RAMSGATE (25), a popular watering-place in the Isle of Thanet, Kent, fronting the Downs, 72 m.  E. by S. of London; has a famous harbour of refuge; to the W. lies Pegwell Bay with Ebbsfleet.

RAMUS, PETER, or PIERRE DE LA RAMEE, a French philosopher and humanist, son of poor parents; became a servant in the College of Navarre; devoted his leisure to study, and became a great scholar; attacked scholasticism in a work against Aristotle as the main pillar of the system, and was interdicted from teaching philosophy, but the judgment was reversed by Henry II., and he was made a royal professor; he turned Protestant in the end, and was massacred on the eve of St. Bartholomew (1515-1572).

RANAVALONA III., queen of Madagascar; was crowned in 1883, but her kingdom and capital were taken from her by the French in 1893, and she is now queen only in name; b. 1861.

RANCHING, a term of Spanish derivation applied to the business of rearing cattle, as carried on in the southern and western States of America; vast herds of cattle in a half-wild condition are raised on the wide stretches of prairie land, and are tended by “cowboys,” whose free, adventurous life attracts men of all sorts and conditions.

RANDALL, JAMES RYDER, American journalist; author of “Maryland, my Maryland,” “Stonewall Jackson,” and other popular lyrics, which greatly heartened the Southern cause in the Civil War; born in Baltimore; engaged in teaching till he took to journalism; b. 1839.

RANDOLPH, JOHN, a noted eccentric American politician, born at Cawsons, Virginia; entered Congress in 1799, and held a commanding position there as leader of the Democratic party; was a witty, sarcastic speaker; sat in the Senate from 1825 to 1827, and in 1830 was Minister to Russia; liberated and provided for his slaves (1773-1833).

RANDOLPH, SIR THOMAS, English diplomatist, was sent on diplomatic missions by Queen Elizabeth, and particularly mixed up in Scotch intrigues, and had to flee from Scotland for his life; left Memoirs (1523-1590).

RANDOLPH, THOMAS, English poet, wrote odes and sundry dramas, of which the “Muses’ Looking-Glass” and “Amyntas” are the best, though not absolutely good (1605-1634).

RANEE, name given to a Hindu princess or queen; a rajah’s wife.

RANELAGH, a place of resort in grounds at Chelsea of people of fashion during the last half of the 18th century, with a promenade where music and dancing were the chief attractions.

RANGOON (180), capital and chief port of British Burmah, situated 20 m. inland from the Gulf of Martaban, on the Hlaing or Rangoon River, the eastmost of the delta streams of the Irrawaddy; British since 1852; a well-appointed city of modern appearance, strongly fortified; contains the famous Shway-Dagon pagoda erected in the 6th century B.C.; has extensive docks, and negotiates the vast bulk of Burmese exports and imports; the former include teak, gums, spices, and rice.