RICHARDSON, SIR JOHN, M.D., naturalist and Arctic explorer, born at Dumfries; graduated at Edinburgh; for some time a navy surgeon; accompanied Franklin on the expeditions in 1819-22 and 1825-27, and later commanded one of the Franklin search expeditions (1848); held government appointments, and was knighted in 1846 (1787-1865).

RICHARDSON, SAMUEL, novelist, born in Derbyshire, the son of a joiner; was apprenticed to a printer in London, whose daughter he married; set up in the business for himself, and from his success in it became Master of the Stationers Company in 1754, and King’s Printer in 1761; was 50 before he came out as a novelist; published his “Pamela” in 1740, his masterpiece “Clarissa,” written in the form of letters, in 1748, and “Sir Charles Grandison” in 1753; they are all three novels of sentiment, are instinct with a spirit of moral purity, and are more praised than read (1689-1761).

RICHELIEU, ARMAND-JEAN DUPLESSIS, CARDINAL DE, born in Paris, of a noble family; was minister of Louis XIII., and one of the greatest statesmen France ever had; from his installation as Prime Minister in 1624 he set himself to the achievement of a threefold purpose, and rested not till he accomplished it—­the ruin of the Protestants as a political party, the curtailment of the power of the nobles, and the humiliation of the House of Austria in the councils of Europe; his administration was signalised by reforms in finance, in the army, and in legislation; as the historian Thierry has said of him, “He left nothing undone that could be done by statesmanship for the social amelioration of the country; he had a mind of the most comprehensive grasp, and a genius for the minutest details of administration”; he was a patron of letters, and the founder of the French Academy (1585-1642).

RICHMOND, 1, an interesting old borough (4) in Yorkshire, on the Swale, 49 m.  N.W. of York; has a fine 11th-century castle, now partly utilised as barracks, remains of a Franciscan friary, a racecourse, &c. 2, A town (23) in Surrey, 9 m.  W. of London; picturesquely situated on the summit and slope of Richmond Hill, and the right bank of the Thames; has remains of the royal palace of Sheen, a magnificent deer park, a handsome river bridge, &c.; supplies London with fruit and vegetables; has many literary and historical associations. 3, Capital (85) of Virginia, U.S.; has a hilly and picturesque site on the James River, 116 m.  S. of Washington; possesses large docks, and is a busy port, a manufacturing town (tobacco, iron-works, flour and paper mills), and a railway centre; as the Confederate capital it was the scene of a memorable, year-long siege during the Civil War, ultimately falling into the hands of Grant and Sheridan in 1865.

RICHMOND, LEGH, an evangelical clergyman of the Church of England, born in Liverpool, famed for a tract “The Dairyman’s Daughter” (1772-1827).