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Kwan, Michelle Wingshan

(Encyclopedia)Kwan, Michelle Wingshan, 1980–, American figure skater, b. Torrance, Calif., In 1994 she won the silver medal at the U.S. National Championships and the gold medal in the World Junior Championships....

Knudsen, William Signius

(Encyclopedia)Knudsen, William Signius no͞odˈsən [key], 1879–1948, American industrialist and U.S. government official, b. Copenhagen, Denmark. He emigrated to the United States at age 20, worked in various fa...

Konyukhov, Fedor Filippovich

(Encyclopedia)Konyukhov, Fedor Filippovich, 1951–, Russian adventurer and explorer, b. Chkalove, Ukraine. After attending nautical schools in Odessa and Leningrad, he became a marine engineer and navigator and se...

Three Gorges Dam

(Encyclopedia)Three Gorges Dam, 607 ft (185 m) high and 7,575 ft (2,309 m) long, on the Chang (Yangtze) River, central Hubei prov., China, 30 mi (48 km) W of Yichang. The largest concrete structure in the world, th...

Shanghai Tower

(Encyclopedia)Shanghai Tower, skyscraper in Shanghai, China. Largely completed in 2015 but not opened until 2017, it is the second-tallest building in the world and the tallest structure in China, standing 2,073 ft...

Ismay, Hastings Lionel Ismay, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Ismay, Hastings Lionel Ismay, 1st Baron ĭzˈmā [key], 1887–1965, British general, known as “Pug” Ismay. He served in India and, during World War I, in Africa. During World War II he held simul...

Angell, Sir Norman

(Encyclopedia)Angell, Sir Norman, 1872?–1967, British internationalist and economist, whose name originally was Ralph Norman Angell Lane. He came to fame with The Great Illusion (1910, rev. ed. 1933), in which he...

Brenner Pass

(Encyclopedia)Brenner Pass brĕˈnər [key], Ital. Brennero, Alpine pass, 4,495 ft (1,370 m) high, connecting Innsbruck, Austria, with Bolzano, Italy. The lowest of the principal Alpine passes, it was an important ...

Burritt, Elihu

(Encyclopedia)Burritt, Elihu, 1810–79, American reformer, b. New Britain, Conn. A blacksmith, he studied mathematics, languages, and geography and became known as “the learned blacksmith.” Profoundly idealist...

Cadorna, Luigi

(Encyclopedia)Cadorna, Luigi lo͞oēˈjē kädôrˈnä [key], 1850–1928, Italian field marshal. His father, Raffaele Cadorna, was a general in the wars of the Risorgimento and took Rome in 1870. Luigi Cadorna, a ...