Hermann Kurz was a German writer chiefly known for two powerful historical novels, Schillers Heimatjahre (1843; “Schiller’s Homeland Years”) and Der Sonnenwirt (1855; “The Proprietor of the Sun Inn”), both critical of the existing social order, and for his satirically humorous tales of Swabian life

Heinrich Georg Barkhausen: In 1920 Barkhausen developed, with Karl Kurz, the Barkhausen-Kurz oscillator for ultrahigh frequencies (a forerunner of the microwave tube), which led to the understanding of the principle of velocity modulation. He is also known for experiments on shortwave radio transmissions.

Austria: Austria in the European Union: …Party, under telegenic new leader Sebastian Kurz, tacked hard right in the months prior to the election and embraced much of the Freedom Party’s anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Kurz, who had served as foreign minister in the “grand coalition” government, revived the flagging fortunes of the mainstream conservative party, and…

Kurzeme, moraine region of western Latvia, roughly corresponding to the historic state of Courland (q.v.). Kurzeme is elevated slightly above the coastal plains of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga, which bound the moraine, and it rises to 604 feet (184 m) in the south. It is the source of many

Courland, region on the Baltic seacoast, located south of the Western Dvina River and named after its inhabitants, the Latvian tribe of Curonians (Kurs, Cori, Cours; Latvian: Kursi). The duchy of Courland, formed in 1561, included this area as well as Semigallia (Zemgale), a region located east of

electronic instrument: Sampling instruments; music workstations: …1984 Raymond Kurzweil introduced the Kurzweil 250, a keyboard-controlled instrument containing digitally encoded representations of grand piano, strings, and many other orchestral timbres. Both the Linn and the Kurzweil instruments were intended for composition as well as for performance, since they contained digital memories into which the musician could enter…

Ray Kurzweil is an American computer scientist and futurist who pioneered pattern-recognition technology and proselytized the inevitability of humanity’s merger with the technology it created. Kurzweil was raised in a secular Jewish family in Queens, New York. His parents fostered an early interest

Ray Kurzweil is an American computer scientist and futurist who pioneered pattern-recognition technology and proselytized the inevitability of humanity’s merger with the technology it created. Kurzweil was raised in a secular Jewish family in Queens, New York. His parents fostered an early interest

cubit, unit of linear measure used by many ancient and medieval peoples. It may have originated in Egypt about 3000 bc; it thereafter became ubiquitous in the ancient world. The cubit, generally taken as equal to 18 inches (457 mm), was based on the length of the arm from the elbow to the tip of

ceremonial object: Plants and plant representations: …sacred plants, such as the kusha plant (a sacred grass used as fodder) of the Vedic sacrifice and the Brahmanic puja (ritual), are used in rituals such as the Zoroastrian sprinkling (bareshnum), or great purification, rite, in which the notion of fertility and prosperity is combined with their sacred characters…

African literature: Swahili: …Kusadikika, nchi iliyo angani (1951; Kusadikika, a Country in the Sky), Adili na nduguze (1952; “Adili and His Brothers”), and Kufikirika (written in 1946, published posthumously in 1967). Adili and His Brothers is told largely by means of flashbacks. In Kusadikika a fantasy land is created. This largely didactic novel…

African literature: Swahili: …Kusadikika, nchi iliyo angani (1951; Kusadikika, a Country in the Sky), Adili na nduguze (1952; “Adili and His Brothers”), and Kufikirika (written in 1946, published posthumously in 1967). Adili and His Brothers is told largely by means of flashbacks. In Kusadikika a fantasy land is created. This largely didactic novel…

Kosrae, easternmost of the Caroline Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, western Pacific Ocean. Kosrae is volcanic in origin and hilly, rising to 2,064 feet (629 meters) at Mount Finkol (Crozier). Fertile and well-watered, Kosrae produces taro, oranges, breadfruit, and bananas and has valuable

South Asian arts: Sinhalese literature: 10th century ad to 19th century: …notable of which is the Kusajātaka, 687 stanzas of epigrams and exempla by the 17th-century poet Alagiyavanna Mohoṭṭāla.

history of photography: Development of the daguerreotype: Marc Ferrez in Brazil, Kusakabe Kimbei in Japan, the (French-born) Bonfils family in Lebanon, and Kassian Céphas in Indonesia were among the international photographers who set up studios to supply portraits and views during this period.

Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist who is a self-described “obsessional artist,” known for her extensive use of polka dots and for her infinity installations. She employed painting, sculpture, performance art, and installations in a variety of styles, including Pop art and Minimalism. By her own

yellowwood: …all native to New Zealand; kusamaki, or broad-leaved podocarpus (P. macrophyllus), of China and Japan; real yellowwood (P. latifolius), South African yellowwood (P. elongatus), and common yellowwood (P. falcatus) of southern Africa; plum-fir, or plum-fruited, yew (P. andinus) and willowleaf podocarpus, or

Kushan art, art produced during the Kushan dynasty from about the late 1st to the 3rd century ce in an area that now includes parts of Central Asia, northern India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The Kushans fostered a mixed culture that is best illustrated by the variety of deities—Greco-Roman,

Kushan dynasty, ruling line descended from the Yuezhi, a people that ruled over most of the northern Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia during the first three centuries of the Common Era. The Yuezhi conquered Bactria in the 2nd century bce and divided the country into five

Kusanagi, (Japanese: “Grass-Mower”), in Japanese mythology, the miraculous sword that the sun goddess Amaterasu gave to her grandson Ninigi when he descended to earth to become ruler of Japan, thus establishing the divine link between the imperial house and the sun. The sword, along with the mirror

Sultanpur, city, central Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is located on the Gomati River, about 35 miles (55 km) south of Faizabad and 80 miles (130 km) southeast of Lucknow. Sultanpur has existed since ancient times. It was destroyed and rebuilt repeatedly before passing under the rule of

North Africa: From the Arab conquest to 1830: …prevailed on the Berber “king” Kusaylah to become Muslim. From his base in Tlemcen, Kusaylah dominated a confederation of the Awrāba tribes living between the western Aurès Mountains and the area of present-day Fès. Since Kusaylah’s profession of Islam implied his recognition of caliphal authority, it served as a basis…

Polykarp Kusch was a German-American physicist who, with Willis E. Lamb, Jr., was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1955 for his accurate determination that the magnetic moment of the electron is greater than its theoretical value, thus leading to reconsideration of and innovations in quantum

theatre: Japan: …combined the sarugaku elements with kuse-mai, a story dance that uses both movements and words. Soon dengaku elements were added, and the distinctive Nō style slowly emerged. Like the Zen ways of tea ceremony, ink drawing, and other arts, Nō suggests the essence of an event or an experience within…

Serge Koussevitzky was a Russian-born American conductor and publisher, a champion of modern music who commissioned and performed many important new works. Koussevitzky studied the double bass in Moscow, becoming a virtuoso, and in Russia, Germany, and England gave recitals at which he played his

KUSF and college radio: College radio stations—once considered little more than laboratories for students who had chosen broadcasting as an avocation—came to play an important gatekeeping role in the development of rock music beginning in the 1970s, in the aftermath of free-form FM rock radio and on the eve…

College radio stations—once considered little more than laboratories for students who had chosen broadcasting as an avocation—came to play an important gatekeeping role in the development of rock music beginning in the 1970s, in the aftermath of free-form FM rock radio and on the eve of the punk

Kush, the southern portion of the ancient region known as

Kusha, Buddhist school of philosophy introduced into Japan from China during the Nara period (710–784). The school takes its name from its authoritative text, the Abidatsuma-kusha-ron(Sanskrit:Abhidharma-kośa; q.v.), by the 4th- or 5th-century Indian philosopher Vasubandhu. This text sets forth the

Sita: …birth to their two children, Kusha and Lava. After they reached maturity and were acknowledged by Rama to be his sons, she called upon her mother, Earth, to swallow her up.

ceremonial object: Plants and plant representations: …sacred plants, such as the kusha plant (a sacred grass used as fodder) of the Vedic sacrifice and the Brahmanic puja (ritual), are used in rituals such as the Zoroastrian sprinkling (bareshnum), or great purification, rite, in which the notion of fertility and prosperity is combined with their sacred characters…

Central Asian arts: Kushān: The Kushāns replaced the Greeks in Bactria about 130 bce. They are thought to have been of Yüeh-chih stock with a strong admixture of Hephthalites, Śaka, and Tocharian. One branch of this group migrated to the Tarim Basin and founded a short-lived empire, while…

Kushan art, art produced during the Kushan dynasty from about the late 1st to the 3rd century ce in an area that now includes parts of Central Asia, northern India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The Kushans fostered a mixed culture that is best illustrated by the variety of deities—Greco-Roman,

Kushan dynasty, ruling line descended from the Yuezhi, a people that ruled over most of the northern Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia during the first three centuries of the Common Era. The Yuezhi conquered Bactria in the 2nd century bce and divided the country into five

Hindu Kush: Study and exploration: …Timur; the second was the Kushān Pass (slightly to the west of the present-day Sālang road tunnel), which Alexander crossed southward; and the third was the Kipchak Pass, used by Genghis Khan in the early 13th century and by Bābur in 1504.

Kushan dynasty, ruling line descended from the Yuezhi, a people that ruled over most of the northern Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia during the first three centuries of the Common Era. The Yuezhi conquered Bactria in the 2nd century bce and divided the country into five

Sultanpur, city, central Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is located on the Gomati River, about 35 miles (55 km) south of Faizabad and 80 miles (130 km) southeast of Lucknow. Sultanpur has existed since ancient times. It was destroyed and rebuilt repeatedly before passing under the rule of

Kushiro, city, eastern Hokkaido, northern Japan. It is situated along both banks of the Kushiro River where that river empties into the Pacific Ocean. The city was first settled by 537 Japanese immigrants in 1870. The natural harbour of the river mouth has since been developed into the largest

Kassala: …control of the 25th, or Kushite, Egyptian dynasty. The Kushites were later conquered by the kingdom of Aksum (Axum), and the people were largely Christianized. There were Muslim raids into the region during the Mamlūk dynasty of Egypt (reigned 1250–1517). The people were converted to Islam in the early 16th…

Kushk River, river in Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, formed by the confluence of two headstreams, the Āq Robāţ and the Galleh Chaghar, which rise in northwestern Afghanistan. The river flows northwestward, passing the town of Koshk-e Kohneh (Kushk), where it turns north and receives the waters of

Kushk River, river in Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, formed by the confluence of two headstreams, the Āq Robāţ and the Galleh Chaghar, which rise in northwestern Afghanistan. The river flows northwestward, passing the town of Koshk-e Kohneh (Kushk), where it turns north and receives the waters of

Steve Bannon: Association with Trump: …members, most notably senior adviser Jared Kushner (Trump’s son-in-law) and national security adviser H.R. McMaster. Criticism of Bannon from outside the administration grew louder after Trump responded slowly to and then blamed “both sides” for the death of a counterprotester at a demonstration by white nationalists, white supremacists, and neo-Nazis…

Tony Kushner is an American dramatist who became one of the most highly acclaimed playwrights of his generation after the debut of his two-part play Angels in America (1990, 1991). Kushner grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and attended Columbia University and New York University. His early plays

Anatolia: The Hittite occupation of Anatolia: …concerns two semilegendary kings of Kussara (Kushshar) named Pitkhanas and Anittas. The city called Kussara has yet to be identified, but the text gives an impressive list of cities that Pitkhanas had conquered, and among them appears the name of Nesa, which his son, Anittas, subsequently adopted as his capital.…

Kushtia, city, west-central Bangladesh. It lies just south of the upper Padma River (Ganges [Ganga] River). The city is connected by rail with Saidpur and Kolkata (Calcutta; in India) and is a trade centre, containing cotton-textile and sugar mills and a pottery cottage industry. Kushtia has

Kushukh, the Hurrian moon god. In the Hurrian pantheon, Kushukh was regularly placed above the sun god, Shimegi; his consort was Niggal (the Sumero-Akkadian Ningal). His home was said to be the city of Kuzina (location unknown), and his cult was later adopted by the Hittites. As Lord of the Oath he

Kushukh, the Hurrian moon god. In the Hurrian pantheon, Kushukh was regularly placed above the sun god, Shimegi; his consort was Niggal (the Sumero-Akkadian Ningal). His home was said to be the city of Kuzina (location unknown), and his cult was later adopted by the Hittites. As Lord of the Oath he

Kushva, city, Sverdlovsk oblast (region), western Russia, at the foot of Mount Blagodat. Founded in 1735 after the discovery of iron-ore deposits on the mountain, it became a town in 1926, and until the 1950s open-pit mines were still in operation. Ore extraction is now conducted underground, and

Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui was an Inca emperor (1438–71), an empire builder who, because he initiated the swift, far-ranging expansion of the Inca state, has been likened to Philip II of Macedonia. (Similarly, his son Topa Inca Yupanqui is regarded as a counterpart of Philip’s son Alexander III the

Beata Szydło is a Polish politician who became prime minister of Poland after the Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość; PiS) party won an absolute majority in the Sejm (legislature) in the October 2015 national election. Szydło served as prime minister until December 2017, when she was replaced

Surma River: …the Surma (north) and the Kusiyara (south), which enter Bangladesh and turn southwest. The Surma flows past Sylhet in a rich tea-growing valley, while the Kusiyara subdivides into two more branches, both of which rejoin the Surma. At Bhairab Bazar, in east-central Bangladesh, the river enters the Old Brahmaputra and…

André Lange: Sliding with longtime brakeman Kevin Kuske in the two-man, the duo’s split time slipped to fourth overall in the second heat, but the pair rallied, overtook the lead in the third heat, and did well enough in the fourth heat to win. In the four-man race, Lange, with teammates…

oil shale, any sedimentary rock containing various amounts of solid organic material that yields petroleum products, along with a variety of solid by-products, when subjected to pyrolysis—a treatment that consists of heating the rock to above 300 °C (about 575 °F) in the absence of oxygen. The

Alaskan mountains: Physiography of the central ranges: …several smaller groups, notably the Kuskokwim Mountains. Those ranges are somewhat lower and more rolling than the eastern highlands, with ridges trending southwest-northeast. Numerous isolated, nearly circular groups of mountains rise above the ridges. The bedrock includes tightly folded Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments and volcanics and Cenozoic (i.e., formed in…

Alaskan mountains: Physiography of the central ranges: …systems, the Yukon and the Kuskokwim. The intricately dissected uplands are divided into three areas: the eastern highlands, the western highlands, and the Seward Peninsula. The great sweep of ranges extends south of the Yukon from the Canadian border to the Bering Sea; north of the river the ranges are…

Fort Ross: In 1808 the company sent Ivan Kuskov to look for settlement sites in California. In 1811 he found an ideal location on a scenic rocky cliff above some rugged, sandy beaches in northern California. The following March Kuskov returned with 25 Russians and 80 Unangan (Aleut) to start building the…

Yekaterina Kuskova was a Russian political figure and publicist who opposed the Bolshevik government. Becoming involved in radical activities in the mid-1890s, Kuskova wrote the Credo, a manifesto for the revisionist Marxist school called economism, earning the condemnation of Vladimir Lenin and

Yekaterina Kuskova was a Russian political figure and publicist who opposed the Bolshevik government. Becoming involved in radical activities in the mid-1890s, Kuskova wrote the Credo, a manifesto for the revisionist Marxist school called economism, earning the condemnation of Vladimir Lenin and

Moscow: Outer Moscow: …side of the city is Kuskovo, once the estate of the Sheremetyev family, one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Russia; its palace, built in the 1770s, houses a church, hermitage, and Baroque grotto. To the south is the Uzkoe mansion, formerly belonging to the Trubetskoy family; to…

Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian independence movement and Indonesia’s first president (1949–66), who suppressed the country’s original parliamentary system in favour of an authoritarian “Guided Democracy” and who attempted to balance the Communists against the army leaders. He was deposed

Donald Kuspit is an American art critic and art historian widely regarded as the foremost practitioner of psychoanalytic art criticism. After receiving doctorates in philosophy (University of Frankfurt) and art history (University of Michigan), Kuspit began a career as an art critic in the 1970s,

Anatolia: The Hittite occupation of Anatolia: …concerns two semilegendary kings of Kussara (Kushshar) named Pitkhanas and Anittas. The city called Kussara has yet to be identified, but the text gives an impressive list of cities that Pitkhanas had conquered, and among them appears the name of Nesa, which his son, Anittas, subsequently adopted as his capital.…

Qostanay, city, northern Kazakhstan, on the Tobyl River. Founded by Russian settlers from the Volga region in 1879, it became a centre of trade in the Steppe, particularly in grain, a role that was enhanced by the construction of a branch railway in 1913. Qostanay was made an administrative centre

Qostanay, city, northern Kazakhstan, on the Tobyl River. Founded by Russian settlers from the Volga region in 1879, it became a centre of trade in the Steppe, particularly in grain, a role that was enhanced by the construction of a branch railway in 1913. Qostanay was made an administrative centre

Kyustendil, town, southwestern Bulgaria. It lies on the margin of a small alluvial basin in the Struma River valley at the foot of the Osogov Mountains. It was known in Roman times as Pautalia, or Ulpia Pautalia. Located on the site of a Thracian fortified settlement, it became an important town

Kūstī, city, southern Sudan. It lies on the west bank of the White Nile River about 65 miles (105 km) south of Al-Duwaym. Its basic agricultural economy is augmented by light manufacturing. The Kosti bridge, 4 miles (6 km) upstream from Kūstī, provides a railway connection with Al-Ubayyiḍ to the

ceremonial object: Objects used in rites of passage: …world, a sacred cord (Pahlavi kushti; Sanskrit yajnopavita) is the mark of initiation; in Iran and among the Parsis (Zoroastrians in India), the kushti is wound around the torso, and in India the yajnopavita is passed diagonally from shoulder to waist. Among the Parsis, including the women, the cord is…

Emir Kusturica is a Bosnian-born Serbian motion picture director, screenwriter, actor, and producer who was one of the most-distinguished European filmmakers since the mid-1980s, best known for surreal and naturalistic movies that express deep sympathies for people from the margins. Kusturica, who

Kusumi Morikage was a Japanese painter of the early Tokugawa period (1603–1867) who excelled in painting farmers and common people. Little is known of Kusumi’s life, but a number of his paintings are extant, of which “Enjoying the Evening Cool Under a Gourd Trellis” and “Landscape Screen Depicting

Kusunoki Masashige was one of the greatest military strategists in Japanese history. Kusunoki’s unselfish devotion and loyalty to the emperor have made him a legendary figure; after the imperial restoration of 1868, a splendid shrine was erected to him on the site of his death. The head of a small

Los Angeles 1932 Olympic Games: Kitamura Kusuo, who won the gold medal in the 1,500-meter freestyle at age 14, became the youngest male swimmer ever to win an Olympic event. American women dominated in swimming, taking four of the five gold medals; Helene Madison won gold medals in the 100-…

Kushva, city, Sverdlovsk oblast (region), western Russia, at the foot of Mount Blagodat. Founded in 1735 after the discovery of iron-ore deposits on the mountain, it became a town in 1926, and until the 1950s open-pit mines were still in operation. Ore extraction is now conducted underground, and

kut, trance ritual in Korean religion. See

Al-Kūt, city, capital of Wāsiṭ muḥāfaẓah (governorate), eastern Iraq. It lies along the Tigris River about 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Baghdad. A relatively new city, Al-Kūt serves as a river port and agricultural centre for nearby farms. It is best known as the site of a notable British defeat

Al-Kūt: …the surrounding area, where the Kūt Barrage diverts river water into irrigation canals. Al-Kūt’s prosperity has always depended on the Tigris River’s course changes. Following a period of decline, the city revived when the present river system became established, making Al-Kūt a river port. Pop. (2002 est.) 380,000.

Al-Kūt, city, capital of Wāsiṭ muḥāfaẓah (governorate), eastern Iraq. It lies along the Tigris River about 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Baghdad. A relatively new city, Al-Kūt serves as a river port and agricultural centre for nearby farms. It is best known as the site of a notable British defeat

Moscow: The Kremlin of Moscow: …bridge and outer barbican (the Kutafya Tower), and the Borovitskaya Tower—rise from the western wall.

Kütahya, city, western Turkey. It lies along the Porsuk River, at the foot of a hill crowned by a ruined medieval castle. Kütahya, known as Cotyaeum in antiquity, lay on the great road from the Marmara region to the Mesopotamian plains; the town flourished and declined according to the changing

Battle of Nizip: The Convention of Kütahya (1833) that had awarded the Ottomans’ Syrian provinces and Adana to Muḥammad ʿAlī was not satisfactory to either party, and a new war developed. The Ottoman army was decisively defeated at Nizip by Egyptian forces under Muḥammad ʿAlī’s son Ibrāhīm, and the…

Mahakam River, river of east-central Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan). It rises in Borneo’s central mountain range and flows east-southeast through southern East Kalimantan province for about 400 miles (650 km) before emptying into Makassar Strait in a wide delta. The chief town along its course is

Kutaisi, city, west-central Georgia. It lies along the Rioni River where the latter emerges from the Caucasian foothills into a lowland. One of the oldest cities of Transcaucasia, it served at various periods as the capital of successive kingdoms in Georgia: Colchis, Iberia (Kartli), Abkhazia, and

North Africa: The Fāṭimids and Zīrids: …Allāh al-Shīʿī, operated among the Kutāma of the Little Kabylia region in eastern Algeria from 901. The sedentary Kutāma were pious and unsophisticated Muslim Berbers living in small village communities. Aghlabid rule in the region was represented by fortified garrison posts manned by Arab troops, by whom the Kutāma were…

Manāslu I, one of the world’s highest mountains (26,781 feet [8,163 m]); it lies in the Himalayas of north Nepal, 38 miles (61 km) north of the town of Gurkha. The summit of this snow- and glacier-covered peak was first reached on May 9 and 11, 1956, by two separate Japanese

Kutani ware, Japanese porcelain made in Kaga province (now in Ishikawa prefecture). The name “Old Kutani” refers to porcelain decorated with heavily applied overglaze enamels and produced in the Kaga mountain village of Kutani. The powerful Maeda family had established a kiln there by 1656. The

Banda Aceh, kota (city), capital of the autonomous Aceh daerah istimewa (special district; with provincial status), Indonesia. It is located on the Aceh River at the northwestern tip of the island of Sumatra, facing the Andaman Sea. Banda Aceh is known as the “doorway to Mecca,” for historically it

Gulf of Kachchh, northeastern arm of the Arabian Sea, extending between the Rann of Kachchh (a salt waste) and the Kāthiāwār Peninsula of west-central India. Reaching eastward for some 110 miles (180 km), the gulf varies in width from 10 to 40 miles (16 to 65 km). It is rimmed with mudflats, and

Rann of Kachchh, large area of saline mudflats located in west-central India and southern Pakistan. It is made up of the Great Rann and the Little Rann. The Hindi word Rann means “desert.” The word Kachchh derives from a local fable that the region’s map, if turned upside down, resembles kachchh,

Kachchhi language, member of the Indo-Aryan group of the Indo-Iranian division of the Indo-European language family. Kachchhi is spoken by an estimated 885,000 people, primarily in the Kachchh (Katch) district of Gujarat, India, but with considerable numbers in Pakistan, Kenya, Malaŵi, and Tanzania

Ashton Kutcher is an American actor who first garnered fame for playing Michael Kelso in the hit sitcom That ’70s Show (1998–2006) and later found success in such movies as Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000) and What Happens in Vegas (2008). Kutcher is also known for cocreating the reality show Punk’d,

Ashton Kutcher is an American actor who first garnered fame for playing Michael Kelso in the hit sitcom That ’70s Show (1998–2006) and later found success in such movies as Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000) and What Happens in Vegas (2008). Kutcher is also known for cocreating the reality show Punk’d,

Kachchhi language, member of the Indo-Aryan group of the Indo-Iranian division of the Indo-European language family. Kachchhi is spoken by an estimated 885,000 people, primarily in the Kachchh (Katch) district of Gujarat, India, but with considerable numbers in Pakistan, Kenya, Malaŵi, and Tanzania

Gwich’in, a group of Athabaskan-speaking North American Indian tribes inhabiting the basins of the Yukon and Peel rivers in eastern Alaska and Yukon—a land of coniferous forests interspersed with open, barren ground. The name Gwich’in, meaning “people,” is given collectively to an indefinite number

Kutenai, North American Indian tribe that traditionally lived in what are now southeastern British Columbia, Can., and northern Idaho and northwestern Montana in the United States. Their language, also called Kutenai, is probably best considered a language isolate; that is, it is unrelated to other

Cuman: …the Cumans and their prince Kuthen, who had earlier tried unsuccessfully to organize Russian resistance to the Mongols. Just before the Mongol invasion of Hungary in 1240–41, however, Kuthen, who was considered a dangerous alien, was murdered; the Cumans left Hungary but were resettled there by Béla in 1245. Béla’s…

Mandalay: …are the 730 pagodas, or Kuthodaw (“Works of Royal Merit”), authorized by King Mindon as a result of the Fifth Buddhist Council. Buddhist scriptures, regarded by Myanmar Buddhists as orthodox texts, are recorded on 729 white marble tablets, and the tablets are set up in a square, each tablet protected…

Jan van Hembyze: Supported by Francis van de Kuthulle, lord of Ryhove, and the leading Calvinist preacher, Petrus Dathenus, Hembyze led some 2,000 troops and Calvinist townspeople in battle against their Catholic neighbours on Oct. 28, 1577. He arrested Philip de Croy, duke of Aerschot, the stadholder of Flanders, as…

Gajah Mada: …during a rebellion led by Kuti in 1319. He served as the head of the royal bodyguard that escorted King Jayanagara to Badander, when Kuti captured the capital of Majapahit. After finding a safe place for the King, he returned to the capital and spread the rumour that the King…

Fela Kuti was a Nigerian musician and activist who launched a modern style of music called Afro-beat, which fused American blues, jazz, and funk with traditional Yoruba music. Kuti was the son of feminist and labour activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. As a youth he took lessons in piano and percussion

Wu Changshuo was a Chinese seal carver, painter, and calligrapher who was prominent in the early 20th century. Wu was born into a scholarly family and began writing poems and carving seals by age 10. As a young man, Wu passed the civil service examinations and started a family, while still pursuing

Russia: The 20th century: of Aleksey Parshchikov, Olga Sedakova, Ilya Kutik, and others. The turbulent 1990s were a difficult period for most Russian writers and poets. The publishing industry, adversely affected by the economic downturn, struggled to regain its footing in the conditions of a market economy. Nonetheless, private foundations began awarding annual literary…