Mathematics Without Borders

At its meeting in April 1990 at the University of Cambridge, the Executive Committee of the International Mathematical Union (IMU) decided that the largely unorganized archives of the Union should be properly arranged and catalogued. Simultaneously, the Executive Committee expressed the wish that a history of the Union should be written [1). As Secretary of the Union, I had proposed that these issues be dis cussed at the Cambridge meeting, but without having had in mind any personal role in the practical execution of such projects. At that time, the papers of the IMU were stored in Zurich, at the Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule, and I saw no reason why they could not remain there. At about this time, Professor K. Chandrasekharan produced a handwritten article titled "The Prehistory of the International Mathematical Union" [2), and it seemed to me that this might serve as the beginning of a more compre hensive history. I had first thought that Tuulikki MakeUiinen, who during eight years as the Office Secretary ofthe IMU had become well acquainted with the Union, would do the arranging of the archives in Zurich. She had a preliminary look at the material there, but it soon became clear that the amount of work required to bring order to it was too great to be accomplished in a few short visits from Helsinki. The total volume of material was formidable.

This volume presents the story of how ideas of the global cultivation of mathematics, across national borders, gradually began to take shape a century ago and how these ideas developed, amidst political difficulties and serious setbacks, into a fruitful worldwide cooperative effort under the aegis of the IMU. The author hopes that this history will improve understanding of the important role the Union has played in the promotion of mathematics throughout the world and that the record of past events might serve as a guide for the future.

1 Prologue to the History of the IMU.- 1.1 Ideas of International Mathematical Cooperation Awaken.- 1.2 Formation of Institutionalized Congresses in.- 1.3 International Mathematical Activities Before World War I.- 1.4 Politics Enters into International Cooperation in Science.- 2 The Old IMU (1920-1932).- 2.1 The Foundation of the IMU in the Aftermath of World War I.- 2.2 Mounting Opposition Against the IMU's Policy of Exclusion.- 2.3 Transformation of the International Research Council into the International Council of Scientific Unions.- 2.4 The IMU Separates from the Congresses.- 2.5 The IMU Adrift.- 2.6 Suspension of the IMU.- 3 Mathematical Cooperation Without the IMU (1933-1939).- 3.1 The Fields Medals.- 3.2 Collaboration in Mathematical Education.- 3.3 A Failed Attempt to Found a New IMU.- 3.4 The Oslo Congress in.- 4 Foundation of the New IMU (1945-1951) 73.- 4.1 American Declaration of Universality.- 4.2 Preparation of the IMU Statutes.- 4.3 The Rebirth of the IMU.- 4.4 ICM-1950 at Harvard: American Tour de Force.- 5 The IMU Takes Shape (1952-1954).- 5.1 The First General Assembly in Rome in.- 5.2 The Secretariat of the IMU.- 5.3 Starting the IMU's Activities.- 5.4 ICMI Becomes Attached to the Union.- 5.5 The 1954 General Assembly in the Netherlands.- 5.6 ICM-1954 in Amsterdam: Comeback of the Old World.- 6 Expansion of the IMU (1955-1958) 121.- 6.1 Membership of Socialist Countries.- 6.2 The Chinese Problem Emerges.- 6.3 The World Directory of Mathematicians.- 6.4 Extension of Mathematical Activities.- 7 The IMU and International Congresses (1958-1962).- 7.1 The 1958 General Assembly in Scotland.- 7.2 ICM-1958 in Edinburgh.- 7.3 Why Organize Large ICMs?.- 7.4 The IMU Becomes a Partner of the ICMs.- 7.5 The 1962 General Assembly in Sweden.- 7.6 ICM-1962 in Stockholm: An IMU Breakthrough.- 8 Consolidation of the IMU (1963-1970).- 8.1 The USSR Hosts the 1966 General Assembly.- 8.2 ICM-1966 in Moscow: East and West Meet.- 8.3 The 1970 General Assembly in France.- 8.4 ICM-1970 in Nice.- 9 North-South and East-West Connections (1971-1978).- 9.1 New Programs and Trends.- 9.2 The 1974 General Assembly in Canada.- 9.3 ICM-1974 in Vancouver: Disagreement About the Program.- 9.4 How to Make an ICM.- 9.5 The 1978 General Assembly in Finland.- 9.6 ICM-1978 in Helsinki.- 10 Politics Interferes with the IMU (1979-1986).- 10.1 The IMU and the Soviet National Committee.- 10.2 Martial Law in the Host Country of the Congress.- 10.3 The 1982 General Assembly in Poland.- 10.4 ICM-1983 in Warsaw: Mathematics Above Politics.- 10.5 The 1986 Presidential Election.- 10.6 China Joins the IMU.- 11 The IMU and Related Organizations.- 11.1 The IMU as a Member of ICSU.- 11.2 ICMI as a Subcommission of the IMU.- 11.3 Commission on Development and Exchange.- 11.4 Problems in Africa.- 11.5 The IMU and the History of Mathematics.- 11.6 The IMU and Applied Mathematics.- 12 The IMU in a Changing World (1986-1990).- 12.1 The 1986 General Assembly in California.- 12.2 ICM-1986 at Berkeley.- 12.3 Japan Hosts the 1990 General Assembly.- 12.4 ICM-1990 in Kyoto.- 12.5 World Mathematical Year 2000.- 1 Members of the IMU.- 2 General Assemblies of the IMU.- 3 Executive Committees of the IMU.- 4 Meetings of the IMU Executive Committees.- 5 Central Committees of the International Commission on the Teaching of Mathematics.- 6 Executive Committees of ICMI.- 7 Commissions on Development and Exchange.- 8 International Congresses of Mathematicians.- 9 Fields Medals.- 10 Rolf Nevanlinna Prizes.- 11 Union Lectures.- 12 Finances.- 13 Archives (as of June 1996).- Notes.