Kaiser-Wilhelmsland: see Papua New Guinea.

Kaiser, Henry John, 1882-1967, American industrialist, b. Sprout Brook, N.Y. He organized his first construction company in 1913, soon entered the road-paving business, and by 1930 was a leader in the field. In 1931 he was named chairman of the executive committee of the company formed to build Hoover Dam. He also participated in the construction of Bonneville, Grand Coulee, and Shasta dams and the San Francisco-Oakland Bridge. During World War II he and his corporations made exceptional contributions to the war effort, producing ships, planes, and military vehicles in vast numbers. From 1945 until his death he served as chairman of Kaiser Industries, an enterprise involving steel, aluminum, and home building. His effort to become an automobile manufacturer after World War II was not successful, but he did have a lasting impact on the health care industry by establishing (1938) a prepaid health plan for his workers. After the war the plan was opened to the general public and it became a model for health maintenance organizations (HMOs), which provide heath care to patients for a set fee.

Kaiser, Georg, 1878-1945, German expressionist playwright. His early plays dealt with the erotic and the psychological. In maturity Kaiser turned to social themes, glorifying the ideal of sacrifice for the mass interest and attacking the brutality of the machine age. He fled Germany for Switzerland when the Nazis came to power. Among his many dramas are The Citizens of Calais (1914, tr. 1946), From Morn to Midnight (1916, tr. 1920), and the trilogy The Coral (1917, tr. 1929), Gas (1918, tr. 1924), and Gas II (1920).

Kaiser Wilhelm Canal: see Kiel Canal.

Eames, Ray Kaiser: see under Eames, Charles.

(born , May 9, 1882, Sprout Brook, N.Y., U.S.—died Aug. 24, 1967, Honolulu, Hawaii) U.S. industrialist and founder of more than 100 companies, including Kaiser Aluminum, Kaiser Steel, and Kaiser Cement and Gypsum. He undertook his first public-works projects beginning in 1914, eventually building dams in California, levees on the Mississippi River, and highways in Cuba. Between 1931 and 1945 he organized combinations of construction companies to build the Hoover, Bonneville, and Grand Coulee dams and other large public projects. During World War II he ran seven shipyards, making steel in an integrated steel mill and using assembly-line production to build ships in less than five days. He established the first health maintenance organization, the Kaiser plan, for his shipyard employees; it served more than a million people and became a model for later federal programs. In the postwar era he dealt profitably in aluminum, steel, and automobiles.

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(born , May 9, 1882, Sprout Brook, N.Y., U.S.—died Aug. 24, 1967, Honolulu, Hawaii) U.S. industrialist and founder of more than 100 companies, including Kaiser Aluminum, Kaiser Steel, and Kaiser Cement and Gypsum. He undertook his first public-works projects beginning in 1914, eventually building dams in California, levees on the Mississippi River, and highways in Cuba. Between 1931 and 1945 he organized combinations of construction companies to build the Hoover, Bonneville, and Grand Coulee dams and other large public projects. During World War II he ran seven shipyards, making steel in an integrated steel mill and using assembly-line production to build ships in less than five days. He established the first health maintenance organization, the Kaiser plan, for his shipyard employees; it served more than a million people and became a model for later federal programs. In the postwar era he dealt profitably in aluminum, steel, and automobiles.

Learn more about Kaiser, Henry J(ohn) with a free trial on Britannica.com.