Main content
Alfred J. Lotka Papers
Notifications
Held at: Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers. 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
Alfred J. Lotka (1880-1949), a statistician for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, was a significant contributor to the field of demography. He was a pioneer in the study of population dynamics and conducted research on the mathematical theory of evolution and the mathematical analysis of populations. In addition to his work on demography, he published in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematical social sciences such as economics.
Alfred James Lotka was born on March 2, 1880 in Lemberg, Austria (now Lviv, Ukraine) to Jacques and Marie Doebely Lotka, both American citizens. He married Romola Beattie on January 5, 1935. Lotka's early education was in France, Germany, and England. He began study at Birmingham University, England in 1898 and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1901. He then spent a year studying chemistry at Leipzig University from 1901 to 1902. During this period, he developed his interest in the mathematical theory of evolution, which would be the foundation for his life's work.
Lotka came to the United States in 1902, where he worked as an assistant chemist at the General Chemical Company in New York until 1908. While there, he published his first papers on the mathematical theory of evolution and on population analysis. He entered Cornell University as a graduate student and assistant in physics in 1908 and received his M.A. degree in 1909.
Following his education at Cornell University, Lotka worked as an examiner at the United States Patent Office (1909), assistant physicist at the United States Bureau of Standards (1909-1911), and as an editor of the Scientific American Supplement (1911-1914). He received his Doctor of Science degree from Birmingham University in 1912. Lotka then returned to General Chemical Company, where he worked as a chemist from 1914 to 1919. While he held these various positions, Lotka continued his investigations into the mathematical theory of evolution. From 1922 to 1924, he accepted a temporary research appointment in Raymond Pearl's Human Biology group at Johns Hopkins University to focus on his studies. The result of his work was the publication Elements of Physical Biology (1925).
In 1924, Lotka began his employment at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in New York City, where he would stay until he retired in 1947. He was the supervisor of mathematical research in the Statistical Bureau (1924-1933), a general supervisor (1933-1934), and an assistant statistician (1934-1947). While there, he also continued to develop the demographic analysis he had started during his undergraduate education. His book Theorie Analytique des Associations Biologiques, published in two parts in 1934 and 1939 in Paris, summarized the essentials of his work on the mathematical theory of evolution and on the mathematics of population analysis.
Lotka was active in many professional organizations, serving as President of the Population Association of America (1938-1939), Vice President (1938-1939) and President (1942) of the American Statistical Association, Vice President of the International Union for the Scientific Investigation of Population Problems (1948-1949), and Chairman of the United States National Committee of the Union (1948-1949). He was a fellow of the American Public Health Association, the American Statistical Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and was a member of many learned societies.
Throughout his career, Lotka wrote more than one hundred scientific papers, published in academic and technical journals as well as popular magazines, in the United States and abroad. His writings encompassed a wide variety of subjects, including mathematical analyses of population and the theory of evolution, actuarial mathematics applied to problems of population and industrial replacement, theoretical and applied demography, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and other mathematical social sciences such as economics. In addition to the books Elements of Physical Biology and Theorie Analytique des Associations Biologiques, which together summarize the essentials of his research, Lotka was the co-author of three books in the field of public health: The Money Value of a Man (1930), Length of Life (1936), and Twenty-five Years of Health Progress (1937). All three were co-written with Louis I. Dublin, Vice President and Statistician at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
During his retirement, Lotka revised and translated portions of Theorie Analytique des Associations Biologiques into English. He died on December 5, 1949 in Red Bank, New Jersey.
Lotka's papers document his scholarship and his involvement in professional organizations and include drafts of his works, his notes and research materials, and correspondence. The majority of the papers are related to his research on population analysis and his book Elements of Physical Biology.
Please see the series descriptions in the contents list for additional information about individual series.
The Papers have been arranged in four series:
The following sources were consulted during the preparation of the biographical note: "Lotka, Alfred J. (1880-1949)" in New Palgrave A Dictionary of Economics, eds. John Eatwell, Murray Milgate and Peter Newman, Macmillan Reference LTD, 1998. Materials from Series 1: Biographical; Alfred J. Lotka Papers; Public Policy Papers, Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
The Alfred J. Lotka Papers were donated to the Princeton University Library Special Collections Department, through the efforts of Frank Notestein. The papers were transferred to the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library in August 2002.
This collection was donated to the Princeton University Library Special Collections Department in May 1952, with an addition in May 1953.
This collection was processed by Adriane Hanson, Christopher Shannon, and Jessie Thompson in 2006. Finding aid written by Adriane Hanson in June 2006.
The materials separated from this collection include personal papers and duplicate materials.
People
Organization
- American statistical association
- International Union for the Scientific Study of Population.
- Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Subject
- Publisher
- Public Policy Papers
- Finding Aid Author
- Adriane Hanson
- Finding Aid Date
- 2006
- Sponsor
- These papers were processed with the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and the John Foster and Janet Avery Dulles Fund.
- Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
-
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. For quotations that are fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. For those few instances beyond fair use, researchers are responsible for determining who may hold the copyright and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from the Mudd Library to move forward with their use.
Collection Inventory
The Biographical series includes materials regarding Lotka's appointments, resumes and obituaries, correspondence, Lotka's last will and testament, census bureau information regarding his wife, Romola Beattie Lotka, and Lotka's class notes from Birmingham University.
Arranged alphabetically by document type or subject.
Physical Description2 boxes
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
2 boxes
2 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
The Professional Organizations series documents Lotka's involvement with several statistical and scientific organizations, including the American Statistical Association (ASA), the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, and the Population Association of America (PAA). The papers include correspondence, papers, pamphlets, meeting agendas, conference information, and administrative materials for each organization. The series also includes correspondence between Lotka and other scholars discussing the organizations.
Divided into two sections, correspondence and organizations. Each section is arranged alphabetically.
Physical Description3 boxes
1 box
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
3 boxes
2 boxes
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 box
3 folders
1 folder
1 folder
2 boxes
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 box
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
The Scholarship series contains materials related to Lotka's writings, including articles, speeches, and lectures. The majority of the papers are composed of Lotka's notes and articles he collected about a variety of subjects. The papers also include drafts of articles and speeches, data tables, clippings, correspondence, and offprints of his articles. The series includes materials related to his publications Elements of Physical Biology and Theorie Analytique des Associations Biologiques. The series also includes Lotka's correspondence with Robert R. Kuczynski and Vito Volterra regarding their interpretation of Lotka's works in their writings.
Arranged alphabetically by publication or subject.
Physical Description29 boxes
1 folder
2 boxes
1 folder
2 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
2 boxes
1 folder
1 folder
(Max Lacroix, A. J. Lanza and H. M. C. Luykx.)
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
4 folders
9 boxes
2 folders
1 folder
1 folder
4 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
4 folders
3 folders
5 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
2 folders
2 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
2 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
(Includes correspondence with Williams and Wilkins Company.)
Physical Description2 folders
3 folders
1 folder
1 folder
2 folders
1 folder
1 folder
2 folders
2 folders
1 box
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
2 boxes
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
9 boxes
(Engineering Woman's Club.)
Physical Description1 folder
2 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
(ASA Harrisburg Chapter.)
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
2 folders
(Harvard speech.)
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
2 folders
1 folder
1 folder
(ASA Philadelphia.)
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
2 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
(Herald Tribune.)
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
(8th American Scientific Congress, Washington.)
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
(ASA, Albany Chapter.)
Physical Description1 folder
(Statistical Association of City College.)
Physical Description1 folder
(National Conference on Family Relations, Cambridge.)
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
4 folders
4 folders
4 boxes
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
6 folders
7 folders
1 folder
1 box
2 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
5 boxes
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
2 boxes
1 folder
1 folder
2 folders
3 folders
2 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
3 folders
6 folders
The Oversized Materials series contains glass slides used by Lotka for visual aids during a lecture, a scrapbook of Lotka's writings, charts and graphs, a certificate of membership for the Committee on Medicine and Public Health for the 1939 New York World's Fair, and panoramic photographs of groups at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company events and delegates to the Eighth American Scientific Congress.
Arranged by size.
Physical Description2 boxes
1 box
1 box
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 item