Kenneth Pletcher | Britannica

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He also received a B.A. from the same institution in political science, with a minor in Asian studies. He worked at Britannica from 1979 to 2016, when he retired. He edited The Britannica Guide to Explorers and Explorations that Changed the Modern World and other books for the Britannica Educational Publishing imprint."/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Encyclopedia Britannica" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.britannica.com/editor/Kenneth-Pletcher/6746"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://cdn.britannica.com/cam/profile/5917243b-f7f5-4b7f-bde9-e7660b3775d5_1.jpeg" /> <meta property="og:image:type" content="image/jpeg" /> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="init opengraph"> Mendel.openGraph = {"type":"PROFILE","title":"Kenneth Pletcher","description":"<p>Ken Pletcher was Senior Editor, Geography and History for Encyclopædia Britannica. He holds an M.A. in Japanese studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 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Encyclopædia Britannica. He holds an M.A. in Japanese studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As part of his master's program, he spent an academic year studying in Kobe, Japan. He also received a B.A. from the same institution in political science, with a minor in Asian studies. He worked at Britannica from 1979 to 2016, when he retired.<br><br>He edited <em>The Britannica Guide to Explorers and Explorations that Changed the Modern World</em> and other books for the Britannica Educational Publishing imprint.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container pb-30"> <div class="grid"> <div class="col-sm"> <div class="md-profile-contributions md-box"> <div class="box-body p-30"> <div class="section-title">Primary Contributions (84)</div> <ul class="list-unstyled section-tabs"> <li><a href="#articles">Articles</a></li> <li><a href="#quiz">Quizzes</a></li> <li><a href="#list">Lists</a></li> <li><a href="#stories">Stories</a></li> </ul> <div class="md-profile-contributions-content"> <div id="articles"> <div class="featured-article md-box inverted light"> <div class="box-body p-30"> <div class="grid"> <div class="col-md"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Naxalite">Naxalite</a></div> <div class="description">Naxalite, general designation given to several Maoist-oriented and militant insurgent and separatist groups that have operated intermittently in India since the mid-1960s. More broadly, the term—often given as Naxalism or the Naxal movement—has been applied to the communist insurgency itself. The…</div> <a class="btn btn-link" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Naxalite">READ MORE</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="has-more"> <div class="md-profile-more-articles grid gy-30"> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Corbett-National-Park">Corbett National Park</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bushido">Bushidō</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Gandhi-Irwin-Pact">Gandhi-Irwin Pact</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Tokyo-subway-attack-of-1995">Tokyo subway attack of 1995</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abul-Kalam-Azad">Abul Kalam Azad</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div 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and tsunami of 2011</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Li-Keqiang">Li Keqiang</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Joshua-Tree-National-Park">Joshua Tree National Park</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shanghai-World-Financial-Center">Shanghai World Financial Center</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Beringia">Beringia</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Aksai-Chin">Aksai Chin</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Dead-Sea">Dead Sea</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a 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class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Park-Service">National Park Service</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Noda-Yoshihiko">Noda Yoshihiko</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Yosemite-National-Park">Yosemite National Park</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wang-Qishan">Wang Qishan</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Sichuan-earthquake-of-2008">Sichuan earthquake of 2008</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Vellore-Mutiny">Vellore Mutiny</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a 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col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/Zhou-Xiaochuan">Zhou Xiaochuan</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yumjaagiin-Tsedenbal">Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Spratly-Islands">Spratly Islands</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Li-Yuchun">Li Yuchun</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kan-Naoto">Kan Naoto</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Apa-Sherpa">Apa Sherpa</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abe-Shinzo">Shinzo Abe</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 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href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ise-Shrine">Ise Shrine</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jin-Mao-Tower">Jin Mao Tower</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Kitami-Mountains">Kitami Mountains</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Blue-Ridge-Parkway">Blue Ridge Parkway</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Your-Party">Your Party</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Northeast-Passage">Northeast Passage</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Vancouver">North Vancouver</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Chelan">Lake Chelan</a></div> </div> <div class="col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <div class="title"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Capitol-Reef-National-Park">Capitol Reef National Park</a></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="view-all grid"> <div class="col-md-offset-40 col-md-20"> <button id="view-all-articles" class="btn btn-blue w-100">View All</button> </div> </div> </div> <div id="quiz"> <div class=""> <div class="grid g-20"> <div class="quiz col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <a href="/quiz/mount-everest"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/54/155954-131-6B17DC7A/massif-Mount-Everest-Himalayas-Nepal.jpg?w=220&h=115&c=crop" alt="Mount Everest, Himalayas, Nepal. (Himalayan Mountains; mountain range; mountain landscape; Mt. Everest)" /> <strong>Mount Everest</strong> </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="list"> <div class=""> <div class="grid g-20"> <div class="quiz col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <a href="/list/flags-that-look-alike"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/94/187194-131-4117D246/Thumbnail-flags-quiz-Russia-Iceland-Norway-Slovenia.jpg?w=220&h=115&c=crop" alt="Thumbnail for flags that look alike quiz Russia, Slovenia, Iceland, Norway" /> <strong>Flags That Look Alike</strong> </a> </div> <div class="quiz col-md-20 col-sm-33"> <a href="/list/7-wonders-of-america"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/73/150373-131-DB2CFBDD/Teton-Range-Jackson-Lake-Wyoming-Grand-National.jpg?w=220&h=115&c=crop" alt="Jackson (Wyoming, United States). Jackson Lake (also called Jackson Hole), southern end of the Teton Range (the Grand Tetons), Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA" /> <strong>7 Wonders of America</strong> </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="stories"> <div class=""> <div class="grid g-20 mb-20"> <div class="col-md-33 col-sm-50"> <a class="extended-feature-box " href="/story/anniversary-of-the-tokyo-firebombing" data-id="3912"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/97/181997-131-A483688A/view-Asakusa-World-War-II-Tokyo-fire-bombing-March-1945.jpg?w=360&h=270&c=crop" alt="Aerial view of Asakusa, Tokyo heavily damaged by the World War II March 1945 US fire bombing raids of Tokyo.Tokyo famous for the Senso-ji a Buddhist temple that survived the air raids. Allied firebombing of Tokyo 1945. Fire bomb Tokyo. WWII, World War II" /> <div class="content d-flex flex-column"> <div class="title">Anniversary of the Tokyo Firebombing </div> </div> </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="publications section"> <div class="section-title">Publications (1)</div> <div class="grid"> <div class="col-md-75 col"> <div class="publication grid mt-15"> <div class="col-md-auto float-left-sm text-center"> <img src="https://images.isbndb.com/covers/02/80/9781615300280.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="The Britannica Guide to Explorers and Explorations That Changed the Modern World (Turning Points in History)" /> </div> <div class="col-md"> <a class="title" href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1615300287/ref=nosim?tag=eb-books06-20" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong>The Britannica Guide to Explorers and Explorations That Changed the Modern World (Turning Points in History)</strong> (February 2010)</a> <div class="description"><p>The nature of the maiden voyage is deeply captivating. Though the oceans still hold vast opportunities for uncharted exploration, our land resources have been bravely explored and charted for hundreds of years. Very few places remain mysterious and untamable to man, and this transformation is due to imaginative and fearless explorers. Readers will devour these tales of explorers who have pushed geographic and personal boundaries, leaving virtually no corner of the globe off limits.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <footer class="md-footer footer-wrapper hide-on-edit"> <div class="footer-bck"> <DIV class="marketing-FOOTER_NEWSLETTER marketing-content" data-marketing-id="FOOTER_NEWSLETTER"><div class="md-footer-newsletter-form pt-10 mb-30 mx-15 mx-sm-120"> <div class="font-18"> <strong>History at your fingertips –</strong> Sign up here to see what happened On This Day, every day in your inbox! </div> <div class="p-30"> <div class="newsletter-form-container"> <form class="newsletter-form" method="post" action="/newsletter-subscription/EB_ON_THIS_DAY"> <div class="form-group grid d-flex justify-content-center"> <div class="col-sm-50 col-100"> <label class="sr-only" for="enter-your-email">Enter your email</label> <input id="enter-your-email" type="email" name="email" class="form-control font-18 p-10" placeholder="Enter your email" pattern="[a-z0-9._%+-]+@[a-z0-9.-]+\.[a-z]{2,4}$" required> </div> <div class="col-sm-auto col-100 mt-5 mt-sm-0"> <button type="submit" class="btn btn-outline-white" style="width: 100%; height:100%;">Subscribe</button> </div> </div> <div class="text-white pt-30 text-opacity"> By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.<br> Click here to view our <a class="link-white text-decoration-underline" href="https://corporate.britannica.com/privacy-policy2" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Privacy Notice</a>. 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