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Joseph II
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(1741-1790)
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Austrian
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Emperor. He tried to institute reforms.
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1
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Joseph, Pere (L'Eminence Grise)
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(1577-1638)
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French
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A priest, he served Cardinal Richelieu, the de facto ruler of France. As a cardinal, Richelieu was L'Eminence Rouge, hence Joseph's appellation, which came into the English language as an eminence grise, meaning a power behind the scenes.
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1
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Joseph, St.
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(1st-cBc)
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1
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Josephus, Flavius
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(c.37-?)
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Jewish
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He is an important source for Jewish history.
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1
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Joshua, Yehoshua
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Hebrew
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Military commander, successor to Moses. He ruthlessly took Palestine, sometimes killing everyone in towns he took.
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1
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Jowett, Benjamin
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(1817-1893)
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English
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Classical scholar. His translation of Plato's works was especially famous.
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1
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Joyce, James
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(1882-1941)
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1
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Joyce, William, called Lord Haw Haw
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(1906-1946)
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English
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He broadcast against the British from Nazi Germany.
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1
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Juan Carlos I
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(1938- )
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1
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Judas Iscariot
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(1st-c)
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Hebrew
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Apostle, betrayer of Jesus.
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1
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Judith
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Biblical
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Biblical figure. She bravely decapitated Holofernes, Nebuchadnezzar's military commander, while he slept.
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2
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Julia
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(39 BCE-14)
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Roman
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Daughter of Augustus. He wanted his family to exhibit "Republican" virtue, but she eventually won a reputation for debauchery.
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1
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Julian
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(332-63)
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Roman
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Emperor. He tried to restore paganism as the state religion, but died fighting the Parthians. His book, Kata Christianon, is lost.
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2
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Julian or Juliana of Norwich
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(c.1342-1413)
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1
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Jung, Carl
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(1875-1961)
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2
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Justinian
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(c.482-565)
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Byzantine
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Emperor. He restored Byzantium, but shocked the court by marrying Theodora.
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1
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Juvenal
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(c.55-c.130)
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1
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Kadar, Janos
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(1912-1989)
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Hungarian
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Premier. He betrayed the hopes of his people by collaborating with the Russians.
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1
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Kafka, Franz
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(1883-1924)
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2
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Kaganovich, Lazar
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(1893-1991)
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Russian
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Soviet collectivizer.
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1
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Kagawa, Toyohiko
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(1888-1960)
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2
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Kahane, Meir
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(1932-90)
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1
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Kalidasa
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(c.5th-c)
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1
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Kaltenbrunner, Ernst
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(1903-1946)
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German
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Nazi leader, especially involved in the mass murders.
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1
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Kangxi
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(1654-1722)
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Chinese (Qing or Manchu)
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Emperor. During his long reign, he promoted traditional Confucian ideals, subsidized scholarship, and expanded the borders of the empire.
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1
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Kant, Immanuel
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(1724-1804)
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3
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Kapila
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(fl.550 BCE)
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2
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Karloff, Boris
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(1887-1969)
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English
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Actor. He was a master of the macabre.
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1
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Kasparov, Gary
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(1963- )
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1
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Kay, John
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(1704-c.1764)
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1
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Kazantzakis, Nikos
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(1883-1957)
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2
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Keats, John
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(1795-1821)
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2
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Keble, John
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(1792-1866)
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English
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Anglican priest. He was associated with the Oxford Movement, which sought to move the Anglican Church in a "high church" direction, which meant closer to Roman Catholic doctrine and especially practise.
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2
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Keller, Helen
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(1880-1968)
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American
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Writer and inspiration. She became a deaf-mute as a child, which meant that she could not be taught and lived in a wild isolation. A teacher, Anne Sullivan, succeeded in communicating with her, and both became world famous.
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2
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Kelley, Florence
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(1859-1932)
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2
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Kelley, Oliver
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(1826-1913)
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1
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Kellogg, Paul
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(1879-1958)
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1
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Kelly, Gene
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(1912-1996)
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American
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Dancer, actor. He seemed to be a man who is not "tough" but strong and active.
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1
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Kelly, George
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(1905-1966)
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1
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Kelsen, Hans
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(1881-1973)
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1
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Kempe, Margery
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(c.1373-c.1440)
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English
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Author. Mother of fourteen and a controversial religious figure, she wrote the Book of Margery Kempe, a spiritual autobiography.
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1
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Kempe, William
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(c.1550-c.1603)
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English
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Clown. He was a symbol of zaniness.
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1
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Kempis, Thomas
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(1379-1471)
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2
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Kennan, George
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(1904-2005)
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American
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Foreign policy theorist. He helped develop the Truman administration doctrine of "containing" the Soviet Union and defended that in a famous article, but later came to be seen as what was called a "dove" rather than a "hawk" in foreign policy.
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1
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Kennedy, Edward
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(1932- )
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American
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Senator. The younger brother of President John F. Kennedy, he consistently supported the principle of government control or leadership of the economy while keeping government out of people's private lives.
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1
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Kennedy, John
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(1917-1963)
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American
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President. A figure of style and glamour, he became the youngest person and the first Catholic to be elected president, and the excitement he generated led many young people to enter public life. His assassination at age 46 was never fully solved, and after his death allegations of electoral fraud, mob ties and a recklessly promiscuous life increasingly surfaced.
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1
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Kennedy, Joseph
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(1888-1969)
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American
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Financier and entrepreneur. A self-made Irish-American from Boston, he made a fortune through liquor (there were allegations of bootlegging), the stock market (there were allegations of improper manipulations), and film (there were allegations of womanizing). Despite his checkered reputation, President Franklin Roosevelt made him chief of the new Securities and Exchange Commission (on the theory that he would know what to stop, having used all the "dirty tricks" himself) and then, even more startlingly, given Kennedy's Boston Irish background, Ambassador to Britain. In London, however, he backed appeasement of Hitler and non-involvement of the U.S., which led to a break with Roosevelt.
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1
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Kennedy, Robert
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(1925-1968)
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American
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Politician. He exemplified passion in politics. Was he truly concerned for others, especially the poor, or was he ambitious?
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1
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Kent, Bruce
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(1929- )
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1
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Kerensky, Alexander
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(1881-1970)
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Russian
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Socialist politician. He opposed Communist authoritarianism in the early days after the fall of the Tsarist government, but failed.
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1
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Kern, Jerome
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(1885-1945)
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American
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Songwriter, composer. He interpreted American life.
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1
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Kerouac, Jack
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(1922-1969)
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2
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Ketch, Jack
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(?-1686)
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English
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Hangman.
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1
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Kettering, Charles
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(1876-1958)
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American
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Inventor. Known affectionately as "Boss Ket," he developed a self-starter for automobiles (ending the need to crank them) along with many other inventions and became a leader of General Motors and one of the richest men in America. He was also greatly respected for his humility, sense of humor, and common sense wisdom.
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1
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Key, Ellen
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(1849-1926)
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1
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Keynes, John Maynard
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(1883-1946)
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English
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Economist. He promoted a form of state (or really expert) led capitalism that was intended to replace laissez-faire (free market) capitalism and to rescue economies from the threat of depression. These ideas, along with his charm and remarkable speaking and writing ability, made him world famous and a political figure of note. In his personal life, he married a ballerina and was a member of the so-called Bloomsbury Group, which revered art and books, distrusted authorities, whether of church, state, or family, and led a cultivated but Bohemian lifestyle.
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3
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Khan, Genghis
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Mongolian
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Founder of an empire. He was also a mass murderer on an enormous scale. He is reputed to have said: "?
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3
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Khomeini, Ayatollah
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(1900-1989)
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Iranian
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Revolutionary. He was an ayatollah, that is, a Shiite religious leader, but his opposition to the Shah's secularism led him to overthrow the regime and establish a theocracy. War with Iraq followed but the United States was targeted as the principal enemy.
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2
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Khrushchev, Nikita
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(1894-1971)
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Russian
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Politician. He embodied a brusque vulgarity, but ended Stalinism.
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1
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Kidd, William (Captain Kidd)
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(c.1645-1701)
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English
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Pirate. A colorful figure, he was hanged.
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1
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Kierkegaard, Soren
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(1813-1855)
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Danish
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Philosopher. He was a complicated thinker but great writer who thought of himself primarily as an interpreter of Christianity. His Christianity was of the New Testament, not of the church, and was both intensely personal and subjective. In general, he championed individualism over collectivism and subjectivism over objectivism. He is considered a forerunner of Existentialism.
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2
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King, Martin Luther
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(1929-68)
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3
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Kingsley, Charles
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(1819-75)
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1
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Kinsey, Alfred
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(1894-1956)
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2
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Kipling, Rudyard
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(1865-1936)
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2
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Kirkpatrick, Jeane
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(1926- )
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1
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Kissinger, Henry
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(1923- )
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German-American
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Secretary of state. He became an exemplar of what he called "realism" in foreign policy and in life.
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2
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Klein, Calvin
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(1942- )
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American
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Fashion designer. He also developed erotic themes in advertising.
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1
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Klein, Melanie
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(1882-1960)
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1
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Knox, John
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(c.1513-72)
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1
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Knox, Ronald
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(1888-1957)
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1
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Koffka, Kurt
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(1886-1941)
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1
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Kolbe, St. Maximilian
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(1894-1941)
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1
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Korzybski, Alfred
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(1879-1950)
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2
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Kossuth, Lajos
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(1802-1894)
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Hungarian
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Political leader. He struggled for "liberal" reforms but failed.
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1
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Kraepelin, Emil
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(1856-1926)
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1
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Krafft-Ebing, Richard
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(1840-1902)
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1
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Kripke, Saul
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(1940- )
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1
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Krishnamurti, Jiddu
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(1895-1986)
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2
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Kroc, Ray
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(1902-1984)
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American
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Founder of McDonald's. He became a symbol of the "fast food" lifestyle and of excess calories.
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1
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Kropotkin, Pyotr
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(1842-1921)
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Russian
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Communist revolutionary. An aristocrat, he renounced his title and joined the Russian Communists.
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1
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Krupp, Alfried
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(1906-1967)
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German
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Leader of the Krupp steel empire. He epitomized the business-government alliance that underlay Hitler's regime.
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1
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Kublai Khan
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(1214-1294)
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Mongolian
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Emperor of China. He provided an example of high culture in a ruler and of religious tolerance.
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1
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Kung, Hans
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(1928- )
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1
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Kunstler, William
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(1919-95)
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1
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Kurosawa, Akira
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(1910-1998)
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Japanese
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Film director. He was master of life on an epic scale.
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1
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Kurtzman, Harvey
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(1924-93)
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1
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Kutuzov, Mikhail
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(1745-1813)
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1
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Kuznets, Simon
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(1901-1985)
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1
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La Bruyere, Jean de
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(1645-1696)
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1
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La Follette, Robert
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(1855-1925)
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American
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Politician. He was a "prairie progressive."
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1
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La Fontaine, Jean
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(1621-1665)
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1
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La Guardia, Fiorello
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(1882-1947)
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1
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La Guma, Alex
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(1925-1985)
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1
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La Mettrie, Julien
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(1709-51)
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1
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La Rochefoucauld, Francois
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(1613-80)
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2
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Labadie, Jean de
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(1610-74)
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1
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Lactantius
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(c.240-c.3201)
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1
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Lafayette, Marie
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(1757-1834)
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1
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Lagerloff, Selma
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(1858-1940)
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1
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Laing, R. D.
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(1927-1989)
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2
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