Wei-Liang Chow papers

Collection

Identifier: MS-0762

Staff Only

Content Description

This collection includes some of the professional papers of Professor Chow, including: typed letters to and from the mathematician; as well as typed, sometimes handwritten, drafts of some of his essays. The papers range from 1948 to 1995, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1940s and 1950s.

Dates

1946 - 1995

Creator

Chow, Wei-liang, 1911-1995 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is housed off-site and requires 48-hours' notice for retrieval. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Collection is open for use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright.

Biographical / Historical

Wei-Liang Chow (1911-1995), known as Chow Wei-Liang in the Chinese tradition, was a mathematician renowned for his breakthroughs in algebraic geometry. Born in Shanghai, he studied in the United States, first graduating from the University of Chicago with Bachelor's and Master's degrees by 1932, and a PhD from the University of Leipzig in 1936. In Leipzig he co-authored papers on intersection theory and what is now known as the "Chow coordinates." At this time he married his wife Margot Victor, with whom they had three daughters. Later, he taught at National Central University in Nanking from 1936 to 1937 and at the Shanghai campus from 1946 to 1947, with a decade long break in his academic career due to World War II. He returned to mathematics as a Visiting Member (1947-1948) of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He capped his career by becoming a professor in the mathematics department at Johns Hopkins University in 1948, and retiring in 1977.

Source: http://www.ams.org/notices/199610/chow.pdf (accessed April 2017)

Extent

0.57 Cubic Feet (2 letter-size document boxes)

Language of Materials

Chinese

English

French

German

Additional Description

Abstract

Wei-Liang Chow (1911-1995), known as Chow Wei-Liang in the Chinese tradition, was a Johns Hopkins University professor and mathematician, renowned for his breakthroughs in algebraic geometry. This collection includes some of the professional papers of Professor Chow, including typed letters to and from the mathematician, as well as typed, sometimes handwritten, drafts of some of his essays. The papers range from 1948 to 1995, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1940s and 1950s.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of the original acquisition is unknown, but the holding came to Special Collection in the academic year of 2006-2007. It may have been donated by Chow's family or transferred from the Mathematics Department at Johns Hopkins University. Additional correspondence was donated in April 2021 by Professor Bernard Shiffman.