Zygmund William Birnbaum papers, 1920-2000

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Birnbaum, Z. W. (Zygmund William), 1903-2000
Title
Zygmund William Birnbaum papers
Dates
1920-2000 (inclusive)
Quantity
6.91 cubic feet (8 boxes, 1 folder, and 2 audio cassette tapes)
Collection Number
5266 (Accession No. 5266-001)
Summary
Contains materials documenting Dr. Birnbaum's career as a mathematician at the University of Washington, as well as correspondence documenting his efforts to assist emigration from Nazi Poland and his involvement with the loyalty oath suit filed against the university in 1964
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access for paper-based materials. No user access copy is currently available for cassette tapes. Users may obtain a reproduction of the media for a fee by contacting Special Collections.

Request at UW

Languages
English, Polish, German, French
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Zygmund William “Bill” Birnbaum (1903-2000), was for thirty-five years professor of mathematics and statistics at the University of Washington (1939-1974).

Zygmund William Birnbaum was born in Lwów, Austria-Hungary, on October 18, 1903, to Ignacy and Lina Birnbaum. He attended grade and high schools (gymnasium) in Lwów and Vienna, and then, in deference to his family's wishes that he pursue a "practical" degree, he obtained a master of law degree from the University of Lwów in 1925. He practiced law for a year, but during that time he resumed his studies in mathematics. In 1926 Birnbaum received a teaching certificate in mathematics. He taught at a gymnasium in Lwów from 1925 to 1929 while continuing his graduate studies in mathematics under Hugo Steinhaus and Stefan Banach, among others. He received his Ph.D. in 1929, with Steinhaus as his major professor.

After receiving his Ph.D., Birnbaum went directly to Göttingen, Germany, to continue his studies. Göttingen was central to world mathematics at that time, with such luminaries as David Hilbert, Edmund Landau, Richard Courant, Emmy Noether, and Felix Bernstein, among others, in residence. The city attracted many famous visitors, including Kolmogorov, Alexandrov, and von Mises, during 1929-31, when Birnbaum was there. It was during this time that political events began to portend an uncertain future for Germany generally and academic opportunities for Dr. Birnbaum in particular. Thus it was that he, following advice from Edmund Landau, completed a program leading to an actuarial certificate from Göttingen University's Institute of Insurance Mathematics, then headed by the mathematician-cum-biometrician, Felix Bernstein. In 1931 this permitted him to obtain a position as a life insurance actuary for the Phoenix Life Insurance Company in Vienna and a year later to return to Lwów as chief actuary at the company's Polish subsidiary.

After the Phoenix company went bankrupt in 1936, due in great part to the worsening economic and political conditions in Germany, Dr. Birnbaum decided to try to emigrate to the U.S.A. Although the quotas were full for years to come, he was able to secure employment as a foreign correspondent for a major Polish newspaper. This enabled him to go to New York in June 1937 on a visitor's visa obtained for him by his relative, newspaper editor Ludwik Rubel. During his time in New York, Birnbaum came to know many Central European intellectuals, among them the famed Austrian novelist Hermann Broch, and renewed his friendships with fellow Polish émigré-mathematicians, Mark Kac, Stanislaw Ulam, and others.

Shortly after his arrival in New York, he also met his former Göttingen professor, Felix Bernstein, and accepted from him a research assistantship in biometrics at New York University. His statistical interests and knowledge, which had been kindled during his actuarial studies, grew rapidly under the influence of the leading statisticians at New York and Columbia Universities. In early 1939, Harold Hotelling of Columbia University, a Seattle native with a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Washington, brought to Birnbaum’s attention a position there in the Department of Mathematics. He applied, and supported by letters of recommendation from Courant, Landau, and Albert Einstein, his application was accepted. Thus began his long and distinguished career of over 60 years in the Seattle area, extending well beyond his university retirement in 1974.

Shortly after his arrival in Seattle, Birnbaum met his wife, Hilde Merzbach, while both of them were involved in assisting Jewish refugees arriving from Europe. Birnbaum succeeded in helping many people come to the United States, among them several talented scientists. Despite all of his exhaustive efforts, however, Birnbaum could not rescue his mother, father, and sister before they were taken prisoner by the Germans and transported to Bergen-Belsen. They eventually perished in Auschwitz.

During his long association with the University of Washington, Professor Birnbaum's academic contributions included teaching and service as well as research in the theory and applications of mathematics and statistics. Upon his arrival in Seattle he designed the theoretical courses which formed the basis of one of the first comprehensive undergraduate programs in mathematical statistics in the United States. By 1948 he had founded the Laboratory of Statistical Research which, through its long association with the Office of Naval Research, served to strengthen and expand the graduate and faculty components of these programs.

Professor Birnbaum’s research interests were broad, reflecting the breadth of his early training. He published original material in several areas of mathematics, statistics, and computation and made pioneering studies in reliability and life testing, with important applications in metal fatigue and health statistics. He made significant contributions to complex and functional analysis (including Birnbaum-Orlicz spaces), probabilistic inequalities (e.g. multi-dimensional Chebychev and maximal inequalities), non-parametric and distribution-free statistics (exact, asymptotic, and tabulated distributions), survey non-responses, reliability of complex systems, cumulative damage models, competing risks, survival distributions, and mortality rates.

Birnbaum’s service to his university and professional colleagues, as well as to society at large, went beyond his teaching and research. In 1946 he used his legal and actuarial backgrounds to prepare the legislation that became the statutory basis for the university's retirement system. In 1955 he organized the referendum that resulted in the inclusion of faculty in the social security system. He was responsible for carrying out the 1953 Kingston resolution that all Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS) "meetings shall be held on a completely non-segregated basis." He presented the resolution for permanence of this policy at the 1956 Annual IMS meeting held in Seattle. As a plaintiff during 1962-63 in the loyalty oath suit (Baggett v. Bullitt), he was the only witness whose testimony was cited in the U.S. Supreme Court's decision.

In recognition of his many contributions, Z.W. Birnbaum was made a fellow of both the IMS (1949) and the American Statistical Association, and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute. Beginning in 1966 he was editor of the Academic Press monograph series in probability and statistics and was elected president of the IMS in 1964. He was also editor of the Annals of Mathematical Statistics during 1967-70. He received both Fullbright and Guggenheim awards with visiting positions held in Stanford, Rome, Jerusalem, and Paris. In 1984 Birnbaum received the prestigious S.S. Wilks Medal of the ASA for "his theoretical research, wide applications, leadership, inspiration and teaching." He died in December 2000.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Zygmund William Birnbaum papers consist of one accession, 5266-1, of roughly seven cubic feet, consisting of many different document types.

The Birnbaum papers contain a great deal of information related to the political climate in Europe before, during, and after the Holocaust and World War II. They also cover scientific progress in mathematics and statistics, and American cultural and academic developments during the Cold War.

The bulk of the collection is made up of correspondence between Dr. Birnbaum and friends, family, scientists, and colleagues. A substantial number of these documents relate to the Second World War and the years immediately before and after that conflict. Many letters document Birnbaum's unsuccessful efforts to get his sister Franzciska into the United States; others show Birnbaum's efforts to provide aid to European scholars and scientists. The documents are mostly in Polish and German, with some in English and a few in French. Thirty-three letters have been translated from Polish into English. The English translations are filed with the original letters. For other documents not translated in full, summary translations were prepared. Significant information from the translator's summaries, or sometimes the summaries themselves, have been transcribed onto or included with the documents.

Birnbaum's speeches and writings are divided into three sub-series. His personal writings include diaries, written in Polish and German, from the 1920s and 1930s, as well as his own English translations of some of these diaries. A selection of personal and autobiographical anecdotes is also included. There are also some notes in English regarding details of correspondence with Ala Manelska and Jozia Altbach just before the war. The academic writings include essays written for a course Birnbaum took to improve his English skills and other manuscripts. Finally, there are approximately seventy reprints of published articles written by Birnbaum.

The case files contain papers related to Birnbaum's involvement in legal proceedings. Of special interest are the case files series relating to opposition to the University of Washington loyalty oath, in which Birnbaum was the only plaintiff whose testimony was cited in the favorable Supreme Court decision. Other case files pertain to two cases concerning roadside billboards and automobile accidents, for which he served as a statistical expert.

The Hilde Merzbach Birnbaum subgroup contains papers of Birnbaum's wife. Other small subgroups document Birnbaum's involvement with professional organizations and UW committees. The most significant of these are the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and the papers for the IMS Advisory Committee on Physical Facilities for Meetings, which relate to the Kingston resolution that all IMS meetings be held on a non segregated basis.

Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top

Extensive descriptive notes to the Zygmund William Birnbaum papers were prepared by his daughter, Ann Birnbaum, in March 2013. The notes provide detailed information about the contents of the files and documents inventoried below in this finding aid.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

The UW Archives Spotlight on: Zygmund William Birnbaum website contains translations and further information regarding the letters that have been translated from Polish. Correspondents include Jakob Berger, Maurycy Bloch, Ludwik Rubel, Ala Manelska, Zbigniew Lomnicki, Henry M. Schaerf, Birnbaum's family, and others.

Restrictions on Use

Creator's copyrights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Arranged in 7 series.

  • Series 1, Personal Papers
    • Subseries 1, General Correspondence
    • Subseries 2, General Correspondence Regarding:
    • Subseries 3, Diaries
    • Subseries 4, Speeches and Writings
    • Subseries 5, Speeches and Writings of Others
    • Subseries 6, Notebooks
    • Subseries 7, Case Files
    • Subseries 8, Legal Documents
    • Subseries 9, Subject Series
    • Subseries 10, Agenda
    • Subseries 11, Report
    • Subseries 12, Awards
    • Subseries 13, Newsletters
    • Subseries 14, Photographs
  • Series 2, Hilde Merzbach Birnbaum Papers
    • Subseries 1, General Correspondence
    • Subseries 2, Writings
    • Subseries 3, Subject Series
  • Series 3, UW Senate, Committee to Study Annuities and Retirement
  • Series 4, Institute of Mathematical and Statistical Research
  • Series 5, Institute of Mathematical Statistics
  • Series 6, American Association of University Professors, UW Chapter
  • Series 7, Oral History, 1996

Acquisition Information

Donated by Ann Birnbaum 2001-07-19 and 2006-05-08.

Processing Note

Processed in 2003-2004.

Photographs and slides in the collection were relocated to the Zygmund William Birnbaum Photograph Collection, PH Coll. 679, in the repository in 2005.

Separated Materials

Material Described Separately:

Zygmund William Birnbaum Photograph Collection (PH Coll 679)

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Personal PapersReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1-2
Biographical Features
1939-1987
folder:oversize
9
Biographical Features
1939-1987
General Correspondence
Box/Folder
1/3-5
Altbach, Jozia
1937-1940
1/6
American Consuls
1937-1946
1/7
American Consuls, Re: Birnbaum, Franzciska (Nusia)
1938-1941
1/8
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
1943-1947
1/9
American Mathematical Society
1937-1939
1/10
Austein, Rose
1937-1940
1/11
Berger, Adolf
1938-1939
1/12
Berger, Bronio
1938-1939
1/14-43
Berger, Jacob and Berger, Rita
1936-1963, undated
1/44
Berger, Rosa
1937-1938
1/45
Berger, Oswalt
1937-1940
1/46
Berger, Sol
1938
1/46
Berger, Vivian
1963; 1976
1/47-48
Bergmann, Gustav
1938-1939
1/49
Bernstein, Felix
1937-1940
1/50
Bernstein, Marianne
1940-1949; 1979
1/51-56, 2/1-7
Birnbaum Family (Lwów)
Includes correspondence with his father, Ignacy, his mother, Lina, and his sister, Franzciska (Nusia) Birnbaum.
1937-1942
2/8
Birnbaum, Hilde
1950-1957
2/9
Birnbaum, Ann and Dick
1959; 1965
2/10-16
Bloch, Maurycy
1939-1947
2/17
B'nai B'rith
1936-1940
2/18-22
Bories, Rosa
1937-1940
2/23
Both, Alfred and Benno
1938-1939
2/24
Broch, Hermann
1939
2/25
Carpenter, A. F.
1939-1947
2/26
Corn Exchange Bank Trust Company
1937-1941
2/27
Courant, Richard
1937
2/28
Drucker, Peter and Doris
1938-1941
2/29
Fraenkel, Abraham Adolf
1946-1951
2/30
Fürth, Robert
1938
2/31
Glueck, Fredrick
1939
2/32
Gottfried, Louis and Markus
1938-1940
2/33
Hamilton, Robin
1996
2/34
Hewitt, Edwin
1951-1994
2/35
Hotelling, Harold
1943-1947
2/36
Hunter, Patti
1996
2/37
Hurst, John W.
1945-1946
2/38
Immerdauer, Bruno
1937-1940
2/39
Independent Citizens Comittee of Arts, Services and Professions
1946
2/40
International House
1937-1938
2/41
Isserman, Alexander
1939-1941
2/42
Kac, Mark
1939-1947
2/43
Kaufmann, Esther
1938
2/44
Kern, Leona
1937
2/45
Lange, Oskar
1940
2/46-48
Lederer, Walther and Ruth K.
1937-1939, undated
2/49
Lewin, Gerhard
1938-1940
2/50-57
Lomnicki, Z. A. ( Zbigniew Alexander)
1951-1980
2/58
Lukacs, Eugene
1938-1940
2/59-71, 3/1-2
Manelska, Ala
Early correspondence from Ala Manelska (Ehrlich) was often jointly written with Jozia Altbach and Wisio Sternbach.
1937-1967
3/3
Mayer, Walther
1937-1939
3/4
National Council of Jewish Women, New York Section
1938
3/5
National Refugee Service
1941
3/6
Neugebauer, O.
1937-1941
3/7
Neyman, Jerzy
1939-1949
3/8
Ostrow, Esther
1938
3/9
Reich, Marian
1939-1947
3/10
Reschovsky, Helene
1938-1940
3/11-12
Rubel, Ludwik
1937-1951
3/13
Rublowa, Maryla
1963-1970
3/14-23
Schaerf, Henry M.
1937-1979
3/24
Scheib, Klara
1937-1939
3/25
Selzer, Jadwiga
1938-1940
3/26
Southern Teachers Agency
1938
3/27-28
Steinhaus, Hugo
1937-1946
3/29
Sternbach, Ludwig (Wisio)
1937-1939
3/30
Strich, Arthur
1937-1941
3/31
Tague, Jean
1969-1970
3/32
Taub, Abraham Haskell
1945
3/33
Teachers, American Federation of, Local #401
1945
3/34
Tillesowa, Irena
1940-1941
3/35
Warshawski, Stefan
1937-1939
3/36
Weindling, Izak
1946-1949
3/37
Weyl, Hermann
1946
3/38
Wilks, Samuel Stanley
1959-1962
3/39-40
Woyczynski, W. A. (Wojbor Andrzej)
1996-1998
3/41-73, 4/1-5
Miscellaneous A-Z
ca. 1930s-1990s
4/6-10
Unidentified (Polish language)
1937-1941, undated
4/11
Unidentified (English language)
1938-1946, undated
4/12
Unidentified (German language)
1937-1943, undated
General Correspondence Regarding:
Box/Folder
4/13
Birnbaum children
1958-1959
4/14-15
Dried eggs
1939
4/16-26
Job search
1938-1939
4/27
Christopher Kasparek's book about Wladyslaw Kozaczuk
1982
4/28
Lwów home, legal claims, Jakob Berger, and Izak Weindling
1946-1954
4/29
National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel
1942-1943
4/30
Passports for family
1940-1941
4/31-36
Steinhaus invention
1938
4/37-39
U.S. Naval Ordinance Test Station, lecture and possible employment
1950-1951
4/40-41
U.S. Navy contracts
1948-1966
4/42
Visas for family
1938
Box/Folder
4/43
Interdepartmental Correspondence, UW
1941-1949, undated
Diaries
Box/Folder
4/44-46
Diaries (Polish language)
1920-1935
4/47-48
Diaries (translated by Birnbaum into English)
1920-1938
Speeches and Writings
Personal
Box/Folder
4/49-52, 5/1-2
Autobiographical short stories
ca. 1990s
5/3
"Mathemeticians I Have Known" notes
1990
5/4
Synopses of correspondence with Ala Manelska and Jozia Altbach, 1938-1939 (in English)
undated
5/5
"Dr. 'A' "
ca. 1930s
Academic
Box/Folder
5/6
Homework for English course
1939
5/7
Math paper (French language)
1960
5/8
Statistical analysis of value operations
1979
5/9
"The Statistical Profession," and "Elementary Concepts of Statistics" (talks)
1953-1954
Reprints
Box/Folder
5/10
Quelques remarques sur l'intégrale de Cauchy
1928
5/11
Beiträge zur Theorie der schlichten Funktionen (Studia)
1928
5/12
Über shlichte Funktionen (Soc. Sav. de Lwów)
1928
5/13
Über Approximation im Mittel (Studia)
1930
5/14
Über Approximation im Mittel ( Gott. Nachr.)
1930
5/15
Abschätzung der Eigenwerte...
1930
5/16
Über die Verallgemeinerung des Begriffes der zueinander konjugierten Potenzen
1931
5/17
Bemerkung zum stärken Gesetz der groben Zahlen
1933
5/18
Is or Is Not Cancer Dependent on Age?
1939
5/19
On the Properties of a Collective
1940
5/20
An Inequality for Mill's Ratio
1942
5/21
An Inequality Due to H. Hornich
1944
5/22
Generalization of Tshebyshev's Inequality to Two Dimensions
1947
5/23
On Random Variables with Comparable Peakedness
1948
5/24
On the Determination of the Dependence of a Disease, Esp. Cancer, on Age
1948
5/25
A Graphical Determination of Sample Size for Wilk's Tolerance Limits
1949
5/26
On Sums of Symetrically Truncated Normal Random Variable
1949
5/27
On the Distribution of Kolmogorov's Statistic for Finite Sample Size
1949
5/28
Bias Due to Non-availability in Sampling Surveys
1950
5/29
On the Effect of Selection Performed on Some Coordinates of a Multi-dimensional Population
1950
5/30
Effect of Linear Truncation on a Multi-normal Population
1950
5/31
On the Total Error Due to Non-interview and Random Sampling
1950
5/32
On Optimum Selections from Multi-normal Populations
1950
5/33
On the Effect of the Cutting Score When Selection Is Performed against a Dichotomized Criterion
1950
5/34
One-sided Confidence Contours for Probability Distribution Functions
1951
5/35
Numerical Tabulation of the Distribution of Kolmogorov's Statistic for Sample Size
1952
5/36
Distribution-free Tests of Fit for Continuous Distribution Functions
1953
5/37
On the Power of a One-sided test for Continuous Probability Functions
1953
5/38
On the Effect of Truncation in Some or All Coordinates of a Multi-normal Population
1953
5/39
On Distribution-free Statistics
1954
5/40
On the Use of the Mann-Whitney Statistic
1954-1955
5/41
Bounds for the Variance of the Mann-Whitney Statistic
1957
5/42
On Some Distributions Related to the Statistic D+n
1958
5/43
A Statistical Model for Life-length of Materials
1958
5/44
A Distribution-free Upper Confidence Bound for Pr{y<x}, Based on Independant Samples of x and y
1958
5/45
An Inequality Due to S. Gatti
1958
5/46
Life-length of Materials as a Stochastic Process
1958
5/47
Life-length and Failure of Materials Interpreted as Stochastic Process
1960
5/48
Small-sample Distribution for Multi-sample Statistics of the Smirnov Type
1960
5/49
Multi-component Systems and Structures and Their Reliability
1961
5/50
Some Multivariate Chebyshev Inequalities with Extensions to Continuous Parameter Processes
1961
5/51
On the Probabalistic Theory of Complex Structures
1961
5/52
Models of Coherent Binary Systems
1964
5/53
Two Simple Distribution-free Tests of Goodness and Fit
1964
5/54
Design of Sample Surveys to Estimate the Prevalance of Rare Diseases
1965
5/55
Some Inequalities for Reliability Functions
1965
5/56
A Stochastic Characterization of Wear-out for Components and Systems
1966
5/57
Some Concepts and Problems of a Mathematical Theory of Reliability
1966
5/58
A Survey of Recent Results on Reliability of Structures
1966
5/59
A Probabilistic Interpretation of Miner's Rule
1968
5/60
On the Importance of Different Components in a Multi-component System
1969
5/61
Exact Distributions for Some Renyi-type Statistics
1969
5/62
Tables of Critical Values of Some Renyi-type Statistics for Finite Sample Sizes
1969
5/63
A New Family of Life Distributions
1969
5/64
Estimation for a Family of Life Distributions with Applications to Fatigue
1969
5/65
On a Statistic Similar to Student's t
1970
5/66
Asymptotically Distribution-free Statistics Similar to Student's t
1970
5/67
Limiting Distributions of Statistics Similar to Student's t
1973
5/68
Computers and Unconventional Test Statistics
1974
5/69
Numerical Tabulations for a Statistic Similar to Student's t
1974
5/70
Testing for Intervals of Increased Mortality
1975
5/71
Origin and Fundamental Concepts of Competing Risks
1978
5/72
On the Mathematics of Competing Risks
1979
5/73
Variability and Biases of Infant Mortality Rates
1981
5/74
The Making of Statisticians
1982
5/75
Inference, Design-based vs. Model-based
1983
5/76
Discussion of Article by Lawless
1983
5/77
Review of Enigmas of Chance, an Autobiography, by Mark Kac
1987
Speeches and Writings of Others
Box/Folder
5/78
"A Conversation with Z. William Birnbaum," Albert W. Marshall
1990
5/79
Ein Privatbankhaus in Seinem Wirtschaftsraum
1957
5/80
"Hugo Steinhaus - A Reminiscence and a Tribute," by Mark Kac
1974
5/81
Marxist Biology Curriculum
1940
5/82
Review, by R. Easterling, of "On the Mathematics of Competing Risks," by Z.W. Birnbaum
1980
5/83-84
"Szukajac Birnbauma" ("Seeking Birnbaum"), by Wojbor Woyczynski
1998
5/85
Miscellaneous
1963-1992
Notebooks
Box/Folder
5/86
Notes, Anecdotes, and Information about Diaries
1938; 1988-1999, undated
5/87-89
Math Notes
1923-1937
Case Files
Box/Folder
5/90-92
Billboard Case, Washington State
1966-1968
6/1-8
Billboard Case, Worcester County, Maryland
1976
6/9-14
Loyalty Oath Case
1962-1967
Box/Folder
6/15
Address Books
1930s-1960s
6/16-17
Appointment Calendars
1980-1981; 1988-2000
6/18-20
Financial Documents
1937-1940
Legal Documents
Box/Folder
6/21
Last Will and Testament
1939
Box/Folder
6/22-23
Identification Documents
1930s-1990s
6/24
Academic Records
1928
folder:oversize
9
Diplomas
Subject Series
Box/Folder
6/25
80th birthday
1983
6/26
95th birthday
1998
6/27
Faculty position appointment
1940-1973
6/28
"Panem + Circencens"
1999
6/29
PKO (Pekao) Trading Corporation
1957-1962
7/1-2
Retirement
1974
7/3
Travel documents
1937
7/4
Typewriter test
undated
7/5-6
Universal Life Church ministry, wedding services
1974-1989
7/7-8
Washington Committee on Academic Freedom (opposition to the Canwell Committee)
1947-1948
Agenda
Box/Folder
7/9
University of Washington Faculty Senate
1967
Report
Box/Folder
7/10
University of Washington Committee on Departmental Democracy
undated
Awards
Box/Folder
7/11
Wilks Award medal
1985
Box/Folder
7/12
Announcements
1950
7/13
Certificates
1921-1942; 1976
Newsletters
Box/Folder
7/14
Amstat News
1984
Photographs
Box/Folder
8/1
Photocopies of transferred photos
1950-1991, undated
Box/Folder
8/2
Programs
1947
8/3
Clippings
1948-1994
8/4
Miscellany
1939-1950

Hilde Merzbach Birnbaum Papers, 1933-1950Return to Top

Hilde Merzbach Birnbaum (b. Feb. 2, 1909, d. Aug. 12, 2003) grew up and studied law in Frankfurt, Germany. She was in London in the summer of 1931 on an internship in a solicitor's office, when the Nazi party won control of the German Reichstag. Despite misgivings, she returned to Germany after the internship at the insistence of her family. While serving as an intern in a German court she recognized that, as a woman and a Jew, she would never be able to practice law in Germany. She emigrated to London with her sister on March 31, 1933, on the eve of the Anti-Jewish Boycott. Her parents eventually realized the need to leave Germany and joined Hilde's sister in Seattle. As pre-war tensions were rising in London in 1939, Hilde was offered a position as director of her employer's Brazilian subsidiary but decided to join her family in Seattle instead. In 1940 Hilde married Z.W. Birnbaum. She obtained a master's degree in economics from the University of Washington and became a teaching assistant with prospects for a full time position. After she was notified that the university's nepotism rules prohibited her and her husband from holding positions at the university at the same time, however, Mrs. Birnbaum taught at Seattle area community colleges and became the chairwoman of the economics department at Bellevue Community College.

The bulk of the Hilde Merzbach Birnbaum subgroup consists of her correspondence (in German) prior to meeting Z.W. Birnbaum. There are also a few short essays, and material related to a legal conference.

Container(s) Description Dates
General Correspondence
Box/Folder
8/5-6
Bauer, Lothar
1937-1939
8/7
Feuchtwanger, Alfred
1936-1937
8/8
von Leithner, Baron Otto
1937-1938
8/9
Lindemann, Max
1934-1938
8/10
Merzbach, Richard
1940-1943
8/11-12
Steger, A.
1937-1938
8/13
University of Washington
1949
8/14-16
Miscellaneous
1933-1938
8/17
Unidentified
1935; 1938
Writings
Box/Folder
8/18
"Is There a Secret to Hitler's Success?"
1938-1939
8/18
"Entering a New World"
1938-1939
8/18
"Victoria, B.C."
1938-1939
Box/Folder
8/19
Financial Records
1937
Subject Series
Box/Folder
8/20
Law Papers and International Law Conference
1938
Box/Folder
8/21
Miscellaneous
1937-1938; 1948-1950

UW Senate, Committee to Study Annuities and RetirementReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
8/22
General Correspondence
1940; 1947

Institute of Mathematical and Statistical ResearchReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
8/23
Outgoing Correspondence
1938

Institute of Mathematical StatisticsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
8/24
Miscellany
1943-1968
Institute of Mathematical Statistics, Advisory Committee on Physical Facilities for Meetings
Box/Folder
8/25-27
General Correspondence
Correspondents include Leo Katz, George Nicholson, and David L. Wallace.
1955-1970

American Association of University Professors, UW ChapterReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
8/28
General Correspondence
1946
8/28
Bulletins
1944-1946
8/28
Reports
1946

Oral History, 1996Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
cassette
1005
Interview with Robin Hamilton
February 1996
1006
Interview with Robin Hamilton
April 1996

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Jewish college teachers--Washington (State)--Seattle--Archives
  • Jews--Washington (State)--Seattle--Archives
  • Loyalty oaths--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Mathematical statistics--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Mathematicians--Washington (State)--Seattle--Archives
  • Mathematics teachers--Washington (State)--Seattle--Archives
  • Mathematics--Study and teaching (Higher)--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Refugees, Jewish--United States
  • Statisticians--Washington (State)--Seattle--Archives
  • University Archives/Faculty Papers (University of Washington)
  • World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Europe
  • World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Rescue

Personal Names

  • Altbach, Jozia
  • Bauer, Lothar
  • Berger, Jacob, 1908-
  • Berger, Rita, 1912-
  • Bernstein, Felix, 1878-1956
  • Birnbaum, Franciszka
  • Birnbaum, Hilde Merzbach, 1909-2003--Archives
  • Birnbaum, Ignacy
  • Birnbaum, Lina
  • Birnbaum, Zygmund William, 1903-2000--Archives
  • Bloch, Maurycy
  • Bories, Rosa
  • Hotelling, Harold, 1895-1973
  • Isserman, Alexander
  • Katz, Leo
  • Lederer, Ruth K
  • Lindemann, Max
  • Lomnicki, Z. A. (Zbigniew Alexander), 1904-
  • Manelska, Ala
  • Neyman, Jerzy, 1894-
  • Rubel, Ludwik
  • Schaerf, Henry M., 1907-
  • Steinhaus, Hugo, 1887-1972
  • Woyczýnski, W. A. (Wojbor Andrzej), 1943-

Corporate Names

  • Institute of Mathematical Statistics

Geographical Names

  • Washington (State)--Emigration and immigration

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names
    • University of Washington. University Archives