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COLLECTION Identifier: HUGFP 69.xx

Papers of Oscar Zariski

Overview

Oscar Zariski (1899-1986) was Dwight Parker Robinson Professor of Mathematics at Harvard, and taught at the College from 1947 until his retirement in 1969. The Papers of Oscar Zariski, 1936-1991, consists of correspondence, memoranda, reports, notes, notebooks, manuscript drafts, edited transcripts of interviews, and other papers relating to Professor Zariski's mathematical interests and associations.

Dates

  • Creation: 1936-1982

Creator

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. Requires review by archivist.

Extent

4.45 cubic feet (13 document boxes)

The Papers of Oscar Zariski, 1936-1982, consists of correspondence, memoranda, reports, notes, notebooks, manuscript drafts, edited transcripts of interviews, and other papers relating to Professor Zariski's mathematical interests and associations. Correspondents include Adrian A. Albert, William V. D. Hodge, J. R. Kline, S. Lefschetz, G. Szego, John von Neumann and Andre Weil. Correspondence in the collection documents Professor Zariski's editorship of the American Journal of Mathematics, the Transactions of the American Mathematical Society and the Illinois Journal of Mathematics. Also contains correspondence relating to his presidency of the American Mathematical Society and his chairmanship of the Mathematical Section of the National Academy of Sciences. Material relating to Zariski's work on equisingularity theory and other problems in the field of algebraic geometry is also found in the collection.

Biographical note on Oscar Zariski

Oscar Zariski (1899-1986), Dwight Parker Robinson Professor of Mathematics at Harvard, taught at the College from 1947 until his retirement in 1969. Zariski was born in Kobrin, Russia to Bezalel and Hannah Zaritski on April 29, 1899. His early studies took him to the Universities of Kiev, Pisa, and finally Rome, where he worked with Castelnuovo, Enriques and Severi, noted mathematicians and members of the "Italian School" of algebraic geometry. He married Yole Cagli on September 11, 1924.

In 1927, Zariski left Europe to study at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, eventually securing a position there. On April 13, 1936, Zariski and his wife became U.S. citizens. During his time at Johns Hopkins, Zariski completed the first version of Algebraic Surfaces, one of his definitive works, and produced important work on topological methods. In 1947 Zariski was offered a professorship at Harvard, and moved with his family to Cambridge. From 1958 to 1960, Zariski served as head of the mathematics department, adding to its strength in algebraic geometry through a number of appointments. After returning to Harvard in the fall of 1961 following a term as a visiting member of the Institute des Hautes Etudes in Paris, Zariski was named the Dwight Parker Robinson Professor of Mathematics. In 1964 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and was awarded a National Medal of Science by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. He also served as president of the American Mathematical Society from 1969 to 1970. On July 1, 1969, Zariski became professor emeritus at Harvard. In 1981 Harvard awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science in honor of his efforts for the mathematics department.

The intellectual trajectory of Zariski's professional career starts with his work on topology from 1927 to 1937. In the following ten years, he worked to develop a comprehensive theory of algebraic geometry. From the mid 1940s to 1950, Zariski worked on holomorphic functions, and in the 1950s led his students on an attack on and reworking of the Italian theory of linear systems. Zariski's work centered on equisingularity in the 1960s, and in the 1970s he pursued the formulation of a general theory of saturation.

Oscar Zariski died on July 4, 1986.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Papers of Oscar Zariski were received in several accessions.

Specific acquisition information, when available, is noted at the series level.

  1. Gift of Mrs. Oscar Zariski [Yole Cagli Zariski], July 28, 1986; accession 10807
  2. Gift of Mrs. Oscar Zariski [Yole Cagli Zariski], March 3, 1990; accession 11928
  3. Received from Professor David Mumford; Febraury 11, 1991; accession 12132
  4. Received from Professor David Mumford; March 22, 1991; accession 12154

Inventory update

This document last updated 2022 May 06.

Processing Information

This finding aid was created by Jennifer Pelose in May 2021. Information in this finding aid was assembled from legacy paper inventories and container management data. The collection was not re-examined by the archivist.

Folder titles were transcribed by the archivist. Content in brackets was supplied by the archivist.

Title
Zariski, Oscar, 1899-1986. Papers of Oscar Zariski, 1936-1982 : an inventory
Author
Harvard University Archives
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hua44021

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.

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