Otton Martin Nikodym Papers, 1925-1981, Archives of American Mathematics, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.
Otton Martin Nikodym was born August 13, 1887, in Zablotow, Poland. He was educated at the Universities of Lwow and Warsaw, and the Sorbonne. Nikodym taught at the Universities of Cracow and Warsaw and at the High Polytechnical School in Cracow. He came to the United States in 1948 to join the faculty of Kenyon College. He retired in 1966 and moved to Utica, N.Y., where he continued his research. Nikodym died in 1974.
Nikodym worked in a wide range of areas, but his best-known early work was his contribution to the development of the Lebesque-Radon-Nikodym integral. His work in measure theory led him to an interest in abstract Boolean lattices. His work after coming to this country centered in the theory of operators in Hilbert space, based on Boolean lattices, culminating in his The Mathematical Apparatus for Quantum-Theories. He was also interested in mathematics teaching.
The papers contain notes and drafts for unpublished works on affine geometry, algebra of fields, Frechet and abstract Riemann integrals, measure theory, and logic; together with notes, drafts, and proofs for several published works. Material used in preparing volume 1 (published) and volume 2 (unpublished) of The Mathematical Apparatus for Quantum-Theories is included. Volume II is virtually complete, requiring final editing. There are notes for lectures and courses, and drafts of textbooks on algebra and geometry. The collection includes Nikodym's bibliography and reprints, together with his library (annotated) and reprint collection. Papers are in English, French, Italian, and Polish. Correspondents include J.-L. Destouches, N. Dunford, M. Frechet, H. Hasse, V. Klee, G. Ludwig, C. Paue, and W. Sierpinski. The papers, except for Nikodym's reprints, largely postdate his arrival in the U.S. (1948). Material includes subject bibliographies, photographs, and paintings by Stanislawa Nikodym of the Nikodyms' home in Gambier, Ohio, and of European scenes.
Forms part of the Archives of American Mathematics.
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Organized into 11 series: