Personal papers of G. Baley Price
Overview
G. Baley Price, named the first E.B. Stouffer Distinguished Professor of Mathematics in 1974, was a professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Kansas from 1937 to 1975. The collection spans his college years in Mississippi and graduate work at Harvard University, and his career at several universities, including the University of Kansas, his service as a civilian with the U.S. Army Eighth Air Force during World War II, and his service to many professional associations and societies, as well as documenting the recognition he received from each of these bodies. Also in the collection are several items associated with his wife, Cora Lee Beers Price; correspondence saved by Price's mother Lucie Baley Price; and a small collection from J. Barkley Rosser, a colleague and friend, who worked closely with G. Baley to document the work of mathematicians in World War II.
Dates
- Creation: 1893 - 2007
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
No access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
Biography of G. Baley Price
Griffith Baley Price was born March 14, 1905, in Brookhaven, Mississippi. He received his A.B. from Mississippi College in 1925 and his A.M. and Ph.D. from Harvard in 1928 and 1932 respectively. While studying for his A.M. at Harvard, he was a Townsend Scholar.
Upon earning his Ph.D., Price taught at both Mississippi College and Harvard University, then at Union College (N.Y.), University of Rochester (N.Y.), and Brown University before arriving at the University of Kansas (KU) in 1937. Price was promoted to Professor in 1943 and named Chair of the Mathematics Department in 1951, a position he held until 1970.
From 1943 to 1945, Price was a civilian operations analyst for the Army Air Force, serving in the U.S. Army Eighth Air Force Operational Research Section helping to improve bombing accuracy. Upon his return, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1946-1947. In the 1950s he also served as a consultant to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Price was always at the cutting edge of mathematics research and education, and was instrumental in bringing the first computer to KU's campus in 1956. During the 1960s, he was a key developer of "New Math," which focused on using new theories, in combination with established practices, to find broader applications for mathematics in business and science. Price and several others compiled the first textbook for these classes, which pushed the level of mathematics education for new college students to a much higher level and was adopted at universities around the country.
Price and his wife, Cora Lee Beers Price, also a KU professor in the Department of Classics, remained involved with the University long after their retirements. G. Baley Price funded a graduate fellowship position with Spencer Research Library. Cora Lee Beers Price was named a KU Woman of Distinction. Both have professorships named in their honor.
Griffith Baley Price died in November 2006. Cora Lee Beers Price died in December 2004.
For additional biographical information, Dr. Price's autobiography is stored in the Papers series located at PP 362, box 1 of the collection.
Extent
34.5 Linear Feet (42 boxes + 2 oversize boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Contents
The original donation is divided into four series: Papers, Objects, Oversize Documents, and Library. The Papers section contains correspondence, manuscripts, video and audio tapes, photographs, and glass slides and is divided into the following headings: Personal, Education and Teaching, Professional Associations and Societies, Consulting Work Outside the U.S., World War II Experiences, and Videos. The Library section is divided into: Books Written by Price, Books Co-authored by Price, Committee and Society Publications, Society Histories, Catalogues and Bulletins of Colleges, World War II, and Mathematics Textbooks.
Additional papers donated at a later time are located at PP 523. This second location includes additional course notes from Baley's teaching; a history of the KU mathematics department; and, more substantively, correspondence between G. Baley Price's parents, Walter E. and Lucie Baley Price, as well as some of Lucie Baley Price's correspondence with her other family members, including to G. Baley Price while he was at Harvard.
Physical Location
PP 362
Physical Location
PP 523
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift, G. Baley and Cora Lee Price, 2002.
Processing Information
Some folders located at PP 523 are incorrectly labeled G. Bailey Price, instead of G. Baley Price.
Subject
- Price, Cora Lee Beers, 1908-2004 (Person)
- Rosser, J. Barkley (John Barkley), 1907-1989 (Person)
- United States. Army Air Forces. Operational Research Section, 8th (Organization)
- University of Kansas. Department of Mathematics -- History (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the G. Baley Price Collection
- Subtitle
- Personal papers of G. Baley Price
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by ad, 2006, brch, 2012. Finding aid encoded by ad, 2006; brch, 2012. Finding aid revised by haz, 2018; mwh, 2019.
- Date
- 2005
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in English.
- Sponsor
- Support for portions of the processing of this collection was provided by the G. Baley Price Graduate Student Fellowship Fund.
- Finding aid permalink
- http://hdl.handle.net/10407/4607508562
- Preferred citation
-
Personal papers of G. Baley Price, University Archives, PP 362, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository