ROBSON 



6652 



ROCHAMBEAU 



Robson, WILLIAM SNOWDON 

 ROMON, BARON (1852-1918). Brit- 

 ish politician. The son of Robert 

 Robson, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 

 he was born Sept. 10, 1852, and edu- 

 cated privately and at Caius Col- 

 lege, Cambridge. Called to the bar 

 in 1880, he was soon enjoying a good 

 practice, and in 1892 he was made 

 a Q.C. Meanwhile, in 1885-86, he 

 sat in the House of Commons as 

 Liberal M.P. for Bow and Bromley. 

 In 1895 he was returned for S. 

 Shields, and in 1905 he joined the 

 Liberal ministry as solicitor- 

 general Promoted attorney- 

 general in 1908, he was made a lord 

 of appeal, a life peer as Baron 

 Robson of Jesmond, and a privy 

 councillor in 1910. He retired in 

 1912, and died Sept. 11, 1918. 



Robson, THOMAS FREDERICK 

 (1822-64). Stage name of Thomas 

 Robson Brownhill, British actor. 

 Born at Mar- 

 gate, he start- 

 ed life as a 

 copper-plate 

 engraver, and 

 after some 

 years in ob- 

 scure theatres 

 acquired, in 

 1853, a sudden 

 reputation for 

 burlesque at 

 the Olympic 

 Theatre, London, in Frank Tal- 

 fourd's travesties of Macbeth and 

 Shylock. In August, 1857, he 

 undertook the management of the 

 theatre, appearing with great 

 success in such domestic dramas 

 as The Porter's Knot, 1858, and 

 The Chimney Comer, 1861. Rob- 

 son excelled in the humour that 

 verges on pathos, and in grotesque 

 parts he has seldom been surpassed. 

 He died Aug. 12, 1864. 



Robson Peak. Mt. in the Cana- 

 dian Rockies. It is on the border 

 between Alberta and British 

 Columbia to the N.W. of Jasper 

 Forest Park and the Yellowhead 

 Pass, both of which are traversed 

 by the C.N. Rly. Alt. 13,068 ft. 



Roburite. Ammonium nitrate 

 safety explosive. Several varieties 

 are made in England and Germany, 

 trinitrotoluene being employed as 

 the sensitiser. The usual English 

 variety contains trinitrotoluene, 16 

 p.c. ; ammonium nitrate, 61 p.c. ; 

 and sodium chloride, 23 p.c. See 

 Explosives ; Safety Explosives. 



Roby , HENRY JOHN ( 1830-1915). 

 British scholar. * Born at Tarn- 

 worth, Aug. 12, 1830, he was edu- 

 cated at Bridgnorth and S. John's 

 College, Cambridge, where he 

 graduated as senior classic in 1853. 

 College lecturer and tutor until 

 1861, he became professor of juris- 

 prudence at University College, 



London, 1866-68. Engaged in 

 cotton-spinning, 1875-93, he be- 

 came M.P. for the Eccles division 

 of S.E. Lancashire, 1890-95. 

 Roby was best known for his 

 Grammar of the Latin Language, 

 1871-74. He died Jan. 2, 1915. 



Roc (Arab. rokh). In Oriental 

 legend, a bird of gigantic size. In 

 one of the stories of Sindbad the 

 Sailor, in the Arabian Nights' 

 Entertainments, it is said to feed 

 its young with elephants. It was 

 by tying himself to one of the legs 

 of a roc that Sindbad was carried 

 safely from the island on which he 

 had been left, to be put down near 

 the valley of diamonds. 



Roca, JULIO AHGENTINO (1843- 

 1914). Argentine statesman. Born 

 in Tucuman, he fought in the war 

 against Para- 

 guay, 1865-70, 

 and against 

 the Indians 

 nine years 

 later. Sup- 

 pressing the 

 Buenos Aires 

 insurrection of 

 1880, he was 

 elected presi- 

 dent of Argen- 

 tina, and proved an enlightened and 

 progressive statesman. President 

 again, 1898-1904, he settled a dan- 

 gerous frontier dispute with Chile, 

 1902, and on his retirement he be- 

 came minister to Brazil and then 

 to Paris. He died Oct. 18, 1914. ' 

 Rocamadour. Village of France, 

 in the dept. of Lot. It is pictur- 

 esquely situated in the ravine of 

 Alzou, 400 ft. high, and enclosed 

 by precipitous hills. The churoh of 

 S. Amadour and the chapel of the 

 Virgin stand on the summit of a 

 rock, and are reached by a granite 

 staircase, which pilgrims ascend 

 on their knees. It is one of the most 



I 



Julio Roca, 

 Argentine statesman 



ancient pilgrim resorts of France. 

 A sword preserved here is said to 

 be the famous Durandal of Roland. 

 Pop. 1,050. 



Rocambole OR SAND LEEK 

 (Allium scorodoprasum). Bulbous 

 herb of the natural order Liliaceae, 



Rocamadour, France. Old gateway 



and church of S. Amadour, crowning 



the bill 



Rocambole. Bulb, leaves, and flower- 

 head ; inset, single flower 



native of Europe. It has long, 

 narrow leaves with a central kee! 

 down the underside. The tall 

 flower stem ends in a head of 

 small red-purple flowers margined 

 with white ; it produces little purple 

 bulbs, which are used for the 

 same purpose as those of garlic. 



Roch (c. 1295-1327). French 

 saint. He was born at Mont- 

 pellier, of a noble family, and made 

 a pilgrimage to Rome, after which 

 he devoted himself to the care of 

 the sick in Italy during a great 

 pestilence. He caught the infec- 

 tion, but recovered and returned 

 to France. Accused as a spy, he 

 died in prison, Aug. 16, 1327. S. 

 Roch, the patron of the plague- 

 stricken, is widely venerated in S. 

 Europe, and is commemorated by 

 the magnificent Scuola di S. Rocco 

 at Venice, designed 1517. 



Rocha. Department of S.E. 

 Uruguay. Facing the Atlantic 

 Ocean, its area is 4,280 sq. m. 

 Lead, copper, and iron are found, 

 but the principal industry is stock- 

 raising. Pop. 48,800. The capital, 

 Rocha, is near Cape Polonio,. and 

 about 120 m. E.N.E. of Monte- 

 video. Pop. 5,000. 



Rochambeau, JEAN BAPTISTE 



DONATIEN DE VlMEUR, COMTE DE 



(1725-1807). French soldier. Born 

 at Vendome, 



July 1,1725, he ")v 



served in the 

 War of the Aus- 

 trian Succes- 

 sion, in the Mi- 

 norca Expedi- 

 tion, 1756, and 

 in the Seven 

 Y e a r s' War, 

 and by 1780 had 

 risen to the 

 rank of lieutenant-general. In the 

 same year he was sent in command 



