Years ago

The continuous increase in the number of members attending the congresses, as well as the consistently high number of different nationalities represented, meant that the congresses did, as the original organisers had hoped, provide opportunities for encouraging cooperation. The establishment of various international commissions shows that such cooperation did indeed take place. It was as a result of action initiated at the congresses that the publication of Euler’s works finally began; the publication of the first five volumes had been completed by the time of the Cambridge congress. The congresses were not so successful in their treatment of the questions of bibliography and terminology. No real progress was made, and no up-to-date international bibliographical journal appeared untilZentralblatt in 1931 andMathematical Reviews in 1940. But the congresses were conspicuously successful in giving a view both of the current state and historical development of mathematics, Hilbert’s paper in Paris being a prime example. The plenary lectures were especially valuable, even though it took until Rome to establish a balanced set of sectional meetings. In only 15 years, mathematicians did well at promoting mathematics as an international activity.