Rodir

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Roger II

terms of peace to Tripoli and Tunis. Imme-
diately on the declaration of war in 1812,
Rodgers put to sea with a squadron captur-
ing some valuable prizes, and in 1814 assisted
in erecting batteries for the defence of Balti-
more. He was acting secretary of the navy in
1823, and was in command of the Mediter-
ranean squadron in 1824-27.

Rodin, Auguste (1840-1917), French
sculptor and painter, was born in Paris. An
impressionist in method, he was so keen a
realist in execution that he was accused of
having cast his L'Age d'Air can (in the Lux-
embourg, Paris) upon a living model. His re-
markable and daring studies of the human
figure developed his fine modelling of con-
tours, the production of exquisite sincerity of
line, the expression of rhythmic movement of
the human form. His chief characteristic is his
extraordinary power in the synthesis of psy-
chic expression. His much-abused Balzac is
not so much a statue of the man as an em-
bodiment of the Comedie Humaine. His
Victor Hugo is a presentment of the genius
of the poet; and his ,/Tm is less the embrace
of two people than the psychology of passion
in the kiss. His intense belief that beauty is
life, in whatsoever form, raises the most an-
imalistic of his statues above the charge of
coarseness. Each work produced was hotly
discussed and abused—more than once the
commission was withdrawn. Among his best
known works are The Thinker; Gate of Hell
and The Pillar of Work. Several of his works
are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and
a Rodin Museum was opened in Philadelphia
in 1929.

Rodney, George Brydges Rodney,
Lord (1719-92), British admiral, was born at
Walton-on-lhames. In 1780, having relieved
Gibraltar, he proceeded to the W, Indies, and
engaged the French under De Guichen; off
Martinique. After capturing St. Eustatia in
1781, Rodney fought a great battle off the
Saintes, and crushingly defeated the French
under De Grasse in 1782. For this he was
created a peer. In 1781 he had been appointed
vice-admiral of Great Britain.

Rodosto, or Bisanthe (Turk. Tekir-dagh),
tn., on Sea of Marmora, Turkey in Europe.

Roebling, John Augustus (1806-69),
German - American civil engineer. He was
born in Miihlhausen, Prussia, and in 1851 he
designed the famous old Niagara Suspension
Bridge, the first of the kind to carry railroad
trains, which was completed in 1855. In 1867
he was appointed chief engineer of construc-
tion of tie East- River or Brooklyn suspen-

sion bridge, which was to eclipse entirely
every work of its kind. He was author of
Long and Short Span Railway Bridges
(1869).

Roebling, Washington Augustus (1837-
1926), American civil engineer, son of John
A. Roebling. He constructed a suspension
bridge over the Rappahannock river, and
one over the Shenandoah river at Harper's
Ferry. In 1869 he assumed his father's posi-
tion as supervising engineer of the Brooklyn
bridge, and successfully completed it in 1883.

Roedeer (Cervus capreolus), a small spe-
cies of deer which is widely distributed
throughout Europe and extends into W.
Asia. It is indigenous in the British Isles, but
as a wild animal is now very rare. The roe is
essentially a forest animal, whereas the open
hillsides are the natural haunt of the red deer.

Roerich, Nicholas Constantinovich
(1874- ), Russian painter, formerly a lead-
er in the Moscow Art Theatre and the Diag-
ilev Ballet, came to America in 1920 and
resided for a time in New York City. He
is well known for his works for the theatre
which include the scenery for Prince Igor,
and the libretto for Stravinsky's The Rite of
Spring, for which Roerich also designed the
scenery and the costumes. He spent 5 years
painting in Central Asia, and has painted a
total of over 3,000 pictures. The Roerich Mu-
seum, 310 Riverside Drive, New York City,
contains 1,006 of his works. He has published
several books including Himalaya (1926);
Maitreya (1932).

Roeskilde, or Roskilde, tn., isl. Zealand,
Denmark, at head of fjord of same name;
has a fine nth-century cathedral, containing
tombs of Danish sovereigns. It was often the
capital of Denmark before 1443. By the
treaty of Roeskilde, 1658, Denmark trans-
ferred to Sweden her possessions beyond the
Sound; p. 13,540.

Rogation Days, the Monday, Tuesday,
and Wednesday before Ascension Day, which
are appointed for prayer and abstinence. The
Sunday before *is called Rogation Sunday.
The rogation days are now observed to seek
God's blessing upon the land and its fruits.

Roger L (1031-1101), count of Sicily, was
a native of Normandy. In 1072 he succeeded
in wresting Sicily from the Saracens, when
he was invested by his brother, Robert Guis-
card, with the sovereignty of Sicily, under
the title of cbunt. On the death of Robert
(1085) he succeeded to his possessions in S.
Italy.

Roger II.,(1098-1154) > king of Sicily, was