urn:taro:utexas.cah.00204 A Guide to the John Von Neumann Collection, 1913-1992 Text converted and initial EAD tagging done by Traci JoLeigh Drummond on 06/13/2003 Finding aid written in English. Tue Jul 22 15:29:14 CDT 2003 urn:taro:utexas.cah.00204 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02.xsl (20030505). Descriptive Summary Von Neumann, John, 1903-1957 John Von Neumann Collection 1913-1925, 1942-1956, 1989-1992 2003-096 5 inches Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin The John von Neumann Collection consists of photographs and photographic reproductions, creative works (article, book and speech), genealogy materials, and audio material (cassette tape). Materials written in English. Biographical Note

John (Johann) Louis von Neumann (1903-1957) was born in Budapest and showed early signs of being a child prodigy. He entered the University of Budapest in 1921, but also attended the University of Berlin and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology before obtaining a degree in chemical engineering in 1925. He earned his Doctorate in Mathematics from the University of Budapest in 1927. After graduation, he worked at the University of Berlin before becoming a visiting professor to Princeton from 1930-1953. Concurrent with his time at Princeton was the development of the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS), of which he was an active participant working with the creation of an IAS computer. He became a U.S. citizen in the 1930s. His interests and fields of study included early computers and computing, hydrodynamics, ballistics, meteorology, statistics, quantum theory, and game theory (which he founded). His knowledge and expertise in these areas allowed him to assist the U. S. government during WWII, including working with the Los Alamos National Laboratory (the Manhattan Project), and he continued with this work even after the war. During the 1950s, Von Neumann was employed as a consultant with IBM; his only patent was filed for them in 1954.

 Scope and Contents

The John von Neumann Collection consists of photographs and photographic reproductions, creative works (article, book and speech), genealogy materials, and audio material (cassette tape). These materials were donated to the Briscoe Center for American History by von Neumann's brother and consist of mostly family or genealogy materials, dedications, and ceremonial addresses. In addition, four IAS reprints from the 1940s were transferred to this collection from the Robert E. Greenwood Papers.

Forms part of the Archives of American Mathematics.

 Access Restrictions

Unrestricted access.

 Use Restrictions

A portion of this collection is stored remotely at CDL. Advance notice required for retrieval. Contact repository for retrieval.

 Preferred Citation

John Von Neumann Collection, 1913-1992, Archives of American Mathematics, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

 Index Terms Subjects Von Neumann, John, 1903-1957 Vonneuman, Nicholas A., 1911- International Business Machines Corporation Genealogy Related Material

John Von Neumann papers, 1912-1996, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

 Processing note:

John von Neumann's brother, Nicholas A. Vonneuman, developed the checklist to this collection.

 Detailed Description of the Collection At CDL (offsite): AAM-MNR/3 Father's "margittai" nobility document by Franz Joseph, [full color duplication], with English abstract, and coat of arms, [full color duplication], 1913 AAM-MNR/3 Von Neumann's only patent, assigned to IBM, 1954 AAM-MNR/3 Family trees, compiled by Nicholas A. Vonneuman, 1989 AAM-MNR/3 Nicholas A. Vonneuman's address to MIT, "The Philosophical Legacy of John Von Neumann," September 21, 1992 AAM-MNR/3 John von Neumann as seen by his brother, by Nicholas A. Vonneumann, 1991 AAM-MNR/3 "Can we survive technology?," by John von Neumann, Fortune, June 1955 AAM-MNR/3 April 13, 1955 Hungarian Free Radio interview transcript [in Hungarian, see cassette below], by Nicholas A. Vonneuman, October 22, 1989 AAM-MNR/3 "Allies intervention in Eastern Europe Part II: Socialism in Two Countries, 1918/1919," by Leslie C. Tihany, [relevant for purpose of evaluating 1920s political environment in Hungary], 1987 AAM-MNR/3 Publications [separated from the Robert E. Greenwood Papers]: AAM-MNR/3 Bargmann, V., D. Montgomery, and J. von Neumann, Solution of Linear Systems of High Order, 1946 AAM-MNR/3 Burks, Arthur W., Herman H. Goldstine, and John von Neumann, Preliminary Discussion of the Logical Design of an Electronic Computing Instrument, Part 1, Volume 1, Princeton, New Jersey: Institute for Advanced Study 1946 AAM-MNR/3 Goldstine, Herman H., and John von Neumann, Planning and Coding of Problems for an Electronic Computing Instrument, Part 2, Volume 1, 2, and 3, Princeton, New Jersey: Institute for Advanced Study 1947 At SRH (onsite): 4RM25c Cassette tape including the NORC-IBM dedication address (21 minutes, December 2, 1954), and the Hungarian Free Radio Interview (13 minutes, April 13, 1955) 4RM51 White House "Freedom Medal" ceremony, 1956 4RM51 Institute of Advanced Studies dedication ceremony, 1952 4RM51 Stained glass window from Budapest that contains [von Neumann] family symbols, with John von Neumann represented by the rooster, glass and image undated 4RM51 Portrait of von Neumann, 1925 4RM51 Von Neumann and his cousin Lili, 1915 4RM51 Von Neumann's mother (Margaret) and brother (Nicholas A.), [ca. 1952] 4RM51 Nicholas in U. S. Army, [ca. 1942-1945] 4RM51 Maternal grandfather, paternal grandfather, paternal aunt, father's (Neumann Miksa, 1873-1928) tombstone in Budapest Jewish Cemetery, undated 4RM51 Portrait of Neumann Miksa by Cezar Kunwald, Aquarell, [ca. 1925]