Collection Summary
Information for Researchers
Administrative Information
Biographical Information
Scope and Content of Collection
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Alfred Tarski papers
Date (inclusive): circa 1923-1985
Collection Number: BANC MSS 84/69 c
Extent:
12 cartons, 2 boxes and 1 oversize folder
15.8 linear feet
13 digital objects (18 images)
Repository: The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: Papers of Alfred Tarski (1902-1983), renowned professor of mathematics and logic at the University of California, Berkeley.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English, Polish
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information
on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head
of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The
Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright
owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition,
the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor
restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected
by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of without permission of the copyright owner.
Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html .
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Alfred Tarski Papers, BANC MSS 84/69 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
Alternate Forms Available
Digital reproductions of selected items are available.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog
Tarski, Alfred--Archives
Adolph C. and Mary Sprague Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science
Associaton for Symbolic Logic
International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science
National Science Foundation (U.S.)--Research grants
University of California, Berkeley--Dept. of Mathematics
Algebraic logic
Jewish refugees--United States
Jewish scientists
Logic, Symbolic and mathematical
Mathematicians--Poland
Mathematicians--Polish
Mathematicians--United States
Mathematics--Poland
Mathematics--United States
Metamathematics
Model theory
Semantics (Philosophy)
Set theory
Faculty papers
Manuscripts for publication
Photographs
Administrative Information
Accruals
No additions are expected.
Processing Information
Processed by Lara Michels in 2012.
Biographical Information
Alfred Tarski (1901-1983) was professor of mathematics and logic at the University of California, Berkeley. He was born Alfred
Teitelbaum in Warsaw, Poland in 1901 to Polish-Jewish parents and educated at Warsaw University. In 1923, he changed his surname
from Teitelbaum to Tarski and, around the same time, converted to Catholicism. After completing his doctorate, Tarski taught
logic and mathematics and served as the assistant to his former doctoral advisor Stanislaw Lesniewski. During the 1920s and
1930s, Tarski published textbooks and many important papers in mathematics, but he never obtained a professorhip in Poland.
In August of 1939 (just a month before the German and Soviet invasions of Poland), Tarski came to the United States to give
a series of lectures under the sponsorship of the Unity of Science movement. He remained in the United States as a refugee
and would not be joined by his wife and children until after the war in 1946. Many of the members of Tarski's extended family
were killed in the Holocaust.
Between 1939 and 1942, Tarski took a range of temporary teaching positions in the United States. In 1942, he found a permanent
position, joining the mathematics faculty at the University of California, Berkeley. Tarski supervised twenty-four Ph.D. dissertations
and established a reputation as an charismatic and demanding teacher. He retired from the University of California in 1968.
Tarski is particularly remembered for his work on model theory, metamathematics, and algebraic logic, but he also worked on
topics related to abstract algebra, topology, geometry, measure theory, mathematical logic, set theory, and analytic philosophy.
Tarski's influence is widespread not only in the field of mathematics but also in philosophy and linguistics. He was a member
of the National Academy of Sciences, Foriegn Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences and Letters, and Corresponding
Fellow of the British Academy.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists mostly of materials relating to Tarski's tenure as a mathematician at UC Berkeley. It is divided into
eight series: Biographical/Bibliographical; Correspondence; Writings; Writings by Others (annotated by Tarski); Teaching;
Grants and Projects; Professional Organizations and Events; and Notes and Miscellany. Among the biographical/bibliographical
materials are personal documents from Tarski's life in Poland dating from 1923, materials in support of Tarski's application
for a permanent United States visa, passports (Polish and American), materials relating to Tarski's American job search, materials
relating to his sponsorship of the immigration of his wife and children, biographical articles and reminiscences about Tarski,
clippings, bibliographies, a group photograph of participants in a mathematics conference in Warsaw in 1929, and a 1935 photograph
of Tarski with Kurt Godel. Among the correspondence is general correspondence dating mostly from the 1950s through the 1970s
as well as correspondence with particular individuals and on specific topics. Correspondence is in both English and Polish.
Writings consist of manuscripts and drafts of Tarski's mathematical monographs and articles as well as drafts of speeches
and lectures. In addition to manuscripts and drafts, the files of Tarski's writings may include reprints as well as correspondence
and other supporting research materials relating to his writing and scholarship. The collection also includes writings by
other mathematicians, some of which are annotated or critiqued by Tarski. Teaching files consist of materials for Tarski's
courses at UC Berkeley and might include lecture materials, seminar reports, notes and problem sets. Among the grant and project
materials are files on Tarski's work on National Science Foundation grant-funded projects and U.S. Navy contracts. Files on
organizations and events include materials from Tarski's work with the International Union of the History and Philosophy of
Science, the Institute for Basic Research, the Association for Symbolic Logic, the Summer Institute in Logic (Berkeley, 1957),
and a symposium on the axiomatic method in Berkeley in 1957-1958.