Page:EB1911 - Volume 22.djvu/894

 Metallurgie (1850); Handbuch der Krystallographischen Chemie (1855); Handbuch der Mineralchemie (1860); Handbuch der Krystallographisch-physikalischen Chemie (2 vols., 1881–82), some of the earlier works being incorporated in later and more comprehensive volumes with different titles. He died at Gross Lichterfelde, near Berlin, on the 28th of December 1899.

RAM MOHAN ROY (1774–1833), Indian religious reformer, and founder of the (q.v.) or Theistic Church, was born at Radhanagar, in the district of Hugli, Bengal, in May 1774. He was the son of a small landowner, and in his early life acquired a knowledge of Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit, besides his own vernacular, Bengali. At the age of sixteen he first assailed idolatry in his Bengali work, entitled The Idolatrous Religious System of the Hindus. This gave offence to his orthodox father, and Ram Mohan left home and spent some years in travel. At the age of twenty-two he began his study of the English language, and he also acquired a knowledge of other modern and ancient European languages. On the death of his father he obtained an appointment under the British government in 1800, from which he retired in 1814, settled down in Calcutta, and devoted himself to religious reform. He had already inaugurated a circle for discussing the absurdities of idol worship, and published a striking book in Persian called Tuhfat-al-Muwahhiddin (“A Gift to Monotheists”). On his settlement in Calcutta he established a little friendly society (Atmiya Sabha), which met weekly to read the Hindu scriptures and to chant monotheistic hymns. In 1820 he issued a selection from the Christian Gospels entitled The Precepts of Jesus the Guide to Peace and Happiness. He also wrote Bengali works on the Vedanta philosophy, translated some of the Upanishads, entered into controversies with Christian missionaries, and on the 23rd of January 1830 definitely established the Brahma Samaj “for the worship and adoration of the Eternal, Unsearchable, Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe.” He gave his support to the governor-general, Lord William Bentinck, for the abolition of the suttee rite, i.e. the custom of permitting Hindu widows to burn themselves on the funeral pyre of their husbands. He also worked hard to spread education among his fellow-countrymen, and to improve the quality and the prestige of the native press. In 1830 the emperor of Delhi bestowed on Ram Mohan the title of raja, and sent him to England as his agent. Raja Ram Mohan Roy gave his evidence before the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the judicial and revenue systems of India. He presented petitions to the House of Commons in support of the abolition of the suttee rite, and had the satisfaction of being present in the House when the appeal against such abolition was rejected on the 11th of July 1832. As the first educated and eminent Indian who had come to England, he received cordial welcome from learned men; and Bentham addressed him as an “intensely admired and dearly beloved collaborator in the service of mankind.” Ram Mohan also visited France and contemplated a voyage to America, but a sudden attack of brain fever led to his death on the 27th of September 1833. He was buried at Bristol, where a tomb was erected by his friend Dwarka Nath Tagore.

RAMNAD, a town of British India, in the Madura district of Madras, at the base of the spit of land that projects towards the island of Pamban in Palk strait. Pop. (1901) 14,546. It is the residence of a raja of old family, head of the Maravar caste, whose title is setupathi, or lord of Adam's Bridge. The estate covers an area of 2104 sq. m., and pays a permanent land revenue of £25,000. It is a desolate and generally unfertile tract, traversed by the South Indian railway.

RÂMNICU SARAT (Rîmnicu Sărat), the capital of the department of Râmnicu Sarat, Rumania; on the railway from Buzeu to Focshani, and on the left bank of the Râmnicu, a tributary of the Sereth. Pop. (1900) 13,134, about 1500 being Jews. The town rises from a marshy plain, east of the Carpathians, and west of the cornlands of southern Moldavia. Salt and petroleum are worked in the mountains, and there is a considerable trade in agricultural produce and preserved meat. Râmnicu Sarat was the scene of battles between the Moldavians and the Walachians in 1434 and 1573, and between the Walachians and Turks in 1634. Here also, in 1789, an Austro-Russian army defeated the Turks. In 1854 the town was almost destroyed by fire and was rebuilt.

RÂMNICUVÂLCEA (Rîmnicu Vâlcea), or Rymnik, an episcopal city and the capital of the department of Vâlcea, Rumania; situated at the foot of the Carpathians, on the right bank of the river Olt, and on the railway from Caracal to Hermannstadt in Transylvania. Pop. (1900) 7317. Three monasteries in the Vâlcea department, those of Bistritza, Cozia and Horezu, are among the finest in Walachia. Besides wine, fruit, grain and timber, the surrounding uplands yield petroleum and salt. Within a few miles are the thermal springs of Olanestzi and the salt mines of Ocnele Mari. The city is said to be the ancient Castra Traiana, and many traces of old encampments bear evidence of this.

RAMPOLLA, COUNT MARIANO DEL TINDARO (1843–), Italian cardinal, was born on the 17th of August 1843, at Polizzi, in the Sicilian diocese of Cefalù. Having completed his studies in the Capranica College at Rome, and having taken holy orders, he studied diplomacy at the College of Ecclesiastical Nobles, and in 1875 was appointed councillor to the papal nunciature at Madrid. Two years later he was recalled to Rome and appointed secretary of the Propaganda for Eastern Affairs, and for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs. Consecrated titular archbishop of Heraclea in 1885, he returned to Madrid as nuncio, but was shortly afterwards created cardinal and appointed to the papal secretaryship of state. New to the Sacred College and free from traditional preconceptions, he was admirably fitted to carry out the papal policy under Leo XIII. (see ). Rightly or wrongly, he was held personally responsible for the rapprochement with France and Russia and the opposition to the Powers of the Triple Alliance; and this attitude had its effect on his career when Leo XIII. died. Rampolla was undoubtedly the favourite among the papabili cardinals; but the veto of Austria was interposed (see ), and the votes of the Sacred College fell to Cardinal Sarto, who on the 4th of August 1903 became pope as Pius X. Cardinal Rampolla at once resigned his office as secretary of state, being succeeded by Cardinal Merry del Val, and ceased to play any conspicuous part in the Curia.

RAMPUR, a native state of India, in subordination to the United Provinces. It lies in Rohilkhand, between the British districts of Moradabad and Pilibhit. Area, 893 sq. m. The country is level and generally fertile; being watered in the north by the rivers Kosila and Nahul, and in the south by the Ramganga. The chief crops are maize, rice and sugar cane. Pop. (1901) 533,212, showing a decrease of 3.3% in the decade. Estimated revenue, £234,000; military force, 2556 men, including two squadrons of Imperial Service lancers. The chief, whose title is nawab, is a Rohilla Pathan, representing the family which established their power over this part of the country in the 18th century. When the Rohillas were subjugated by the nawab of Oudh, with the assistance of a force lent by Warren Hastings, one of their number, Faiz-ullah Khan, from whom the present nawab traces his descent, was permitted to retain possession of Rampur. During the Mutiny of 1857 the nawab of Rampur rendered important services to the British, for which he received a grant of land assessed at £9000 in perpetuity, besides other honours. The state is crossed by the main line of the Oudh & Rohilkhand railway from Bareilly to Moradabad. The town of Rampur is on the left bank of the river Kosila, 620 ft. above the sea, with a railway station 39 m. N.W. of Bareilly. Pop. (1901) 78,758. There are manufactures of damask, pottery, sword-blades and sugar. It is partially, and was once completely, surrounded by a broad bamboo hedge, which formed a strong defence. In addition to a modern fort and several fine buildings, it contains an Arabic college, which attracts students from all parts of India.

There are two other towns in India called Rampur, one