Finding Aids

Mathematics

Albert, Abraham Adrian. Papers

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.

Baily, Walter. Papers

Walter Lewis Baily Jr. (1930-2013) was a mathematician and professor at The University of Chicago. During his career, Baily made numerous contributions to algebraic geometry, the most important of which is known as the Baily-Borel Compactification. This collection contains academic material that dates from 1937 to 2005. The collection includes correspondence, published and unpublished articles, and handwritten notes by Walter Baily as well as lecture notes, published articles, typescripts, and manuscripts by other mathematicians.

De Morgan, Augustus. Lectures on Algebra

Manuscript lecture notes taken by Edward J. Routh from Augustus De Morgan's lectures at University College, London.

Lous, Christian Carl. Arithmetica, Geometrien, Trigonometrien, Longimetrien, Transformationen

Manuscript treatise in Danish, on mathematics. Illustrated with colored pen and ink drawings.

Mathematics Manuscripts

Manuscript text on mathematics. Illustrated with colored diagrams. Volume One: "Spherical Geometry, or Stereographic Problems." Volume Two: "Algebra."

Max Mason. Papers

Charles Max Mason (1877-1961) mathematician, President of the University of Chicago (1925-1928), and President of the Rockefeller Foundation (1929-1936). The collection primarily documents Mason’s work for the National Research Council during World War One, where he developed a submarine detection device that was in regular use on destroyers by the summer of 1918. The device was a precursor to the sonar devices of the 1940s.

Moore, Eliakim Hastings. Papers

Eliakim Hastings Moore (1862-1932) served as chairman of the Mathematics Department from its founding in 1892 until his retirement in 1931. After Moore received his doctorate from Yale in 1885, he taught at that university and Northwestern before being called to Chicago. One of the seminal mathematicians of his day, Moore produced over seventy studies on the subjects of general analysis, geometry and foundations, group theory, integral equations and general analysis, and function theory.

Musham, Harry A. The Graphic Solution of Triangles by Means of the Triangle Diagram/Graphic Calculation

Typescript paper, on geometry. Illustrated with blueprints and charts.

Poleni, Giovanni. Specifications and Drawings of the Poleni Calculating Machine by Joannis Poleni

Facsimile of title page, leaves 27-40, and two illustrations from part II of Joannis Poleni "Miscellenea." Also includes typewritten English translation of "Miscellanea" by J. Lestrohan, as "Miscellaneous Scientific Works of John Poleni."

Putnam, Alfred L. Papers

As a professor in the Department of Mathematics, Alfred L. Putnam surveyed mathematics research in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and developed the influential mathematics core requirement in the University of Chicago College. This collection contains lecture notes collected by Alfred L. Putnam, documenting the teaching of some of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century.

Quintana, Ricardo Beckwith, Jr. Papers

Dr. Ricardo B. Quintana, Jr. (b. August 23, 1940, d. November 25, 2010) studied at Harvard University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His academic research was in the field of group theory, particularly on the restricted Burnside problem. The papers contain his lecture notes and research from his undergraduate and graduate work, as well as several unpublished manuscripts.

Rashevsky, Nicolas. Papers

The collection contains the papers of Nicolas Rashevsky (1899-1972), a theoretical mathematician and biologist. He founded the first organized group on Mathematical Biology in the world and established the field of Mathematical Biology as an organized and recognized science. The collection includes correspondence, material pertaining to Rashevsky's research and writing, and material relevant to his professional activities and grant applications. The majority of the collection is from the period in which he served as a professor at the University of Chicago (1934-1964).

Schaffner, Joseph Halle, Collection in the History of Science

Contains correspondence and other documents from or related to prominent scientists. Includes the Marie Curie Correspondence with Charlotte Kellogg (ca. 1921-1929) and Curie Memorabilia, the Charles Darwin and Darwin Family Correspondence, the Albert Einstein-Walther Mayer Correspondence (1930-1933) and Einstein Photographs, the Isaac Newton Collection (1642-1727), and Miscellaneous Scientific Manuscripts (1744, 1777, 1820). The Joseph Halle Schaffner Papers (1943-1961) are also included and contain material relating to Schaffner's activities as a collector and how the collections were used by scholars and in exhibits.

Singer, Milton. Papers

Milton Singer (1912-1994) anthropologist. The Papers document Singer's career as Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago, including his role in the Redfield Comparison of Cultures Project and his scholarship as an expert on India and on semiotic anthropology. Collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, notes, course materials, photographs and audio and video recordings.

University of Chicago. Department of Mathematics. Records

The Department of Mathematics was founded with the University of Chicago, with coursework beginning in October 1892. The records of the University of Chicago's Department of Mathematics span the years 1894-1975, with a concentration of material documenting the department's early development from the 1890s-1930s. The collection contains correspondence, reports, biographical writings, publications, lecture notes, and other material related to administration, research and teaching in the department.

University of Chicago. Mathematical Club. Records

The Mathematical Club was established January 5, 1893 in order to provide a forum for graduate students in mathematics. Papers were presented and discussed by the faculty of the Mathematics and Astronomy Departments, and, occasionally by graduate students and visiting scholars. The Club Records contain programs of meetings (1893-1894), and notes on lectures delivered (1896-1903). The collection also includes programs from the Junior Mathematical Club (1905-1941).

Wilczynski, Ernest J. Papers

Ernest Julius Wilczynski (1876-1932) Mathematician. Department of Mathematics, University of Chicago, 1910-1926. Contains correspondence, notebooks from courses taken at the University of Berlin, biographical material, off-prints, and memorabilia. Correspondents include Oskar Bolza, L.E. Dickson, E.H. Moore, George Comstock, Henri Villat, Edward Van Vleck, and others. Also includes notes taken in classes taught by Wilhelm von Bezold, Wilhelm Julius Forster, Carl Stumpf, Hans Delbruck, Immanual Fuchs, Max Planck, Hermann Amandus Schwarz, and Julius Scheiner.