Yourgrau, Wolfgang.

Wolfgang H.J. Yourgrau (1908-1979) served as Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Denver, Denver, Colo. He was associated with the University from 1963-1978. He also served as Chair of the Philosophy Dept. and was a member of the History Dept. He earned his Ph. D. in physics from Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany in 1932. During the World War II, Yourgrau edited an anti-fascist German-language weekly, The Orient. He earned the Einstein Medal in 1970 for his work in the field of general relativity. He was editor of Foundations of Physics, an international periodical he founded with Henry Margenau, Yale physicist and spectroscopy expert.

From the description of Wolfgang Yourgrau papers, 1942-1979. (University of Denver, Penrose Library). WorldCat record id: 49495644

Wolfgang Yourgrau was born on November 14, 1908, in Kattawitz, Germany, near Berlin. He attended Berlin's Humboldt University, studying theoretical physics, mathematics, and biology. After graduating, Yourgrau stayed at Humboldt to pursue a Ph.D. in physics, which he earned in 1932. While in Berlin, he also studied under Albert Einstein.

With the Nazi rise to power in 1933, Yourgrau's staunchly anti-fascist position made him a target for harassment, so he fled Germany and was permitted to enter Palestine as a political refugee. In Palestine Dr. Yourgrau lectured widely for the Jewish Federation of Labor while holding several teaching posts. In 1942 British authorities granted Yourgrau a license to publish The Orient, an independent German-language weekly that endeavored to quash "every fascist movement, every attempt to restrict the right of free expression...." The periodical was forced to cease operations when it encountered threats, boycotts, and the destruction of its office space. Undeterred by the violence, Yourgrau sought a more active role in the fight against the Axis powers, so he began editing German publications and broadcasts for the British government.

After the war, Yourgrau resumed his academic career as Head of the Department of Logic and Scientific Method at Jerusalem's School of Higher Studies. In 1948 he married Thella Garber and emigrated to South Africa, where he taught at several universities. The Yourgraus moved to the United States in 1959.

In 1963 Dr. Yourgrau left his position as Chair of the Department of History and Science at Smith College to accept a permanent post as Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Denver. He later served as the Chair of the Philosophy Department at DU and was with the School's History Department before retiring in 1978.

Dr. Yourgrau was prolific as a scholar, contributing dozens of journal articles and reviews, lecturing internationally, and producing several monographs. Among his best known books are Variational Principles in Dynamics and Quantum Theory (1961) and A Treatise on Irreversible and Statistical Thermophysics (1966). In 1969 Yourgrau, together with Henry Margenau, started the international journal Foundations of Physics, which Yourgrau continued to edit until his death on July 18, 1979.

Professor Yourgrau, once a student of Albert Einstein's in Berlin, was awarded the prestigious Einstein Medal in 1970 by the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation.

From the guide to the Wolfgang Yourgrau papers, 1942-1979, (Special Collections and Archives, Penrose Library, University of Denver, 2150 E. Evans Ave., Denver, CO 80208)