ICM Trivia | The first letter is unforgettable
This was the invitation letter for the first International Congress of Mathematicians, in Zurich, 1897. It was the starting point of the long history of 28 congresses held over the last 120 years.
The letter reflects all the hopes that were associated with the idea of bringing together mathematicians from all over the world.
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All invitations were personally delivered to 2,000 mathematicians and physicists, in German or French, by representatives of the organizing committee. Important mathematicians of the time signed the invitation letter for the first ICM, such as Luigi Cremona, Felix Klein, Magnus Mittag-Leffler, and Henri Poncaré.