Kazin \'ka-zon\, Alfred (b. June 5, 1915, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—d. June 5, 1998, New York, N.Y.) U.S. literary critic. His sweeping histori¬ cal study of modern American literature, On Native Grounds (1942), won him instant recognition. Much of his criticism appeared in Partisan Review, The New Republic, and The New Yorker. His books include Start¬ ing Out in the Thirties (1965), New York Jew (1978), A Writer’s America (1988), and God and the American Writer (1997).
KazvTn See Qazvin
kea Vke-3\ Large, stocky parrot {Nestor notabilis, subfamily Nestorinae) of New Zealand. It lives in mountain habitats and is known for its curi¬ ous and playful character. However, the kea occasionally tears into sheep carcasses to get at the fat around the kidneys; sometimes it attacks live sheep.
Kean, Edmund (b. March 17?, 1789, London, Eng.—d. May 15, 1833, London) British actor. He acted with a touring stage company from 1805, and in 1814 he won acclaim in London with his innovative portrayal of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. He went on to specialize in other
Shakespearean villains, including Richard III, Iago, and Macbeth. He also excelled at playing Othello and Hamlet, as well as Barabas in Chris¬ topher AAarlowe’s The Jew of Malta.
Though praised for his passionate and sensational stage portrayals, he became unpopular for his ungovern¬ able behaviour offstage, marked by excessive drinking and a suit for adultery (1825). His son Charles (1811-68) was an actor-manager noted for his revivals of Shakespear¬ ean plays.
Kearny \'kar-ne\, Stephen Watts (b. Aug. 30, 1794, Newark,
N.J., U.S.—d. Oct. 31, 1848, St.
Louis, Mo.) U.S. Army officer. He served in the War of 1812 and later on the western frontier. At the out¬ break of the Mexican War, he was ordered to seize New Mexico and California. Using diplomacy to per¬ suade Mexican troops to withdraw, he marched unopposed to Santa Fe, where in 1846 he proclaimed a civil government for the province. Heading to California, he was informed that the conquest had already been com¬ pleted by Robert F. Stockton and John C. Fremont. He arrived to discover that Mexican rebels had retaken most of the province. He then joined forces with Stockton to defeat the rebels in 1847. After initial opposition from Fre¬ mont, who had persuaded Stockton to appoint him governor, Kearny paci¬ fied the rest of California and established a stable civil government. He was then sent to Mexico, where he died of yellow fever.
Keaton, Buster orig. Joseph Francis Keaton IV (b. Oct. 4, 1895, Piqua, Kan., U.S.—d. Feb. 1,1966, Woodland Hills, Calif.) U.S. film actor and director. He acted with his parents in vaudeville (1899-1917), where he developed his mastery of comic falls and subtle timing and his trade¬ mark deadpan expression. His film debut in Fatty Arbuckle’s The Butcher- Boy (1917) was followed by several short films (1917—19). As head of his own production company (1920-28) he directed and starred in classic silent movies such as The Navigator (1924), Sherlock, Jr. (1924), The General (1927), and Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928). For MGM he made The Cameraman (1928), but he was denied artistic control over his films, and his career declined. He later appeared in Sunset Boulevard (1950) and Limelight (1952). From the late 1940s his comedies were gradually revived, and he is now regarded as one of the greatest silent comedy stars.
Keaton, Diane orig. Diane Hall (b. Jan. 5, 1946, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.) U.S. film actress. She acted on Broadway in Hair (1968) and with Woody Allen in Play It Again, Sam (1969), reprising her role in the movie version (1972). She played a supporting role in The Godfather (1972) and its sequels. She starred in various Allen movies, including Sleeper (1973), Annie Hall (1977,
Academy Award), Interiors (1978), and Manhattan (1979). Her other films include Looking for Mr. Good- bar (1977), Reds (1981), Mrs. Soffel (1984), First Wives Club (1996), and The Other Sister (1999). Initially noted for her quirky comic roles, she developed into one of Hollywood’s most respected dramatic actresses.
Keats, John (b. Oct. 31, 1795,
London, Eng.—d. Feb. 23, 1821,
Rome, Papal States) English Roman¬ tic poet. The son of a livery-stable manager, he had a limited formal education. He worked as a surgeon’s apprentice and assistant for several years before devoting himself entirely to poetry at age 21. His first mature work was the sonnet “On First Looking into Chapman’s
. \
Edmund Kean, detail of a pencil draw¬ ing by Samuel Cousins, 1814; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON
Keats, detail of an oil painting by Joseph Severn, 1821; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Keb > Kellogg I 1023
Homer” (1816). His long Endymion appeared in the same year (1818) as the first symptoms of the tuberculosis that would kill him at age 25. Dur¬ ing a few intense months of 1819 he produced many of his greatest works: several great odes (including “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” “Ode to a Night¬ ingale,” and “To Autumn”), two unfinished versions of the story of the titan Hyperion, and “La Belle Dame Sans Merci.” Most were published in the landmark collection Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems (1820). Marked by vivid imagery, great sensuous appeal, and a yearning for the lost glories of the Classical world, his finest works are among the greatest of the English tradition. His letters are among the best by any English poet.
Keb See Geb
Kediri \ka-'dir-e\ City (pop., 1995 est.: 253,760), eastern Java, Indone¬ sia. It is located in the valley of the Brantas River, southwest of Surabaya. In the 11th to 13th centuries it lay at the heart of a powerful Hindu king¬ dom, also named Kediri; after 1830 it became the capital of a residency under Dutch administration. The modern city is a trading centre for local agricultural products, including sugar, coffee, and rice.
Keeling Islands See Cocos Islands
Keen, William (Williams) (b. Jan. 19, 1837, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—d. June 7, 1932, Philadelphia) First U.S. brain surgeon. He received his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College. He was one of the first to suc¬ cessfully remove a brain tumour (1888) and assisted in the removal of Pres. Grover Cleveland’s left upper jaw (1893), which contained a malig¬ nant tumour. In addition to his teaching and medical work, he edited Sur¬ gery: Its Principles and Practice (8 vol., 1906-13).
Kegon \'ka-gon\ Buddhist philosophy introduced into Japan from China in the 8th century. The name Kegon (meaning “flower ornament”) is a translation of the Sanskrit avatamsaka, after the school’s chief text, the Avatamsaka-sutra, which deals with the buddha Vairocana. The school was founded in China as Huayan in the late 6th century and reached Japan c. 740. Kegon taught that all living things are interdependent and that the universe is self-creating, with Vairocana at its centre. Though the Kegon school is no longer an active faith teaching a separate doctrine, it contin¬ ues to administer the famous Todai Temple monastery at Nara.
Keillor \'ke-br\, Garrison (Edward) (b. Aug. 7, 1942, Anoka, Minn., U.S.) U.S. radio entertainer and writer. He began writing for The New Yorker in college and worked as a staff writer there until 1992. In 1974 he created and hosted the public-radio humour and variety show A Prairie Home Companion, about the fictional Minnesota town Lake Wobegon. He then created a new program. The American Radio Com¬ pany (1987-91), but revived A Prairie Home Companion in 1993. His books include Lake Wobegon Days (1985), Leaving Home (1987), The Sandy Bottom Orchestra (1996), and Me (1999).
Keino \'ka-no\, Kip orig. Hezekiah Kipchoge Keino (b. Jan. 17, 1940, Nandi Hills, Kenya) Kenyan distance runner. He was originally a goatherd and trained for distance running in the hill country. At the high- altitude 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, he won a silver medal in the 5,000-m race and, in one of running’s greatest upsets, a gold medal in the 1,500-m race, beating Jim Ryun of the U.S. At the 1972 Olympics, Keino won a silver medal in the 1,500-m and a gold in the 3,000-m steeple¬ chase.