(International Business Machines) U.S. computer manufacturer headquartered
in Armonk, New York. It was founded in 1911 as the
Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, a consolidation of three companies
that made punch-card tabulators and other office products. Under Thomas
Watson, it assumed its current name in 1924. It began producing electric
typewriters in 1933, and during World War II constructed electromechanical
calculators that were the precursors of computers. Thomas Watson Jr. succeeded
his father as company president in 1952 and led the company into the
manufacturing of computers.
(Friday, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, The Rolling
Stones)
Icarus
In Greek myth, the son of the inventor Daedalus. Daedalus worked for the
Cretan king Minos. When he fell out of favor and he and his son were
imprisoned, Daedalus fashioned wings out of feathers and wax so he and Icarus
could fly out of their prison. Icarus, however, giddy with the thrill of
flight, flew so high that the sun's heat melted the wax; he plunged into the
sea and drowned.
(Farmer in the Sky)
Iconoclast
A faction within the Christian church in the Byzantine empire during the
8th and 9th centuries A.D. that opposed the use of religious images. Their
opposition was based partly on the prohibition against images in the Ten
Commandments (Exodus 20:4), and partly on concerns that the depictions of
saints and the Virgin Mary would encourage idolatry. [Greek
eikonoklastes, "image destroyer"]
("If This Goes On—")
I.G. Farben
(In full, Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie
Aktiengesellschaft) Chemical cartel founded in Germany in 1925. It was
dismantled by the Allies after World War II, partly because it used slave
labor in its synthetic rubber and oil plant near Auschwitz and conducted
experiments on the prisoners there. [German, "Syndicate of Dyestuff-Industry
Corporations"]
(Double Star)
Île de France
Luxury ocean liner launched by the French Line company in 1926, named for
the north-central region of France of which Paris is the capital. She remained
in service until 1959.
(To Sail Beyond the Sunset)
Île du Levant
Small, sparsely populated island off Lavandou on the South Coast of
France. Part of the island is occupied by the French military. Since 1931, the
civilian area has been clothing-optional.
(Glory Road)
Illinois
Constituent state of the United States of America, bordered by the
southern shore of Lake Michigan on the north. Illinois became a territory of
the United States after 1783 and was made the 21st state in 1818. Its capital
is Springfield in the center of the state. Its major city, however, is Chicago.
Mostly prairie, with hills in the south and northwest, the state has farms
covering four-fifths of its territory. Chicago is a center for shipping,
insurance, and finance. The state is also one of the nation's largest
industrial centers, in part because of its highly developed land and water
transportation networks.
(Friday, To Sail Beyond the Sunset)
Inquisition
A judicial institution established by the Pope Gregory Ix in 1231 to
combat heresy and other threats to the church's power. In the 15th century,
its power was extended to combat suspected apostasy by former Jews and Muslims
in Spain. "Inquisition" has the modern connotation of an attack on unpopular
or politically dangerous beliefs that persecutes the innocent rather than
punishing the guilty.
("If This Goes On—")
"Internationale"
Official anthem of the Communist movement. The original lyrics are a
French poem written in 1871 by a Parisian transport worker, Eugene Pottier;
the music was written somewhat later by Pierre Degeyter. Translated into
Russian, the song was the Soviet national anthem until 1944.
(The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress)
Iowa
One of the states in the Great Plains of the United States of America,
bordered on the east by the Mississippi river and on the north by Minnesota.
It was named after the Iowa tribe that inhabited the territory before it was
annexed by the United States. Iowa was admitted as the 29th state of the Union
in 1846. Des Moines has been the capital since 1857. It is primarily an
agriculture state; farms comprise 90% of its total land area.
(Farmer in the Sky, The Puppet Masters)
Irish Sweepstakes
(Irish Hospitals' Sweepstakes) Lottery authorized by the Irish government
to raise funds for hospitals. Instituted in 1930, it continued in operation
until 1987. The tickets are sold throughout the world (in some cases, such as
the United States, smuggled illegally into the country). Ticket stubs were
returned to Ireland, and the winning tickets were determined by the horses
that won, placed, or showed in a major British or Irish horse race. Because
the tickets were distributed so widely, counterfeiting was common.
(Glory Road)
Iseult
(Variously spelled Isolde, Yseult, or Isolt) Heroine of a medieval romance
based on a Celtic legend (itself inspired by an actual Pictish king). In the
legend, the young Tristan ventures to Ireland to ask the hand of the princess
Iseult for his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall. On the homeward journey Tristan
and Iseult inadvertently drink the love potion prepared by the queen for her
daughter and the king. The two undergo many misadventures and tragedies
because of the conflict between their imperishable love and their duty to King
Mark, finally dying in each other's arms. The story was grafted onto the
Arthurian mythos in the 13th century, with Tristan becoming one of the Knights
of the Round Table.
(Have Space Suit — Will Travel)
Isis Theater
Theater that operated in Kansas City, on the corner of 31st and Troost,
from 1918 until 1970. The building was razed in 1997.
(Time Enough for Love)
ITT Corporation
Corporation founded in 1920 as a holding company for Caribbean-based
telephone and telegraph services; it was named International Telephone And
Telegraph Corporation in conscious imitation of the American Telephone and
Telegraph Company (AT&T). Through the 1920s it expanded into the European
market. It acquired a number of unrelated businesses through the 1970s, but
divested itself of many of its holdings after 1980. The current ITT
Corporation consists of the Sheraton Hotel chain, Caesars World, and Madison
Square Garden.
(Between Planets, "Delilah and the Space Rigger")
Iwo Jima
Island in the Volcano Islands archipelago of Japan, about 760 miles (1,220
km) south-southeast of Tokyo. In early 1945, was the site of a strategically
important battle between Japanese and U.S. forces; the island was captured by
the U.S. after a month of fighting. A photograph of several soldiers raising
the U.S. flag to proclaim the victory has become one of the most recognizable
symbols of U.S. victories in World War II.
(Starship Troopers)
Izard County, Arkansas
County in north-central Arkansas, along the border with Missouri.
The Heinlein
Society was founded by Virginia Heinlein on behalf of her husband, science
fiction author Robert Anson Heinlein, to "pay forward" the legacy of Robert A. Heinlein to future generations of "Heinlein's Children."
