The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Abraham Adrian Albert Papers 1921-2004
© 2016 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Albert, Abraham Adrian. Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1921-2004 |
| Size: | 10.5 linear feet (11 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | Abraham Adrian Albert (1905-1972) was a mathematician and professor at the University of Chicago from 1931 to 1972, ultimately rising to the position of Dean of Physical Sciences in 1962. Over the course of his career, Albert made important contributions to the study of associative algebras, non-associative algebras, and Riemann matrices. His 1939 Structure of Algebras is regarded a classic, and still published today. The collection includes personal and professional correspondence and ephemera; administrative materials from the University of Chicago and Albert’s professional associations; reprints of published articles, and drafts and copies of several of his books and speeches; awards; photographs; newspaper clippings collected by Albert; and memorial correspondence and scrapbooks. Materials date between 1921 and 2004, with the bulk of the materials dating between 1940 and 1970. The papers primarily document Albert’s career as a professor of Mathematics at the University of Chicago and as a public intellectual. |
The collection is open for research with the exception of material in Series VII. This series contains letters of recommendation and student materials, and is restricted for 80 years from date of record creation.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Albert, Abraham Adrian. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Abraham Adrian Albert was born on November 9, 1905 to Elias Albert and Fannie (Fradkin) Albert, both of whom were Russian-Jewish immigrants. Adrian was the second of the Albert’s three children, and also had two half-siblings on his mother’s side.
Adrian Albert completed his primary and secondary education in Chicago, with the exception of a brief interlude in Iron Mountain, Michigan between 1914 and 1916, and earned his undergraduate (1926) and master’s degrees (1927) in mathematics from the University of Chicago. He continued his studies under L.E. Dickson – then a leading figure in the fields of number theory and algebra – and earned his Ph.D. in 1928 for his dissertation, Algebras and their Radicals and Division Algebras. After brief post-doctoral stints at Princeton University (1928-29) and Columbia University (1929-31), he returned to the University of Chicago as an assistant professor of mathematics in 1931. He was promoted to full professor in 1941, department chair in 1958, and ultimately Dean of Physical Sciences in 1962.
Albert made important contributions to the fields of associative and non-associative algebras, Rietmann matrices, and on classifying division algebras over the course of his career, publishing widely on these subjects. Beyond his research and duties as professor, he served as associate director of the Applied Mathematics Group at Northwestern University during the Second World War, and later held administrative posts in the Mathematics Section of the National Research Council (Chairman, 1958-61), and the American Mathematical Society (President, 1965-66).
He likewise earned numerous honors and awards. Among others, he was elected to the National Academy of Science in 1943, the Brazilian Academy of Sciences in 1952, the Argentine Academy of Sciences in 1963, and the International Mathematical Union in 1970. Furthermore, Albert held honorary doctorates from the University of Notre Dame (1965), Yeshiva University (1968), and the University of Illinois at Chicago (1968). By all accounts his most cherished honor was his appointment to Dean at his beloved University of Chicago.
Albert married Frieda Davis on December 8, 1927. The couple had three children – Roy, Alan, and Nancy – and five grand children. By all accounts the Alberts enjoyed a happy family life until the untimely death of Roy at the age of 23 in 1958.
A. Adrian Albert died on June 6, 1972.
The collection is comprised of seven series: Series I: Personal; Series II: Correspondence; Series III: Scholarship and Publications; Series IV: Professional Materials; Series V: Photographs; Series VI: Oversized Materials; Series VII: Restricted Materials. The collection includes personal and professional correspondence and ephemera; administrative materials from the University of Chicago and Albert’s professional associations; reprints of published articles, and drafts and copies of several of his books and speeches; awards; photographs, newspaper clippings collected by Albert; and memorial correspondence and scrapbooks. Materials date between 1921 and 2004, with the bulk of the materials dating between 1940 and 1970. The papers primarily document Albert’s career as a professor of Mathematics at the University of Chicago and as a public intellectual.
Series I, Personal, contains school records, bibliographic information, bibliographies, newspaper clippings, and ephemera from social events attended by Albert.
Series II, Correspondence, contains incoming and outgoing mail and ephemera. This series is divided into personal and professional correspondence, and arranged chronologically within type. Letters of condolence within personal correspondence, however, are arranged alphabetically (as received).
Series III, Scholarship and Publications, contains reprints of published material, drafts (typescript or manuscript) of a handful of Albert’s books and articles, proposals, speeches, and copies of his master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation. The series is arranged by type, and chronologically within type.
Series IV, Professional, contains documents, correspondence, and ephemera related to Albert’s professional activities, and is divided into two subseries:
Subseries 1, Professional Appointments and Associations, includes material related to Albert’s appointment to and participation in various professional organizations, and conferences attended. This subseries is arranged by type, and chronologically within type.
Subseries 2, Awards, includes correspondence and ephemera related to the honorary degrees, and organizational honors Albert earned over his career. This subseries is arranged chronologically.
Series V, Photographs, contains predominately photographs of Albert receiving honorary degrees.
Series VI, Oversized, includes scrapbooks, correspondence, and photographs.
Series VII, Restricted Materials, includes restricted correspondence – principally letters of recommendation written on behalf of students – and student records. This series is arranged alphabetically, and is restricted for 80 years from date of record creation.
The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:
Series I: Personal |
| Box 1 Folder 1 | A.A. Albert's college gradebook/class book, University of Chicago, 1921, and Graduate Student Record, University of Chicago, 1928 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Bibliographies and biographical materials, 1940-1970 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Social events, 1941-1969 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Newspapers, 1941-1968 |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | Newspaper clippings, 1960-1967 |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | Travel information, 1960-1971 |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | Memorials, 1972-1981 |
Series II: Correspondence |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | Personal, 1932-1940 |
| Box 1 Folder 9 | Personal, 1941 |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Personal, 1942-1949 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Personal, 1950-2004 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | Personal, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | Personal – Letters of Condolence, A-F, 1972 |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | Personal – Letters of Condolence, G-M, 1972 |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | Personal – Letters of Condolence, N-Z, 1972 |
| Box 2 Folder 9 | Professional, 1939-1966 |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | Professional, 1967-1968 |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | Professional, 1969-1970 |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | Professional, 1971-1972 |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | Professional, Illness, 1972 |
Series III: Scholarship and Publications |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | Master's thesis and doctoral dissertation, 1927-1928 |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | Article – "Some Mathematical Aspects of Cryptography," American Mathematical Society – typescript copy, 1942 |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | Textbook – An Introduction to Finite Projective Planes, 1961 – Typescript Chapter Drafts - "The Finite Plans of Ostrom," by A. Albert; "Autotopism Groups of Some Finite Non-Associative Algebra," by A. Albert; "The Collineation Groups of Free Planes," by Reuben Sandler |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | Article - "Mathematics During the Past Decade," National Science Foundation, complete typescript draft and related correspondence, 1965 |
| Box 3 Folder 9 | Article - "On Certain Polynomial Systems," typescript draft with notes, 1965 |
| Box 3 Folder 10 | Textbook - An Introduction to Finite Projective Planes - Correspondence – relating to publication, 1965-1968 |
| Box 3 Folder 11 | Proposal – Review – Rice University, typescript and holograph drafts, 1965 |
| Box 3 Folder 12 | Textbook - Solid Analytic Geometry - Correspondence relating to publication,1966 |
| Box 3 Folder 13 | Article - "The Support of Mathematics in the National Science Foundation," typescript, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | Article - "The Needs of American Mathematics," typescript, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 2 | Unidentified Textbook – Chapter I: "Rings and Algebras," typescript draft with annotations, and Chapter II: "Power-Associative Rings," holograph draft, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | Article - "On Some Properties of Biabelian Fields," typescript draft with annotations and holograph draft, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | Article – "Paper on Associative Division Algebra," holographic notes, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | Report - "The Next Ten Years of the Division of the Physical Sciences," to University of Chicago, typescript and holograph copies, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 6 | Reprints, 1929-1931 |
| Box 4 Folder 7 | Reprints, 1932-1934 |
| Box 4 Folder 8 | Reprints, 1935-1943 |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | Reprints, 1944-1952 |
| Box 5 Folder 2 | Reprints, 1953-1958 |
| Box 5 Folder 3 | Reprint – "Leonard Eugene Dickson," and bibliographical material, 1955 |
| Box 5 Folder 4 | Reprints, 1959-1965 |
| Box 5 Folder 5 | Reprints, 1967-1972 |
| Box 5 Folder 6 | Speeches – General
|
| Box 5 Folder 7 | Speeches – Conference addresses, 1960-1964
|
| Box 5 Folder 8 | Speeches – Convocation Addresses, University of Chicago, typescript copy and ephemera, 1963 and 1971 |
Series IV: Professional |
Subseries 1: Professional Appointments and Associations |
| Box 5 Folder 9 | Professorship, University of Chicago, 1930-1970 |
| Box 6 Folder 1 | Professional organizations and consultancies – Correspondence - 1931-1970 |
| Box 6 Folder 2 | American Mathematical Society, 1934-1970 |
| Box 6 Folder 3 | National Academy of Sciences National Research Council, 1949-1972 |
| Box 6 Folder 4 | International Exchange of Persons, Diary of Frieda Albert, 1947 |
| Box 6 Folder 5 | Brazilian Academy of Sciences, 1953 |
| Box 6 Folder 6 | U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1958-1960 |
| Box 6 Folder 7 | Distinguished Service Professorship, University of Chicago, 1960 |
| Box 6 Folder 8 | Dean of Physical Science Division, University of Chicago, 1961-1962 |
| Box 6 Folder 9 | Dept. of Mathematics Advisory Council, Princeton University, 1965-1971 |
| Box 6 Folder 10 | Institute of Applied Algebra, University of Iowa, 1966 |
| Box 6 Folder 11 | Inter-University Committee, Regional Planning in Computer Usage, 1967 |
| Box 6 Folder 12 | Institute for Advanced Study, 1969-1970 |
| Box 7 Folder 1 | International Mathematical Union, 1969-1971 |
| Box 7 Folder 2 | Special Review Committee, Dept. of Mathematics, Ohio State University,1970-1971 |
| Box 7 Folder 3 | Conferences – correspondence and ephemera from various conferences attended, 1938-1971 |
| Box 7 Folder 4 | Conferences – Universidad de Puerto Rico, scrapbook, 1968 |
| Box 7 Folder 5 | Conferences – "Conference on Non-Associative Algebras," Illinois Institute of Technology, correspondence, grant application to National Science Foundation, 1969-1970 |
Subseries 2: Awards |
| Box 7 Folder 6 | Fulbright Award, Argentina/Peru/Brazil, 1964-1968 |
| Box 7 Folder 7 | Honorary Doctorate, University of Notre Dame, 1965 |
| Box 7 Folder 8 | Honorary Doctorate, Yeshiva University, 1968 |
| Box 7 Folder 9 | Honorary Doctorate, University of Illinois at Chicago,1968 |
Series V: Photographs |
| Box 7 Folder 10 | Photographs – Argonne Laboratory, 1961 |
| Box 7 Folder 11 | Photographs – Honorary Doctorates – Yeshiva and Notre Dame Universities, 1965-1968 |
Series VI: Oversized |
| Box 8 Folder 1 | Scrapbook, 1939-1959 |
| Box 8 Folder 2 | Scrapbook, 1972 |
| Box 9 Folder 1 | Correspondence – Albert-Hasse, 1931-1936 |
| Box 10 Folder 1 | Diplomas and Certificates, 1917-1970 |
Series VII: Restricted Materials |
| Box 11 Folder 1 | Letters of Recommendation, A-B, 1961-1970 |
| Box 11 Folder 2 | Letters of Recommendation, C-F, 1963-1971 |
| Box 11 Folder 3 | Letters of Recommendation, G-K, 1963-1971 |
| Box 11 Folder 4 | Letters of Recommendation, L-O, 1961-1971 |
| Box 11 Folder 5 | Letters of Recommendation, P-Z, 1962-1972 |
| Box 11 Folder 6 | Letters of Recommendation, Alberto Gonzalez-Dominguez, 1967-1968 |