Biographical/Historical Information

Uta Merzbach was born on February 9, 1933 in Berlin, Germany to Ludwig Merzbach, an economist, and Margaret Merzbach, a philologist. Ludwig Merzbach worked for the Reich Association of Jews in Germany, which was closed by the Nazis in 1943, and the Merzbach family was sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp on August 4, 1943. After surviving Theresienstadt, Ludwig, Margaret, and Uta lived in the Deggendorf Displaced Persons Camp in Deggendorf, Germany for a year, later emigrating to the United States and settling in Georgetown, Texas in 1946. In Texas, Ludwig Merzbach became an economics professor at Southwestern University.

Uta completed her bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1952, followed by a master’s degree in mathematics in 1954, both from the University of Texas at Austin, and a PhD in mathematics from Harvard University in 1965. In 1964, Uta became the Associate Curator of Mathematical Instruments at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, where she was eventually promoted to the position of Curator. She remained in this position until 1988, after which she wrote and authored books about the history of mathematics. Uta Merzbach died in Georgetown, Texas in 2017.

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K.L. Terezin badge, Leo Baeck Institute, 2025.74.