Oswald Veblen

Oswald Veblen in 1915

Oswald Veblen (1880 – 1960) was an American mathematician whose work found application in atomic physics. The nephew of economist Thorstein Veblen, Osvald Veblen taught mathematics at Princeton University beginning in 1905. In 1932, he helped organize the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.

Although the Institute was originally slated to be in Newark, Veblen made the case that it should be located in Princeton, where it could benefit from synergy with the university. Veblen became the Institute's first faculty member, followed by Albert Einstein. Veblen resigned his professorship at Princeton to remain at the Institute until his retirement in 1950, and he helped choose subsequent Institute faculty such as John von Neumann. During its first three years, the Institute was located on the Princeton University campus in Old Fine Hall, along with the Princeton University mathematics department.

In 1957, Veblen and his wife, Elizabeth M D Richardson, donated 82 acres of land along the Princeton ridge to establish Herrontown Woods, a nature preserve in Princeton, NJ. As of 2022, the Veblen house on that property is undergoing renovation towards being preserved as a community resource.