Bell (Eric Temple) papers, 1918-1991

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Summary

Title:
Eric Temple Bell papers
Dates:
1918-1991
Creators:
Bell, Taine T. (Taine Temple), 1917-1995, Bell, Eric Temple, 1883-1960, and Bell, Janet S. (Janet Snelling), 1921-
Abstract:
This archive contains manuscripts, and typescripts for many of Bell's works both mathematical and science fiction. The archive also contains books authored by Bell and published in many languages (Turkish, German, Italian, Spanish, Italian, French, Yugoslavian, and Finnish); books from Bell's personal reference library; and books authored by contemporary science fiction authors and inscribed to Bell.
Extent:
10 Linear Feet 10 document boxes, 1 flat, 1 carton
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Eric Temple Bell Papers, MS 58, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Background

Scope and content:

This archive contains manuscripts, and typescripts for many of Bell's works both mathematical and science fiction. The archive also contains books authored by Bell and published in many languages (Turkish, German, Italian, Spanish, Italian, French, Yugoslavian, and Finnish); books from Bell's personal reference library; and books authored by contemporary science fiction authors and inscribed to Bell.

Biographical / historical:

Born: Feb.7,1883 in Aberdeen, Scotland
Died: Dec.21,1960 in Watsonville, California, USA

"The cowboys have a way of trussing up a steer or a pugnacious bronco which fixes the brute so that it can neither move nor think. This is the hog-tie, and it is what Euclid did to geometry." E.T. Bell, The Search For Truth

Eric Temple Bell although born and brought up in Scotland, lived from 1903 in the United States. He was educated at Stanford University and at the University of Washington. He received his doctorate from Columbia University in 1912 for the dissertation The Cyclotomic Quinary Quintic. His doctoral work was supervised by Frank Nelson Cole. Bell taught mathematics at the University of Washington from 1912 until 1926, when he was appointed professor of mathematics at the California Institute of Technology. Bell wrote several popular books on the history of mathematics. He also made contributions to analytic number theory, Diophantine analysis and numerical functions. The American Mathematical Society awarded him the Bocher Prize in 1924 for his memoir, Arithmetical Paraphrases, which appeared in the Transactions of the American Mathematical Society in 1921. Although he wrote 250 research papers, including the one which received the Bocher Prize, Bell is best remembered for his books, and therefore as an historian of mathematics. His books Algebraic Arithmetic (1927) and The Development of Mathematics, (1940) became classics. At a lower level he wrote books which included Men of Mathematics (1937) and Mathematics, Queen and Servant of Science (1951). Bell did not confine his writing to mathematics and he also wrote science fiction. Under his best-known pseudonym, John Taine, he authored the following science fiction titles:

  • The Cosmic Geoids [Fantasy Publishing Co. Inc., 1949] novel + story
  • The Crystal Horde [Fantasy, 1952]
  • a.k.a. White Lilly [Dover, 1966]
  • The Forbidden Garden [Fantasy, 1947]
  • G.O.G. 666 [Fantasy, 1954]
  • The Gold Tooth [Dutton, 1927; Burr, 1929]
  • The Greatest Adventure [Dutton, 1929; Ace; Dover]
  • Green Fire [Dutton, 1928; Fantasy Publishing Co. Inc., 19521
  • The Iron Star [Dutton, 1930; Fantasy Publishing Co. Inc., 1952; Hyperion]
  • Seeds of Life [Fantasy, 1951; Galaxy Novel #13; Dover]
  • The Time Stream [Buffalo, 1946; Dover; Garland, 1976]
  • Quayle's Invention [Dutton, 1927]
  • The Purple Sapphire [Dutton, 1924; Dover]
A. Broadbent described Bell and his writing in the following way:
"His style is clear and exuberant, his opinions, whether we agree with them or not, are expressed forcefully, often with humor and a little gentle malice. He was no uncritical hero-worshipper being as quick to mark the opportunity lost as the ground gained, so that from his books we get a vision of mathematics as a high activity of the questing human mind, often fallible, but always pressing on the never-ending search for mathematical truth".

References:

Gillispie, Charles Coulston. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. New York: Scribner,1970-1980.

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. "Bell, Eric Temple".[Accessed 22 October 1999].

Broadbent, A."Eric Temple Bell". Nature 4763, 1961.

Reid, Constance. The Search for E.T. Bell : also known as John Taine Washington D.C.: Mathematical Association of America, 1993.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Drs. Janet and Taine Bell in May 1969.
Arrangement:

The archive is arranged in three series: Manuscripts, Published Materials, and Hodgepodge.

Physical location:
Collection stored off-site at SLF-N: Advance notice is required for access.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Processed by UCSC OAC Unit
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-08-20 11:40:24 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the creators and their heirs. Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.

Preferred citation:

Eric Temple Bell Papers, MS 58, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Location of this collection:
Special Collections and Archives, University Library
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064, US
Contact:
(831) 459-2547
speccoll@library.ucsc.edu
Website