Wolfgang Köhler
Köhler, Wolfgang (1887–1967), German-born U.S. psychologist, a founder of Gestalt psychology.
21st Century Webster's Family Encyclopedia - Kitty Hawk to Lange, David Russell
Köln
Köln See: Cologne.
Kitty Hawk
Kitty Hawk See: Wright brothers.
Kiwanis International
Kiwanis International, community service association for business and professional men, having some 4,500 clubs and 285,000 members in the United States and Canada.
Kiwi
Kiwi, 3 species of flightless New Zealand birds (genus Apteryx), about 18 in (46 cm) high, lacking a tail, with gray-brown, hairlike feathers concealing their wings.
Kiwi fruit
Kiwi fruit, or Chinese gooseberry (Actinidia chinensis), fruit originating in China and named for the kiwi bird of New Zealand (where it was first established as a commercial crop).
Klaipeda
Klaipeda, or Memel (pop. 191,000), city in western Lithuania, on the Baltic Sea.
Klamath
Klamath, Native American tribe of southeastern Oregon and northern California, neighbors of the Modoc tribe, with whom they share a reservation around Upper Klamath Lake, established in 1864.
Paul Klee
Klee, Paul (1879–1940), Swiss painter, graphic artist, and art theorist.
Lawrence Robert Klein
Klein, Lawrence Robert (1920– ), U.S. economist.
Heinrich von Kleist
Kleist, Heinrich von (1777–1811), German dramatist and writer of novellas, known for his power and psychological insight.
Otto Klemperer
Klemperer, Otto (1885–1973), German conductor.
Gustav Klimt
Klimt, Gustav (1862–1918), Austrian painter and designer, a leader of the Vienna Secession (1897), noted for his lavishly ornamented, mosaic-patterned style.
Franz Kline
Kline, Franz (1910–62), U.S. abstract expressionist painter.
Klondike
Klondike, subarctic region in the west central Yukon Territory, northwest Canada, site of the gold rush of 1896.
Knee
Knee, front of the leg where the femur (thighbone) and tibia (shinbone) meet, and the joint itself, covered by the patella, or kneecap.
Knife
Knife, hand-held cutting instrument used as a tool and a weapon since early history.
Eric Knight
Knight, Eric (1897–1943), English-American author best known for his children's novel Lassie Come Home (1940).
Orders of Knighthood
Knighthood, Orders of, religious, honorary, or other fraternal society. Knights of the Middle Ages, vowing loyalty to their king, formed orders to defend his lands. During the crusades religious orders of knights fought the Muslims for the Holy Lands. The most famous of the religious orders were the Knights of St. John, the Knights Templars, and the Teutonic Knights. In Great Britain honorary orde…
Knights of the Bath
Knights of the Bath See: Bath, Order of the.
Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus, U.S. fraternal organization for Roman Catholic men, founded at New Haven, Conn., in 1882 and now claiming more than a million members.
Knights Grand Cross of the Bath
Knights Grand Cross of the Bath See: Bath, Order of the.
Knights Hospitallers
Knights Hospitallers See: Knights of Saint John.
Knights and knighthood
Knights and knighthood, part of the feudal system of the Middle Ages in Europe.
Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor, U.S. labor organization founded in 1869 in Philadelphia.
Knights of Pythias
Knights of Pythias, U.S. fraternal organization, incorporated by an act of Congress in 1864.
Knights of the Round Table
Knights of the Round Table See: Arthur, King; Round Table.
Knights of Saint John
Knights of Saint John (officially, Order of the Hospital of St.
Knights Templars
Knights Templars, Christian military order founded in 1118, with its headquarters on the site of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, to protect pilgrims.
Knitting
Knitting, production of fabric by using needles to interlock yarn or thread in a series of connected loops, using basic knit and purl stitches.
Knitting machine
Knitting machine, manufacturing device for knitting fabrics ranging from delicate lace to rugs, invented by the Englishman William Lee in 1589.
Alfred A. Knopf
Knopf, Alfred A. (1892–1984), U.S. publisher.
Knossos
Knossos, ancient city on the north coast of Crete, the center of Minoan civilization.
Knotgrass
Knotgrass, knotweed, or doorweed (Polygonum aviculare), plant of the buckwheat family, found in Canada and the northern United States.
hitches Knots and splices
Knots, hitches, and splices, methods to tie or fasten ropes.
Know-Nothing Party
Know-Nothing Party, U.S. political party formed in the 1840s to exclude recently immigrated Roman Catholics from politics.
John Knox
Knox, John (1514?–72), Scottish Protestant Reformation leader.
Knoxville
Knoxville (pop. 604,816), city in eastern Tennessee, at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains on the Tennessee River.
Koice
Košice (German: Kaschau; Hungarian: Kassa; pop. 196,200), city in Slovakia, on the Hornad River.
Koala
Koala, or koala bear (Phascolarctos cinereus), pouched tree-dwelling mammal of eastern Australia.
Kobe
Kobe (pop. 1,468,000), city located on the southern coast of the island of Honshu, Japan.
Koblenz
Koblenz, orCoblenz (pop. 110,800), city in west-central Germany, located on the Rhine River in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Edward Irving Koch
Koch, Edward Irving (1924– ), U.S.
Robert Koch
Koch, Robert (1843–1910), German bacteriologist.
Emil Theodor Kocher
Kocher, Emil Theodor (1841–1917), Swiss surgeon.
Zoltán Kodály
Kodály, Zoltán (1882–1967), Hungarian composer and, with Béla Bartók, an ardent researcher of Hungarian folk music.
Arthur Koestler
Koestler, Arthur (1905–83), Hungarian-born British writer.
Kurt Koffka
Koffka, Kurt (1886–1941), German-born U.S. psychologist who, with Wolfgang Köhler and Max Wertheimer, was responsible for the development of Gestalt psychology.
Helmut Kohl
Kohl, Helmut (1930– ), German politician and chancellor (1982–98).
Oskar Kokoschka
Kokoschka, Oskar (1886–1980), Austrian expressionist painter and writer.
Kola
Kola, tropical tree (genus Cola, especially C. nitida) that yields fruit containing caffeine-producing seeds.
Käthe Kollwitz
Kollwitz, Käthe (1867–1945), German artist known for her lithographs, woodcuts, and sculpture.
Komodo dragon
Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), largest of living lizards, reaching a length of 10 ft (3 m).
Komondor
Komondor, all-white Hungarian sheep dog.
Kon-Tiki
Kon-Tiki See: Heyerdahl, Thor.
Kongo
Kongo, kingdom of central Africa from the 15th to the 18th century, covering an area now in Angola and Zaïre, south of the Congo River.
Prince Konoye
Konoye, Prince (Fumimaro Konoye; 1891–1945), Japanese premier (1937–39, 1940–41).
Kookaburra
Kookaburra, or laughing jackass (Dacelo novaguineae), crow-sized bird, an Australian kingfisher, named for its gurgling, laughing call.
Charles Everett Koop
Koop, Charles Everett (1916– ), U.S. surgeon general (1982–89).
Kootenay
Kootenay See: Kutenai.
Ted Koppel
Koppel, Ted (Edward James Koppel; 1940– ), U.S. news reporter, host of the popular T.V. news program Nightline.
Koran
The Koran sets forth many rules governing moral behavior and social life. Alcoholic drinks and gambling are forbidden. The Koran is far more than a religious scripture. Because, as the first book written in Arabic, it formed a point of unity for all Arabs and for the diverse peoples they conquered, it is in a sense the foundation of Islamic civilization, as well as the molder and preserver of the …
Korea
Korea, peninsula (600 mi/966 km long) of eastern Asia that separates the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. Korea has been divided since the end of the Korean War in 1953 into 2 countries: the communist Democratic People's Republic (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). This artificial division, and incidents and tensions along the border between the 2 (near the 38th parallel …
Korean War
Korean War (1950–53), conflict between forces of the UN (primarily the United States and South Korea) and forces of North Korea and (later) communist China.
Arthur Kornberg
Kornberg, Arthur (1918– ), U.S. biochemist awarded with Severo Ochoa the 1959 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for discovering an enzyme (DNA polymerase) that could produce from a mixture of nucleotides exact replicas of DNA molecules.
Korsakoff's syndrome
Korsakoff's syndrome, amnesic state in which, because of an inability to record new memory traces, a person can carry out complex tasks learned before his or her illness but cannot learn the simplest new skills.
Józef Korzeniowski
Korzeniowski, Józef See: Conrad, Joseph.
Thaddeus Kosciusko
Kosciusko, Thaddeus (1746–1817), Polish soldier and patriot who fought in the American Revolution.
Jerzy Kosinski
Kosinski, Jerzy (1933–91), Polish-born U.S. writer best known for his semi-autobiographical novel The Painted Bird (1965).
Lajos Kossuth
Kossuth, Lajos (1802–94), Hungarian patriot and statesman who campaigned against Austrian rule and led the Hungarian revolution of 1848–49.
Aleksei Nikolaevich Kosygin
Kosygin, Aleksei Nikolaevich (1904–80), Soviet premier, 1964–80.
Sandy Koufax
Koufax, Sandy (1935– ), U.S. baseball player.
Koumiss
Koumiss See: Kumiss.
Kouprey
Kouprey, also known as the Indonesian forest ox, rare wild cattle found in southeastern Asia.
Serge Koussevitzky
Koussevitzky, Serge (1874–1951), Russian-born U.S. conductor.
Kowloon
Kowloon, Juilong, or Chiulung (pop. 799,100), peninsula across Kowloon Bay from the island of Hong Kong, near Guangzhou (Canton), southern China, but part of the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong since 1860.
Kraków
Kraków, or Cracow (pop. 214,400), city in south-central Poland, on the Vistula River.
Krakatoa
Krakatoa, volcanic island in the Sunda Strait, Indonesia.
Jack Kramer
Kramer, Jack (John Albert Kramer; 1921– ), U.S. tennis player, Wimbledon singles (1947) and doubles (1946–47) champion.
Sir Hans Adolf Krebs
Krebs, Sir Hans Adolf (1900–81), German-born British biochemist awarded (with F.A.
Fritz Kreisler
Kreisler, Fritz (1875–1962), Austrian-U.S. violinist.
Kremlin
Kremlin, fortified portion of medieval Russian cities, originally a place of refuge to nearby inhabitants; especially, the Kremlin in Moscow, now the political and administrative center of the Russian Federation.
Juanita Morris Kreps
Kreps, Juanita Morris (1921– ), U.S. economist, author, public official.
Krill
Krill, small marine animal (genus Euphausia) resembling shrimp.
Kris Kringle
Kris Kringle See: Santa Claus.
Krishna
Krishna See: Bhagavad-Gita; Vishnu.
Alfred Louis Kroeber
Kroeber, Alfred Louis (1876–1960), U.S. anthropologist who made contributions to many areas of cultural anthropology and archeology, particularly with reference to Native Americans.
Paulus Kruger
Kruger, Paulus (1825–1904), South African Boer leader.
Gene Krupa
Krupa, Gene (1909–73), U.S. jazz musician, member of the Benny Goodman Orchestra (1935–38).
Krupp
Krupp, family of German armaments makers.
Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya
Krupskaya, Nadezhda Konstantinovna (1869–1939), Russian revolutionary and educational theorist.
Krypton
Krypton, gaseous element, symbol Kr; for physical constants see Periodic Table.
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, secret organization originally begun (1866) by ex-Confederates in the U.S.
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (pop. 1,103,200), capital and largest city of Malaysia, on the South Malay Peninsula.
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan (1216–94), Mongol emperor from 1259, founder of the Yüan dynasty of China and grandson of Genghis Khan.
Stanley Kubrick
Kubrick, Stanley (1928– ), U.S. film director and writer noted for the strong social commentary of his work.
Kuching
Kuching (pop. 150,000), capital of Sarawak, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo.
Kudu
Kudu, large antelope (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) with long spiral horns.
Kudzu
Kudzu, long semi-woody vine (Pueraria thunbergiana) belonging to the pea family.
Richard Kuhn
Kuhn, Richard (1900–67), Austrian chemist.
Kuibyshev
Kuibyshev See: Kuybyshev.
Gerard Peter Kuiper
Kuiper, Gerard Peter (1905–73), Dutch-born U.S. astronomer who discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Mars (1948) and satellites of Uranus and Neptune (1948–49).
Kukenaan Falls
Kukenaan Falls See: Cuquenán Falls.
Kukui
Kukui (Aleurites moluccana), tree of the spurge family, Hawaii's state tree.
Kumiss
Kumiss, koumis, kumys, or koumyss, alcoholic milk beverage of Asian origin.
Kumquat
Kumquat, dwarf evergreen (genus Fortunella) belonging to the rue family, grown for its citrus fruits, which resemble small oranges.
Kuomintang
Kuomintang See: Chiang Kai-shek.
Kurchatovium
Kurchatovium See: Element 104.
Kurds
Kurds, people of Kurdistan in western Asia.
Kuril Islands
Kuril Islands, chain of 56 volcanic islands, stretching from the Kamchatka Peninsula of Siberia to Hokkaido Island, Japan.
Akira Kurosawa
Kurosawa, Akira (1910– ), Japanese film director.
Kuroshio
Kuroshio See: Japan Current.
Kush
Kush, ancient kingdom located along the Nile River in what is now Sudan.
Kushan Empire
Kushan Empire, dynasty of northern India, Afghanistan, and central Asia, from A.D. 50 to the 3rd century.
Kuskokwim River
Kuskokwim River, second longest river in Alaska.
Kutenai
Kutenai, Native American tribe of the U.S.-Canadian border.
Kuvasz
Kuvasz, breed of powerful, sturdily built dog.
Kuwait
Kuwait, small independent Arab state on the northwest coast of the Persian Gulf, bordered by Iraq (northwest) and Saudi Arabia (south). Though mostly desert, it has been a major oil-producing country and possesses more than 10% of the world's estimated oil reserves. Its independence was jeopardized in Aug. 1990, when Iraq, on the pretext of settling a border dispute but also interest…
Kuwait
Kuwait (pop. 44,300), capital and the most important city in the country of Kuwait and founded in the 18th century by a tribal confederation of Arabic people.
Kuybyshev
Kuybyshev, now known as Samara (pop. 1,300,000), city in east-central European Russia, located on the Volga River.
Kwajalein
Kwajalein, world's largest atoll, situated in the Marshall Islands in the west central Pacific.
Kwakiutl
Kwakiutl, Native American tribe of Wakashan linguistic stock, native to Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia, Canada.
Kwashiorkor
Kwashiorkor, severe condition of protein deficiency common in children of some areas of the Third World.
Kyanite
Kyanite, or cyanite, blue or white aluminum silicate mineral found in metamorphic rocks, occurring as long crystal blades.
Thomas Kyd
Kyd, Thomas (1558–94), English dramatist whose The Spanish Tragedy (c.1586) was a prototype of the Elizabethan and Jacobean revenge tragedy.
Kyoto
Kyoto (pop. 1,394,900), capital of Kyoto prefecture, Honshu Island, Japan, about 25 mi (40 km) northeast of Osaka.
Kyzyl Kum
Kyzyl Kum, or Kizil Kum, sandy desert of Central Asia, lying southeast of the Aral Sea and covering about 88,000 sq mi (228,000 sq km) of southern Kazakhstan and northern Uzbekistan between the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers.
L
L, the 12th letter of the English alphabet.
Louis L'Amour
L'Amour, Louis (1908–1988), popular U.S. novelist who wrote stories about the American frontier, many of which have been adapted for film and television.
La Brea tar pits
La Brea tar pits, asphalt bog in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, containing skeletons of prehistoric (Pleistocene) animals, including mammoths, saber-toothed cats, and giant sloths, preserved by tar.
La Ceiba
La Ceiba (pop. 61,900), city in northern Honduras, located in the Gulf of Honduras at the base of Mt.
La Crosse
La Crosse (pop. 97,904), city in western Wisconsin, seat of La Cross County, located at the junction of the Black, La Crosse, and Mississippi rivers.
John La Farge
La Farge, John (1835–1910), U.S. artist and writer.
Marie Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne La Fayette
La Fayette, Marie Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne (1634–93), French writer.
La Follette
La Follette, family name of 2 generations of influential U.S. politicians from Wisconsin.
Jean de La Fontaine
La Fontaine, Jean de (1621–95), French writer.
Fiorello Henry La Guardia
La Guardia, Fiorello Henry (1882–1947), U.S. statesman and mayor of New York City.
René Théophile Hyacinthe Laënnec
Laënnec, René Théophile Hyacinthe (1781–1826), French surgeon, physician, and inventor of the stethoscope.
Labor
Labor See: Birth.
Labor
Labor See: Labor movement.
Labor Day
Labor Day, official holiday in the United States and Canada since 1894, held on the first Monday in Sept. to honor the workers.
Department of Labor
Labor, Department of, federal department, independent since 1913, responsible for U.S. workers' welfare.
Labor force
Labor force, that part of a nation's population that is either employed or capable of employment.
Labor movement
Labor movement, movement to organize industrial workers and improve their working conditions. The need for organized labor did not occur until the late 19th century when the poorly treated and underpaid unskilled labor force—including children under 16 years old—in urban areas reached 40%. A secret society made upof Philadelphia garment workers, the Knights of Labor (1869), or…
Labor union
Labor union See: Unions, labor.
Labour Party
Labour Party, English political party founded in 1900 by trade unions and socialist groups—the Independent Labour Party (1893) and the Fabian Society—with James Keir Hardie as its first leader. It gained nationwide support after World War I, first coming to power under Ramsay Mac-Donald in 1924. His second administration (1929–31) ended in coalition with the Conservatives, div…
Labrador
Labrador, large peninsula in northeast Canada.
Labrador retriever
Labrador retriever, breed of sporting dog originating in Newfoundland, Canada and further developed in England.
Labrador tea
Labrador tea, 6 species of small evergreen shrubs (genus Ledum; especially, L. groenlandicium) containing in their aromatic leaves tannin and a mild narcotic that is the active ingredient in the tea and beer brewed from the leaves.
Laburnum
Laburnum, genus of small trees belonging to the pea family (Fabaceae or Leguminosae), characterized by glossy green leaves, yellow blossoms, and fine-grained, hard wood.
Labyrinth
Labyrinth, complex of buildings or hedges with many passages and dead ends, designed to baffle strangers trying to find the way in or out; a maze.
Lac
Lac, sticky residue secreted by a species of scale insect (Laccifer lacca) and used to produce shellac and lac dye.
Lace
Lace, fine openwork decorative fabric made by braiding, looping, knotting, or twisting thread, usually linen or cotton, sometimes silver and gold.
Lacewing
Lacewing, insect of the order Neuroptera, named for its double pair of delicate, lacy wings.
Lacquer
Lacquer, solution used as a coating for wood, metal, paper, clothing, or porcelain to provide a lustrous, protective finish.
Lacrimal gland
Lacrimal gland See: Tears.
Christian Lacroix
Lacroix, Christian (1950– ), French designer of haute-couture fashion.
Lacrosse
Lacrosse, team game derived by French settlers from the Native American game of baggataway, now the national game of Canada.
Lactic acid
Lactic acid (C3H6O3), organic acid that is the end product of the metabolism of sugar, the formation of which causes milk to sour.
Lady's-slipper
Lady's-slipper, moccasin flower, or squirrel's shoes, any of various species of the orchid family that bear a single flower on each stem.
Lady's-thumb
Lady's-thumb See: Smartweed.
Ladybug
Ladybug, lady beetle, or ladybird, small, almost round beetle of the family Coccinellidae.
Laetrile
Laetrile, alleged anticancer drug (chemical name, amygdalin) created from an extract of apricot pits in 1926 by Ernst Krebs, Sr., and refined by his son, Ernst Krebs, Jr., who patented it in 1949.
Marquis de Lafayette
Lafayette, Marquis de (1757–1834), French soldier and statesman who fought in the American Revolution and worked for French-American alliance.
Jean Laffite
Laffite, Jean (c.1780–1825?), French pirate and smuggler who attacked Spanish ships south of New Orleans.
Sir Louis Hippolyte LaFontaine
LaFontaine, Sir Louis Hippolyte (1807–64), Canadian politician and judge.
Pär Fabian Lagerkvist
Lagerkvist, Pär Fabian (1891–1974), Swedish poet, novelist, and dramatist, winner of the 1951 Nobel Prize for literature.
Selma Lagerlöf
Lagerlöf, Selma (1858–1940), Swedish novelist, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize for literature (1909).Her works, rooted inlegendandthe folklore of her native Värmland, include The Story of Gösta Berling, The Wonderful Adventure of Nils (1906, a children's classic), and a trilogy, The Ring of the Lowenskolds (1931).
Lagos
Lagos (pop. 1,125,000), former capital and chief port of Nigeria, on the Gulf of Guinea (West Africa).
Joseph Louis Lagrange
Lagrange, Joseph Louis (1736–1813), French mathematician and astronomer who made important contributions to calculus and differential equations and was influential in adopting the decimal system in metrics.
Lahore
Lahore (pop. 3,150,000), city in eastern Pakistan, capital of the province of Punjab, lying on the Ravi River.
Laissez faire
Laissez faire (French, “leave alone”), doctrine that opposes state intervention in economic affairs.
Lake Agassiz
Lake Agassiz, ancient North American lake that covered much of what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba and parts of other provinces and the United States.
Lake Albano
Lake Albano, crater lake inside an extinct volcano in west-central Italy, southeast of Rome in the Albani hills.
Lake Albert
Lake Albert, or Lake Mobutu Sese Sekolake, lake in east central Africa between Zaire and Uganda, linked to Lake Edward to the south by the Semliki River.
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal, world's deepest lake (maximum depth 5,315 ft/1,620 m), located in southeastern Siberia, USSR.
Lake Chad
Lake Chad, largest lake in west central Africa, fourth largest on the African continent.
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain, long, narrow lake forming much of the border between New York State and Vermont, with its northern tip extending into the Canadian province of Quebec.
Lake Charles
Lake Charles (pop. 168,134), inland port city of southwest Louisiana, on the Calcasieu River, linked by a 33-mi (53-km) channel with the Gulf of Mexico.
Lake Como
Lake Como (Italian: Lago di Como), lake in the northern Italian province of Lombardy, at the foot of the Alps, 25 miles (40 km) north of Milan.
Lake District
Lake District, scenic region in northwestern England, about 30 mi (50 km) wide.
Lake dwelling
Lake dwelling, shelter built on stilts or piles in the waters of a lake.
Lake Edward
Lake Edward, lake in the Rift valley of East Africa, on the border between Uganda and Zaire.
Lake Erie
Lake Erie, one of the 5 Great Lakes, fourth on the border between the United States and Canada.
Lake Garda
Lake Garda, largest lake in Italy, about 143 sq mi (370 sq km).
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva, crescent-shaped lake, one of Europe's largest, between southwestern Switzerland and France.
Lake George
Lake George, long, narrow, deep lake in the Adirondack Mountains of New York state.
Lake Huron
Lake Huron, one of the 5 Great Lakes, 206 mi (332 km) long and 183 mi (295 km) wide, with an area of about 23,000 sq mi (60,000 sq km).
Lake Itasca
Lake Itasca, lake of glacial origin in Minnesota.
Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga, lake in northwest Russia, about 40 mi (64 km) northeast of Leningrad.
Lake of Lucerne
Lake of Lucerne (German: Vierwaldstätter See), major lake in Switzerland, between the Rigi and Pilatus mountains.
Lake Lugano
Lake Lugano, lake on the border between Switzerland and Italy.
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore, lake lying mostly in Italy, but extending into the Swiss Alps.
Lake Manitoba
Lake Manitoba, narrow, shallow lake in south-central Manitoba, Canada.
Lake Maracaibo
Lake Maracaibo, lake in northwestern Venezuela, in the oil-producing region.
Lake Mead
Lake Mead, largest reservoir in the United States, located in northwestern Arizona and southeastern Nevada, built by confining the Colorado River at the Hoover (Boulder) Dam.
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan, largest freshwater lake lying entirely within the United States, and the third largest of the 5 Great Lakes.
Lake Neagh
Lake Neagh See: Lough Neagh.
Lake Okeechobee
Lake Okeechobee (Seminole, “big water”), largest freshwater lake in the southern part of the United States, located in central Florida just north of the Everglades.
Lake Onega
Lake Onega, second largest lake in Europe (3,753 sq mi/9,720 sq km), located in the northwestern part of the former USSR.
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario, one of the 5 Great Lakes, located in New York State and Ontario, Canada.
Lake Peipus
Lake Peipus, or Chudskoe, lake in the former USSR between Estonia and Russia.
Lake Placid
Lake Placid, small lake in the northeastern Adirondack Mountains, New York, about 3 mi (5.6 km) long and 1 mi (2.4 km) wide.
Lake Poets
Lake Poets, name given to the English poets William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Robert Southey, who lived in the Lake District for a time.
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain, lagoon-like lake in southern Louisiana, connected to the Mississippi River through the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal.
Lake Powell
Lake Powell, lake on the Utah-Arizona border, formed by the Glen Canyon Dam and fed by the Colorado River.
Lake Superior
Lake Superior, largest freshwater lake in the world, largest of the 5 Great Lakes, located along the United States-Canadian border, with Michigan and Wisconsin on the south, Minnesota on the west, and Ontario on the north.
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe, deep glacial lake on the California-Nevada border.
Lake Tana
Lake Tana, major water source for the Blue Nile River, located in northwestern Ethiopia.
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika, longest freshwater lake in the world (420 mi/680 km), located in the Great Rift valley between Tanzania and Zaire in east central Africa.
Lake Tiberias
Lake Tiberias See: Galilee, Sea of.
Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca, highest lake in South America, located in the Andes Mountains between Peru and Bolivia.
Lake trout
Lake trout See: Trout.
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria, largest freshwater lake in Africa, located in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya; major water source for the Nile River.
Lake Volta
Lake Volta, one of the largest human-made reservoirs in the world, in Ghana, West Africa.
Lake Winnebago
Lake Winnebago, lake in east-central Wisconsin.
Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg, located in Manitoba, Canada, it is one of the largest lakes in Canada.
Lake Winnipesaukee
Lake Winnipesaukee, lake in east-central New Hampshire.
Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods, lake located mostly in Ontario, Canada along the Minnesota border, with 2 bays reaching into Manitoba.
Lake Xochimilco
Lake Xochimilco, 5 shallow “floating garden” lakes in Mexico City, Mexico, made by building mud dikes in the original lake and seeding them with flowers and vegetables.
Lakeland terrier
Lakeland terrier, dog originally bred in northern England's Lake District to hunt foxes and protect sheep.
Lakes of Killarney
Lakes of Killarney, 3 scenic lakes lying southwest of the town of Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland.
LakeTexoma
LakeTexoma, one of the largest artificially created lakes in the United States, formed by the Denison Dam and located along the Texas-Oklahoma border.
Édouard Lalo
Lalo, Édouard (1823–92), French composer.
Lamaism
Lamaism, popular term for Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism, which evolved from Indian Buddhism starting in the 7th century A.D.
Jean Baptiste de Monet Lamarck chevalier de
Lamarck, Jean Baptiste de Monet, chevalier de (1744–1829), French biologist whose pioneering work in taxonomy (especially that of the invertebrates) led him to formulate an early theory of evolution.
Alphonse Marie Louis de Lamartine
Lamartine, Alphonse Marie Louis de (1790–1869), French poet and politician, briefly head of government after the 1848 revolution.
Charles Lamb
Lamb, Charles (1775–1834), English essayist and critic who often wrote under the name “Elia.” With his sister Mary Ann Lamb he wrote Tales from Shakespeare (1807) for children.
Lamb's-quarters
Lamb's-quarters, pigweed, or goosefoot (Chenopodium album), annual herbaceous plant related to spinach, sugar beets, and chard.
Lamentations
Lamentations, book of the Old Testament, traditionally ascribed to the prophet Jeremiah, though this is disputed by modern scholars.
Lammergeier
Lammergeier, bird belonging to the Old World vulture family and native to the mountain regions of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Lamp
Lamp, implement that produces light and usually heat using one of 3 methods: combustion of fats or oils, combustion of gases, or electricity.
Lamprey
Lamprey, primitive fish of the Petromyzontidae family, one of the 2 remaining groups of jawless fish (Agnatha), found both in freshwater and in the sea.
Lan-chou
Lan-chou See: Lanzhou.
Lanai
Lanai See: Hawaii.
Lancaster
Lancaster, English royal family.
Lancaster
Lancaster (pop. 422,822), city in southeast Pennsylvania, county seat of Lancaster County.
Lancelet
Lancelet See: Amphioxus.
Sir Lancelot
Lancelot, Sir, legendary medieval knight.
Federal Land Bank
Land Bank, Federal See: Farm Credit System.
Edwin Herbert Land
Land, Edwin Herbert (1909–91), U.S. physicist, inventor, and manufacturer.
Land-grant colleges
Land-grant colleges, U.S. colleges set up by the Morrill Act of 1862.
Land reform
Land reform, governmental redistribution of land ownership, the purpose of which is to lessen the personal wealth, power, and political influence accorded those with large land holdings.
Land's End
Land's End, England's westernmost point of land, located in Cornwall.
Bertha Knight Landes
Landes, Bertha Knight (1868–1943), first female mayor (1926–28) of a major U.S. city.
Alfred Mossman Landon
Landon, Alfred Mossman (1887–1984), U.S.politician.
Karl Landsteiner
Landsteiner, Karl (1868–1943), Austrian-born U.S. pathologist.
Andrew Lang
Lang, Andrew (1844–1912), Scottish writer and scholar.
Fritz Lang
Lang, Fritz (1890–1976), Austrian-U.S. film director.
David Russell Lange
Lange, David Russell (1942– ), New Zealand's prime minister from 1984–89.