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University of Chicago Library

Guide to the University of Chicago Department of Mathematics Records 1892-1975

© 2008 University of Chicago Library

Descriptive Summary

Title:

University of Chicago. Department of Mathematics. Records

Dates:

1892-1975

Size:

31 linear feet (15.5. boxes)

Repository:

Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center
University of Chicago Library
1100 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.

Abstract:

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.

Information on Use

Access

Open for research. No restrictions.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: University of Chicago. Department of Mathematics. Records, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Historical Note

The Department of Mathematics was founded with the University of Chicago, with coursework beginning in October 1892. Early faculty included Oskar Bolza and Heinrich Maschke, appointed by department chair Eliakim Hastings Moore. The department was instrumental in organizing an international congress of mathematicians during the 1893 World's Fair, and later the American Mathematical Society. Early graduates of the department included influential mathematicians such as Gilbert Ames Bliss, Oswald Veblen, George D. Birkhoff and Robert Lee Moore. Beginning in the early twentieth century, the department granted a huge number of Ph.D.s - far more than any of its nearest competitors, leading to criticism of the quality of the program and its graduates. That many of these graduates went on to faculty positions contributed to a perception that scholarship and research in the department was complacent and overly narrow.

Attempts to diversify and improve the quality of faculty, students and programs began under the administration of Gilbert A. Bliss, who succeeded Moore as chair of the department in 1927. The department continued to struggle, due in part to the demands of World War II, until Marshall Stone was brought in from Harvard to restructure and strengthen mathematics research at the university. Important faculty appointments during this time included Saunders Mac Lane, who went on to chair the department from 1952-1958.

Scope Note

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. This collection is dividend into three series.

Series I: Correspondence, contains administrative memoranda and letters from 1931-1938, primarily incoming and outgoing correspondence of the department secretary, and of department chair Gilbert A. Bliss. The correspondence is arranged by year, then alphabetically by correspondent. It is important to note that the names given in the inventory do not represent all correspondents, but the beginning and end of the alphabetical range in each folder. Correspondents include faculty, prospective and current students, university administrators, and researchers at other institutions. Additional administrative correspondence from the year 1929 is found in Series II.

Series II: Administration, Course Material and Writings, includes a variety of material spanning the years 1892-1975. The correspondence, reports, course material, writings, and other documents in this series represent several administrative periods of the department, beginning with Eliakim Hastings Moore and ending with meeting materials collected by Saunders Mac Lane in the 1970s. This series contains research material, drafts and reprints for several biographical writings about early faculty, composed around the 1930s-1940s.

Series III: Lecture Notes, contains student notebooks for courses taught by faculty such as Oskar Bolza, Harris Hancock, Heinrich Maschke, George Abram Miller, Eliakim Hastings Moore, J.W.A. Young, Forest Moulton, Kurt Laves, Leonard Dickson, Howard Mitchell, and Gilbert A. Bliss. Spanning the years 1894-1910, this series documents teaching and student work conducted early in the department's history. Some of the lecture notes relate to astronomy courses, rather than mathematics. The notes are organized by student note-taker, with the names of courses and lecturers given when identified. Among the many students included, the best represented are Benjamin Luce Remick, Arthur Dunn Pitcher (Ph.D. 1911), and E.B. Skinner.

Related Resources

Browse finding aids by topic.

Albert, Abraham Adrian. Papers

Mac Lane, Saunders. Papers

Mathematical Club. Records

Moore, Eliakim Hastings. Papers

Wilczynski, Ernest J. Papers

Subject Headings

INVENTORY

Series I: Correspondence, 1931-1938

Box 1   Folder 1

Walter Adams - Irene Bassett, 1931

Box 1   Folder 2

Donald P. Bean - J. H. Butchart, 1931

Box 1   Folder 3

L. L. Caldwell - Edgar E. DeCou, 1931

Box 1   Folder 4

Pierre Deltour - W. W. Elliot, 1931

Box 1   Folder 5

Wilhelm Engelman - E. E. Githens, 1931

Box 1   Folder 6

J. W. Glover - Ralph A. Hefner, 1931

Box 1   Folder 7

Rollin D. Hemens - Charles H. Judd, 1931

Box 1   Folder 8

L. C. Karpinski - Jacob Levitski, 1931

Box 1   Folder 9

Florence P. Lewis - Katherine Mann, 1931

Box 1   Folder 10

M. Marden - F. W. Owens, 1931

Box 2   Folder 1

Clarence Ross - Zens L. Smith, 1931

Box 2   Folder 2

Fred W. Sparks - Marjorie Tyler, 1931

Box 2   Folder 3

U.S. Immigration Authorities - A. Winteritz, 1931

Box 2   Folder 4

Robert C. Woellner - Zeuch, 1931

Box 2   Folder 5

John R. Abernethy - G. Bol, 1932

Box 2   Folder 6

C. S. Boucher - Carus Chemical Company, 1932

Box 2   Folder 7

W.B. Carver - Nelson Dunford, 1932

Box 2   Folder 8

G. H. Estabrooks - Margaret Gregson, 1932

Box 2   Folder 9

Howard D. Grossman - Mark H. Ingraham, 1932

Box 2   Folder 10

Henry James - Mona Lyons, 1932

Box 3   Folder 1

Lee H. McFarlan - R. L. Moore, 1932

Box 3   Folder 2

Harry Morris - Albert W. Raab, 1932

Box 3   Folder 3

William Rae - Ewing C. Scott, 1932

Box 3   Folder 4

Henry Schultz - Edwin W. Titt, 1932

Box 3   Folder 5

Charles C. Torrance - A. A. Zielinski, 1932

Box 3   Folder 6

A. Adrian Albert - Perry M. Best, 1933

Box 3   Folder 7

Severin R. Beyma - John W. Bradshaw, 1933

Box 3   Folder 8

Ruth Bright - L. G. Cleverdon, 1933

Box 3   Folder 9

Comitato di Redazione, 1933

Box 3   Folder 10

H. S. Everett - M. Frechet, 1933

Box 3   Folder 11

M. G. Gaba - Henry G. Gale, 1933

Box 4   Folder 1

H. A. Giddings - Harris Hancock, 1933

Box 4   Folder 2

Anna M. Hanson - C. F. Huth, 1933

Box 4   Folder 3

C. F. Huth - Mary E. Irwin, 1933

Box 4   Folder 4

Dunham Jackson - F. A. Lewis, 1933

Box 4   Folder 5

Fred D. Lindsey - George S. Monk, 1933

Box 4   Folder 6

A. G. Montgomery - C. A. Peerenboom, 1933

Box 4   Folder 7

E. B. Penrod - R. G. D. Richardson, 1933

Box 4   Folder 8

F. K. Riehtmyer - Hermann I. Schlesinger, 1933

Box 4   Folder 9

Iso Schoenberg - Walter Snyder, 1933

Box 4   Folder 10

Brian Sparks - Kate L. Turabian, 1933

Box 4   Folder 11

Marjorie Tyler - Zenkers, 1933

Box 5   Folder 1

Edith Abbott - Merle L. Bishop, 1934

Box 5   Folder 2

R. W. Bixler - Jane Chasnoff, 1934

Box 5   Folder 3

Harold Chatland - B. M. DeBeck, 1934

Box 5   Folder 4

Foster L. Dennis - Theo M. Focke, 1934

Box 5   Folder 5

H. C. Foyer - Walter R. Griffin, 1934

Box 5   Folder 6

Lois Griffiths - E. V. Huntington, 1934

Box 5   Folder 7

C. C. Hurd - Mark H. Ingraham, 1934

Box 5   Folder 8

Nathan Jacobson - Wallace Lamoreux, 1934

Box 5   Folder 9

H. G. Landau - Roberta McCann, 1934

Box 5   Folder 10

Saunders MacLane - E. J. Moulton, 1934

Box 5   Folder 11

F. D. Murnagham - H. O’Connor, 1934

Box 5   Folder 12

Nick Oehlberg - Rainard B. Robbins, 1934

Box 6   Folder 1

M. S. Robertson - Jesse B. Schreiter, 1934

Box 6   Folder 2

Henry Schultz - James D. Sword, 1934

Box 6   Folder 3

B. G. Teubner - Preston T. Vance, 1934

Box 6   Folder 4

Oswald Veblen - Robert C. Woellner, 1934

Box 6   Folder 5

(Young)-Woodbridge - William H. Zeigel, 1934

Box 6   Folder 6

Leon Alaoglu - Frances E. Baker, 1935

Box 6   Folder 7

Ross H. Bardell - E. R. Breslich, 1935

Box 6   Folder 8

J. N. Brown - Alexander Cook, 1935

Box 6   Folder 9

Byron Cosby II - William Findlay, 1935

Box 6   Folder 10

Russell R. Fleharty - Hester H. Graham, 1935

Box 6   Folder 11

Lawrence M. Graves - F. L. Henderson, 1935

Box 6   Folder 12

M. R. Hestenes - Daniel B. Hutton, 1935

Box 6   Folder 13

Mark H. Ingraham - William Kurzon, 1935

Box 6   Folder 14

Gordon J. Laing - Walter Lyche, 1935

Box 7   Folder 1

W. J. McConnell - E. J. Moulton, 1935

Box 7   Folder 2

E. D. Mouzon - N. C. Plimpton, 1935

Box 7   Folder 3

Thomas I. Porter - Ralph M. Robinson, 1935

Box 7   Folder 4

David Rome - H. F. Smith, 1935

Box 7   Folder 5

Benjamin J. South - Edwin W. Titt, 1935

Box 7   Folder 6

Joseph C. Trainor - G. C. Webber, 1935

Box 7   Folder 7

Mary Evelyn Wells - John William Zimmer, 1935

Box 7   Folder 8

L. J. Adams - Samuel Beatty, 1936

Box 7   Folder 9

Charlton T. Beck - Arthur Burks, 1936

Box 7   Folder 10

W. D. Cairns - Ralph D. Dorsett, 1936

Box 7   Folder 11

J. Doudera - Mary A. Fulkerson, 1936

Box 7   Folder 12

Arthur S. Gale - G. M. Graves, 1936

Box 8   Folder 1

Ernestine J. Green - M. R. Hestenes, 1936

Box 8   Folder 2

T. H. Hildebrandt - William J. Jaffe, 1936

Box 8   Folder 3

R. D. James - W. Isaac Layton, 1936

Box 8   Folder 4

T. H. Lee - Paul E. Martin, 1936

Box 8   Folder 5

Ruth Mason - Ivan Niven, 1936

Box 8   Folder 6

William V. Noe - F. S. Nowlan, 1936

Box 8   Folder 7

R. E. O’Connor - A. E. Pitcher, 1936

Box 8   Folder 8

L. C. Plant - R. G. D. Richardson, 1936

Box 8   Folder 9

Phillip Richman - Zens Smith, 1936

Box 8   Folder 10

F. J. Soeffing - Yuan-Yung Tseng, 1936

Box 8   Folder 11

Frederick A. Valentine - G. C. Webber, 1936

Box 8   Folder 12

Eugene Weiss, Sr. - Herbert S. Zuckerman, 1936

Box 8   Folder 13

L. Alaoglu - Wilfred H. Baker, 1937

Box 8   Folder 14

R. W. Barnard - M. G. Boyce, 1937

Box 9   Folder 1

Paul P. Boyd - Elbert H. Clarke, 1937

Box 9   Folder 2

Arthur B. Coble - H. T. Davis, 1937

Box 9   Folder 3

E. E. DeCou - Roy C. Fisher, 1937

Box 9   Folder 4

Lyman R. Flook - R. G. Green, 1937

Box 9   Folder 5

F. L. Griffin - E. R. Hedrick, 1937

Box 9   Folder 6

Olaf Helmer - Kiyoshi Iseki, 1937

Box 9   Folder 7

Rosa Lea Jackson - Joseph H. Levin, 1937

Box 9   Folder 8

Leonid Levitsky - Paul Miller, 1937

Box 9   Folder 9

H. H. Mitchell - F. W. Owens, 1937

Box 9   Folder 10

Charles N. Page - Meyer H. Resnikoff, 1937

Box 9   Folder 11

R. J. Reynolds - Paul H. Seymour, 1937

Box 10   Folder 1

Seymour Sherman - C. E. Van Horn, 1937

Box 10   Folder 2

Oswald Veblen - Helen Zerr, 1937

Box 10   Folder 3

Lucille Abbee - Julia Wells Bower, 1938

Box 10   Folder 4

Fannie Boyce - E. W. Burgess, 1938

Box 10   Folder 5

Helen A. Butcher - Nancy Cole, 1938

Box 10   Folder 6

A. H. Compton - Daniel M. Dribin, 1938

Box 10   Folder 7

William L. Duren, Jr. - Morris Friedman, 1938

Box 10   Folder 8

Aline H. Frink - Harriet Griffin, 1938

Box 10   Folder 9

June Grimm - George C. Helme, 1938

Box 10   Folder 10

Olaf Helmer - C. F. Huth, 1938

Box 10   Folder 11

M. H. Ingraham - E. P. Lane, 1938

Box 11   Folder 1

J.F. Locke - John Matheson, 1938

Box 11   Folder 2

Margaret Mauch - Morris Neiburger, 1938

Box 11   Folder 3

David L. Netzorg - Harriet Rees, 1938

Box 11   Folder 4

Reid - M.F. Smiley, 1938

Box 11   Folder 5

David Eugene Smith - Morris Tepper, 1938

Box 11   Folder 6

J.C. Thurman - Oswald Veblen, 1938

Box 11   Folder 7

Marvin Volpel, Roland W. Ziege, 1938

Series II: Administrative Records, Course Material and Writings, 1892-1975

Box 11   Folder 8-11

Fellowships and scholarships, 1930-1936

Box 11   Folder 12

Navigation course records, 1912-1927

Box 11   Folder 13

Student placement, 1944-1945

Box 12   Folder 1-3

Oskar Bolza, celebration of 50th anniversary of his attainment of the Ph.D., 1936

Box 12   Folder 4

Oskar Bolza, "Aus Meinen Leben," autobiographical excerpt, 45 pages, ca. 1936

Box 12   Folder 5

Eliakim Hastings Moore, death and memorial service

Box 12   Folder 6

Eliakim Hastings Moore, biographical manuscripts

Box 12   Folder 7

Eliakim Hastings Moore

  • Bibliography, 1885-1900
  • G.A. Bliss, biographical writings, 1933-1936
Box 12   Folder 8

Eliakim Hastings Moore, portrait fund

Box 12   Folder 9

Eliakim Hastings Moore, list of recipients of General Analysis

Box 12   Folder 10-11

Herbert Ellsworth Slaught, death and memorial services

Box 12   Folder 12

Herbert Ellsworth Slaught

  • Biographical material
  • G.A. Bliss, biographical writing
Box 12   Folder 13

Herbert Ellsworth Slaught, memorial articles

Box 12   Folder 14

Ernest Julius Wilczynski, illness and death, 1927-1942

Box 12   Folder 15

Ernest Julius Wilczynski, biographical writing by Ernest P. Lane, 1930

Box 12   Folder 16

Development campaign, 1924-1926

Box 13   Folder 1-5

University of Chicago 50th anniversary celebration, correspondence, 1940-1941

Box 13   Folder 6-9

American Mathematical Society and Mathematical Association of America, meetings and colloquia, 1933-1941

Box 13   Folder 10

Mathematical Association of America, Committee on Educational Testing, correspondence, 1933-1935

Box 13   Folder 11

Mathematical Association of America, Committee on Educational Testing, report to the Board of Trustees of the Pittsburgh meeting, 1934

Box 13   Folder 12

Mathematical Association of America, Committee on Educational Testing, offprints and reports

Box 14   Folder 1-5

Encyclopaedia Britannica, correspondence, 1944-1946

Box 14   Folder 6

Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Calculus, Differential and Integral," typescript

Box 15   Folder 1

Lists of courses, instructors and enrollments, 1892-1924

Box 15   Folder 2

Survey of research in progress, 1974-1975

Box 15   Folder 3-5

Saunders Mac Lane, departmental meeting minutes, 1952-1970

Box 15   Folder 6-7

Correspondence, 1929

Box 16   Folder 1-7

Correspondence, 1929

Box 17   Folder 1

Correspondence, 1929

Box 17   Folder 2-7

Gilbert Ames Bliss, reprints, ca. 1900s-1930s

Box 18   Folder 1-3

Gilbert Ames Bliss, reprints, ca. 1900s-1930s

Box 18   Folder 4-5

Gilbert Ames Bliss, Eliakim Hastings Moore memorial, research material, correspondence and writings, 1930-1933

Box 18   Folder 6

List of courses, instructors and students, 1894-1903

Series III: Lecture Notes, 1894-1910

Box 19

Benjamin Luce Remick, Introduction to Function Theory, Math 23, Prof. Oskar Bolza, Autumn 1894

Box 19

Benjamin Luce Remick, notes on Quaternions, Math 21, O. Bolza, Autumn 1894

Box 19

Benjamin Luce Remick, Hyperellictic Functions, Math 56, O. Bolza, Summer 1897

Box 19

Benjamin Luce Remick, Invariants I, Math 51, O. Bolza, Winter 1897

Box 19

Benjamin Luce Remick, Invariants II, Math 52, O. Bolza, Winter 1898

Box 19

Benjamin Luce Remick, Theory of Abstract Groups, Math 59 I & II, O. Bolza, Summer 1899

Box 19

Benjamin Luce Remick, Abstract Groups III per DeCou, copy of notes taken by Edgar Eziekiel DeCou, 1899, O. Bolza, Autumn 1899

Box 20

Benjamin Luce Remick, Calculus of Variations, Math 23A, Prof. Harris Hancock, Spring 1895

Box 20

Benjamin Luce Remick, Higher Plan Curves, Math 16, Prof. Heinrich Maschke, Autumn 1894

Box 20

Benjamin Luce Remick, Analytic Mechanics, Math 13, H. Maschke, Spring 1895

Box 20

Benjamin Luce Remick, Algebraic Surfaces, Math 17, H. Maschke, Spring 1895

Box 20

Benjamin Luce Remick, (Weierstrar's Theory of) Elliptic Functions, Math 24, H. Maschke, Winter 1895

Box 20

Benjamin Luce Remick, Modern Analytical Geometry, Math 53, H. Maschke, Autumn 1896

Box 20

Benjamin Luce Remick, Higher Plan Curves, Math 55, H. Maschke, Winter 1897

Box 21

Benjamin Luce Remick, Function Theory I & II (Theory of Functions) Math 47, H. Maschke, Winter 1897

Box 21

Benjamin Luce Remick, Algebraic Surfaces, Math 57, H. Maschke, Spring 1897

Box 21

Benjamin Luce Remick, Linear Differential Equations, Math 54, H. Maschke, Spring 1898

Box 21

Benjamin Luce Remick, Elliptic Functions, H. Maschke, Spring 1897

Box 22

Benjamin Luce Remick, Seminar on Permutation Groups, Prof. George Abram Miller, Summer 1898

Box 22

Benjamin Luce Remick, Projective Geometry, Math 36, Prof. Eliakim Hastings Moore, Autumn 1896

Box 22

Benjamin Luce Remick, (Theory of) Numbers, Math 61, E. H. Moore, Autumn 1897

Box 22

Benjamin Luce Remick, General Arithmetic I, Math 62, E. H. Moore, Winter 1898

Box 22

Benjamin Luce Remick, General Arithmetic II, Math 63, E. H. Moore, Spring 1898

Box 22

Benjamin Luce Remick, Theory of Numbers, Math 61, J. W. A. Young, Summer 1900

Box 23

Theory of Elliptic Functions, lectures by Oskar Bolza, undated

Box 23

Walter Wilson Hart, Calculus of Variations, lectures by Oskar Bolza, undated

Box 24

Howard Hawks Mitchell, Course 323, Analytic Theory of Numbers, 1927

Box 24

W.V. Lovitt, Integral Equations, lectures by Oskar Bolza, 1913

Box 24

H.E. Jordan, Theory of Numbers, lectures by Leonard Eugene Dickson, 1902

Box 25

Frank D. Frazer, Twisted Curves and Surfaces, lectures by Heinrich Maschke, 1902

Box 25

Cornelius Gouwens, An Expository paper on Kummer's Quartic Surface and the 16-6 Configuration, 1924

Box 25

Oswald Veblen and others, Advanced Integral Calculus, lectures by Eliakim Hastings Moore, Autumn 1900.

Box 25

Definite Integrals, lectures by Eliakim Hastings Moore, ca. 1901

Box 26

Arthur Dunn Pitcher, Differential Equations From the Standpoint of Lie, Gilbert A. Bliss, Summer 1908

Box 26

Arthur Dunn Pitcher, Theory of Functions of a Real Variable, Oskar Bolza, Summer 1906

Box 26

Arthur Dunn Pitcher, Theory of Functions of a Complex Variable, Vols. I and II, Oskar Bolza, Summer 1909

Box 27

Arthur Dunn Pitcher, Theory of Functions of a Complex Variable, Vols. I and II, Oskar Bolza, Winter 1910

Box 27

Arthur Dunn Pitcher, Projective Geometry, Vols. I and II, Heinrich Maschke, Summer 1906

Box 27

Arthur Dunn Pitcher, General Analysis, With Application to Differential Equations, E. H. Moore, 1908-1909

Box 28

Arthur Dunn Pitcher, Integral Equations in General Analysis, E. H. Moore, 1908- 1910

Box 28

Arthur Dunn Pitcher, Analytical Mechanics, Forest Ray Moulton, Autumn and Winter, 1908-1909

Box 28

Arthur Dunn Pitcher, Differential Equations with Application to Celestial Mechanics, Forest Ray Moulton, 1909-1910

Box 29   Folder 1-2

E.B. Skinner, lectures by Oskar Bolza, 1891-1892, 1899

Box 29   Folder 3

E.B. Skinner, lectures by Heinrich Maschke, 1899-1900

Box 29   Folder 4

E.B. Skinner, unidentified, 1899

Box 29   Folder 5

E.B. Skinner, mathematics and astronomy lectures by Heinrich Maschke and Kurt Laves, 1899

Box 29   Folder 6

E.B. Skinner, notes on Weber's Algebra, Vol. II, 1899

Box 29   Folder 7

E.B. Skinner, lectures by Oskar Bolza, 1900

Box 29   Folder 8

E.B. Skinner, ca. 1900

Box 29   Folder 9-10

E.B. Skinner, Differential Geometry, lectures by Heinrich Maschke, 1900

Box 30   Folder 1

E.B. Skinner, Differential Geometry, lectures by Heinrich Maschke, 1900

Box 30   Folder 2-4

E.B. Skinner, Celestial mechanics courses, lectures by Forest Ray Moulton, 1900

Box 30   Folder 5-6

E.B. Skinner, Linear Homogeneous Differential Equations, lectures by Heinrich Maschke, 1900

Box 30   Folder 7-8

E.B. Skinner, Weierstrass theory courses, lectures by Heinrich Maschke, 1900

Box 30   Folder 9

E.B. Skinner, Modern Analytical Geometry, lectures by Heinrich Maschke, 1900

Box 30   Folder 10

E.B. Skinner, Problem of Three Bodies, lectures by Forest Ray Moulton, 1900

Box 30   Folder 11

E.B. Skinner, ca. 1900

Box 31   Folder 1-6

E.B. Skinner, ca. 1900

Box 31   Folder 7

E.B. Skinner, Calculus of Variations, lectures by Oskar Bolza, 1900

Box 31   Folder 8

C.C. MacDuffee, Synthetic Projective Geometry, lectures by Ernest J. Wilczysnki

Box 31   Folder 9

C.C. MacDuffee, Function Theory, lectures by Gilbert A. Bliss, 1920-1921

Box 31   Folder 10

Oswald Veblen, Advanced Integral Calculus, lectures by Eliakim H. Moore