| Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu (1766–1822), French statesman |
| Armand Jean du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu (1585–1642), Cardinal, French statesman |
| Louis François Armand du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu (1696–1788), Marshal of France |
| Jean Richepin (1849–1926), French poet, novelist and dramatist |
| Richerus (Tenth Century), Monk of St. Remi at Reims, and chronicler |
| Earls and Dukes of Richmond |
| Frances Teresa Stewart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox (1648–1702), English noble |
| Legh Richmond (1772–1827), English divine |
| Sir William Blake Richmond (1842–1921), English painter and decorator |
| Ernst Friedrich Richter (1808–1879), German musical theorist |
| Eugen Richter (1838–1906), German politician |
| Hans Richter (1843–1916), Hungarian musical conductor |
| Jeremias Benjamin Richter (1762–1807), German chemist |
| Ludwig Richter (1803–1884), German painter and etcher |
| Ferdinand, Baron von Richthofen (1833–1905), German geographer and traveller |
| Ricimer (d. 472), Master of the Roman Empire in the West |
| James Brewerton Ricketts (1817–1887), American general |
| Thomas Rickman (1776–1841), English architect |
| Cesare Ricotti-Magnani (1822–1917), Italian general and knight of the Annunziata |
| George Allardice, Baron Riddell (1865–1934), British newspaper proprietor |
| George Ridding (1828–1904), English headmaster and Bishop |
| William Pett Ridge (d. 1930), English author |
| Robert Ridgway (1850–1929), ornithologist |
| Sir William Ridgeway (1853–1926), British archæologist |
| Nicholas Ridley (c. 1500–1555), English Bishop and martyr |
| Roberto di Ridolphi (1531–1612), Italian conspirator |
| John Clark Ridpath (1840–1900), American educator and author |
| Friedrich Adolph, Baron von Riedesel (1738–1800), Hessian general |
| Philipp Friedrick von Rieger (1818–1903), Bahemian politician and publicist |
| Rafael del Riego y Núñez (1784–1823), Spanish army officer |
| Wilhelm Heinrich Riehl (1823–1897), German novelist and historical writer |
| Eduard Riehm (1830–1888), German Protestant theologian |
| Louis Riel (1844–1885), Canadian agitator |
| Bernhard Riemann (1826–1866), German mathematician |
| Cola di Rienzo (c. 1313–1354), Tribune of the Roman people |
| Jean-Henri Riesener (1734–1806), French cabinet-maker |
| Ernst Rietschel (1804–1861), German sculptor |
| Charles Rieu (1820–1902), Swiss orientalist |
| Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659–1743), French painter |
| Richard Rigby (1722–1788), English politician |
| James Harrison Rigg (1821–1909), English Nonconformist divine |
| Elias Riggs (1810–1900), missionary |
| Stephen Return Riggs (1812–1883), missionary |
| Rigord (c. 1150–c. 1209), French chronicler |
| Jacob August Riis (1849–1914), Danish-American journalist and writer on sociology |
| James Whitcomb Riley (1849–1916), American poet |
| Jean Rimbaud (1854–1891), French poet and adventurer |
| William Rimmer (1816–1879), American artist |
| Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908), Russian composer |
| William Henry Rinehart (1825–1874), American sculptor |
| Robert Stephen Rintoul (1787–1858), British journalist |
| Giovanni Battista Rinuccini (1592–1653), Archbishop of Fermo |
| Edward Riou (1762–1801), British sailor |
| Juan Guillermo, Duke of Riperdá (1680–1737), Political adventurer and Spanish minister |
| George Ripley (1802–1880), American critic and man of letters |
| Roswell Sabine Ripley (1823–1887), Confederate general |
| George Frederick Samuel Robinson, Marquess of Ripon (1827–1909), British statesman |
| William Rishanger (c. 1250–c. 1312), English chronicler |
| Johann Rist (1607–1667), German poet |
| Jovan Ristić (1831–1899), Servian statesman |
| Adelaide Ristori (1822–1906), Italian actress |
| Anna Cora Ogden Mowatt Ritchie (1819–1870), American actress |
| Anne Thackeray Ritchie (1837–1919), English writer |
| Charles Thomson, Baron Ritchie (1838–1906), English politician |
| David George Ritchie (1853–1903), Scottish philosopher |
| Albrecht Ritschl (1822–1889), German theologian |
| Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl (1806–1876), German scholar |
| Joseph Ritson (1752–1803), English antiquary |
| David Rittenhouse (1732–1796), American astronomer |
| Frédéric Louis Ritter (1834–1891), musician |
| Heinrich Ritter (1791–1869), German philosopher |
| Karl Ritter (1779–1859), German geographer |
| Antoine de Rivarol (1753–1801), French writer and epigrammatist |
| Angel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas (1791–1865), Spanish poet and politician |
| Earl Rivers |
| Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers (c. 1442–1483), statesman and patron of literature, and author of the first book printed on English soil |
| Richard Savage, Earl Rivers (c. 1660–1712), English noble |
| Richard Woodville, Earl Rivers (d. 1469), English noble |
| William Cabell Rives (1793–1868), American political leader and diplomat |
| Briton Rivière (1840–1920), English artist |
| Charles Rivington (1688–1742), British publisher |
| Giovanni Teresio Rivoira (1849–1919), Italian archæologist |
| della Robbia, name of a family of great distinction in the annals of Florentine art |
| Robert I. (1274–1329), “The Bruce,” King of Scotland |
| Robert II. (1316–1390), called “the Steward,” King of Scotland |
| Robert III. (c. 1337–1406), King of Scotland |
| Robert I. (c. 865–923), King of France |
| Robert II. (972–1031), King of France |
| Robert (c. 1275–1343), King of Naples |
| Robert, name of two dukes of Normandy |
| Robert Guiscard (c. 1015–1085), most remarkable of the Norman adventurers who conquered southern Italy |
| Robert of Auxerre (c. 1156–1212), French chronicler |
| Robert of Bellème (1052–1130), Earl of Shrewsbury |
| Robert of Courtenay (d. 1228), Emperor of Romania, or Constantinople |
| Robert of Gloucester (fl. 1260–1300), English chronicler |
| Robert of Jumièges (d. c. 1055), Archbishop of Canterbury |
| Robert of Torigni (c. 1110–1186), medieval chronicler |
| Robert the Devil, hero of romance |
| Robert the Strong (d. 866), Count of Anjou and of Blois |
| Hubert Robert (1733–1808), French artist |
| Léopold Robert (1794–1835), French painter |
| Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury (1797–1890), French painter |
| Benjamin Stone Roberts (1810–1875), American general |
| David Roberts (1796–1864), Scottish painter |
| Frederick Sleigh, Lord Roberts (1832–1914), British field-marshal |
| George Henry Roberts (1869–1928), English Labour politician |
| Frederick William Robertson (1816–1853), English divine |
| George Croom Robertson (1842–1892), Scottish philosopher |
| James Robertson (1742–1814), American pioneer |
| Joseph Robertson (1810–1866), Scottish antiquary |
| Thomas William Robertson (1829–1871), English actor and dramatist |
| William Robertson (1721–1793), Scottish historian |
| William Bruce Robertson (1820–1886), Scottish divine |
| William Robert Robertson (1860–1933), British field-marshal |
| Gilles Personne de Roberval (1602–1675), French mathematician |
| Maximilien Robespierre (1758–1794), French revolutionist |
| Carlo Felice Nicolis, Conte di Robilant (1826–1888), Italian statesman and diplomat |
| Robin Hood, English legendary hero |
| Benjamin Robins (1707–1751), English man of science and engineer |
| Elizabeth Robins (1862–1952), Anglo-American novelist and actress |
| Agnes Mary Frances Robinson (1857–1944), Anglo-French poet and critic |
| Beverly Robinson (1723–1792), American soldier |
| Edward Robinson (1794–1863), American biblical scholar |
| Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869–1935), American poet |
| Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson (1763–1852), British soldier |
| Henry Crabb Robinson (1775–1867), English journalist and diarist |
| Sir Hercules George Robert Robinson, Baron Rosmead (1824–1897), British colonial administrator |
| John Robinson (1575?–1625), English Nonconformist divine |
| Sir John Beverley Robinson (1791–1863), Canadian statesman and jurist |
| Sir Joseph Benjamin Robinson (1840–1929), South African mine-owner |
| Mary Robinson (1758–1800), “Perdita,” English actress and author |
| Phil Robinson (1847–1902), English journalist and author |
| Theodore Robinson (1852–1896), American artist |
| Thomas Romney Robinson (1792–1882), Irish astronomer and physicist |
| Rob Roy (1671–1734), popular designation of a famous Highland outlaw |
| Stuart Robson (1836–1903), American actor |
| William Snowdon, Baron Robson (1852–1918), English lawyer and lord of appeal |
| Henry John Roby (1830–1915), English classical scholar and writer on Roman law |
| Saint Roch (c. 1350–c. 1380), Confessor |
| Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau (1725–1807), French soldier |
| Sir Boyle Roche (1743–1807), Irish soldier and politician |
| James Jeffrey Roche (1847–1908), American journalist and poet |
| Henri Rochefort (1831–1913), French politician |
| John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647–1680), English poet and wit |
| Lawrence Hyde, Earl of Rochester (1641–1711), English statesman |
| Raoul-Rochette (1789–1854), French archæologist |
| Earl of Rochford |
| Daniel Rock (1799–1871), English Roman Catholic priest and ecclesiologist |
| John Davison Rockefeller (1839–1937), American capitalist |
| William Woodville Rockhill (1854–1914), American traveler and diplomat |
| Charles Watson-Wentworth, Marquis of Rockingham (1730–1782), twice Prime Minister of England |
| William Smyth Rockstro (1823–1895), English pianist, musical composer, author and teacher |
| Édouard Rod (1857–1910), French-Swiss novelist |
| Karl Rodbertus (1805–1875), German socialist |
| Roderick (d. 1198), King of Connaught and high King of Ireland |
| John Rodgers (1773–1838), American sailor |
| Auguste Rodin (1840–1917), French sculptor |
| Lord Rodney (1719–1792), English admiral |
| Cæsar Rodney (1728–1784), signer of the Declaration of Independence |
| Mikhail Rodzianko (1859–1924), Russian politician |
| Edward Payson Roe (1838–1888), American novelist |
| Sir Thomas Roe (1581?–1644), English diplomatist |
| John Augustus Roebling (1806–1869), American civil engineer |
| Washington Augustus Roebling (1837–1926), American engineer |
| John Roebuck (1718–1794), English inventor |
| John Arthur Roebuck (1802–1879), British politician |
| Pierre-Louis Roederer (1754–1835), French politician and economist |
| Friedrich Adolph Roemer (1809–1869), German geologist |
| Roger I. (1031–1101), ruler of Sicily |
| Roger II. (1095–1154), King of Sicily |
| Roger (d. 1139), Bishop of Salisbury |
| Roger de Pont l’Évêque (d. 1181), Archbishop of York |
| Roger of Hoveden (d. c. 1201), English chronicler |
| Roger of Wendover (d. 1236), English chronicler |
| Benjamin Bickley Rogers (1828–1919), English classical scholar |
| Henry Rogers (1806–1877), English Nonconformist divine |
| Henry Darwin Rogers (1808–1866), American geologist |
| James Edwin Thorold Rogers (1823–1890), English economist |
| John Rogers (c. 1500–1555), English Protestant martyr |
| John Rogers (1627–c. 1665), English preacher |
| John Rogers (1829–1904), American sculptor |
| Randolph Rogers (1825–1892), American sculptor |
| Robert Rogers (1731–1795), American frontier soldier |
| Samuel Rogers (1763–1855), English poet |
| William Rogers (1819–1896), English clergyman and educational reformer |
| Charles Latour Rogier (1800–1885), Belgian statesman |
| Rohan, name of one of the most illustrious of the feudal families of France |
| Henri, duc de Rohan (1579–1638), French soldier, writer and leader of the Huguenots |
| Louis-René-Édouard, prince de Rohan-Guémené (1734–1803), Archbishop of Strassburg |
| Gerhard Rohlfs (1831–1896), German explorer of the Sahara |
| Cristóbal de Rojas y Spinola (1626–1695), Spanish ecclesiastic, general of the Franciscan order in Madrid |
| Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla (1607–1648), Spanish dramatist |
| Carl von Rokitansky (1804–1878), the founder of the Vienna school of pathological anatomy |
| Roland, French epic hero |
| Jean-Marie Roland de La Platière (1734–1793) and Madame Roland (1754–1793), French statesman |
| William James Rolfe (1827–1910), American editor and author |
| Alfred Philippe Roll (1846–1919), French painter |
| John Rolland (fl. 1560), Scottish poet |
| Romain Rolland (1866–1944), French man of letters |
| Richard Rolle of Hampole (1290?–1349), English hermit and author |
| Charles Rollin (1661–1741), French historian and educationist |
| Maurice Rollinat (1853–1903), French poet |
| Robert Rollock (c. 1555–1599), first principal of the university of Edinburgh |
| George John Romanes (1848–1894), British biologist |
| Samuele Romanin (1808–1861), Venetian historian |
| Giulio Romano (1499–1546), head of the Roman school of painting in succession to Raphael |
| Romanos (Sixth Century), Greek hymn-writer |
| Romanov, name of the Russian imperial dynasty |
| Romanus, name of four East Roman emperors |
| Jean-Baptiste Louis Romé de l’Isle (1736–1790), French mineralogist |
| Ole Römer (1644–1710), Danish astronomer |
| Sir Romesh Chandra Mitra (1840–1899), Indian judge |
| John, Baron Romilly (1802–1874), English judge |
| Samuel Romilly (1757–1818), English legal reformer |
| George Romney (1734–1802), English historical and portrait painter |
| Henry Sidney, Earl of Romney (1641–1704), English statesman |
| Romulus (Eighth Century? B.C.), legendary eponymous founder and first King of Rome |
| Giorgio Ronconi (1810–1890), Italian baritone vocalist |
| Pierre de Ronsard (1524–1585), French poet |
| David Röntgen (1743–1807), German cabinet-maker |
| Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845–1923), German physicist |
| Sir George Rooke (1650–1709), English naval commander |
| Albrecht, Count von Roon (1803–1879), Prussian general field-marshal |
| Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945), thirty-second President of the United States |
| Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), twenty-sixth President of the United States |
| Elihu Root (1845–1937), American lawyer and political leader |
| George Frederick Root (1820–1895), American musician |
| John Codman Ropes (1836–1899), American military historian and lawyer |
| Félicien Rops (1833–1898), Belgian painter, designer and engraver |
| Roquelaure, name of a French family of Armagnac |
| Ros, name of a noble English family |
| Sir Richard Ros (b. 1429), English poet |
| Carl August Nicholas Rosa (1843–1889), English musical impresario |
| Salvator Rosa (1615–1673), Italian painter of the Neapolitan school |
| Rosamond (d. c. 1176), mistress of Henry II., King of England |
| Juan Manuel de Rosas (1793–1877), tyrant of Buenos Aires |
| Roscellinus (c. 1050–c. 1122), often called the founder of Nominalism |
| Wilhelm Roscher (1817–1894), German economist |
| Quintus Roscius Gallus (c. 126–c. 62 B.C.), Roman actor |
| Henry Enfield Roscoe (1833–1915), English chemist |
| William Roscoe (1753–1831), English historian and miscellaneous writer |
| Wentworth Dillon, Earl of Roscommon (1633?–1685), English poet |
| Rose, name of a distinguished family of German chemists |
| George Rose (1744–1818), British politician |
| Hugh James Rose (1795–1838), English divine |
| William Stewart Rose (1775–1843), English poet and translator |
| Archibald Philip Primrose, Earl of Rosebery (1847–1929), British statesman |
| William Starke Rosecrans (1819–1898), American soldier |
| Peter Rosegger (1843–1918), Austrian poet and novelist |
| Ippolito Rosellini (1800–1843), Italian Egyptologist |
| Karl Rosenkranz (1805–1879), German philosopher |
| Toby Edward Rosenthal (1848–1917), American artist |
| Julius Rosenwald (1862–1932), American merchant and philanthropist |
| Constantin Alexandru Rosetti (1816–1885), Roumanian patriot and poet |
| Antonio Rosmini (1797–1855), Italian philosopher |
| Joseph Henry Rosny, French novelists |
| Alexander Ross (1699–1784), Scottish poet |
| Alexander Milton Ross (1832–1897), naturalist |
| George Ross (1730–1779), signer of the Declaration of Independence |
| George William Ross (1841–1914), Canadian politician |
| Sir Hew Dalrymple Ross (1779–1868), British soldier |
| Sir James Clark Ross (1800–1862), British rear-admiral and Polar explorer |
| John Ross (1790–1866), Chief of the Cherokee Indian Nation |
| Sir John Ross (1777–1856), British rear-admiral and Arctic explorer |
| Robert Ross (1766–1814), British major-general |
| Robert Baldwin Ross (1869–1918), British art critic and writer |
| Sir Ronald Ross (1857–1932), British physician and bacteriologist |
| Earl of Rosse |
| William Parsons, Earl of Rosse (1800–1867), Irish astronomer and telescope constructor |
| Cosimo Rosselli (1439–1507), Florentine painter |
| Antonio Rossellino (1427–1479), Florentine sculptor |
| Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830–1894), English poet |
| Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882), English poet and painter |
| William Michael Rossetti (1829–1919), poet and art-critic |
| Luigi Rossi (c. 1598–1653), Italian musical composer |
| Pellegrino Rossi (1787–1848), Italian economist and statesman |
| Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868), Italian musical composer |
| Earls of Rosslyn |
| Alexander Wedderburn, Earl of Rosslyn (1733–1805), Lord Chancellor of Great Britain |
| Edmond Rostand (1868–1918), French dramatist |
| Feodor Vassilievich Rostoptschin (1763–1826), Russian general |
| Justus Roth (1818–1892), German geologist and mineralogist |
| Richard Rothe (1799–1867), Lutheran theologian |
| Jacqueline de Rohan, Marquise de Rothelin (c. 1520–1587), French Protestant |
| Thomas Rotherham (1423–1500), Archbishop of York |
| Harold Sidney Harmsworth, Viscount Rothermere (1868–1940), British newspaper proprietor and financier |
| Earls of Rothes |
| Rothschild, name of a Jewish family |
| Jean de Rotrou (1609–1650), French tragic poet |
| Joachim Rouault (d. 1478), French soldier |
| Louis François Roubiliac (1702–1762), French sculptor |
| Jean-Antoine Roucher (1745–1794), French poet |
| Guillaume François Rouelle (1703–1770), French chemist |
| Emmanuel de Rougé (1811–1872), French orientalist |
| Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (1760–1836), French author |
| Eugène Rouher (1814–1884), French statesman |
| Joseph Roumanille (1818–1891), French poet |
| John Horace Round (1854–1928), English historian |
| Adrien Rouquette (1813–1887), American poet |
| Francis Rous (1579–1659), English Puritan |
| Henry John Rous (1795–1877), British admiral and sportsman
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