A Heinlein Concordance

created by M. E. Cowan

Robert A Heinlein

Introduction no frames index

From the stories:   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XYZ
From the real world:   a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w xyz

A Heinlein Concordance ©2004 M.E.Cowan

 
Kaibab Plateau
Upland that forms the north rim of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River in the western United States. The southern end of the plateau is within Grand Canyon National Park; most of the plateau, however, is part of the Kaibab National Forest.
(Tunnel in the Sky)

Kallikak Family
Pseudonymous name for the collective subjects of research by psychologist Henry H. Goddard (1866–1957). Goddard studied the lives of two branches of the family in order to support his theories of a genetic component to criminal tendencies and deficiencies of intelligence. [Greek kallos, "beauty"; kakos, "bad"]
(Between Planets)

Kamehameha
Dynastic name for the rulers of Hawaii. Kamehameha I was born around 1758; Kamehameha V died in 1872.
(Starship Troopers)

Kansas City, Missouri
City in west-central Missouri (Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties) on the Missouri River at the mouth of the Kansas (locally, the Kaw) River, across the state line from Kansas City, Kansas. The area was first settled by French fur traders. The settlement prospered as a river port and starting point for westward expeditions. It was chartered as the town of Kansas (for the river) in 1850; in 1853 the name was changed to Kansas City to distinguish it from the territory of Kansas.
(The Day After Tomorrow, Job: A Comedy of Justice, The Puppet Masters, Time Enough for Love, To Sail Beyond the Sunset)

Kansas City Business College
Institution of higher education established in the 19th century, which offered a curriculum focused on business and management skills. Today its curriculum includes computer programming.

Kansas City Journal
In 1856, Robert T. Van Horn purchased the weekly newspaper The Enterprise and renamed it the Kansas City Journal; in 1858 it became a daily paper. The newspaper went out of business in 1942, partly because of paper rationing.
(Time Enough for Love)

Kansas City Post
Newspaper founded in 1906 by A. Fuller Brooker. The newspaper ceased publication in 1942.
(Time Enough for Love)

Kansas City School of Law
Law school that merged with the University of Missouri in Kansas City in 1936.
(To Sail Beyond the Sunset)

Kansas City Star
Daily newspaper founded in 1880 by William Rockhill Nelson and Samuel Morse.
(The Puppet Masters)

Kansas University
(Also the University of Kansas.) University founded in 1864 in Lawrence, Kansas.
(To Sail Beyond the Sunset)

John Fitzgerald Kennedy
The name "John Fitzgerald Coburn" may be inspired by John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Kennedy was a Naval hero from a famous family, and Heinlein had an abiding love for the Navy. Kennedy was also well known as a member of Congress since 1946. Starman Jones was published in 1953, the year after Kennedy became a Senator.
(Starman Jones)

Charles Franklin Kettering
(1876–1958) U.S. engineer who contributed many inventions, including the electric starter, to the modern automobile. With Alfred Sloan, he founded the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research. A number of other research institutions are also named for him.
("Delilah and the Space Rigger")

khan
Originally the ruler of a Mongol tribe. The term was adopted by many Muslim societies. Among the Seljuks and the Khwarezm-Shahs of Central and Southwest Asia, khan was the highest title of the nobility; in Safavid Iran, it was applied to a type of provincial governor.
(Beyond This Horizon)

William Kidd (no other name)
(1645–1701) British privateer turned pirate, who inspired many legends about his exploits and rumors of buried treasure.
(To Sail Beyond the Sunset)

Kilroy Was Here
Catchphrase that was scrawled on walls throughout Europe and the Pacific region during World War II. It was attributed to GIs "leaving their mark", particularly to irritate any German or Japanese troops who passed through disputed areas.
(Space Cadet)

Known Space
The "future history" in which many of Larry Niven's science-fiction novels are set, including Ringworld, The Long Arm of Gil Hamilton, and Neutron Star. Other authors have written stories usin this setting; the stories are collected in The Man-Kzin Wars.

Kodiak bear
(Ursus arctos middendorffi) Variety of grizzly bear found on Kodiak Island, off the coast of Alaska. It is the largest land carnivore.
(Starship Troopers)

Rudyard Kipling
(1865–1936) English short-story writer, poet, and novelist whose writings celebrated British imperialism and provided vivid and sympathetic portraits of the British soldiers in India. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907.
"Danny Deever"
Poem, first published in The National Observer in 1890 and then collected in Barrack-Room Ballads, that describes the hanging of a British soldier for shooting a fellow soldier.
"Gentlemen Rankers"
Poem about British army life by Rudyard Kipling.
Just So Stories
Collection of children's stories published by Rudyard Kipling in 1902 that gave whimsical explanations of the origins of different animals. The collection comprises:
  • How the Whale Got His Throat
  • How the Camel Got His Hump
  • How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin
  • How the Leopard Got His Spots
  • The Elephant’s Child
  • The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo
  • The Beginning of the Armadillos
  • How the First Letter Was Written
  • How the Alphabet Was Made
  • The Crab that Played with the Sea
  • The Cat that Walked By Himself
  • The Butterfly that Stamped
(Farnham's Freehold, Orphans of the Sky, Starship Troopers)

Kiwi
Nickname for a native or resident of New Zealand; from the flightless, longbilled bird (genus Apteryx) native to the island.
(Friday)

King Knut
(Also spelled Canute) Any of a number of kings of Denmark; in particular, the 11th-century king who conquered England.
(Job: A Comedy of Justice)

Kobe
Capital of Hyogo prefecture, west-central Honshu, Japan. It is situated at the eastern end of the Inland Sea on Osaka Bay, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Osaka.
(To Sail Beyond the Sunset)

kobold
In German folklore, a mischievous household spirit who usually helps with chores and gives other valuable services but who often plays practical jokes such as hiding tools. Some kobolds have been called the spirits of caves and mines.
(Friday)

Alfred Korzybski
(1879–1950) Polish-born U.S. scientist and philosopher. He originated the linguistic philosophy of general semantics, which is concerned with the ability to transmit ideas from generation to generation. His best-known work is Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics (1933).
("Blowups Happen", "Gulf")

Koshchei
A symbol of death and magic in Russian mythology. Koshchei the Deathless is a powerful wizard or demigod who gains immortality by hiding his soul inside an egg, which is inside a duck, which is inside a hare, which is inside an iron chest, which is buried under a green oak tree, which is located on the island of Bujan on the wide ocean.
(Job: A Comedy of Justice, Time Enough for Love)

kraken
A mythical Scandinavian sea monster. Legends describe the kraken wrapping its many arms around a ship to capsize it, sometimes so it could eat the crew.
(Citizen of the Galaxy)

kroner
The unit of currency in Norway and Denmark.
(Time Enough for Love)

 

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