Krasner, Lee orig. Lenore Krassner (b. Oct. 27, 1908, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—d. June 19, 1984, New York, N.Y.) U.S. painter. Born to Rus¬ sian immigrants, in 1937 she began to study with the painter Hans Hof¬ mann, who exposed her to the work of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Synthesizing these European influences, Krasner developed her own style of geometric abstraction, which she grounded in floral motifs and rhyth¬ mic gesture. In 1940 she began exhibiting her work with that of other American artists who became known as Abstract Expressionists. After her 1945 marriage to painter Jackson Pollock, Krasner and Pollock both pro¬ duced a large body of work, each under the other’s influence. Krasner continued to paint throughout the 1970s.
Krasnoyarsk City (pop., 2002: 911,700), east-central Russia. Located on the upper Yenisey River, it was founded by Cossacks in 1628. In the late 17th century, it was often attacked by the Tatars and Kirghiz. The Trans- Siberian Railroad brought a period of rapid growth in the 1890s. A com¬ mercial and industrial centre, it is the site of one of the world’s largest hydroelectric stations, built in the 1960s.
Kraus \'kraus\, Karl (b. April 28, 1874, Gitschin, Bohemia—d. June
12, 1936, Vienna, Austria) Austrian journalist, critic, playwright, and poet. In 1899 he founded Die Fackel, a literary and political review, and by 1911 he had become its sole author; he continued to publish it until the year of his death. Believing that language was of great moral and aes¬ thetic importance, he wrote with masterly precision, and his writings exer¬ cised wide influence. His works, which are almost untranslatably idiomatic, include Morality and Criminality (an essay collection, 1908), Proverbs and Contradictions (a collection of aphorisms, 1909), and The Last Days of Humanity (a lengthy satirical drama, 1922).
Krebs, Edwin (Gerhard) (b. June 6, 1918, Lansing, Iowa, U.S.) U.S. biochemist. He received his medical degree from Washington University. With Edmond H. Fischer (b. 1920), he won a 1992 Nobel Prize for the discovery of reversible protein phosphorylation, a biochemical process
that regulates the activities of proteins in cells and governs countless pro¬ cesses necessary for life. Errors in protein phosphorylation have been implicated in such diseases as diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer disease.
Krebs, Sir Hans Adolf (b. Aug. 25, 1900, Hildesheim, Ger.—d. Nov. 22, 1981, Oxford, Eng.) German-born British biochemist. He fled Nazi Germany for England in 1933, where he taught at the Universities of Sheffield and Oxford. He was the first to describe the urea cycle (1932). He and Fritz Lipmann (1899-1986) received a 1953 Nobel Prize for their discovery in living organisms of the series of chemical reactions known as the tricarboxylic acid cycle (also called the citric acid cycle or Krebs cycle), a discovery of vital importance to a basic understanding of cell metabolism and molecular biology.
Krebs cycle See tricarboxylic acid cycle
Kreisler \'krls-br\, Fritz orig. Friedrich Kreisler (b. Feb. 2, 1875, Vienna, Austria—d. Jan. 29, 1962, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Austrian vio¬ linist and composer. He entered the Vienna Conservatory at age 7 and finished his musical studies by 12. After touring internationally as a teen¬ ager, he quit performing to study medicine. Returning to the violin, he scored successes in Berlin and Vienna (1898). He toured Europe and the U.S. until the start of World War I, and he premiered Edward Elgar’s Vio¬ lin Concerto in 1910. After recovering from a war wound, he resumed touring (1919-50). His concert programs frequently included many charming short pieces that he wrote, among them “Viennese Caprice” and “Pretty Rosemary.”
kremlin Central fortress in medieval Russian cities, usually located at a strategic point along a river and separated from the surrounding parts of the city by a wall with ramparts, moat, towers, and battlements. Sev¬ eral capitals of principalities were built around old kremlins, which gen¬ erally contained cathedrals, palaces, governmental offices, and munitions stores. The Moscow Kremlin (established 1156) served as the centre of Russian government until 1712 and again after 1918. Its crenellated brick walls and 20 towers were built in the 15th century by Italian architects. The palaces, cathedrals, and government buildings within the walls encompass a variety of styles, including Byzantine, Russian Baroque, and Classical.
Krenek, Ernst (b. Aug. 23, 1900, Vienna, Austria—d. Dec. 23, 1991, Palm Springs, Calif., U.S.) Austrian-born U.S. composer. He studied com¬ position from age 16 with Franz Schreker (1878-1934) and first gained attention with his atonal Second Symphony (1923). After a brief Neoclas¬ sical phase, he reestablished his radical credentials with the jazz- influenced satiric opera Johnny Strikes up the Band! (1926), which created a sensation. Intrigued by Arnold Schoenberg’s 12-tone method (see seri- alism), he devised his own version—which involved “rotation” of the set’s order—for the opera Karl V (1933), the first 12-tone opera. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1937 and taught at several institutions, but his large body of work remained more highly esteemed in Europe.
Kresge \'krez-ge\, S(ebastian) S(pering) (b. July 31, 1867, Bald Mount, Pa., U.S.—d. Oct. 18, 1966, East Stroudsburg, Pa.) U.S. merchant. He worked as a traveling salesman before becoming a partner in 5-and- 10-cent stores in Memphis, Tenn., and Detroit, Mich., in 1897. He opened several others in major Midwest cities, founding the S.S. Kresge Co. in 1907 (incorporated 1912). After World War II the firm expanded into large discount stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada, which eventually numbered nearly 1,000. Kresge established a major charitable foundation in 1924. His retail empire became the foundation of the Kmart Corp.
Kretschmer Vkrech-moA, Ernst (b. Oct. 8, 1888, Wiistenrot, Ger.—d. Feb. 8, 1964, Tubingen, W.Ger.) German psychiatrist. In his best-known work, Physique and Character (1921), he attempted to correlate body build and physical constitution with character and mental illness, identi¬ fying three physical types—the pyknic (rotund), the athletic (muscular), and the asthenic (tall and thin)—and claiming that different psychiatric disorders were associated with each. His system was later adapted by the American psychologist William H. Sheldon (1899-1977), who renamed the types endomorph, mesomorph, and ectomorph and focused on their associated personality traits. Both theorists’ work entered into popular culture and generated further research.
Kriemhild \'krem-,hilt\ or Gudrun In the Nibelungenued, the gentle princess courted by Siegfried. Her grief at Siegfried’s death transforms her into a “she-devil”; she exacts revenge by marrying Attila the Hun and kill¬ ing her brother (who ordered Siegfried’s death). She herself is also killed.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1054 I krill ► Kropotkin
In Norse legend, as Gudrun, she appears in tales of revenge. Kriemhild’s story may have originated in confusion over events in the life of the his¬ torical Attila.
krill Any member of the crustacean suborder Euphausiacea, comprising shrimplike animals that live in the open sea. The name also refers to the genus Euphausia within the suborder and sometimes to a single species, E. superba. The described species, numbering more than 80, range in size from about 0.25 to 2 in. (8-60 mm). Most have bioluminescent organs on the lower side, making them visible at night. They are an important source of food for various fishes, birds, and whales, particularly blue and fin whales. Krill may occur in vast swarms at the ocean surface, where they feed at night, and at depths greater than about 6,000 ft (2,000 m). Because of their vast numbers and nutritive qualities (they are an especially rich source of vitamin A), krill have been regarded as a potential source of food for humans.