Childhood's End Allusions & Cultural References

Literary and Philosophical References

• Washington Irving, "Rip Van Winkle" (2.51)
• Elias Lünnrot, Kalevala (2.98)
• G.K. Chesterton (4.84)
• "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" (5.15)
• George Bernard Shaw, Back to Methuselah (15.37)
• Plato and his Philosopher King (17.6)
• Socrates (17.6)

Historical References

• Neil Armstrong (1.2)
• Yuri Gagarin (1.3)
• Joseph Stalin (1.3)
• John F. Kennedy (1.9)
• Apartheid in South Africa (2.47)
• John Dalberg-Acton (2.88)
• The British Raj of India (3.7)
• Vladimir Lenin (3.82)
• The Russian Revolution (3.82)
• Adolf Hitler (6.8)
• Henry Morton Stanley and Dr. David Livingstone (7.16)
• The Thames (9.48, 9.63)
• House of Parliament (9.48)
• Whitehall (9.48)
• St. Paul's Cathedral (9.48)
• Nelson's Column (9.48)
• Buckingham Palace (9.49)
• French Revolution (10.1)
• "The die has been cast" (12.6)
• The Trojan Horse (12.20)
• Easter Island (13.8)
• Xantippe (17.12)
• Igor Stravinsky's "Symphony of Psalms" (17.36)
• The Atomic Bomb (18.77)
• World War I (21.3)
• World War II (21.3)
• Pharaohs (21.19)
• Stone Age (22.18)
• Hero of Alexandria and his steam engine (22.31)
• Edward Gibbon (23.50)
• Johann Sebastian Bach (23.54, 23.57)

Religion and Mythology References

• Matthew 4:4 (2.26-27)
• Zeus (2.80)
• Thor (2.80)
• Mohammed (2.80)
• Moses and the Promised Land (2.80, 15.45)
• The Olympians (2.104)
• Buddhism (6.28)
• The Talmud (8.37)
• Lucifer (11.51)
• The Old Testament (a.k.a. the Hebrew Bible) (12.20)
• Jonah (12.21)
• Elysian Fields (20.7)
• Pandora's Box (20.12)

Science References

• Mare Imbrium "Sea of Showers" (1.2)
• Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1.5)
• Olympus Mons (1.8)
• Kilauea (1.8)
• Lagrange Points (1.12)
• The Southern Cross, a.k.a. Crux, Constellation (7.107)
• Eridanus Constellation (8.16)
• Carina Constellation (8.20; 9.59; 12.11)
• Solar System (8.20)
• Morse code sender (9.2)
• Royal Astronomical Society (9.53)
• London Science Center (9.63)
• Cobalt bomb (12.9)
• Albert Einstein (12.15-16)
• Andes Mountains (12.32)
• The Theory of Relativity (12.16)
• Norbert Weiner (15.52)
• Nicolas Rashevsky (15.52)
• Tycho Brahe (24.5)
• Mare Crisium (24.5)
• Aurora Borealis (24.40)
• Pluto (24.56)

Pop Culture References

• Chicago Tribune (2.71)
• Time (3.63; 14.6, 14.8)
• Herald Tribune (14.21)
• Reuters (14.22)
• British Broadcasting Company (14.22)
• Plaza de Toros a.k.a. a bullring (3.124)
• 3D Chess (4.130)
• Ouija Board (8.34) 
• Burning their boats idiom (15.28)
• Andrew Carson (15.56)
• Walt Disney (15.58)