Last updated: 01.10.2005.

About Some Bulgarian and American Archive Documents

Highlighting G. Maneff’s Academic Career

Nikolina Sretenova

(Resume)

The founder and the first holder of the chair of theoretical physics at Sofia University – Georgi Ivanoff Maneff had an uneasy career in science, especially in the Bulgarian context of building an academic career at the first half of the 20^th C.

The aim of this paper is to highlight some key events of G. Maneff’s academic promotion as follows:

1. the competition for the position of extraordinary professor in theoretical physics in 1925;

2. The competition for the position of full professor in theoretical physics in 1930;

3. G. Maneff’s opportunities for specialization abroad.

These key events of G. Maneff’s academic career are important not only for tracing his path in science, but they are also indicative for the mentality of the Bulgarian scientific community from the 1930s in a broader socio-cultural context.

A particular focus is put on the relationship of G. Maneff with K. Popoff (mathematician) and R. Zaykoff (physicist theorist). The triangle “Maneff - Popoff - Zaykoff” is of special interest, because the authority of A. Einstein became purposely and deliberately involved in it, in order to serve as “a scientific judge” and arbiter to the emergent local controversies and to settle the complicated situations and tensions.

The paper is based on the documents from two primary sources: G. Maneff’s files kept at the Bulgarian State Archives and A. Einstein’s Archives in USA.

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