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JOHN VON NEUMANN
A REGISTER OF HIS PAPERS
IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Prepared by
Margit Kerwin and Patrick Kerwin
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C. 1994
***
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
The papers of John Von Neumann (1903-1957), educator,
mathematician, consultant, and atomic energy commissioner, were
given to the Library of Congress in 1974-75 by his daughter
Marina Von Neumann Whitman. An addition was received in 1993
from brother Nicholas A. Vonneuman and in 1998 from Israel
Halperin.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of John
Von Neumann is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States
(Title 17, U.S.C.).
A video recording has been transferred to the Motion
Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division of the Library
of Congress, where it is identified as part of these papers.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Readers interested in consulting any of the division's
collections are advised to write or telephone the
Manuscript Reading Room at (202) 707-5387 before visiting.
Many processed and nearly all unprocessed collections are
stored off site, and advance notice is needed to retrieve
these items for research use.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Linear feet of shelf space occupied: 13.4
Approximate number of items: 11,650
***
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
1903, Dec. 28 Born, Budapest, Hungary
1926 Ph.D., University of Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
1929 Married Mariette Kovesi (divorced 1937)
1930 Immigrated to United States
1930-33 Visiting professor, Princeton University,
Princeton, N.J.
1932 Published _Mathematische Grundlagen der
Quantenmechanik_ (Berlin: J. Springer. 262 pp.)
1933-57 Research professor of mathematics, Institute for
Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J.
1937 Naturalized United States citizen
1939 Married Klara Dan
1940-57 Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, Ballistic
Research Laboratory, Aberdeen, Md.
1943-55 Consultant, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Los
Alamos, N.Mex.
1944 Published _Theory of Games and Economic Behavior_
(Princeton: Princeton University Press.
625 pp.)
1952-54 Member, General Advisory Committee, United States
Atomic Energy Commission
1955-57 Commissioner, United States Atomic Energy
Commission
1957, Feb. 8 Died, Washington, D.C.
***
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The papers of John Von Neumann span the years 1926-74, with
the bulk of the items concentrated in the period from 1935 to
1957. The papers pertain primarily to Von Neumann's career in
the United States after he emigrated from Hungary to the United
States in 1930. They feature his career as professor of
mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New
Jersey (1933-57), adviser and commissioner on the United States
Atomic Energy Commission (1952-57), scientific consultant with
various government and private concerns, and author of works on
various scientific topics. The collection consists of
correspondence, memoranda, journals, speeches, articles and book
drafts, notes, charts, graphs, family papers, clippings, printed
matter, photographs, and other materials.
The Family Papers series (1929-56) consists chiefly of
correspondence between John Von Neumann and family members. Of
particular significance is the extensive correspondence between
Von Neumann and his wife Klara Dan Von Neumann concerning
professional and family matters.
The General Correspondence series (1930-59) contains Von
Neumann's incoming and outgoing correspondence with his
colleagues at the Institute for Advanced Study, the Atomic Energy
Commission and other government bodies, including the Los Alamos
Scientific Laboratory, and various universities. Of special
interest are an Albert Einstein letter and report on theoretical
physics (1937). Other correspondents include Frank Aydelotte,
Hans Albrecht Bethe, Garrett Birkhoff, S. Chandrasekhar, George
Bernard Dantzig, P. A. M. Dirac, Carl Eckart, Enrico Fermi,
Abraham Flexner, George Gamow, Kurt Godel, Herman Heine
Goldstine, Werner Heisenberg, L. van Hove, Cuthbert Hurd, Pascual
Jordan, R. H. Kent, George B. Kistiakowsky, Oskar Morgenstern, J.
Robert Oppenheimer, Rudolf Ortvay, Wolfgang Pauli, Marshall H.
Stone, Lewis L. Strauss, Abraham Haskel Taub, Edward Teller,
Stanislaw M. Ulam, Oswald Veblen, Warren Weaver, Hermann Weyl,
Norbert Wiener, and Eugene Paul Wigner.
The Subject File (1930-74) documents all facets of Von
Neumann's career in the United States, reflecting his role in
early computer and atomic research. The bulk of the series
pertains to his work at the Institute for Advanced Study,
including his tenure as director of the Electronic Computer
Project. Other papers document Von Neumann's many
consultantships. Of particular interest are files relating to
his work at the United States Army Ballistic Research Laboratory
in Aberdeen, Maryland.
The Speeches and Writings File (1926-60) reflects Von
Neumann's interest in numerous scientific and mathematical
subjects. The series includes his early writings in quantum
mechanics and logic, his writings on continuous geometries,
operator theory, ballistic research, and his later works
concerning computers. Also of note is his pioneering work on the
theory of games. Throughout the Speeches and Writings File are
evaluations of Von Neumann's work written after his death by his
colleagues. Among the reviewers were Herman Heine Goldstine,
Paul R. Halmos, and Abraham Haskel Taub.
The 1994 Addition to the papers of John Von Neumann spans
the years 1912-93. It consists of correspondence between Von
Neumann and Eva Aldor, other material relating to Eva and Peter
Aldor, biographical material, a patent, photographs, and printed
matter.
***
DESCRIPTION OF SERIES
Container Nos. Series
1 Family Papers, 1929-56, n.d.
Correspondence, telegrams, official documents,
and other papers. Arranged alphabetically.
2-8 General Correspondence, 1930-59, n.d.
Correspondence and attached material with
friends and colleagues. Arranged alphabetically
by name of person or institution.
8-19 Subject File, 1930-74, n.d.
Correspondence, telegrams, memoranda, journals,
logs, tests, travel orders, invitations, charts,
graphs, forms, biographical data, photographs,
clippings and other printed matter, and
miscellaneous material. Organized by name of
person or organization, topic, or type of
material.
19-33 Speeches and Writings File, 1926-60, n.d.
Correspondence, speeches, articles, book drafts,
notes, contracts, clippings, and printed matter.
Speeches have been separated from other writings,
which are first arranged alphabetically by type
(articles, books, reports, and miscellaneous) and
therein alphabetically by type of material,
subject, or title.
34 1994 Addition, 1912-93, n.d.
Correspondence, biographical data, patents,
photographs, and printed matter. Arranged
alphabetically by name of person or type of
material.
***
CONTAINER LIST
Container Nos. Contents
FAMILY PAPERS, 1929-56, n.d.
Box 1 Correspondence
Dan, Kamilla, 1940-41
General, 1929-56
Kovesi (Von Neumann), Mariette, 1937-41, n.d.
Kovesi, Paulette, 1937, n.d.
Neumann, Michel J., 1939-56
Von Neumann, Klara Dan, 1938-52, n.d.
(3 folders)
Von Neumann, Margaret, 1948, n.d.
Von Neumann, Nicholas A., 1939-54
Subject file
Divorce and marriage, 1937-38
Financial papers, 1933-54, n.d.
Immigration and naturalization, 1934-53
Miscellany, 1929-39, n.d.
Other official documents, 1930-42, n.d.
GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1930-59, n.d.
Box 2 Aldor, Peter, 1946-54, n.d.
Alexandroff, Paul, 1935
Aydelotte, Frank, 1940-45, 1956
"A" miscellaneous, 1933-56, n.d.
Bay, Zoltan L., 1945-54
Bethe, Hans Albrecht, 1941-45, 1953-56
Bigelow, Julian, 1947-56
Birkhoff, Garrett, 1935-56, n.d.
Blake, Gwen, 1934-42
Bohr, Niels, 1951
Bonhoeffer, Karl Fredrich, 1949, n.d.
Bush, Vannevar, 1949-50
"B" miscellaneous, 1931-56, n.d. (2 folders)
Calkin, John, 1941-45, 1955-56
Chandrasekhar, S. (Subrahmanyan), 1935-42, 1950-56
Box 3 Courant, Richard, 1938-42, 1955-56
"C" miscellaneous, 1937-56 (2 folders)
Dantzig, George Bernard, 1947-48, n.d.
Dirac, P. A. M. (Paul Adrien Maurice), 1934-38,
n.d.
"D" miscellaneous, 1944-56
Eckart, Carl, 1945, 1952-56, n.d.
Einstein, Albert, 1937
"E" miscellaneous, 1938-54
Fellner, William J., 1946-56, n.d.
Fermi, Enrico, 1949-51, n.d.
Flexner, Abraham, 1933-44, 1956
Frankel, Stanley, 1946-55
Frechet, Maurice, 1934, 1952-53, 1959
Friedman, William F., 1952-56
"F" miscellaneous, 1934-56, n.d.
Gamow, George, 1940-56, n.d.
Godel, Kurt, 1938-39, 1956
Godement, Roger, 1949-50, n.d.
Box 4 Goldstine, Herman H., 1944-56, n.d.
"G" miscellaneous, 1937-56
Halperin, Israel, 1936-40, 1946-52
Harrison, George R., 1945, 1956
Heisenberg, Werner, 1950
Hove, L. van (Leon), 1950
Hurd, Cuthbert C., 1948-58, n.d.
"H" miscellaneous, 1933-48, 1955-56
"I" miscellaneous, 1935-51
Jordan, Pascual, 1937, n.d.
"J" miscellaneous, 1941, 1948-56
Kakutani, Shizuo, 1942-55, n.d.
Kent, R. H. (Robert Harrington), 1938-56
Box 5 Kistiakowsky, George B., 1942-49
Koopmans, Tjalling Charles, 1945-46, 1959
Kuhn, Harold, 1949-53
"K" miscellaneous, 1939-56
Leutert, Werner, 1950-51
Loewner, Charles, 1943-47
Lorch, Edgar, 1946-47, 1958
"L" miscellaneous, 1933-56, n.d.
Mayer, Joseph E., 1950
Monteiro, Antonio, 1941-42
Montgomery, Deane, 1955-56
Morgenstern, Oskar, 1940, 1949-56
"M" miscellaneous, 1935-56, n.d. (2 folders)
Newman, Max H. A., 1946, n.d.
"N" miscellaneous, 1933-55
Box 6 Ohlinger, Lee A., 1950-54
Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1955-56
Ortvay, Rudolf, 1938-39
Overbeck, William P., 1945-46
"O" miscellaneous, 1934, 1942-46, 1954
Panofsky, Hans A., 1946-47, n.d.
Pauli, Wolfgang, 1939-40
"P" miscellaneous, 1933, 1939-57, n.d.
Ridenour, Louis N., 1944-48
"R" miscellaneous, 1932-56, n.d.
Stone, Marshall H., 1940-45, 1955
Strauss, Lewis L., 1945-56, n.d. (2 folders)
Szent-Gyorgyi, Albert, 1949-54, n.d.
"S" miscellaneous, 1933-56, n.d.
(2 folders)
Box 7 (2 folders)
Taub, Abraham Haskel, 1939, 1946, 1955-56
Teller, Edward, 1944-56, n.d.
"T" miscellaneous, 1934-42, 1948-57, n.d.
(2 folders)
Ulam, Stanislaw M., 1937-56, n.d. (2 folders)
"U" miscellaneous, 1939-42, 1955-56
Veblen, Oswald, 1933, 1939-45, 1956-57, n.d.
"V" miscellaneous, 1934, 1950-56
Weaver, Warren, 1940-52
Weyl, Hermann, 1935-40, 1950-55
Wiener, Norbert, 1945-46, 1955
Wigner, Eugene Paul, 1938-47, 1955-56
Box 8 "W" miscellaneous, 1938-57, n.d. (2 folders)
"Y" miscellaneous, 1955-57, n.d.
"Z" miscellaneous, 1934, 1955-56, n.d.
Unidentified, 1930-56, n.d.
SUBJECT FILE, 1930-74, n.d.
Address cards, n.d.
Air Research and Development Command, 1952-54
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1945
American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of
Science, 1947-54
American Institute of Electrical Engineers,
1950-51
American Mathematical Society, 1932-55 (4 folders)
American Physical Society, 1932, 1946-48
Box 9 _Annals of Mathematics_, 1945-53
Anti-Nazi meeting of Soviet scientists, 1941
Armed Forces Special Weapons Project
Ad hoc panel, 1951-52
Consultant agreement, 1950-56
Consulting and travel, 1951-54
General correspondence, 1951-53
Shock waves, 1952
Army Advisory Committee on Mathematics, 1947-48
Army Chemical Center, Aberdeen, Md., 1948-49
Atomic Energy Commission
Consultant agreement, 1954-55
Daily log of visitors and phone calls, 1955-56
(4 folders)
General Advisory Committee, 1952-53
General correspondence
Apr.-Aug. 1955
Box 10 Sept. 1955-Feb. 1957 (3 folders)
Nomination
Confirmation hearings, 1955
Congratulatory correspondence, 1954
(3 folders)
Travel authorizations, 1955
Atomic project, 1944-45
Ballistic Research Laboratory, Aberdeen, Md.
Consultant agreement, 1945-55
General correspondence, 1944
Box 11 Scientific Advisory Committee, 1940-55, n.d.
(2 folders)
Biographical material, 1951-55, n.d.
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, N.Y.,
1947-51
Calendars, 1952-55
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 1951-56
Charts and graphs, n.d. (2 folders)
Columbia University, New York, N.Y., 1953-54
Computers
Crystals and proteins, 1946-47
Electronic Computer Project, Institute for
Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J., 1945-52
(2 folders)
Box 12 (1 folder)
Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer
(ENIAC)
Flow diagram, 1950
General, 1947-51
Meteorology calculations, 1949-50
Monte Carlo method, n.d. (2 folders)
General, 1949, 1956
Machine time studies, 1954
Moore School of Electrical Engineering,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
Pa., 1945-46
Consultantships, list of, 1955
Conversations, memoranda of, 1952-56
Einstein, Albert, 1938, 1948, 1955
Enrico Fermi Award, 1956
Forbath, Tamas B., 1942
German Academy of Science in Berlin, Berlin,
Germany (East), 1950-54
Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J.
Administrative, 1933-45
Faculty, 1939, 1945-56
(1 folder)
Box 13 (4 folders)
General correspondence, 1944-54
Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1944-55
School of Mathematics
General correspondence, 1945-51
Minutes of meetings, 1939-56 (2 folders)
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)
Consultant agreement, 1945-55
Davies, William H., 1954
General correspondence, 1947-55
Box 14 Seminar on scientific computation, 1949
Invitations, 1955-56
John Von Neumann Memorial Institute of Advanced
Studies, University of California, Los Angeles,
Calif., 1959
Johns Hopkins University, editorial board of the
Applied Physics Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins
University on Applied Mathematics and Mechanics,
Baltimore, Md., 1951-55
Journals, 1941, 1956 (2 folders)
Kilgore Manufacturing Co., 1954-55
Library of Congress, 1960-63
Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Los Alamos,
N.Mex.
Consultant agreement, 1946-51
General correspondence, 1947-48
Shepley, James R., and Clay Blair, Jr.,
regarding publication of book, 1954
Medal for Merit, 1946-47
Memberships, awards, and honorary degrees, 1930-57
(2 folders)
Box 15 Meteorology
Charney, Jule G., 1946-54
General correspondence, 1945-55
Miscellany, 1954-55
Numerical weather forecasting unit, 1952-53
Revelle, [Roger], 1947
Rex, Daniel F., 1946-47
Rossby, Carl G., 1946-51
Military papers
Exams, 1938-39
Travel orders, 1940-44
Miscellany, 1933-57, n.d.
National Academy of Sciences, 1937-49 (2 folders)
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics,
1946-47
National Defense Research Committee, 1940-46, n.d.
(1 folder)
Box 16 (1 folder)
National Research Council
Committee on High-Speed Computing, 1947-52
(2 folders)
General, 1944-50
National Science Foundation, 1955-56
National Security Agency
Consultant agreement, 1953-55
Scientific Advisory Board, 1953-55
Travel and consulting, 1953-55
Naval Ordnance Laboratory, White Oak, Md., 1947-55
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn.,
1949-55
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense,
1953-55
Patent, 1957
Photographs
Atomic blasts, n.d.
General, n.d.
Box 17 Greece and Turkey, n.d.
Princeton University bicentennial, Princeton,
N.J., 1946-47
Publicity, 1934, 1946-56 (2 folders)
Ramo-Woolridge Corp., 1953-55
Rand Corp., 1947-55
Research and Development Board, 1947-50
Research Board for National Security, 1945
Sandia Corp., 1954-55
Scientists' Committee on Loyalty Problems, 1948-49
Security clearances, 1948-54
Standard Oil Development Co.
Consultant agreement, 1948-55
General, 1949
General correspondence
1947-48
Box 18 1949-54 (5 folders)
Sun Oil Co., 1954
Taub, Abraham Haskel, 1945-46
Television appearance, 1955
Trips
Colombia, 1950
Europe, 1949 (2 folders)
Box 19 Mexico, 1946
United Nations, 1948-51
United States Air Force
ATLAS Scientific Advisory Group, 1954
Scientific Advisory Board
Consultant agreement, 1951-55
General, 1951-57
University of California, Berkeley, Calif.,
1952-55
Von Neumann, Klara, professional miscellany,
1947-62, 1974
Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, 1950-55
SPEECHES AND WRITINGS FILE, 1928-60, n.d.
Speeches
1931-48 (12 folders)
Box 20 1949-54 (13 folders)
Box 21 1955-56, n.d. (7 folders)
Writings
Article file
By Von Neumann
1928
"Zur Theorie der Gesellschaftsspiele"
1932
"Zur Operatorenmethode in der
Klassischen Mechanik"
1934
"On an Algebraic Generalization of the
Quantum Mechanical Formalism"
1935
"On Relativistic Gas-Degeneracy and the
Collapsed Configuration of Stars"
1936
"On Rings of Operators"
"The Uniqueness of Haar's Measure"
1937
"Continuous Rings and Their Arithmetics"
"On Rings of Operators II"
Box 22 "Quantum Mechanics of Infinite Systems"
"Some Matrix-Inequalities and
Metrisation of Matrix-Space"
"Uber ein Okonomisches Gleichungssystem
und eine Verallgemeinerung des
Brouwerschen Fixpunktsatzes"
1938
"On Infinite Direct Products"
1940
"Discussion of De Sitter's Space and of
Dirac's Equation in It"
"Minimally Almost Periodic Groups"
"On Rings of Operators III"
1941
"Distribution of the Ratio of the Mean
Square Successive Difference to the
Variance"
"Fourier Integrals and Metric Geometry"
1942
"Approximate Properties of Matrices of
High Finite Order"
"Further Remark Concerning the
Distribution of the Ratio of the Mean
Square Successive to the Variance"
"Statistics of the Gravitational Field
Arising From a Random Distribution of
Stars"
1943
"On Rings of Operators IV" (2 folders)
1946
"On the Principles of Large Scale
Computing Machines"
"Symmetric Solutions of Some General
N-Person Games"
Box 23 1947
"Discussion of a Maximum Problem"
"The Mathematician"
1948
"Coding Scheme for the Poiseuille-Flow
Stability Problem" (2 folders)
"First Report on the Numerical
Calculation of Flow Problems"
(2 folders)
"Second Report on the Numerical
Calculation of Flow Problems"
(3 folders)
1949
"On Rings of Operators: Reduction
Theory"
1950
"Statistical Treatment of Values of
First 2000 Decimal Digits of e and pi
Calculated on the ENIAC"
1951
"Description of the Conformal Mapping
Method for the Integration of Partial
Differential Equation Systems with 1+2
Independent Variables"
"Eine Spektraltheorie fur allgemeine
Operatoren eines unitaren Raumes"
"Remarks Concerning Various Forms of the
'Relaxation Method'"
Box 24 1952
"Digital Computations in Hydromechanics"
1953
"Certain Zero-Sum Two-Person Game
Equivalent to the Optimal Assignment
Problem"
"Notes on the Photon-Disequilibrium-
Amplification Scheme"
"Two Variants of Poker"
1954
"Non-Linear Capacitance or Inductance
Switching, Amplifying and Memory
Organs" (5 folders)
"Numerical Method to Determine Optimum
Strategy"
Box 25 1955
"Blast Wave Calculation"
"Can We Survive Technology?"
Fermi, Enrico
"On the Permutability of Self-Adjoint
Operators"
1956
"Probabilistic Logics and the Synthesis
of Reliable Organisms from Unreliable
Components"
Undated
"An Inequality Concerning Rational
Functions of Non-Hermitean Matrices"
"Comparison of Two Cells"
"Discussion of the Cylinder Symmetrical
Geometry of Points and Trajectories"
"Fourier Transformation Method for Two-
Dimensional (Baratropic)
Meteorological Prediction"
"Measure in Functional Spaces"
"Non-Isomorphism of Certain Continuous
Rings"
"Numerical Method for Determination of
the Value and the Best Strategies of a
Zero-Sum Two-Person Game with Large
Numbers of Strategies"
"On Generalized Matrix-Algebras with a
Unique Trace"
"On Relativistic Gas-Degeneracy and the
Collapsed Configuration of Stars"
"Point-Source Model"
"Point-Source-Solution, Assuming a
Degeneracy of the Semi-Relativistic
Type, p=Kp 4/3, Over the Entire Star"
Box 26 "Reliable Organizations of Unreliable
Elements"
"Representation of Certain Linear Groups
by Unitary Operators in Hilbert Space"
"Study of a Numerical Solution to a Two-
Dimensional Hydrodynamical Problem"
By others
General, 1952-55, n.d.
Weyl, Hermann, n.d.
Book file
"Continuous Geometries with a Transition
Probability," 1937 (5 folders)
Box 27 _Functional Operators_, 1950 (2 folders)
"Invariant Measures," 1940-41 (4 folders)
"Lattice Abeliam Groups," ca. 1940
_Mathematical Foundations of Quantum
Mechanics_, publication correspondence,
1948-54
(1 folder)
Box 28 (1 folder)
"Theory of Automata," n.d. (2 folders)
_Theory of Games and Economic Behavior_, 1943
Chapter files
1-8 (8 folders)
Box 29 9-12 (4 folders)
General correspondence
Notes (4 folders)
Reviews
Box 30 Unidentified, n.d. (2 folders)
Miscellaneous
Aeronautics publication program, Princeton,
N.J., 1950-51
Continuous geometries, 1935-37
(4 folders)
Box 31 (4 folders)
_Mathematical Reviews_, 1948
Notes
1934-44 (5 folders)
Undated
(6 folders)
Box 32 (15 folders)
Petroleum company writings, 1948-59, n.d.
Philosophical Society of Washington, D.C.,
1945-46
Princeton University Press, 1948-57
Box 33 Publications, list of, 1955-60, n.d.
Reviews, 1937
Yale University, New Haven, Conn., 1954
Unidentified, n.d.
Reports
1946
"Preliminary Discussion of the Logical
Design of an Electronic Computing
Instrument"
1948
Congressional reapportionment
"Planning and Coding of Problems for an
Electronic Computing Instrument"
(3 folders)
1949
"Recent Theories of Turbulence"
1953
"An Analysis of the Linear Displacement of
Oil by Gas-Driven Solvent"
Undated
Shock waves (incomplete)
1994 ADDITION, 1912-93, n.d.
Box 34 Index to addition, 1993
Aldor, Peter and Eva, 1949-89
Biographical material, 1991-92
Family tree, n.d.
Patent, 1957
Photographs, 1912-83, n.d.
Printed matter, 1946-55, 1971
*** Last update 01/17/97 (mal) ***
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