Call Number:

3H.A91-35

Repository:

Bryn Mawr College

Extent:

5 boxes

Language:

English

Date:

1920s-1990s (inclusive)

Abstract:

Milton Nahm was a professor of Philosophy at Bryn Mawr College from 1945-1972. The Milton Nahm collection houses Nahm's correspondence, papers and other materials. This collection, which spans the 1920s to the 1990s, provides insight into the professional and private lives of Nahm and his wife, Elinor.

Milton Nahm was born December 12th, 1903 in Last Vegas, New Mexico. He attended the University of Pennsylvania where he received his A.B. (1925), M.A. (1926), and Ph.D. (1932). He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship (1926-1929) and received his B.A. (1928) and B.Litt. (1929) from the University of Oxford. He returned to the University of Pennsylvania as an instructor in Philosophy (1929-1930).

In 1930, he began his long career at Bryn Mawr College. He was named a professor in 1945, and chairman of the department in 1946, a position he retained until his retirement in 1972. In 1970, he was became the Leslie Clark Professor in the humanities. Professor Nahm was the author of five books, the editor of two, the co-editor of two, and he contributed chapters to six. He was also the author of numerous articles and reviews. He was also an officer of the APA.

In 1933, Professor Nahm married Elinor Beulah Amram, the youngest child and only daughter of David Werner and Beulah Amram. Mrs. Nahm graduated from Bryn Mawr College in the class of 1928. She remained active in the Alumnae Association, especially the Owl Bookstore. She was an important part of her husband's professional work, acting as an editor, typist, and writing letters on his behalf. Her papers are also a part of this collection

The Milton Nahm collection houses the correspondence, papers and other materials of Milton Nahm, a former professor of philosophy at Bryn Mawr College. The collection, which spans the 1920s to the 1990s, provides insight into the professional and private lives of Nahm and his wife, Elinor.

The collection is housed in five boxes.

Box 1 contains personal correspondence, 1936-1990; the correspondence of and between Milton, Elinor, and Miriam Nahm; legal documents and correspondence concerning the estates of Minnie and Gertrude Kohn and the maintenance and sale of Gertrude Kohn's house. It also houses Milton Nahm's professional correspondence, including letters concerning the publication of Las Vegas and Uncle Joe, a somewhat autobiographical tale of his early life in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Box 2 contains an unpublished manuscript of The Fine Art of Criticism, drafts of essays of Hume and Kant, several other notes/drafts, and a manuscript. There are also class note and articles from the Alumnae Bulletin, 1928-1978. Box 3 houses awards, journals kept by Elinor Nahm's parents and a cartoon of Milton Nahm gardening. Box 4 contains photographs. Box 5 contains additional correspondence, mostly letters from Nahm to his parents.

Nahm wrote extensively, which this collection highlights. Notably, it provides access to both his published and unpublished works. It also provides insight into the personal lives and interests of Nahm and his wife, Elinor (Bryn Mawr 1928). The collection would be of use to those interested in Nahm's research, the Philosophy Department at Bryn Mawr, Bryn Mawr College during the 1930s-1940s, and Elinor and Milton Nahm.

Bibliographic note: Paper finding aid, Special Collections, Bryn Mawr College https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/08/obituaries/milton-c-nahm-87-professor-of-philosophy.html