Overview
Harry Austryn Wolfson (1887-1974), a historian of philosophy, was the Nathan Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy at Harvard University. His work focused on the study of the philosophy of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The Papers of Harry Austryn Wolfson document Wolfson's academic and professional career chiefly from 1900 to 1977. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, research notes, published and unpublished articles, manuscript drafts, lectures, and teaching materials.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1880s, 1900-1977
Researcher Access
Open for research with the following exceptions: Harvard University records are restricted for 50 years. Personnel and student records are closed for 80 years. Specific restrictions are noted at the folder level. Requires review by archivist.
Extent
59.77 cubic feet (142 document boxes, 11 card boxes, 6 record cartons, 5 flat boxes, 3 folders, 1 pamphlet binder, 1 portfolio folder)The Papers of Harry Austryn Wolfson document the academic and professional career of Harry Austryn Wolfson, chiefly from 1900 to 1977. The collection is a valuable resource for research in the history of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Wolfson was a prolific researcher, letter writer, and author. Thus, much of the collection consists of correspondence, research notes, published and unpublished articles, manuscript drafts, lectures, and teaching material produced during his career. The collection highlights Wolfson's studies of the Jewish philosopher Philo Judaeus and other subjects, including the philosophers Hasdai Crescas, Maimonides, Averroes, Baruch Spinoza, the Church Fathers, the Kalam, and the foundations of Western religion. The collection also contains biographical materials including notes, pamphlets, memorabilia, awards, a scrapbook, biographical sketches, news clippings, and photographs chronicling Wolfson's life as a student, military service, teacher, and historian.
Items in Hebrew are found in the following series: Research and professional activities (HUGFP 58.42), and Biographical materials, correspondence, and other records of Harry A. Wolfson (HUGFP 58.92).
Biographical note on Harry Austryn Wolfson
Harry Austryn Wolfson (1887-1974), a historian of philosophy, was the Nathan Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy and the Harvard College Library Honorary Curator of Hebraica and Judaica at Harvard University. Wolfson was a historian of medieval philosophy in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Wolfson was born in Austryn, Lithuania, on November 2, 1887. He received his early education at the Slobodka yeshivah, a Jewish institution that focused on studying traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Wolfson emigrated to the United States in 1903, settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and supported himself by teachiing Hebrew part-time while completing high school. Wolfson received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1911, and from 1912 to 1914, he held a traveling fellowship, which enabled him to study in Europe. After returning to Harvard, Wolfson earned his PhD in 1915 and was appointed an instructor in the Department of Hebrew Language and Literature. Subsequently, in 1925, Wolfson became a professor of Hebrew literature and philosophy, and from 1925 to 1958, the first Nathan Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy. Wolfson was the first professor at an any American university to occupy a chair devoted solely to Jewish studies. From 1923 to 1925, Wolfson also served as a professor at the Jewish Institute of Religion. In 1918, Wolfson served as a private in the United States Army.
Wolfson wrote more than 150 books and articles, primarily on Jewish, Christian, and Islamic philosophy. His research was devoted to an examination of the structure and growth of philosophy. Best known for his work on the Jewish philosopher Philo Judeas, Wolfson also examined the philosophers Hasdai Crescas, Maimonides, Averroes, Baruch Spinoza, the Kalam, the Church Fathers, and the foundations of Western religion. Wolfson's premise was that the Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions stem from the same root and could be viewed as one philosophy written in Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin, with Hebrew having the central and most important position. Wolfson retired from Harvard in 1958, although he continued to write and study. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on September 19, 1974.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into ten series:
- Biographical files, [circa 1900-1974]
- _____Personal records, [circa 1900-1974] (HUGFP 58.35)
- _____Scrapbook completed by Wolfson while a student at Harvard, 1907-1912 (HUGFP 58.36)
- _____Awards and honors, [circa 1930-1974] (HUGFP 58.80f)
- _____Photographs, [circa 1905-1973] (HUGFP 58.90)
- Correspondence files, 1900-1974
- _____General correspondence files, 1900-1974 (HUGFP 58.7)
- _____Correspondence by subject, 1912-1973 (HUGFP 58.10)
- Research and professional activities files, [circa 1915-1974] (HUGFP 58.42)
- Writings, [circa 1907-1976]
- _____ Unpublished literary works, [circa 1935-1965] (HUGFP 58.45)
- _____ Published literary works, [circa 1915, 1923-1976] (HUGFP 58.50)
- _____ Published articles, [circa 1907-1970] (HUGFP 58.52)
- Speeches, [circa 1920-1962] (HUGFP 58.55)
- Teaching materials, [circa 1911-1958] (HUGFP 58.65)
- Horoscope with related records, [circa 1938-1974] (HUGFP 58.85pf)
- Diary entries, research notes, and correspondence of Harry A. Wolfson, [circa 1911-1940s] (HUGFP 58.91)
- Biographical materials, correspondence, and other records of Harry A. Wolfson, [circa 1880s, 1908-1974] (HUGFP 58.92)
- Letter and accompanying essay from Bernard McGinn to Wolfson, 1967 (HUGFP 58.93)
Acquisition Information
Specific acquisition information, when available, is noted at the series level.
- Records received August 1965. Accession number and donor information unavailable.
- Received from the Estate of Harry A. Wolfson, 1984 February 27; Accession 9986.
- Received from the Harvard University Judaica Department, 1985 June 19; Accession 10460.
- Gift of Henry Shapiro, 1990 September 12; Accession 12042.
- Received from the Harvard College Library Judaica Department, 1991 September 2; Accession 12541.
- Received from the Harvard College Library Judaica Department, 1994 May 17; Accession 12869.
- Gift of Mrs. Leo W. Schwarz, 1998 February 18; Accession 13723.
- Received from the Harvard College Library Judaica Department, 2000 April 6; Accession 14139.
- Received from the Harvard College Library Judaica Department, 2002 October 10; Accession 14659.
Inventory update
This document last updated 2022 April 22.
Processing Information
This finding aid was created in March-April 2021 by Dominic P. Grandinetti.
Information for this finding aid was assembled from legacy paper inventories, reference sources, and container management data. The collection was not re-examined.
A horoscope with related records in the series Horoscope with related records, [circa 1938-1974] (HUGFP 58.85pf) could not be located at the time of the creation of this finding aid.
Processing and arrangement details of each series are noted at the series level.
Dates and titles supplied by the archivist appear in brackets.
Wolfson's papers were in no discernible order when received by the Harvard University Archives. Therefore, a series order and their internal arrangement were generally devised during processing. Strict divisions of records were not always possible.
In all respects, the archivist attempted to retain and preserve the original arrangement and existing relationships of the documents, as established by Harry A. Wolfson.
Alma ID
990006047310203941
- Title
- Wolfson, Harry Austryn, 1887-1974. Papers of Harry Austryn Wolfson, circa 1880s, 1900-1977: an inventory
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua25021
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461
archives_reference@harvard.edu