urn:taro:utexas.cah.00246 A Guide to the William Marvin Whyburn Papers, 1920-1977 Text converted by SPI Content Sciences Inc., April 2003. Finding aid written in English. October 3, 2003 Edited with XmetaL 2 by Kristy Sorensen, according to instructions in TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. Descriptive Summary Whyburn, William M. (William Marvin), 1901- 86-35; 2002-051; 2003-178 William Marvin Whyburn Papers 1920-1977 Material is written in English. 10 ft., 11 in.; manuscript, typescript, printed, photographic. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin Papers document the career of William Marvin Whyburn (1901-1972), a student of Hyman Joseph Ettlinger. Included are correspondence, teaching notes, notes for speeches, research notes, drafts of publications, reports, clippings, photographs, and reprints. Preferred Citation

William Marvin Whyburn Papers, 1920-1977, Archives of American Mathematics, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

 Index Terms Subjects (Persons) Ayres, William Leake Ettlinger, Hyman Joseph Hedrick, E.R. Whyburn, Gordon Thomas Whyburn, William M. (William Marvin), 1901- Subjects (Organizations) American Mathematical Society Mathematical Association of America North Carolina, University of Oak Ridge National Laboratory Southern Methodist University Texas Technological University Subjects Differential equations United States. Air Force. United States. Army. United States. Navy. Biographical Note

William Marvin Whyburn (1901-1972) was born in Denton County, Texas, on November 12, 1901. He received his undergraduate education at North Texas State College and the University of Texas at Austin. He obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin under the direction of Hyman Joseph Ettlinger, largely while teaching at Texas Technological College. Whyburn was a National Research Fellow at Harvard University (1927-1928) before joining the faculty of the University of California-Los Angeles, where he became Mathematics Department chairman (1937-1944). In 1944 Whyburn returned to Texas Technological College as President, a position which he retained until 1948 and his appointment as Kenan Professor of Mathematics and Mathematics Department chairman at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Whyburn also served as Acting Provost (1956-1957) and Vice President for Research (1957-1960). After his retirement from the University of North Carolina in 1967, Whyburn was Frensley Professor of Mathematics at Southern Methodist University until 1970, when he returned to Chapel Hill and teaching part time at Eastern Carolina University. He died in 1972. Whyburn was a Council member (1940-1942), Associate Secretary (1950-1953), and served on numerous committees of the American Mathematical Society. He was first Vice-President of the Mathematical Association of America for 1943-1945. Whyburn's research dealt mainly with the theory of ordinary differential equations, particularly second order differential systems. He did extensive consulting work for the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Navy, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Whyburn wrote several college textbooks with P. H. Daus.

Source: Reid, W. T., "William M. Whyburn, 1901-1972," Bulletin of the Mathematical Society of America, 79 (November, 1973):1175-1183.

 Scope and Contents

Whyburn's administrative work at the University of North Carolina (1948-1967) is the most strongly represented aspect of his career in the collection. The General Correspondence contains many letters from this period, although letters from several academic years are missing. The Faculty and Administrative Activities series (1928-1972) is also dominated by Whyburn's University of North Carolina records, but also includes material, largely correspondence, bearing on his Texas Technological College Presidency (1944-1948). Documentation prior to 1944 is fragmentary. There is a series of his lectures and speeches (1928-1971). Coverage of Whyburn's American Mathematical Society and Mathematical Association of America work (1939-1962) is sparse. The bulk of material related to Whyburn's research and publications (1928-1972) concerns his paper, Systems of Differential Equations (1972), written with Richard K. Williams, his textbooks, written with P. H. Daus (1947-1960), and his research grants (1953-1971). His government consulting work is well represented (1944-1971).

Whyburn kept some family and other personal letters (1958-1960) in a separate file, which is entered under Personal.

Forms part of the Archives of American Mathematics.

 Use Restrictions

The majority of these papers are stored remotely at CDL. Advance notice required for retrieval. Contact repository for retrieval. Photographs are stored on-site and do not require advance notice.

 Organization:

Organized into twelve series:

General Correspondence Publications Grants Research Notes Lectures and Speeches Government Consulting Work Organizations Faculty and Administrative Activities Teaching Mathematicians - Biographical and Memorial Items Professional Activities Personal Detailed description of the papers General correspondence: 86-35/1 A - B 86-35/1 C - D 86-35/1 E - G 86-35/1 H - I 86-35/2 J - K 86-35/2 L - M 86-35/2 N - Ri 86-35/2 Ro - Ru 86-35/3 S - T 86-35/3 U - We 86-35/3 Wh - Y, and unidentified 86-35/3 Whyburn family 86-35/3 Correspondence of E.A. Cameron, A. Henderson, J.W. Lasley, Jr., E.L. Mackie 2003-178/1 M. Dutta and general printed material, January 18, 1971 and undated 2002-051/1 General correspondence, ca. 1922-1927, 1939-1946, 1964-1977 Publications: 2003-178/1 Publication list, 1970 86-35/3 Publication lists 86-35/3 Articles 86-35/3 Correspondence and drafts, 1928-1972 86-35/3 Complexes of Differential Systems, 1972 2002-051/1 Reprints, 1924-1958, 1972 2003-178/1 Reprints by W. M. Whyburn, 1924-1972 86-35/4 Books 86-35/4 Analytic Geometry (unpublished), correspondence, 1947-1952 86-35/4 Algebra for College Students (with P.H. Daus), correspondence and outlines, 1947-1952 86-35/4 First Year College Mathematics with Applications (with P.H. Daus), correspondence, 1948-1950 86-35/4 Algebra with Applications to Business and Economics (with P.H. Daus), correspondence, proofs, 1958-1960 2002-051/1 Bibliographies, 1924-1958 Grants: 86-35/4 Air Force 86-35/4 Air Research and Development Command, 1953-1955 86-35/4 European trip, 1955; Contract material, 1958 86-35/4 National Aeronautics and Space Administration 86-35/4 Non-Linear Differential Critical Point Theory, 1969-1971 Research notes: 86-35/5 Undated 86-35/5 Binomial series, fractional derivation: notes, correspondence, 1935-1936 Lectures and speeches: 86-35/5 Undated talks: background clippings and quotations 86-35/5 Notes and correspondence, 1928, 1940-1949 86-35/5 Notes and correspondence, 1950-1959 86-35/5 Notes and correspondence, 1960-1971 86-35/6 Mathematical Association of America Visiting Lecturer, 1972 2002-051/1 Phi Beta Kappa address, Univ. of North Carolina, 1961 2002-051/1 Inaugural address, President, Texas Technological College, 1944 Government consulting work: 86-35/6 Air Force, 1944, 1951 86-35/6 Army, 1952-1971 86-35/6 Redstone Arsenal, 1952-1955 86-35/6 Navy: Mine Defence Laboratory and Ordnance Test Service, 1951-1960 86-35/7 Oak Ridge National Laboratory 86-35/7 1949-1952 86-35/7 1953-1960 Organizations: 86-35/7 American Mathematical Society 86-35/7 General records, including 1944 Los Angeles meeting, 1939-1962 86-35/7 Associate Secretaryship and Oak Ridge meeting, 1949-1950 86-35/7 Mathematical Association of America, 1939-1954 86-35/7 National Research Council, 1952-1953, 1972 86-35/7 National Science Foundation, 1952-1954 86-35/7 Phi Beta Kappa, 1944-1971 86-35/7 Philosophical Society of Texas, 1948-1971 86-35/7 Pi Mu Epsilon, 1928-1952 86-35/7 Sigma Xi, 1948-1953 86-35/8 Miscellaneous organizations, 1939-1971 Faculty and administrative activities: 86-35/8 University of California-Los Angeles: 86-35/8 Correspondence, 1928-1941 86-35/8 Printed matter, 1921-1943 86-35/8 Texas Technological College 86-35/8 Memos, reports, clippings, printed matter, 1944-1949 86-35/8 Correspondence, 1944-1947 86-35/8 Correspondence, 1948-1949 86-35/8 Correspondence, clippings, printed matter, 1950-1972 2003-178/1 Proceedings of Inauguration as President, 1944 86-35/9 University of North Carolina 86-35/9 General records, 1949-1963 86-35/9 Printed matter, 1957 86-35/9 Committee on University Government, 1949-1950 86-35/9 Computation Center, 1957-1960 86-35/9 Library, 1950-1953 86-35/9 Mathematics Department 86-35/9 General records 86-35/9 1948-June, 1953 86-35/10 1953-1954 86-35/10 1954-1955 86-35/10 1958-1971 86-35/10 Committee on Graduate Programs, Committee on Undergraduate Programs, 1965 86-35/10 Department members, 1949-1950 86-35/10 Full-time staff, 1952-1955 86-35/10 Graduate students and teaching assistants, 1949-1954 86-35/11 Part-time staff, 1952-1955 86-35/11 Positions available, 1949-1959 86-35/11 Schedule material, Forms and directives, 1952-1954 86-35/11 Staff prospects, 1947-1955 86-35/11 Summer session, 1953 86-35/11 Second University Conference, 1953-1954 86-35/11 Vice-President for Research, 1958-1960 86-35/11 Personnel regulations, 1958-1960 86-35/12 Southern Methodist University, 1967-1970 86-35/12 Eastern Carolina University, 1969-1972 Teaching: 86-35/12 University of North Carolina, tests and examinations, 1949-1954, 1961-1966 86-35/12 Eastern Carolina University, Lie theory notes 2002-051/1 University of California - Los Angeles, 1935-1939 2002-051/1 University of North Carolina, ca. 1949-1966 4RM1 Restricted: 4RM1 University of North Carolina class record (grades), 1965-1968 Mathematicians - Biographical and memorial items: 86-35/12 Clippings, printed matter, 1926-1972 86-35/12 Hedrick, E.R., 1923-1943 Professional activities: 86-35/13 Books and periodicals: purchases, inquiries, acknowledgements of sample copies, 1947-1970 86-35/13 Reprints of publications by others, 1945-1965 2003-178/1 Reprints of publications by others: 2003-178/1 Albert-Cozens, 1925-1971 2003-178/1 Dodd-Ganguly, 1930-1970 and undated 2003-178/1 Garcia, 1943-1947 and undated 2003-178/1 Garner-Haines, 1925-1949 2003-178/1 Hamilton-Herrick, 1936-1960 2003-178/1 Hestenes-Horadam, 1931-1963 and undated 2003-178/1 Jaffin-Opatowski, 1924-1969 2003-178/1 Panunzio-Seeger, 1927-1964 2003-178/1 Toneilli-Zarankiewicz, 1923-1951 and undated 2003-178/1 Manuscripts of papers by others, some with annotations, undated 86-35/13 Consulting: manuscript reviews, 1951, 1953 86-35/13 Utz: A Short Course in Differential Equations, 1966 86-35/13 Refereeing, 1928-1938 86-35/13 Summer Institutes, 1950-1969 86-35/13 Durham, North Carolina, Summer Institute, 1970 Personal: 86-35/13 Ancestry, Biography of E.H. Rowell 86-35/14 Biographical material: directory entries, clippings, 1945-1965 86-35/14 Personal correspondence 86-35/14 A - M, 1958-1960 86-35/14 N - Z, 1958-1960 86-35/14 Family business, 1941-1947, 1958-1960 86-35/14 Honors, Awards, 1944, 1954 86-35/14 Humor 86-35/14 Non-professional organizations, interests, and activities, 1935-1972 86-35/14 Travel, 1945-1972 86-35/14 Insurance, 1945-1954 2003-178/1 Non-mathematical reprints, 1932-1957 2003-178/1 Biographical material, 1961 2002-051/1 Biographical material, 1944, 1959, 1968, 1972-1973, and undated 2002-051/1 University of Texas coursework, 1920-1923 4RM11 Photographs 4RM11 Undated 4RM11 Family photographs, including photos of William and Gordon Whyburn, undated 3W111Family?, Whyburn, undated, 1966