Historian Cindy Srnka and naturalist Steve Hiltner present new research about Oswald Veblen, the mathematician and visionary who laid the groundwork for so much of what Princeton is today.
Without Oswald Veblen, Princeton would have no Institute for Advanced Study, no Institute Woods, no Old Fine Hall, no Herrontown Woods, and no Einstein. Steve Hiltner and historian Cindy Srnka team up to present new research on the behind the scenes influence Veblen, and later Einstein, had on the trajectory of Princeton and the Institute for Advanced Study.
In 1933, exiled from his home in Germany, Einstein had many options for where to live. Why he chose Princeton has much to do with Veblen’s leadership in building Princeton’s math department, and his founding vision for the Institute for Advanced Study. From Einstein’s first office in Old Fine Hall to meditative walks with brilliant colleagues at the Institute Woods–Veblen had been setting the stage for Einstein’s arrival since first coming to Princeton in 1905. Relevant to current events, the talk will touch on Veblen’s initiatives to find homes for many other European scholars displaced by the Nazis, and his founding role in integrating nature into Princeton’s intellectual and communal life.
This talk is being co-presented by the library and The Friends of Herrontown Woods as a prelude to Sunday’s staged concert performance of the new musical “Einstein's Begonia.”
About the Speakers:
Cindy Srnka is a museum educator and nonprofit leader committed to cultural advocacy, historical preservation, environmental education, and public engagement in museums and heritage sectors. She is dedicated to heritage conservation, nonprofit development, and educational programming. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she is currently on staff at the Historical Society of Princeton.
Steve Hiltner is a writer, musician, naturalist, actor, and president of the Friends of Herrontown Woods. Trained in botany and water quality, his interest in Oswald Veblen began with discovering the Veblens' house, boarded up and neglected in Princeton's first nature preserve. Steve has devoted the years since to restoring not only the preserve and house, but also the extraordinary and largely forgotten legacy of the Veblens. His historical research can be found at VeblenHouse.org.
Presented with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
