János Kádár
Kádár, János (1912–89), Hungarian Communist leader.
21st Century Webster's Family Encyclopedia - K2 to Kittiwake
K2
K2, mountain peak in the Himalayas of northern Kashmir, near the China-India border, second highest in the world.
Kaaba
Kaaba, or Caaba, most sacred shrine of Islam, the chief goal of pilgrimage, in the courtyard of the Great Mosque at Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Dmitri Kabalevsky
Kabalevsky, Dmitri (1904–87), Russian composer and critic.
Kabbalah
Kabbalah, or Cabala (from the Hebrew word for “traditional lore”), mystical Jewish interpretation of the Torah and other holy writings.
Kabuki
Kabuki, traditional Japanese popular theater that developed in the 17th century in contrast to the aristocratic Noh theater.
Kabul
Kabul (pop. 1,036,000), capital and largest city of Afghanistan.
Muammar Muhammad al- Kaddafi
Kaddafi, Muammar Muhammad al- See: Qadhafi, Muammar Muhammad al-.
Kaesong
Kaesong (pop. 345,600), city in North Korea near the South Korean border, about 30 mi (48 km) northwest of Seoul.
Kafir
Kafir (Sorghum vulgare), type of grain of the grass family.
Franz Kafka
Kafka, Franz (1883–1924), German writer.
Louis Isadore Kahn
Kahn, Louis Isadore (1901–74), U.S. architect, noted for his work on housing projects like Carver Court (1944), Coatesville, Pa., and university buildings.
Henry John Kaiser
Kaiser, Henry John (1882–1967), U.S. industrialist, founder of the Kaiser-Frazer Corp., automobile manufacturers.
Kala-azar
Kala-azar, dumdum fever, or visceral leishmaniasis, severe infectious disease found chiefly in Asia and caused by a protozoa (Leishmania donovani) and transmitted by the bite of sand flies.
Kalahari Desert
Kalahari Desert, arid plain in southwest Africa, lying mainly in Botswana but extending into Namibia and South Africa.
Kale
Kale, edible green vegetable (Brassica oleracea) of the mustard family.
Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope, optical device that produces colorful patterns and designs.
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad (pop. 406,000), port city in western Russia, on the mouth of the Pregolya River, which flows into the Baltic Sea.
Kalmar Union
Kalmar Union, treaty whereby Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were united under Margaret of Denmark and her heirs.
Kalmia
Kalmia See: Mountain laurel.
Kamchatka Peninsula
Kamchatka Peninsula, peninsula in northeastern Russia, extending 750 mi (1,210 km) south from the Asian mainland to separate the Sea of Okhotsk from the Bering Sea and Pacific Ocean.
Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I (1738?–1819), Hawaiian king from 1790.
Lev Borisovich Kamenev
Kamenev, Lev Borisovich (1883–1936), Russian Bolshevik leader, active in the Russian Revolution and member of the first politburo of the Communist party.
Kamikaze
Kamikaze (Japanese, “divine wind”), Japanese force of suicide pilots in World War II Inspired by the ancient samurai code of patriotic self-sacrifice, they deliberately crashed bomb-bearing planes onto Allied ships and installations.
Kampala
Kampala (pop. 458,400), capital and largest city of Uganda, on Lake Victoria in east Africa.
Kampuchea
Kampuchea (officially Cambodia), republic in Southeast Asia, bordered on the north by Thailand and Laos, on the east and southeast by Vietnam, on the southwest by the Gulf of Siam, and on the west and northwest by Thailand. The capital is Phnom Penh. Mainly a broad plain, Kampuchea occupies 69,898 sq mi (181,035 sq km), and is separated from Thailand by the Dangrek Mountains in the north and the C…
MacKinlay Kan tor
Kan tor, MacKinlay (1904–77), U.S. screenwriter and author.
Kanawha River
Kanawha River, chief river of West Virginia, formed by the confluence of the New and Gauley rivers.
Wassily Kandinsky
Kandinsky, Wassily (1866–1944), Russian painter and theorist, widely regarded as one of the originators of abstract art.
Kanem
Kanem, African empire that lasted from 700 A.D. through the 1800s.
Kangaroo
Kangaroo, herbivorous, marsupial mammal of the family Macropodidae, with large hind feet, strong hind legs, and a tail used for balancing, native to Australia and nearby islands.
Kangaroo apple
Kangaroo apple See: Solanum.
Kangaroo court
Kangaroo court, unofficial and illegal gathering of unauthorized persons for the purpose of passing sentence upon a wrongdoer.
Kangaroo rat
Kangaroo rat, pouched, burrowing, nocturnal rodent (genus Dipodomys) similar to the gerbil.
Kanishka
Kanishka (d.A.D. 160?), greatest king of the Kushan Empire, which included what is now Pakistan, Afghanistan, and northern India.
Kanpur
Kanpur (pop. 1,879,400), city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, north central India, on the Ganges River.
Kansa
Kansa, also known as Kaw or Kansas, Native American tribe of eastern Kansas.
Kansas
Kansas, state in the central United States; bordered by Nebraska to the north, Missouri to the east, Oklahoma to the south, and Colorado to the west. Nicknamed “Midway, U.S.A.” and “Heart of the Nation,” Kansas is halfway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Kansas lies in the transition area between the prairies and the high plains. It consists of 3 principal land …
Kansas City
Kansas City (pop. 1,758,500), name of 2 adjacent cities at the junction of the Missouri and Kansas rivers, one in northeast Kansas (inc. 1859) and one in northwest Missouri (inc. 1850).
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act, bill passed by the U.S.
Immanuel Kant
Kant, Immanuel (1724–1804), German philosopher, founder of critical philosophy. Though originally influenced by the rationalism of Leibniz, Kant was awakened from his “dogmatic slumber” by the work of skeptic David Hume and thus led to greatness as a metaphysician. In Critique of Pure Reason (1781), Kant proposed that objective reality (the phenomenal world) can be known only …
Kaolin
Kaolin, or china clay, soft, white clay composed chiefly of the mineral kaolinite, mined in England, France, former Czechoslovakia, China, and the southern United States.
Pyotr Kapitsa
Kapitsa, Pyotr (1894–1984), Russian physicist best known for his work in low-temperature physics (cryogenics).
Kapok
Kapok (Ceiba pentandra), tropical tree; also, the water-repellent fiber of its seeds.
Kara Kum
Kara Kum, desert region in Turkmenistan, in central Asia, covering about 135,000 sq mi (330,000 sq km) in area.
Kara Sea
Kara Sea, branch of the Arctic Ocean about 300 miles (480 km) long and 200 miles (320 km) wide off the north central coast of Siberia.
Karachi
Karachi (pop. 5,208,000), former capital (1947–59) of Pakistan, and the country's largest city, major port, and industrial center.
Herbert von Karajan
Karajan, Herbert von (1908–89), Austrian conductor.
Karakorum
Karakorum, ancient capital of Genghis Khan's empire.
Karakul
Karakul, any of several species of sheep of Central Asia, bred primarily for their fur-bearing skin.
Constantine Karamanlis
Karamanlis, Constantine See: Caramanlis, Constantine.
Karate
Karate (Japanese: “empty hand”), unarmed combat and sport, originating in the Orient.
Karelia
Karelia, self-governing republic in northwestern Russia.
Karl-Marx-Stadt
Karl-Marx-Stadt, nowadays Chemnitz (pop. 291,400), industrial city in eastern Germany and chief center of the Karl-Marx-Stadt district, situated on the Chemnitz River.
Boris Karloff
Karloff, Boris (William Henry Pratt; 1887–1969), English-born U.S. actor renowned for his parts in horror films.
Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary (pop. 58,600), resort and spa in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, famed for its mineral springs.
Karma
Karma, Sanskrit term denoting the inevitable effects of a person's physical and mental actions on his or her destiny in successive lives, central to Buddhist and Hindu thought.
Karnak
Karnak, village east of Luxor, on the Nile in central Egypt, part of ancient Thebes.
Temple of Karnak
Karnak, Temple of See: Thutmose III.
Anatoly Karpov
Karpov, Anatoly (1951– ), a Russian chess prodigy who became the Soviet champion in his early twenties.
Yousuf Karsh
Karsh, Yousuf (1908– ), Canadian portrait photographer of Turkish-Armenian birth.
Kart racing
Kart racing, sport that features single-seated, rear-engine racing cars.
Joseph Kasavubu
Kasavubu, Joseph (1917?–69), African politician, first president (1960–65) of the Republic of the Congo (now Zaïre).
Kashmir
Kashmir, disputed territory in southern Asia, administered since 1972 as the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir (capital: Srinagar; 54,000 sq mi/139,000 sq km) and the Pakistani Azad Kasmir (capital: Muzafarabad; 32,000 sq mi/82,900 sq km), bordering China. This beautiful region, which includes sections of the Himalayan and Karakorum mountain ranges, centers around the Vale of Kashmir, the agricult…
Gary Kasparov
Kasparov, Gary (1963– ), Russian chess prodigy who at 22 became the sport's youngest world champion by beating Anatoly Karpov (1985).
Nancy Landon Kassebaum
Kassebaum, Nancy Landon (1932– ), U.S.
Valentin Petrovich Katayev
Katayev, Valentin Petrovich (1897–1987), Russian novelist, poet, and playwright.
Kathmandu
Kathmandu (pop. 393,500), capital of Nepal, 4,500 ft (1,370 m) above sea level in a Himalayan valley in central Nepal.
Katmai National Park
Katmai National Park, large wilderness region covering 4,430,125 acres (1,792,810 hectares) in southwestern Alaska.
Katydid
Katydid, name for several large, green, winged insects of the long-horned grasshopper family (Tettigoniidae), native to the Western Hemisphere.
Katyn forest
Katyn forest, site in the former USSR of a massacre of some 4,250 Polish officers in World War II.
Angelica Kauffmann
Kauffmann, Angelica (1741–1807), Swiss painter.
George S. Kaufman
Kaufman, George S. (1889–1961), U.S. playwright and stage director.
Kaunas
Kaunas (pop. 429,000), former capital city of Lithuania.
Kenneth David Kaunda
Kaunda, Kenneth David (1924– ), African political leader, president of Zambia (1964–91).
Kava
Kava, shrub (genus Piper) native to the Pacific Islands and Australia, closely related to the pepper plant.
Kaw
Kaw See: Kansa.
Yasunari Kawabata
Kawabata, Yasunari (1899–1972), Japanese novelist.
Kawasaki disease
Kawasaki disease, disease believed by many doctors to be caused by a virus, affecting children, primarily boys of Asian ancestry from middle- and upper-class backgrounds.
Danny Kaye
Kaye, Danny (1913–87), American comedian and entertainer whose films, television shows, and personal appearances made him an international personality.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan (Republic of), independent country in central Asia, bordered on the west and the north by Russia, on the east by China, on the south by Kirghizstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, and on the west by the Caspian Sea. The capital is Astana (since 1997, Astana was formerly called Akmola). Two thirds of the country is (semi) arid. The Caspian Sea is a great salt lake (92 ft/28 meters below s…
Kazan
Kazan (pop. 1,103,000), capital of the Tatar Autonomous Republic in eastern European Russia.
Elia Kazan
Kazan, Elia (1909– ), Turkish-born U.S. film and stage director.
Nikos Kazantzakis
Kazantzakis, Nikos (1883–1957), Greek writer and statesman.
Kea
Kea (Nestor notabilis), New Zealand parrot with an immensely powerful bill.
Edmund Kean
Kean, Edmund (1787–1833), English actor.
Stephen Watts Kearny
Kearny, Stephen Watts (1794–1848), U.S. general.
Buster Keaton
Keaton, Buster (Joseph Francis Keaton; 1895–1966), U.S. silent-film comedian and director.
John Keats
Keats, John (1795–1821), English Romantic poet.
Keelboat
Keelboat See: Flatboat.
Keeshond
Keeshond, or Dutch barge dog, national dog of the Netherlands, related to the Samoyed and chow chow.
Estes Kefauver
Kefauver, Estes (1903–63), U.S.
Garrison Edward Keillor
Keillor, Garrison Edward (1942– ), U.S. writer, creator of the fictional town of Lake Wobegon, Minnesota.
Wilhelm Keitel
Keitel, Wilhelm (1882–1946), German field marshal, head of the armed forces high command during World War II.
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen
Kekkonen, Urho Kaleva (1900–86), president of Finland, 1956–81.
Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz
Kekulé von Stradonitz, Friedrich August (1829–96), German chemist regarded as the father of modern organic chemistry.
Helen Adams Keller
Keller, Helen Adams (1880–1968), U.S. author and lecturer.
Florence Kelley
Kelley, Florence (1859–1932), U.S. social reformer and lawyer.
Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact
Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact, or Pact of Paris, agreement signed on Aug. 27, 1928, by 15 nations (eventually ratified by 64) renouncing “war as an instrument of national policy.” Conceived by Aristide Briand of France and U.S.
Frank Billings Kellogg
Kellogg, Frank Billings (1896–1937), U.S. diplomat, senator (1917–23), ambassador to Great Britain (1924–25), and U.S. secretary of state (1925–29).
Will Keith Kellogg
Kellogg, Will Keith (1860–1951), U.S. industrialist and philanthropist.
Gene Kelly
Kelly, Gene (1912–96), U.S. actor, dancer, and director, known for his spontaneous, athletic dancing routines.
George Edward Kelly
Kelly, George Edward (1887–1974), U.S. playwright.
Grace Kelly
Kelly, Grace (1929–82), U.S. motion picture actress and, later, Princess of Monaco.
Keloid
Keloid, scar tissue raised above the skin surface at the site of a wound.
Kelp
Kelp, name for various large brown seaweeds of orders Laminariales and Fucales.
Kelvin scale
Kelvin scale See: Absolute zero; Kelvin, William Thomson, Lord; Metric system; Temperature.
William Thomson Kelvin Lord
Kelvin, William Thomson, Lord (1824–1907), British physicist.
Kemal Atatürk
Kemal Atatürk See: Atatürk, Kemal.
Thomas à Kempis
Kempis, Thomas à See: Thomas à Kempis.
Thomas Keneally
Keneally, Thomas (1935– ), Australian writer, known for his powerful and turbulent novels, which often take place in a particular historical period.
George Frost Kennan
Kennan, George Frost (1904– ), U.S. diplomat, one of the main authors of the U.S. postwar policy of “containment” of Russian expansionism.
Kennebec River
Kennebec River, river in southern Maine, flowing about 150 mi (240 km) southward from Moosehead Lake to empty into the Atlantic at Popham, Maine's first English settlement (1607).
Kennedy
Kennedy, U.S. family prominent in government, politics, and business.
Anthony McLeod Kennedy
Kennedy, Anthony McLeod (1936– ), associate justice of the United States Supreme Court (1988– ), appointed after Justice Lewis Powell retired.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts , part of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., designed by U.S. architect Edward Durell Stone as a national memorial to the late president.
Edward Moore Kennedy
Kennedy, Edward Moore (1932– ), U.S. political leader, U.S. senator from Massachusetts since 1962.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Kennedy, John Fitzgerald (1917–63), 35th president of the United States. Kennedy was the youngest person and the first Roman Catholic ever elected to the post. Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Tex., after 1,037 days in office. After his death, a legend grew up around his youth, good looks, intelligence, idealism, and vigor that has become inseparable from his more concrete accomplishments. Kenne…
Robert Francis Kennedy
Kennedy, Robert Francis (1925–68), U.S. attorney general (1961–64) and U.S. senator from New York (1965–68).
Ted Kennedy
Kennedy, Ted See: Kennedy, Edward Moore.
Elizabeth Kenny
Kenny, Elizabeth (1886–1952), Australian nurse.
Kensington rune stone
Kensington rune stone, inscribed stone found in 1898 on a farm near Kensington, Minn.
James Kent
Kent, James (1763–1847), U.S. jurist.
Rockwell Kent
Kent, Rockwell (1882–1971), U.S. writer and artist.
Stan Kenton
Kenton, Stan (1912–79), U.S. bandleader, pianist, and composer.
Kentucky
Kentucky, state in the south central United States; bordered by Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to the east; Tennessee to the south; and Missouri to the west. Kentucky can be divided into 3 distinct topographical regions: the Gulf Coastal Plain, the Interior Low Plateau, and the Appalachian Plateau. The Gulf Coastal Plain in the extreme west has wide flood plai…
Kentucky coffeetree
Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioica), state tree of Kentucky.
Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby, annual thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds run over a course of 1 1/4 mi (2 km) at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky.
Kentucky Lake
Kentucky Lake, one of the world's largest human-made lakes.
Kentucky River
Kentucky River, 250 mi (402 km) long, rises in the Cumberland Mountains, flows northwest through Kentucky's bluegrass region, and empties into the Ohio River at Carrollton.
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, resolutions in support of states’ rights and civil liberties, passed by the legislatures of Kentucky and Virginia in 1798 and 1799, in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts.
Kenya
Kenya, independent republic of East Africa. Since achieving independence from Britain in 1963, Kenya has been one of the most prosperous and politically stable new African states for a long time. Economic and social progress has been made more difficult by the rapid growth of population. Kenya has an area of 224,960 sq mi (582,646 sq km). Its northern neighbors are the Sudan and Ethiopia, with Som…
Jomo Kenyatta
Kenyatta, Jomo (1893?–1978), Kenya'sfirst president (1964–78).
Keough plan
Keough plan See: Pension.
Johannes Kepler
Kepler, Johannes (1571–1630), German mathematician and astronomer.
Keratin
Keratin, any of various fibrous proteins concentrated in the outermost layer of the skin of vertebrates and acting as a constituent of hair, nails, claws, and horns.
Alexander Feodorovich Kerensky
Kerensky, Alexander Feodorovich (1881–1970), Russian revolutionary, head of the provisional government that followed the Russian Revolution from July to Oct. 1917.
Kerguelen Islands
Kerguelen Islands See: French Southern and Antarctic Territories.
Jerome Kern
Kern, Jerome (1885–1945), U.S. composer.
Kerner Commission
Kerner Commission, appointed by President Lyndon B.
Kerosene
Kerosene, colorless, thin oil, a mixture of hydrocarbons, used mainly as a fuel for jet engines, and also for heating and lighting and as a solvent and paint thinner.
Jack Kerouac
Kerouac, Jack (Jean-Louis Lebris de Kerouac; 1922–69), U.S. novelist and poet.
Kerry blue terrier
Kerry blue terrier, breed of dog produced by the union of the Irish terrier and the Dandie Dinmont.
Albert Kesselring
Kesselring, Albert (1885–1960), German field marshal of World War II.
Kestrel
Kestrel, name given in the Old World to various small falcons.
Ketchikan
Ketchikan, town in southeastern Alaska, on the southwestern edge of Revillagigedo Island, a port of entry for ships and vessels navigating the Inside Passage.
Charles Franklin Kettering
Kettering, Charles Franklin (1876–1958), U.S. inventor of the first electric cash register and the electric self-starter.
Kettle hole
Kettle hole, depression or cavity in solid rock formed by a block of glacial ice.
Kettledrum
Kettledrum See: Drum.
Key
Key, musical term denoting the arrangement of notes in a certain kind of scale. On the piano keyboard there are 12 notes, black and white, between each octave, each of which can be the starting point for 2 scales, one in the major mode and one in the minor mode. Thus if a piece of music is written for a major scale starting on the note C, then the key of the piece will be C major. If the piece is …
Francis Scott Key
Key, Francis Scott (1779–1843), U.S. poet and lawyer who wrote the words to the “Star-Spangled Banner” after witnessing the night bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British in Sept. 1814.
Key West
Key West (pop. 24,382), city on an island at the southwestern tip of the Florida Keys, about 150 mi (240 km) from Miami and 90 mi (145 km) from Cuba.
Keyboard instrument
Keyboard instrument See: Celesta; Clavichord; Harpsichord; Organ; Piano.
John Maynard Keynes
Keynes, John Maynard (1883–1946), British economist at Cambridge University, a pioneer in the development of modern economics.
KGB
KGB, Committee for State Security, government organization in the former USSR functioning as a secret police force.
Aram Ilich Khachaturian
Khachaturian, Aram Ilich (1903–78), Soviet-Armenian composer.
Khalid ibn Abd al-Aziz Al Saud
Khalid ibn Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (1913–82), king of Saudi Arabia (1975–82).
Hojatolislam Ali Khamenei
Khamenei, Hojatolislam Ali (1939– ), Iranian religious and political leader (1989– ).
Kharkov
Kharkov (pop. 1,536,000), city in Ukraine, at the confluence of the Kharkov, Lopan, and Udy rivers.
Khartoum
Khartoum (pop. 557,000), capital of Sudan.
Omar Khayyam
Khayyam, Omar See: Omar Khayyam.
Khazars
Khazars, Turkic people whose empire in southern Russia and the Caucasus controlled trade between the Slavs, Byzantium, and the Far East from 550 until the Byzantines and Russians overwhelmed it (969–1030).
Khmer
Khmer See: Kampuchea.
Khmer empire
Khmer empire, ancient Southeast Asian empire dating from the 6th century, occupying much of modern Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge See: Kampuchea.
Khoikhoi
Khoikhoi, or Hottentot, member of a southern African group similar to the San.
Ruhollah Khomeini
Khomeini, Ruhollah (Ruhollah Moussavi; 1900?–89), spiritual and political leader of Iran, 1979–89.
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev
Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeyevich (1894–1971), Soviet premier, 1958–64. As a loyal Stalinist during the great purges of the 1930s he managed the Communist Party in the Ukraine. During World War II he was a political adviser in the army, defending Stalingrad. When Josef Stalin died in Mar. 1953, Khrushchev became a member of the Soviet Union's “collective leadership,”…
Khufu
Khufu, or Cheops (fl. c.2680 B.C.), Egyptian pharaoh of the 4th dynasty.
Khyber Pass
Khyber Pass, mountain pass on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, about 3,500 ft (1,070 m) high and 28 mi (45 km) long.
Kibbutz
Kibbutz, type of collective farm in Israel established in the early 20th century.
Kickapoo
Kickapoo, Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe living in the Great Lakes region at the time of the arrival of European settlers.
William Kidd
Kidd, William (1645?–1701), British pirate.
Kidnapping
Kidnapping, the forcible abduction of a human being, whether or not for ransom.
Kidney
Kidney, one of a pair of organs of the urinary system, located in the back part of the abdomen, on each side of the vertebral column; the left lies slightly higher than the right. A high concentration of blood vessels gives the kidney a dark, reddish-brown color, and each is bean-shaped and slightly tilted. In adults, the kidney is about 4 in (10 cm) long and 2.5 in (6.5 cm) wide. At least one kid…
Kidney stone
Kidney stone, hard mineral deposit that forms in the kidney as a result of excessive concentrations of mineral salts in the urine.
Kidney transplant
Kidney transplant See: Tissue transplant.
Kiel
Kiel (pop. 246,600), city in northwest Germany, on the Baltic Sea at the eastern end of the Kiel Canal.
Kiel Canal
Kiel Canal, German canal extending 61 mi (98 km) from the mouth of the Elbe River to Holtenau near Kiel.
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard
Kierkegaard, Søren Aabye (1813–55), Danish religious philosopher, precursor of existentialism.
Kiev
Kiev (pop. 2,600,000), capital and largest city of Ukraine, on the Dnieper River.
Kigali
Kigali (pop. 182,000), capital and largest city of Rwanda.
Kikuyu
Kikuyu, agricultural Bantu-speaking tribe, one of the largest groups (about 2 million) in Kenya, living north of Nairobi.
Kilauea
Kilauea, world's largest active volcano, located on the southeastern part of Hawaii island.
Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro, extinct volcano and Africa's highest mountain, in northeastern Tanzania, near the Kenyan border.
Killarney
Killarney (pop. 7,800), town district in southwestern Ireland, County Kerry.
Killdeer
Killdeer (Charadrius or Oxyechus vociferus), shorebird, named for its noisy call.
Killer whale
Killer whale (Orcinus orca), small, toothed, carnivorous whale of the dolphin family, but lacking a beak.
Joyce Kilmer
Kilmer, Joyce (1886–1918), U.S. poet remembered for his sentimental poem “Trees” (1913).
Kiln
Kiln, oven or furnace usually designed for “firing” earthy materials to make bricks, pottery, or quicklime.
Kim Il Sung
Kim Il Sung (1912–94), North Korean political leader, premier 1948–72, president (1972–94).
Kimberley
Kimberley (pop. 150,000), city in Cape Province, South Africa, about 540 mi (870 km) northeast of Capetown, famed for having some of the world's largest diamond mines.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten, school for children aged 4–6, conceived by German educator F.W.A.
Kinesics
Kinesics, systematic study of nonverbal communication through body motions.
King Arthur
King Arthur See: Arthur, King.
Billie Jean King
King, Billie Jean (Billie Jean Moffitt; 1943– ), U.S. tennis player.
Coretta Scott King
King, Coretta Scott (1927– ), U.S. civil rights leader, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr.
King crab
King crab See: Horseshoe crab.
Ernest Joseph King
King, Ernest Joseph (1878–1956), U.S. admiral, commander of the U.S. fleet and naval operations chief in World War II.
King George Falls VI
King George VI Falls, collection of waterfalls and rapids descending some 1,600 feet (488 meters), situated in northwestern Cape Province, South Africa.
King James Version
King James Version See: Bible.
Karl King
King, Karl (1891–1971), U.S. composer and conductor of musical bands, creator of more than 300 musical works, 200 of which were marches.
Martin Luther King Jr.
King, Martin Luther, Jr. (1929–68), black U.S. clergyman and civil rights leader, recipient of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for his work for racial equality in the United States.
King Peak
King Peak, one of the highest mountains in North America, rising 17,130 ft (5,221 m) in the St.
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (1675–76), last Native American resistance to the whites in New England.
Stephen King
King, Stephen (1947– ), U.S. novelist and short-story writer.
William Lyon Mackenzie King
King, William Lyon Mackenzie (1874–1950), Canadian statesman, Liberal prime minister (1921–30, 1935–48).
William Rufus Devane King
King, William Rufus Devane (1786–1853), U.S. politician.
King William's War
King William's War See: French and Indian Wars.
Kingbird
Kingbird, aggressive North American flycatcher (genus Tyrannus), usually with gray head and a black stripe through the eye.
Kingdom
Kingdom, in biology, large group of organisms that share basic characteristics.
Kingfish
Kingfish, any of several large food and game fishes, including the mackerel and drum, especially of the genus Menticirrhus.
Kingfisher
Kingfisher, family (Alcedinidae) of brightly colored, strong-beaked birds of rivers, lakes, and streams worldwide.
Kinghead
Kinghead See: Ragweed.
Kinglet
Kinglet, tiny, olive-green songbird (genus Regulus) living in the temperate woodlands of the Northern Hemisphere.
Kingmaker
Kingmaker See: Warwick, Earl of.
Books of Kings
Kings, Books of, in the Old Testament, called First and Second Kings in the Authorized Version, and Third and Fourth Kings in the Greek versions and the Western canon.
Kings Canyon National Park
Kings Canyon National Park, area of about 460,100 acres (186,200 hectares) in the Sierra Nevada, south central California, established as a national park in 1940.
Charles Kingsley
Kingsley, Charles (1819–75), English writer and clergyman and an advocate of social reform.
Sidney Kingsley
Kingsley, Sidney (1906– ), U.S. playwright noted for his treatment of social problems.
Kingsnake
Kingsnake, nonpoisonous snake (genus Lampropeltis) of the central and southern United States.
Kingston
Kingston (pop. 24,481), industrial city of New York, on the west bank of the Hudson River about 92 mi (148 km) north of New York City.
Kingston
Kingston (pop. 643,800), capital and largest city of Jamaica, in the Caribbean Sea.
Kingstown
Kingstown (pop. 19,000), capital of St.
Kinkajou
Kinkajou (Potos flavus), relative of the raccoon that can hang by its tail.
Neil Gordon Kinnock
Kinnock, Neil Gordon (1942– ), British politician, elected youngest Labour Party leader in 1983 at the age of 41.
Eusebio Francisco Kino
Kino, Eusebio Francisco (1644?–1711), Italian Jesuit missionary who explored lower California and parts of Arizona.
Alfred Charles Kinsey
Kinsey, Alfred Charles (1894–1956), U.S. biologist best known for his statistical studies of human sexual behavior, published as Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953).
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (pop. 2,800,000), capital and largest city of Zaïre.
Kiowa
Kiowa, Native American tribe of the North American plains.
Rudyard Kipling
Kipling, Rudyard (1865–1936), Indian-born English writer.
Gustav Robert Kirchhoff
Kirchhoff, Gustav Robert (1824–87), German physicist best known for his work on electrical conduction, showing that current passes through a conductor at the speed of light, and deriving Kirchhoff's Laws.
Kirchhoff's Laws
Kirchhoff's Laws, two laws governing electric circuits involving Ohm's law conductors and sources of electromotive force, stated by Kirchhoff.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Kirchner, Ernst Ludwig (1880–1938), German expressionist graphic artist and painter, cofounder of the Brücke (bridge) movement (1905–13).
Kirghizstan
Kirghizstan, or Kyrgyzstan, republic in central Asia, bordered by on the north by Kazakhstan, on the east by China, on the south by Tajikistan, and on the west by Uzbekistan. Its capital is Bishkek. The country is almost entirely mountainous, it is part of the Tien Shan mountains (highest peak 24,406 feet/7440 meters). The rivers are important for irrigation and for generating electricity. The cli…
Kiribati
Kiribati, independent island republic in the central Pacific, consists of 3 groups of coral atolls and 33 islands astride the equator.
Kiritimati Atoll
Kiritimati Atoll, or Christmas Island, one of the largest coral islands in the Pacific, covering 140 sq mi (360 sq km) and with a coastline of 80 mi (130 km).
Lane Kirkland
Kirkland, Lane (1922– ), U.S. labor leader, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) since 1979.
Jeane Jordan Kirkpatrick
Kirkpatrick, Jeane Jordan (1926– ), U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (1981–85).
Kirlian photography
Kirlian photography, or electromagnetic discharge imaging (EDI), technique of recording an image on photographic film by applying a high-frequency electric field to it and recording the resulting pattern of luminescence.
Lincoln Kirstein
Kirstein, Lincoln (1907–96), U.S. ballet promoter who persuaded George Balanchine to come to the United States and helped him organize the School of American Ballet in New York (1934) and the New York City Ballet (1948).
Kirtland Air Force Base
Kirtland Air Force Base, nuclear research facility in Albuquerque, N.M., established 1941.
Henry Alfred Kissinger
Kissinger, Henry Alfred (1923– ), German-born U.S. adviser on foreign affairs.
Shibasaburo Kitasato
Kitasato, Shibasaburo (1852–1931), Japanese bacteriologist.
Kitchen Cabinet
Kitchen Cabinet, popular name for an unofficial body of advisers to President Andrew Jackson (1829–31).
Kitchener
Kitchener (pop. 356,400), Canadian cultural and industrial city 65 mi (105 km) west of Toronto.
Horatio Herbert Kitchener
Kitchener, Horatio Herbert (1850–1916), British field marshal, secretary of state for war in World War I.
Kite
Kite, any of various predatory birds of the hawk family (Accipitridae) with long, pointed wings and a forked tail.
Kite
Kite, aircraft consisting of a light frame covered with thin fabric (e.g., paper) and flown in the wind by aerodynamic lift at the end of a long string.
Kittiwake
Kittiwake, small gull (genus Rissa) that nests on narrow cliff ledges around the coasts of the North Atlantic, the North Pacific, and on the islands of the Arctic Ocean.