Christopher Beeston: …Company, more popularly known as Beeston’s Boys, a company that was established by royal warrant. Beeston was a lifelong friend of Thomas Heywood and produced many of his plays and also contributed verses to Heywood’s prose work An Apology for Actors (1612).

museum: Royal collections: …appointment in 1533 of a King’s Antiquary, whose task was to list and describe the antiquities of the country. (Similar appointments were made subsequently by the Habsburg monarchs and by King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden.) It was not until the 17th century that the first important royal collection was…

Queen’s Bench Division, in England and Wales, one of three divisions of the High Court of Justice, the others being the Chancery Division (formerly the Court of Chancery) and the Family Division. Formerly one of the superior courts of common law in England, Queen’s or (during a kingship) King’s

Queen’s Bench Division, in England and Wales, one of three divisions of the High Court of Justice, the others being the Chancery Division (formerly the Court of Chancery) and the Family Division. Formerly one of the superior courts of common law in England, Queen’s or (during a kingship) King’s

Edinburgh: Edinburgh’s bridges: …Rock) to Regency building, while King’s Bridge (1833), leaping westward from the Castle Rock, was the vital link in the so-called “western approach.” Throughout the Victorian and Edwardian ages, the city grew in every direction, recording in its stone tenements and detached mansions every foible of changing taste: Neoclassical, Gothic,…

Pyramids of Giza: …room proper, usually termed the King’s Chamber. This room is entirely lined and roofed with granite. From the chamber two narrow shafts run obliquely through the masonry to the exterior of the pyramid; it is not known whether they were designed for a religious purpose or were meant for ventilation.…

Wardrobe: Originally part of the King’s Chamber, the Wardrobe, a small adjacent room in which kings kept their clothes and treasures, first became a distinct government agency in the late 12th century as part of the process in which sections of the royal household became in effect departments of government.…

Columbia University, major private institution of higher education in New York, New York, U.S. It is one of the eight Ivy League schools, widely regarded for their high academic standards, selectivity in admissions, and social prestige. Founded in 1754 as King’s College, it was renamed Columbia

University of Toronto, coeducational institution of higher learning that is the provincial university of Ontario and one of the oldest and largest universities in Canada. It is composed of federated, affiliated, and constituent colleges, a union based originally on British models, and of faculties,

King’s College London, one of the two founding colleges of the University of London, founded in 1829 by King George IV and then prime minister the duke of Wellington. It is a public university and a member of the Russell Group of leading research universities in the United Kingdom. King’s College

boarding school: History of boarding schools across the world: Canada’s oldest boarding school, the King’s-Edgehill School, was founded as King’s Collegiate School in 1788 in Windsor, Nova Scotia. It was the first school in Canada to receive royal assent, granted by George III in 1789. The school was created in the wake of the American Revolution to ensure that…

Scots Confession: The Second Scots Confession, also called the King’s Confession and the National Covenant (1581), was a supplement to the First Scots Confession. It was a strongly antipapal statement adopted by the king, council, and court and by all the Scottish people in 1581. It was also…

legal profession: England after the Conquest: …most senior could be made Queen’s (or King’s) Counsel.

curia: … Curia, also known as the Curia Regis, or Aula Regis (“King’s Court”). It was introduced at the time of the Norman Conquest (1066) and lasted to about the end of the 13th century. The Curia Regis was the germ from which the higher courts of law, the Privy Council, and…

Nas: However, King’s Disease (2020), which was produced by Hit-Boy, showed none of the defects that critics perceived in the previous release and won near-universal praise.

punctuation: Punctuation in English since 1600: … and Francis George Fowler, in The King’s English, published in 1906, who established the current British practice of light punctuation. Punctuation in the United States has followed much the same path as in Britain, but the rules laid down by American authorities have in general been more rigid than the…

king’s evil, scrofula (q.v.), or struma, a tuberculous swelling of the lymph glands, once popularly supposed to be curable by the touch of royalty. The custom of touching was first adopted in England by Edward the Confessor and in France by Philip I. In England the practice was attended with great

Antonio Benítez Rojo: …first book, the short-story collection Tute de reyes (“King’s Flush”), won Cuba’s major literary award, the Casa de las Américas Prize, in 1967, and in 1969 he won the Writers’ Union annual short-story prize with his volume El escudo de hojas secas (“The Shield of Dry Leaves”).

Rigoletto: …play Le Roi s’amuse (The King Amuses Himself; also performed in English as The King’s Fool) by Victor Hugo, Verdi’s opera was nearly kept off the stage by censors. With Rigoletto, Verdi reached a new level in his career; his next two operas, Il trovatore and La traviata, exhibit…

the King’s Gallery, name given to either of two small public art galleries in the United Kingdom that exhibit the Royal Collection. The first gallery, then called the Queen’s Gallery, opened in 1962 at Elizabeth II’s official London residence, Buckingham Palace, in the borough of Westminster. It is

William Lily: Lily’s Grammar, as the work came to be known, was first published around 1540 and was actually a combined version of two shorter Latin syntaxes that Lily had written some years before. Henry VIII and his successor, Edward VI, ordered the book to be used…

Edna St. Vincent Millay: The resulting work, The King’s Henchman, first produced in 1927, became the most popular American opera up to its time and, published in book form, sold out four printings in 20 days.

King’s Highway, ancient thoroughfare that connected Syria and the Gulf of Aqaba by way of what is now Jordan. Mentioned in the Old Testament, it is one of the world’s oldest continuously used communication routes. The King’s Highway was an important thoroughfare for north-south trade from ancient

Brussels: City layout: …its north by the ornate King’s House (Maison du Roi/Broodhuis; almost entirely rebuilt during 1873–95), which contains the Brussels City Museum. The area surrounding the Grand’ Place, known as the Îlot Sacré (“Sacred Isle”), includes the late 19th-century Stock Exchange. Perhaps the most famous curiosity of this quarter is the…

chess: The Soviet school: …Isaac Boleslavsky showed in the King’s Indian Defense how White could be allowed a free rein to occupy the centre by advancing the c-, d-, e-, and even f-pawns. But Black could obtain counterplay by advancing the e-pawn to e5 and exchanging it on d4—a surrender of the centre that…

midshipman, title used in the Royal Navy from about 1660 for “young gentlemen” in training at sea to qualify for service as commissioned officers. Continental and U.S. navies adopted the title and system. The equivalent French title is aspirant, and the Spanish is guardia marina. In the early 21st

King’s Lynn, town and seaport, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk borough, administrative and historic county of Norfolk, eastern England. The town lies along the estuary of the River Ouse (or Great Ouse) as it enters The Wash, a shallow North Sea inlet. In 1204 a royal charter established Lynn as a free

King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, borough (district), administrative and historic county of Norfolk, eastern England. The borough is bounded by the North Sea to the north and its shallow bay, The Wash, to the northwest. The low-lying area straddles on the west a small part of the Fens, a vast, fertile,

Ralph Fiennes: Later work and critically acclaimed performances: …Sutton Hoo in England, and The King’s Man, an action film centering on a spy agency. The following year Fiennes starred as an egotistical chef in The Menu, which combines satire with horror. In 2024 Fiennes played the title role in a film version of Macbeth, the Greek hero Odysseus…

King’s Men, English acting company that adopted the name the King’s Men after it came under the patronage of James I in 1603. Its previous name, dating to the 1590s, was the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. Considered the premier theater company in Jacobean England, it included William Shakespeare as its

missus dominicus, officials sent by some Frankish kings and emperors to supervise provincial administration. Used sporadically by Merovingian and early Carolingian rulers, the missi became a normal part of the administrative machinery under Charlemagne (reigned 768–814). From about 802 onward

Kingsport, city, Sullivan county, northeastern Tennessee, U.S., on the Holston River, near the Virginia border, about 90 miles (145 km) northeast of Knoxville. The area was settled in the late 1700s when entrepreneur William King founded a boatyard along the river. The region was part of the

Kerch: …and burial mounds, notably the King’s Mound. Later a part of the Roman Empire, Panticapaeum suffered severely from barbarian invasions and was devastated by the Huns in 375 ce. After a checkered history, it was ceded by the Mongols to the Genoese in 1318. It was then known as Korchev…

Copenhagen: The contemporary city: …former center of the city, Kongens Nytorv (“King’s New Square”), laid out in the 17th century. Buildings there include the Thott Palace (now the French Embassy) and the Charlottenborg Palace (now the Royal Academy of Fine Arts), both of the 17th century, and the Royal Theatre, built in 1874.

paprika: Notable varieties: A sharper Hungarian variety, Koenigspaprika, or king’s paprika, is made from the whole pepper.

ancient Iran: Artaxerxes I to Darius III: …request, and dictate the so-called King’s Peace of 387–386 bce. Once again the Greeks gave up any claim to Asia Minor and further agreed to maintain the status quo in Greece itself.

Théâtre de l’Hôtel de Bourgogne: …company in Paris, known as Les Comédiens du Roi (“the King’s Players”), established itself in the theatre about 1610. The Comédiens enjoyed considerable success and gradually assumed full-time use of the theatre. They were without an important rival until 1634, when a second theatre, the Théâtre du Marais, was built…

Kingsport, city, Sullivan county, northeastern Tennessee, U.S., on the Holston River, near the Virginia border, about 90 miles (145 km) northeast of Knoxville. The area was settled in the late 1700s when entrepreneur William King founded a boatyard along the river. The region was part of the

Eton College: …history, Eton names about 14 King’s Scholars, or Collegers, each year, for a schoolwide total of 70. The selection is based on the results of a competitive examination open to boys between 12 and 14 years of age. King’s Scholars are awarded scholarships ranging from 10 to 100 percent of…

boarding school: History of boarding schools across the world: In the United Kingdom, the King’s School in Canterbury traces its history back to 597 ce, though little is known with certainty about its earliest days; its history is better known from 1541, when it was reestablished under Henry VIII and its current name began to be used. It…

asphodel: Yellow asphodel, or king’s spear (Asphodeline lutea), has fragrant yellow flowers and is grown as a landscaping plant.

George VI: …captured in the motion picture The King’s Speech (2010), which depicts his long-term relationship with the unconventional Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue and climaxes with the king’s inspiring live radio address on September 3, 1939, as Britain entered World War II.

Western architecture: Construction in iron and glass: The cloth mill at King’s Stanley, Gloucestershire (1812–13), is more convincing as an iron-frame building. Fully fireproof and avoiding the use of timber, it is clad in an attractive red-brick skin with Venetian windows and angle quoins. Leading Regency architects even used cast-iron construction members in major public buildings…

Robert Z. Leonard: Later films: …his best film in years, The King’s Thief (1955), a costume drama starring David Niven and Ann Blyth. That film turned out to be Leonard’s last at MGM. His last two films were the Italian production Beautiful but Dangerous (1955; La donna più bella del mondo) with Gina Lollobrigida and…

orpiment: …a very fine grade called king’s yellow, which was used until cadmium yellow (principally cadmium sulfide) became available.

boarding school: History of boarding schools across the world: Canada’s oldest boarding school, the King’s-Edgehill School, was founded as King’s Collegiate School in 1788 in Windsor, Nova Scotia. It was the first school in Canada to receive royal assent, granted by George III in 1789. The school was created in the wake of the American Revolution to ensure that…

Albert King was an American blues musician who created a unique string-bending guitar style that influenced three generations of musicians. He was one of 13 children born to an itinerant Mississippi preacher and his wife. When he was eight years old, his widowed mother moved the family to eastern

Angus King is an American politician who was elected as an Independent to the U.S. Senate in 2012 and began representing Maine in that body the following year. He previously served as governor of the state (1995–2003). In 2024 King won reelection against Republican Demi Kouzounas and two other

Angus King is an American politician who was elected as an Independent to the U.S. Senate in 2012 and began representing Maine in that body the following year. He previously served as governor of the state (1995–2003). In 2024 King won reelection against Republican Demi Kouzounas and two other

Ada Lovelace was an English mathematician, an associate of Charles Babbage, for whose prototype of a digital computer she created a program. She has been called the first computer programmer. The second Tuesday of October is traditionally celebrated as Ada Lovelace Day, during which women’s

B.B. King was an American guitarist and singer who was a principal figure in the development of blues and from whose style leading popular musicians drew inspiration. King was reared in the Mississippi Delta, and gospel music in church was the earliest influence on his singing. To his own

Ben E. King was an American rhythm and blues singer who was the leader of the vocal group the Drifters in the late 1950s and early ’60s. He later earned acclaim as a solo artist with several hit singles, most notably “Stand by Me” (1961). Born Benjamin Nelson, his early childhood was spent in North

golf: The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA): Pat Daniel, Betsy King, Patty Sheehan, Juli Inkster, and Laura Davies were among the top players of the 1980s and ’90s. By the turn of the century, when the annual purse for LPGA events had increased to more than $37 million per year, the tour was dominated…

Billie Jean King is an American tennis player whose influence and playing style elevated the status of women’s professional tennis beginning in the late 1960s. In her career, she won 39 major titles, competing in both singles and doubles. King was athletically inclined from an early age. She first

B.B. King was an American guitarist and singer who was a principal figure in the development of blues and from whose style leading popular musicians drew inspiration. King was reared in the Mississippi Delta, and gospel music in church was the earliest influence on his singing. To his own

Carol Weiss King was an American lawyer who specialized in immigration law and the defense of the civil rights of immigrants. King graduated from Barnard College in New York City in 1916 and entered New York University Law School. In 1917 she married George C. King, an author. She graduated from

Carole King is an American songwriter and singer (alto) who composed a string of hit songs in the 1960s and ’70s and was one of the most prolific female musicians in the history of pop music. King’s mother, Eugenia Gingold, an actress and theater critic, was the source of her early music education.

Clarence King was an American geologist and mining engineer who organized and directed the U.S. Geological Survey of the 40th parallel, an intensive study of the mineral resources along the site of the proposed Union Pacific Railroad. In 1863 King set out from the eastern seaboard, by foot and on

Coretta Scott King was an American civil rights activist who was the wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. Coretta Scott graduated from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and in 1951 enrolled at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. While working toward a degree in voice, she met Martin

epic: Chansons de geste: The Cycle of the King consists of the songs in which Charlemagne himself is a principal figure.

Don King is an American boxing promoter known for his flamboyant manner and outrageous hair styled to stand straight up. He first came to prominence with his promotion of the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” bout between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of

Don King is an American boxing promoter known for his flamboyant manner and outrageous hair styled to stand straight up. He first came to prominence with his promotion of the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” bout between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of

Bataan Death March: Lead-up to the march: Edward (“Ned”) King, U.S. commander of all ground troops on Bataan, surrendered his thousands of sick, enervated, and starving troops on April 9, 1942. The siege of Bataan was the first major land battle for the Americans in World War II and one of the…

Ernest Joseph King was an American admiral who was commander in chief of U.S. naval forces and chief of naval operations throughout most of World War II. He masterminded the successful U.S. military campaign against Japan in the Pacific. King graduated from the United States Naval Academy at

Frank King was an American comic-strip artist who created Gasoline Alley, a long-popular comic strip notable for its sympathetic picture of small-town life. After working as a cartoonist for the Minneapolis Times from 1901 to 1905, King moved to Chicago, where he attended the Chicago Academy of

Franklin Hiram King was an American agricultural scientist, inventor of the cylindrical tower silo. He also invented a gravity system of ventilation for dairy barns that was widely used until electrically powered blowers became commonly available. King worked for the Wisconsin Geological Survey

Charles Barkley: In 2023–24 Barkley and Gayle King hosted the evening talk show King Charles on CNN. Beginning with his years as a player, Barkley was never shy about expressing his opinions—often with a large dose of humor—which helped him create a persona that transcended the basketball world.

new religious movement: Scientific NRMs: UFO groups and Scientology: …the Aetherius Society, organized by George King, maintained that space aliens held the key to the salvation both of the planet as a whole and of every individual on Earth.

epic: Chansons de geste: The Cycle of the King consists of the songs in which Charlemagne himself is a principal figure.

Gregory King was an English genealogist, engraver, and statistician, best known for his Natural and Political Observations and Conclusions upon the State and Condition of England, 1696, first published in 1801, which gives the best available picture of England’s population and wealth at the end of

Henry King was an American film director who was a respected craftsman known for his versatility. His more than 100 movies, many of which focused on Americana, included westerns, literary adaptations, and historical dramas. (Read Martin Scorsese’s Britannica essay on film preservation.) King acted

Henry King was an English poet and Anglican bishop whose elegy for his wife is considered one of the best in the English language. Educated at Oxford, King received numerous and remunerative preferments. A friend and an executor of the estate of John Donne, his poetry was as much influenced by Ben

Milky Way Galaxy: Globular clusters: The American astronomer Ivan R. King, for instance, derived dynamical models that fit observed stellar distributions very closely. He finds that a cluster’s structure can be described in terms of two numbers: (1) the core radius, which measures the degree of concentration at the centre, and (2) the…

Weehawken: …estate of New York banker James Gore King, was the scene in July 1804 of the duel in which Alexander Hamilton was fatally wounded by Aaron Burr; a bronze bust of Hamilton marks the site. The semicircular wall surrounding the Hamilton monument was built by King to protect his guest,…

Robert O’Hara Burke: …and by Charles Gray and John King. The four reached northern Australia in February 1861 but could not penetrate the swamps and jungle scrub that lay between them and the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Gang of Four: The principal members were Jon King (b. June 8, 1955, London, England), Andy Gill (b. January 1, 1956, Manchester–d. February 1, 2020), Hugo Burnham (b. March 25, 1956, London), and Dave Allen (b. December 23, 1955, Kendal, Cumbria–d. April 5, 2025).

Larry King was an American talk-show host whose easygoing interviewing style helped make Larry King Live (1985–2010) one of CNN’s longest-running and most popular programs. King grew up in Brooklyn, where he remained for several years after high-school graduation to help support his mother, who had

Gerald Ford was the 38th president of the United States (1974–77), who, as 40th vice president, had succeeded to the presidency on the resignation of President Richard Nixon, under the process decreed by the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution, and thereby became the country’s only chief

continental landform: The geomorphic concepts of Penck and King: …(1953) championed with variations by Lester C. King of South Africa. Both retained some Davisian devices, including peneplain, graded stream, and base-level control of erosion surfaces in Penck’s case and the latter two in King’s. Each thought that tectonic uplift punctuated the erosion cycle by initiating renewed stream incision, and…

W.L. Mackenzie King was the prime minister of Canada (1921–26, 1926–30, 1935–48) and leader of the Liberal Party, who helped preserve the unity of the English and French populations of Canada. Mackenzie King, as he is usually called, was the son of John King and Isabel Grace Mackenzie, daughter of

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister and social activist who led the civil rights movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. His leadership was fundamental to that movement’s success in ending the legal segregation of African Americans in

Mervyn King is a British economist who served as governor of the Bank of England (BOE; 2003–13). King, the son of a railway clerk, grew up in modest circumstances. His intelligence and drive took him to King’s College, Cambridge, where he earned a degree in economics in 1969. After studying at

Mervyn King is a British economist who served as governor of the Bank of England (BOE; 2003–13). King, the son of a railway clerk, grew up in modest circumstances. His intelligence and drive took him to King’s College, Cambridge, where he earned a degree in economics in 1969. After studying at

Meir Kahane was an American-born Israeli political extremist and rabbi who campaigned for self-protection of Jews. The grandson and son of rabbis, Kahane joined a paramilitary, right-wing youth movement in 1946. He earned a B.A. from Brooklyn College (1954), an L.L.B. from New York Law School

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister and social activist who led the civil rights movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. His leadership was fundamental to that movement’s success in ending the legal segregation of African Americans in

Moira Shearer was a Scottish ballerina and actress best known for her performance as the suicidal ballerina in the ballet film The Red Shoes (1948). Shearer studied at the Sadler’s Wells (later the Royal Ballet) School and with Nicholas Legat in London, danced with the International Ballet in 1941,

Barbara Ann Scott was a Canadian figure skater who was the first citizen of a country outside Europe to win a world championship in skating (1947). (Read Scott Hamilton’s Britannica entry on figure skating.) Scott won the Canadian women’s championship from 1944 to 1946 and in 1948 and the North

Stephen King: Personal life and honors: …two sons, Joe Hill and Owen King, who are novelists. With Owen King he wrote Sleeping Beauties (2017), in which women become wrapped in cocoons when they fall asleep.

King Island: …was named in 1801 for Philip Gidley King, third governor of New South Wales. Scarcely settled before 1900, it now makes up a local government area. Mixed livestock farming (dairy and beef cattle) and crop growing are pursued on a broad central and narrower northern belt. Scheelite (tungsten ore), mined…

Alligator Rivers: …explored in 1818–20 by Captain Phillip Parker King, who named them in the belief that the crocodiles infesting their lower swampy, jungle-fringed reaches were alligators (actually, alligators are not indigenous to Australia). The South Alligator rises in the hills near El Sherana, a now-abandoned mining base for uranium, and follows…

King, Queen, Knave, novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first published in Russian in 1928 as Korol, dama, valet. With this novel Nabokov began his career-long obsession with gamesmanship, wordplay in several languages, and multiple surreal images and characterizations. The image of a deck of playing cards

Regina King is an American actress and director known for her depth and versatility, earning acclaim for both comedic and dramatic roles. She received an Academy Award for best supporting actress for her performance in Barry Jenkins’s If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). King’s father was an

Regina King is an American actress and director known for her depth and versatility, earning acclaim for both comedic and dramatic roles. She received an Academy Award for best supporting actress for her performance in Barry Jenkins’s If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). King’s father was an

King Ranch: …King Ranch was established by Richard King, a steamboat captain born in 1825 in Orange county, New York. Drawn to Texas by the Mexican War (1846–48), King piloted a steamer on the Rio Grande. After the war he bought his own steamer and went into partnership with Captain Mifflin Kenedy,…

B.B. King was an American guitarist and singer who was a principal figure in the development of blues and from whose style leading popular musicians drew inspiration. King was reared in the Mississippi Delta, and gospel music in church was the earliest influence on his singing. To his own

Before George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, before Tamir Rice and Michael Brown, before Eric Garner and Freddie Gray, there was Rodney King. Rodney King was a Black man who was stopped for speeding in Los Angeles in the early morning hours of March 3, 1991. After a high-speed chase, officers used stun

Before George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, before Tamir Rice and Michael Brown, before Eric Garner and Freddie Gray, there was Rodney King. Rodney King was a Black man who was stopped for speeding in Los Angeles in the early morning hours of March 3, 1991. After a high-speed chase, officers used stun

Rufus King was a Founding Father of the United States who helped frame the federal Constitution and effect its ratification. An active Federalist senator and able diplomat, he ran unsuccessfully for vice president (1804, 1808) and for president (1816). After graduating from Harvard in 1777, he

Stephen King is an American novelist and short-story writer whose books are credited with reviving the genre of horror fiction in the late 20th century. King is the second of two sons born to Donald and Nellie Ruth (née Pillsbury) King. His parents separated when he was very young. King and his

Stephen King is an American novelist and short-story writer whose books are credited with reviving the genre of horror fiction in the late 20th century. King is the second of two sons born to Donald and Nellie Ruth (née Pillsbury) King. His parents separated when he was very young. King and his