International Geophysical Year
(IGY, 1957-1958): A Tribute Page
Rob James
November 6, 2025 version; this page will be updated over time
Basic materials
Wikipedia article on the International Geophysical Year
Stamp collecting and the International Geophysical Year
Donald Fagen, “I.G.Y.” (1982)
“What a beautiful world this will be/What a glorious time to be free.” Anyone entering this topic should first become immersed in the view of a simultaneous past, present and future depicted by Donald Fagen of Steely Dan fame, in his song “I.G.Y.” It was released on his solo Nightfly album in 1982, based on his growing up in New Jersey reading My Weekly Reader in school about the IGY and the promises it held for another day and time—always possibly in our future though of course not yet realized.
Donald Fagen, “I.G.Y” studio version
Robert A. James, “Data Crunching in the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958)” (2025)
Video with audio of October 25, 2025 presentation (53:22)
[Yikes! ERRATA: “Jason” at Harvard should be “Joshua”; Vanguard was 47” not 36” diameter; Redstone was a IRBM not ICBM; the transatlantic cables were not Marconi’s; Argus was plutonium bombs over the Atlantic not Indian Ocean; occasional mixing up of “Argentina” and “Antarctica.”]