M. A. Zeitlin (1899-1993) was a professor in UCLA's Department of Spanish and Italian, founded the departmental program in Portuguese, helped to develop a curriculum in Latin American studies, and was a member of the initial committee on Latin American Studies. The collection consists of photographic copies and one transcription of manuscripts in Spanish.

Zeitlin was born on August 29, 1899 in Chicago. He moved to Arizona and attended the University of Arizona where he received his B.A. in 1918. In 1920 he earned his M.A. from Stanford University. Zeitlin continued his study of French in Brussels and at the Sorbonne. He accepted a teaching position at the University of California Southern Branch in 1925. Two years later, he moved to Berkeley, and earned a Ph.D in romance languages with Spanish as a major from UC Berkeley in 1931. Zeitlin returned to UCLA that same year as an assistant professor, later becoming chair of the Department of Spanish and Italian, as well as a full professor. During his professorship, he founded the departmental program in Portuguese, helped to develop a curriculum in Latin American studies, and was a member of the initial committee on Latin American Studies. In 1967 he was named Comendador of the Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique by the Portuguese government and in 1968 he was awarded the title of Oficial of the Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul. Additionally, he was awarded the UCLA Medal for Distinguished Service in 1980. After the death of his wife Zell in 1967, he married Frances Kirschenbaum, the medieval and renaissance bibliographer at the UCLA University Research Library. Zeitlin died on September 8, 1993.

2 boxes (1 linear ft.)

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

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