Textes & Documents
Opposition to the Boycott of German Mathematics in the Early 1920s: Letters by Edmund Landau (1877–1938) and Edwin Bidwell Wilson (1879–1964)
[Opposition au boycott des mathématiques allemandes dans les années 20 : lettres d’Edmund Landau (1877–1938) et d’Edwin Bidwell Wilson (1879–1964)]
Revue d'histoire des mathématiques, Tome 17 (2011) no. 1, pp. 139-165.

Deux parmi les quelques lettres publiées ici : l’une du mathématicien allemand Edmund Landau, l’autre du mathématicien américain Edwin Bidwell Wilson, donnent des éclaircissements sur les positions politiques de leurs auteurs par rapport au boycott de la science allemande du début des années 1920. Elles documentent le refus croissant de ce boycott, non seulement de la part des Allemands, mais aussi de la part de la communauté mathématique aux États-Unis.

This paper, through the publication of two of their letters, sheds light on the political positions of two influential mathematicians of the first half of the 20th century, the German Edmund Landau and the American Edwin Bidwell Wilson. It provides substantial evidence for the widespread rejection of the political boycott of German mathematics not only by the Germans but also by the community of American mathematicians in the early 1920s.

Mots clés : International Congresses of Mathematicians after World War I, Boycott of German mathematics, International Mathematical Union
@article{RHM_2011__17_1_141_0,
     author = {Siegmund-Schultze, Reinhard},
     title = {Opposition to the {Boycott} of {German} {Mathematics} in the {Early} 1920s: {Letters} by {Edmund} {Landau} (1877{\textendash}1938) and {Edwin} {Bidwell} {Wilson} (1879{\textendash}1964)},
     journal = {Revue d'histoire des math\'ematiques},
     pages = {139--165},
     publisher = {Soci\'et\'e math\'ematique de France},
     volume = {17},
     number = {1},
     year = {2011},
     zbl = {1230.01024},
     language = {en},
     url = {http://www.numdam.org/item/RHM_2011__17_1_141_0/}
}
TY  - JOUR
AU  - Siegmund-Schultze, Reinhard
TI  - Opposition to the Boycott of German Mathematics in the Early 1920s: Letters by Edmund Landau (1877–1938) and Edwin Bidwell Wilson (1879–1964)
JO  - Revue d'histoire des mathématiques
PY  - 2011
SP  - 139
EP  - 165
VL  - 17
IS  - 1
PB  - Société mathématique de France
UR  - http://www.numdam.org/item/RHM_2011__17_1_141_0/
LA  - en
ID  - RHM_2011__17_1_141_0
ER  - 
%0 Journal Article
%A Siegmund-Schultze, Reinhard
%T Opposition to the Boycott of German Mathematics in the Early 1920s: Letters by Edmund Landau (1877–1938) and Edwin Bidwell Wilson (1879–1964)
%J Revue d'histoire des mathématiques
%D 2011
%P 139-165
%V 17
%N 1
%I Société mathématique de France
%U http://www.numdam.org/item/RHM_2011__17_1_141_0/
%G en
%F RHM_2011__17_1_141_0
Siegmund-Schultze, Reinhard. Opposition to the Boycott of German Mathematics in the Early 1920s: Letters by Edmund Landau (1877–1938) and Edwin Bidwell Wilson (1879–1964). Revue d'histoire des mathématiques, Tome 17 (2011) no. 1, pp. 139-165. http://www.numdam.org/item/RHM_2011__17_1_141_0/

[Archibald 1938] Archibald (Raymond Clare)A Semicentennial History of the American Mathematical Society 1888-1938, in American Mathematical Society Semicentennial Publications in Two Volumes, vol.1, New York: AMS, 1938. | Zbl

[Corry & Schappacher 2010] Corry (Leo) & Schappacher (Norbert)Zionist Internationalisation through number theory : Edmund Landau and the Opening of the Hebrew University in 1925, Science in Context, 23 (2010), p. 427–471. | Zbl

[Dalen 1999/2005] Dalen (Dirk Van)Mystic, Geometer, and Intuitionist: The Life of L.E.J. Brower, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999/2005; 2 volumes. | Zbl

[Dauben 1980] Dauben (Joseph)Mathematicians and World War I: The International Diplomacy of G.H.Hardy and Gösta Mittag-Leffler as Reflected in Their Personal Correspondence, Historia Mathematica, 7 (1980), p. 261–288. | Zbl

[Dupree 1957] Dupree (Hunter A.)Science in the Federal Government: A History of Politics and Activities to 1940, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1957.

[Hunsaker & MacLane 1973] Hunsaker (Jerome) & Maclane (Saunders)Edwin Bidwell Wilson (1879-1964), Biographical Memoirs National Academy of Sciences, 43 (1973), p. 284–320.

[Lehto 1998] Lehto (Olli)Mathematics without Borders: A History of the International Mathematical Union, New York, etc.: Springer, 1998. | Zbl

[Parshall 2009] Parshall (Karen Hunger)The Internationalization of Mathematics in a World of Nations, in Robson (Eleanor) & Stedall (Jacqueline), eds., The Oxford Handbook of the History of Mathematics, Oxford Univ. Press, 2009, p. 85–104.

[Parshall & Rowe 1994] Parshall (Karen Hunger) & Rowe (David E.)The Emergence of the American Mathematical Research Community, 1876-1900: J. J. Sylvester, Felix Klein, and E. H. Moore, Providence, R.I./London: AMS and LMS, 1994. | Zbl

[Schroeder-Gudehus 1973] Schroeder-Gudehus (Brigitte)Challenge to Transnational Loyalties: International Scientific Organizations after the First World War, Science Studies, 3 (1973), p. 93–118.

[Siegmund-Schultze 1994] Siegmund-Schultze (Reinhard)“Scientific Control” in Mathematical Reviewing and German-U.S.-American relations between the Two World Wars, Historia Mathematica, 21 (1994), p. 306–329. | Zbl

[Siegmund-Schultze 2003] Siegmund-Schultze (Reinhard)The late arrival of academic applied mathematics in the United States: a paradox, theses, and literature, N.T.M. International Journal of History and Ethics of Natural Sciences, Technology and Medicine, 11 (2003), p. 116–127. | Zbl

[Siegmund-Schultze 2001] Siegmund-Schultze (Reinhard)Rockefeller and the Internationalization of Mathematics Between the Two World Wars. Documents and Studies for the Social History of Mathematics in the 20th century, Basel, etc.: Birkhäuser, 2001. | DOI | Zbl

[Stubhaug 2007] Stubhaug (Arild)Med viten og vilje: Gösta Mittag-Leffler (1846-1927), Oslo: Aschehoug, 2007. | Zbl

[Villat 1921] Villat (Henri), ed. – Comptes-Rendus du Congrès International des Mathématiciens, Strasbourg, 22-30 septembre 1920, Toulouse: Édouard Privat, 1921. | JFM

[Wilson 1901] Wilson (Edwin Bidwell)Vector Analysis: A Text Book for the Use of Students of Mathematics and Physics Founded upon the Lectures of J. Willard Gibbs Ph.D. LL.D., New York/London: Yale University Press, 1901. | JFM | Zbl

[Wilson 1904] Wilson (Edwin Bidwell)The So-called Foundations of Geometry, Archiv für Mathematik und Physik, 3(6) (1904), p. 104–122. | JFM

[Wilson 1918] Wilson (Edwin Bidwell)Insidious Scientific Control, Science, 48 (1918), p. 491–493.