Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 08.djvu/63

LEFT RICHTHOFEN 45 RICKENBACKER travagant idolatry on the part of the women of Germany, especially of those who dabbled in literature. He found all women charming, he was a delightful talker and a good listener, and had a sweet and sympathetic smile — qualities that explain a good deal. In 1801 he married a Berlin lady, and three years later settled down at Bayreuth. There he spent the rest of his days, leading a simple, busy life, writing his books, play- ing with his children, tending his pet animals, and taking short summer jour- neys to different towns of Germany. His last years were clouded by the death of his only son, a promising student, in 1821, and by his own blindness. From 1799 he enjoyed a pension from the Prince- primate Dalberg, and then from the King of Bavaria. He died Nov. 14, 1825. The principal works of his married life were the two grand romances, "Titan" (1800-1803; Eng. trans. 1862) and "Wild Oats" (1804-1805; Eng. trans, as "Walt and Vult," 1849), the former accounted by himself and by most German critics his masterpiece, though Englishmen would generally prefer the latter, as they would certainly prefer "Siebenkas" to "Hesperus"; "Schmeltzle's Journey to Flatz" (1809; Eng. trans, by Carlyle, 1827) and "Dr. Katzenberger's Trip to the Spa" (1809), the best two of his satirico-humorous writings; the idyll "Fibel's Life" (1811); the fragment of another grand romance, "Nicholas Mark- graf, or The Comet" (1820-1822) ; a se- ries of reflections on "Literature" ("Vors- schule der iEsthetik"; improved ed. 1812), containing many excellent things about poetry, humor, wit, style; another series on "Education" ("Levana," 1807; Eng. trans. 1848, 1876, and 1887), a book that ranks with Rousseau's "Emile" as a stand- ard work on training the young, and is full of evergreen wisdom; various patri- otic writings (1808-1812) ; and an unfin- ished "Autobiography" (1826), the finest of all his idylls. Jean Paul stands apart entirely by himself in German literature, a humorist of the first water, a Titan. As a master of pathos he is put by De Quincey above Sterne. RICHTHOFEN, FERDINAND BARON VON, a German geographer; born in Karlsruhe, Silesia, May 5, 1833; was educated at Breslau and Berlin uni- versities, and at the Geological Institute of Vienna (1856) ; and in 1860 accom- panied a Prussian expedition to eastern Asia. The next 12 years he spent in traveling through Java, Siam, Burma, California, Sierra Nevada, and China and Japan (1868-1872). He was appointed president of the Berlin Geographical So- ciety (1873-1878), Professor of Geology at Bonn (1875), and of Geography at Leip- sic (1883) and at Berlin (1886). His reputation as a geographer is built prin- cipally upon his great work on "China" (Berlin, 4 vols. 1877-1883), and upon "The Metallic Production of California" (1865), "The Natural System of Vol- canic Rocks" (San Francisco, 1867), "Ex- ercises and Methods of Modern Geogra- phy" (1883). He died Oct. 6, 1905. RICIMER, a general of barbarian de- scent who ruled the W. Roman empire by emperors whom he set up and put down at will. He dethroned Avitus in 456, and appointed Majorianus emperor, whom he caused to be assassinated in 461. He then placed Libius Severus on the throne, and on his death in 465 he car- ried on the government for some time alone. In 467 Anthemius was put on the throne, and gave his daughter in mar- riage to Ricimer. The latter soon took up arms against his father-in-law, who was assassinated in 472. Ricimer died soon after. RICKENBACKER, EDWARD VER- NON ("EDDIE"), an American aviator, born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1890. Early D— Cyc EDWARD VERNON RICKENBACKER in his life he acquired a wide reputation as an automobile racer, winning many championships at national and interna- tional meetings. On the entrance of Vol 8