Wilson Rantus
(1807-1861) Writer, educator, editor. “The Anglo African,” was an abolitionist instrumental in establishing a weekly black newspaper and a school for black children in Jamaica; he lived on Douglas Avenue.
Letter: R
Will Rogers
(1879-1935) Journalist. Will Rogers wrote for “The New York Times,” and lived on Austin Street, Forest Hills, in the early 1920s. Many of his writings have been collected in several books.
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.
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
Henry Jarvis Raymond
(1820-1869) Born in Lima, New York (Livingston County), but lived in New York City. He worked for the “Tribune” and gained further experience editing the respectable, old-fashioned, political “Courier and Enquirer.” He eventually perceived that there was an opening for a type of newspaper which should stand midway between Greeley, the moralist and reformer, and … Continued
Elmer Rice
(1892-1967) Dramatist, playwright. Wrote over fifteen plays and five novels including “Street Scene” (1929). He lived in Manhattan and was also regional director of the N.Y. Federal Theater project during the 1930s. Worked with DOROTHY PARKER, Philip Barry, etc.
(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.