. His reign proved anticlimactic; he had little effect on political and military affairs, taking no active part in the renewed war with England (1378-88). Suc¬ cession after his death was disputed by his numerous children (legitimate and illegitimate) and their descendants.
Robert III orig. John Stewart, earl of Carrick (b. c. 1337—d. April 4, 1406, Rothesay, Bute, Scot.) King of Scotland (1390-1406). After having ruled in the name of his father, Robert II, from 1384 to 1388, he assumed the throne in his own right on his father’s death. Physically dis¬ abled by a kick from a horse in 1388, he was never the real ruler of Scot¬ land. His brother Robert, earl of Fife, later duke of Albany, governed during Robert II’s last years and continued to govern throughout Robert Ill’s reign, except for three years when Robert Ill’s eldest son, David, duke of Rothesay, took his place. Robert Ill’s other son became James I.
Robert-Houdin \r6-ber-u-'da n \, Jean-Eugene orig. Jean- Eugene Robert (b. Dec. 6, 1805, Blois, France—d. June 13, 1871, St. Gervais, near Blois) French magician, considered the father of modern conjuring. Trained as a watchmaker, he became a magician at the Palais- Royal (1845-55), performing on a bare stage in evening dress rather than the usual wizardlike costume. He used familiar objects to create his illu¬ sions, then gave a plausible explanation of the technical procedures involved. Robert-Houdin was the first magician to use electricity, and he exposed magicians who relied on supernatural explanations for their feats. In 1856 he was sent to Algeria by the French government to counter the influence of the dervishes, who were encouraging rebellion against French forces, by duplicating their feats.
Roberts, Sir Charles G(eorge) D(ouglas) (b. Jan. 10, 1860, Dou¬ glas, N.B.—d. Nov. 26, 1943, Toronto, Ont., Can.) Canadian poet. At first a teacher and editor, he became a journalist in New York City and lived