KING 



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KINGBIRD 



states, while the former rules over a single 

 country of relatively small extent. The world 

 has woven much of romance around the name 

 and office of king. In medieval days the king 

 was acknowledged the earthly representative 

 of God, and "the king can do no wrong" was 

 commonly accepted and believed. The word 

 is a figure of speech for splendor, vast power 

 and regal authority, but the modern king is a 

 constitutional monarch, whose privileges and 

 duties are as sharply defined as is the conduct 

 of his subjects. See QUEEN; RULERS OF THE 

 WORLD. 



KING, CLARENCE (1842-1901), an American 

 geologist whose surveys and investigations in 

 the West have made valuable additions to 

 the science of geology. In this work he aided 

 materially in the development of the mining 

 industry in the United States. After his gradu- 

 ation from the Sheffield Scientific School at 

 Yale, he spent several years in the explora- 

 tion of California, making the first survey of 

 the Yosemite Valley and discovering and 

 naming mounts Whitney and Tyndall. Placed 

 in charge of the United States geological ex- 

 ploration of the fortieth parallel in 1867, he 

 gave five years to this work and thereby laid 

 the foundations for future geological investi- 

 gations for the government. When, in 1879, 

 the geological surveys acting under the gov- 

 ernment were organized under one head, King 

 was made first director of the department. 

 Among his writings are The Age of the Earth 

 and Systematic Geology. 



KING, WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE (1874- 

 ), a Canadian economist and statesman, 

 a grandson of William Lyon Mackenzie. He 

 is noted for his studies and investigations in 

 problems of labor, and for his skill in the set- 

 tlement of industrial disputes. King was born 

 at Berlin (now Kitchener), Ont., and was gradu- 

 ated from the University of Toronto in 1895. 

 Between that year and 1900 he was in turn 

 a newspaper writer, a student at the Univer- 

 sity of Chicago, a special Dominion commis- 

 sioner to investigate the carrying out of gov- 

 ernment clothing contracts in Europe, and 

 then an instructor at Harvard University, 

 where he also pursued advanced studies for 

 which he was given the degree of Doctor of 

 Philosophy. 



In 1900 he was appointed Dominion Deputy 

 Minister of Labor and editor of the Labor 

 Gazette, and in the next few years was re- 

 peatedly called on to act as conciliator in 

 industrial strikes. In 1908 King was elected 



as a Liberal to the House of Commons, and 

 a year later, when the Ministry^ of Labor be- 

 came a separate department, was appointed 

 its first Minister. He held this position until 

 1911, when he resigned with the Laurier gov- 

 .ernment and was defeated for reelection to 

 the Commons. In 1914 the Rockefeller Foun- 

 dation (which see) appointed him to conduct 

 extensive, researches into the relations between 

 capital and labor. 



KING, WILLIAM RUFUS (1786-1853), an 

 American statesman and thirteenth Vice- 

 President of the United States. He was born 

 in Sampson County, N. C., and was educated 

 at the state university ; later he studied law 

 and in 1806 was admitted to practice. The 

 same year he was elected to the state legis- 

 lature, and in 1810 to the national House of 

 Representatives. In 1816 he became secretary 

 of the United States legation in Naples and 

 afterward went to Russia in the same capacity. 



After his return from Europe in 1818 King 

 settled in Dallas County, Ala., as a cotton 

 planter, and was a member of the convention 

 which framed the state constitution. In 1844 

 he was appointed minister to France. Eng- 

 land was then opposing the proposed annexa- 

 tion of Texas, and thought France would join 

 in the protest, but the American minister 

 secured Louis Philippe's promise not to offer 

 objection, and Texas was accordingly annexed 

 without further opposition. King was elected 

 Vice-President of the United States in 1852 

 on the Democratic ticket headed by Franklin 

 Pierce. 



KING 'BIRD, an interesting, drab-colored 

 bird of the flycatcher family, of great assist- 

 ance to the agriculturist. It has a slate-gray 

 back, white under parts and a patch of bright 

 red feathers on the top of its head, which it 

 raises as a crest 

 when angry, but 

 otherwise con- 

 ceals. It is less 

 than nine inches 

 long. The king- 

 bird, which fre- 

 quents almost all 

 parts of the 

 North American 

 continent and 

 sections of South 

 America, derives its name from the despotic 

 authority it assumes at certain seasons over 

 other birds, for it attacks them furiously as 

 they fly and forces them to divert their course. 



KINGBIRD AND NEST 



