Theodore Roosevelt
(1858-1919) Historian, naturalist, statesman, Nobel Peace Prize winner, President of the United States. Theodore Roosevelt was born in New York City and made his home, for many years, at “Sagamore Hill” in Oyster Bay, New York.
Letter: R
(Rolla) Lynn Riggs
(1899-1954) Poet and dramatist, playwright. The son of a cattleman, he early became familiar with life on the range and the cowboy idiom used so effectively in several of his plays. In his second year as a student at the University of Oklahoma (1920-23) he taught courses in freshman English. His first play, a farce, … Continued
Jacob A Riis
(1849-1914) Writer, reformer, documentary photographer, journalist, muckraker. Jacob A. Riis was born in Ribe, Denmark, and died in Barre, Massachusetts. He wrote about what he saw on the New York City streets, influencing change in the city. He lived in Richmond Hill.
Edwin Arlington Robinson
(1869-1935) Poet, Pulitzer Prize Winner. Edwin Robinson was born in Head Tide, Maine, and attended Harvard University from 1891 – 1893. At the time of his death Robinson was considered by many to be the greatest poet in the United States. He is now best remembered for his short poems characterizing various residents of “Tilbury … Continued
Harold Ross
(1892-1951) Writer, editor. “The New Yorker,” was a member of the Algonquin Hotel’s Round Table.
Paul Leopold Rosenfeld
(1890-1946) Writer, journalist, editor. Paul Rosenfeld lived in Manhattan, New York. Rosenfeld wrote for the magazine “The Dial”. He also co-edited, with Van Wyck Brooks, Alfred Kreymborg, and Lewis Mumford, “American Caraavan: A Yearbook of American Literature.”
Susanna Haswell Rowson
(1762-1824) Writer. A New Englander, Susanna Rowson lived in Manhattan, New York, and wrote “Charlotte Temple” (1791), which could be the first novel based in New York City. It went through 150 editions and was a best seller for 50 years until Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
Muriel Rukeyser
(1913-1980) Very political poet, journalist. Muriel Rukeyser was born in New York City. She attended the Fieldston schools and matriculated at Vassar. From 1930-1932, she attended Columbia University. She traveled to Alabama to cover the Scottsboro case. She was also involved with the International Labor Defense, worked for the “Daily Worker,” went to Spain to … Continued
Morrie Ryskind
(1895-1985) Lyricist, librettist, screenwriter. Morrie Ryskind was born in New York City and died in Washington, District of Columbia.
Ayn Rand
(1905-1982) Russian-American novelist. Ayn Rand lived in Manhattan, New York. She came to the United States in 1926 from Leningrad and worked for many years as a screenwriter. Her novels are romantic and dramatic, and they espouse a philosophy of rational self-interest that opposes the altruistic tendencies of the modern welfare state. In 1999 the … Continued