A Guide to the William T. Reid Papers, 1925-1977

Biographical Note:

William Thomas Reid was born October 4, 1907, near Grand Saline, Texas, and attended college at Simmons (now Hardin-Simmons) University in Abilene, Texas. His M.A. and Ph.D. (1929) were obtained at the University of Texas at Austin. He was National Research Fellow (1929-31) and then a faculty member (1931-44) at the University of Chicago. Reid was professor of mathematics at Northwestern University (1944-59), University of Iowa (1959-64), and University of Oklahoma (1964-1976). He was a visiting scientist at the University of Texas at Austin when he died on October 14, 1977.

Reid's research concerned differential equations, calculus of variations, and optimal control. He devoted particular attention to the relations between the theory of differential equations and extremum principles. During World War II he served as consultant in mathematics to the Army Air Corps and served in the Pre-Meteorology program. He was chairman of the subcommittee on examinations of the War Policy Committee of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America.

Background to Reid's World War II work may be found in Henry C. Herge. 1948. Wartime College Training Programs of the Armed Services. Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education, 214 pp.

Scope and Contents:

Professor Reid's papers (1925-1977; 8 ft.) document his career from his undergraduate studies (1925) to the year of his death. There is a series of his graduate seminars at the University of Chicago, Northwestern, and the Universities of Iowa and Oklahoma (1931-76; 12 in.). The series of conferences and symposia include material related to presentations by Reid together with notes by Reid on presentations by others. In some cases Reid filed notes on conferences and symposia attended with the graduate seminars. There is documentation of Reid's work with mathematics education during World War II (1940-46; 9 in.). The papers also contain a substantial quantity of largely unorganized notes concerning Reid's research (26 in.). Some of this material has been labeled by Reid's student, C. Ahlbrandt. Reid's reprint collection contains summaries written by Reid for Mathematical Reviews and the Zentralblatt für Mathematik. Some of the papers of Ernst Hellinger, mainly consisting of seminars given both before and after his arrival in the United States, are included (1915-49; 3 in.). More of Hellinger's papers are in the DEHN (MAX) PAPERS. Correspondents include G.A. Bliss, R. Courant, Dunham Jackson, R.L. Moore, Marston Morse, and A.C. Zaanen.

Forms part of the Archives of American Mathematics.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

William T. Reid Papers, 1925-1977, Archives of American Mathematics, Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin

Source:

Detailed Description of the Papers