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Valentine Bargmann Papers
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Valentine Bargmann (1908-1989) was born in Berlin, Germany, on April 8, 1908. He began studying at the University of Berlin but moved to Zurich in order to escape Nazi oppression. He completed his doctorate at the University of Zurich in 1936. Wishing to flee Europe and the growing spectre of Nazism, Bargmann received help from another German refugee, Albert Einstein, who sponsored his move to the United States. Bargmann arrived at Princeton University in 1937 and began working as Einstein's assistant at the Institute for Advanced Study. In 1943, Bargmann began working with John von Neumann, a member of the United States Atomic Energy Commission, on war-related research projects. His collaboration with von Neumann ultimately led to advances in computer technology. In 1946, Bargmann was appointed visiting lecturer in physics at Princeton. He joined the Princeton faculty as an associate professor of mathematical physics in 1948 and was promoted to full professor in 1957. As a professor, Bargmann wrote often about the quantum theory and the theory of relativity. He published in many of the leading mathematics and physics journals of the time. He eventually retired from teaching in 1976. After his retirement, he was awarded both the Wigner Medal and the Max Plank Medal for his contributions to group theory and quantum physics. One of the last projects Bargmann worked on was contributing to the planning and editing of The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein.
The Valentine Bargmann Papers consists of personal and professional correspondence, personal papers, awards, medals, lectures notes, drafts and published writing, and documents pertaining to the Einstein Papers Project. The bulk of the writings consists of notebooks and lectures notes containing some text but mainly pages of mathematical equations. Letters from family and friends in Germany constitute much of the early correspondence. Letters dating from the period of Bargmann's tenure as a professor at Princeton primarily come from colleagues and friends, while correspondence dated after 1976, when he became Professor Emeritus, often relates to awards and honors he received. Some of Bargmann's personal papers and effects, including his birth certificate, naturalization papers, and medals, are also included. In addition, the collection contains a sizable number of reprints of Bargmann's essays, plus several Albert Einstein reprints.
This collection also contains documents collected by Bargmann during the course of his work on the editorial advisory board of the Einstein Papers Project. Included here are annotated typescripts of the first two volumes of The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, correspondence between the board members, and copies of Einstein-related documents that were likely selected for inclusion in the project.
Material from Valentine Bargmann's faculty file provided information used in the biography.
No accruals are expected.
The bulk of the papers was a gift from Christine Fellbaum in September of 1989. The "Advanced Quantum Mechanics" lectures were given by Frank Stern in 1992.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
This collection was processed by Casey Babcock in September 2007. Finding aid written by Casey Babcock on September 28, 2007.
No appraisal information is available.
People
Organization
- Einstein Papers Project
- Institute for advanced study Princeton, N.J.
- Princeton University
- Princeton University. Dept. of Physics
Subject
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Author
- Casey Babcock
- Finding Aid Date
- 2007
- Sponsor
- These papers were processed with a general operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.
- Access Restrictions
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This collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
This series consists of personal writings of Valentine Bargmann, most of which are notes likely written and used while he was a professor at Princeton. Many of the notes lack context and contain no heading or date. They include a variety of mathematics and physics equations along with some explanatory text. Also included are drafts of two essays written by Bargmann.
This series is arranged in alphabetical order.
Physical Description2 boxes
Copy of typewritten notes.
Physical Description1 folder
Possibly a draft of an essay or chapter of a book.
Physical Description1 folder
3 notebooks of calculations, equations, and problems used by Bargmann for a physics course he taught at Princeton.
Physical Description1 folder
Miscellaneous notebooks containing equations, translations, and notes.
Physical Description1 folder
Miscellaneous notes including transformations and functions.
Physical Description1 folder
Miscellaneous notes including charts and equations.
Physical Description1 folder
Miscellaneous notes including Clifford algebra and quadratic equations.
Physical Description1 folder
Miscellaneous math notes, in German.
Physical Description1 folder
Typed and annotated draft. Co-written with Louis Michel and V. L. Telegdi.
Physical Description1 folder
Typed draft plus photocopy.
Physical Description1 folder
This series consists of letters sent to Bargmann from family members, friends, and colleagues. The bulk of the correspondence from 1920 to 1940 is written in German. Much of it is from family and friends. The bulk of the correspondence from 1945 to 1973 pertains to Bargmann's position as a professor at Princeton. The bulk of the last run of correspondence contains letters discussing awards which were bestowed on Bargmann.
This series is arranged chronologically.
Physical Description1 box
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
This series consists of personal papers, ephemera, and memorabilia collected by Bargmann. A bulk of the material consists of personal papers including his birth certificate, naturalization papers, documentation related to awards, and books documenting his studies at the Universities of Berlin and Zurich.
This series is arranged alphabetically.
Physical Description1 box
Bargmann's Eugene Wigner Award, Max Plank Award, and an Einstein Centennial at The Institute for Advanced Study medal.
Physical Description1 folder
Includes Bargmann's birth certificate, naturalization papers, and doctoral certificate issued by the university of Zurich amongst other personal papers.
Physical Description1 folder
Photos of the Princeton Mathematics department, circa 1971. Plus, photos of Bargmann at the Einstein Centennial Symposium, March 1979.
Physical Description1 folder
Bargmann's books from the Universities of Berlin and Zurich.
Physical Description1 folder
This series consists of Einstein related papers that Bargmann collected while serving on the editorial advisory board of the Einstein Papers Project.
This series is arranged alphabetically.
Physical Description2 boxes
1 box
1 box
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 box
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
Typed and annotated draft of an essay by Einstein. It is unclear who made the annotations. The essay is in German.
Physical Description1 folder
Einstein features from American and international papers.
Physical Description1 folder
Einstein's typed notes, in German.
Physical Description1 folder
Copies of various notes, letters and essays by Einstein, the bulk of which are in German. Some contain annotations by Bargmann. They were likely intended for inclusion in the published Collected Papers of Albert Einstein.
Physical Description1 folder
This series consists of reprints of essays collected by Bargmann. This series is arranged into three groups: Albert Einstein Reprints, Valentine Bargmann Reprints, and Essays of Others.
The reprints and essays are arranged chronologically.
Physical Description2 boxes
1 box
Four lectures by Albert Einstein.
Physical Description1 folder
Photostats and photocopies of Einstein essays in German.
Physical Description1 folder
By Albert Einstein and E. G. Straus. Reprinted from Annals of Mathematics, Vol. 47, No. 4.
Physical Description1 folder
2 boxes
Bargmann's thesis. Published in the Helvetica Physica Acta.
Physical Description1 folder
Prepared for the Applied Mathematics Panel National Defense Research Committee by the Applied Mathematics Group, Institute for Advanced Study. Includes notes.
Physical Description1 folder
Reprinted from Annals of Mathematics, Vol. 48, No. 3.
Physical Description1 folder
Reprinted from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 34, No. 5.
Physical Description1 folder
Reprinted from The Physical Review, Vol. 75, No. 2.
Physical Description1 folder
Reprinted from Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 21, No. 3.
Physical Description1 folder
Reprinted from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 38, No. 11.
Physical Description1 folder
Reprinted from the Annals of Mathematics, Vol. 59, No. 1
Physical Description1 folder
Reprinted from The Review of Modern Physics, Vol. 29, No. 2.
Physical Description1 folder
Co-written with Louis Michel and V.L. Telegdi. Reprinted from Physical Review Letters, Vol. 2, No. 10.
Physical Description1 folder
Reprinted from Communications on Pure and Applied Mathematics, Vol. XIV, No. 3.
Physical Description1 folder
Reprinted from Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 34, No. 4.
Physical Description1 folder
Reprinted from Science, Vol. 138, Number 3547.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Reprinted from Journal of Mathematical Physics, Vol. 5, No. 7.
Physical Description1 folder
Reprinted from Communication on Pure and Applied Mathematics, Vol. XX, No. 1.
Physical Description1 folder
Reprinted from Helvetica Physica Acta, Vol. 45.
Physical Description1 folder
Volume 18, Number 6. Includes "Spaces of analytic functions on a complex cone as carriers for the symmetric tensor representations of SO(n)" by Bargmann.
Physical Description1 folder
Volume 124, Number 1. Includes "Erinnerungen eines Assistenten Einsteins" by Bargmann.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
Reprints and photocopies of essays collected by Bargmann, some of which are annotated.
Physical Description1 folder