Oskar Morgenstern
Life and Work
- 24. Januar 1902
- 26. Juli 1977
- Generation 4
Stations
- 1920–1925Studies in Political Science— inferred
Studied political science in Vienna and, while still a student, became an assistant to Hans Mayer.
- 1923Assistant to Hans Mayer— approximate
From 1923, assistant at the Chair of Political Economy under Hans Mayer at the University of Vienna.[8]
- 1925–1928Rockefeller Fellowship
A three-year Rockefeller research fellowship trip to American and European universities.[1]
- 1929Habilitation with “Wirtschaftsprognose” (Economic Forecasting)
Completed his Habilitation in 1929 with “Wirtschaftsprognose: Eine Untersuchung ihrer Voraussetzungen und Möglichkeiten” (Economic Forecasting: An Investigation of Its Preconditions and Possibilities) in Vienna.[1]
- 1929–1938Teaching in Vienna
He taught at the University of Vienna until 1938. A staff member and later the successor of Friedrich August von Hayek at the Austrian Institute for Business Cycle Research; editor of the Zeitschrift für Nationalökonomie, board member of the Nationalökonomische Gesellschaft (the Austrian Economic Association), adviser to the National Bank and the Ministry of Trade, and a participant in the Mises Private Seminar.
- 1930–1938Editor of the Zeitschrift für Nationalökonomie
Editor of the “Zeitschrift für Nationalökonomie” from 1930 until his forced emigration in 1938.[1]
- 1931–1938Director of the Institute for Business Cycle Research
As Friedrich August von Hayek's successor, he directed the Austrian Institute for Business Cycle Research in Vienna from 1931 to 1938.[1]
- 1938Emigration to the United States
In the course of the Anschluss to Hitler's Germany in 1938, he was dismissed as institute director and lost his teaching licence. He emigrated to the United States and settled at Princeton University.[1]
- 1938–1970Professorship at Princeton
Professor at Princeton University from 1938 until his retirement in 1970; from 1944 also working in close collaboration with John von Neumann at the Institute for Advanced Study.[1]
- 1944"Theory of Games and Economic Behavior"
Together with the mathematician John von Neumann, he published the ground-breaking "Theory of Games and Economic Behavior".[1]
- 1944Marriage to Dorothy Young; US Citizenship
Married Dorothy Young in 1944; acquired US citizenship the same year.[9]
- 1963Co-initiator of the IHS
In 1963, together with others, he initiated the founding of the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) in Vienna and took on a role on its academic advisory board.
- 1970–1977Professorship at New York University
After becoming emeritus at Princeton in 1970, he moved to New York University and taught there until his death in 1977.[1]
- 1976Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold— approximate
Received in 1976 the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria.[1]
Influences
- 1925–1925
Already during his studies, became an assistant to Hans Mayer at the Chair of Political Economy of the University of Vienna and received his doctorate under him in 1925.[1]
- —
Strigl pragte laut mises.org-Strigl-Biographie die Denker der vierten Wiener Generation – Hayek, Haberler, Machlup, Morgenstern – als Lehrer wie kaum ein anderer; seine systematische Expositionsweise war im Hörsaal prägend.[4]
- —Lionel W. McKenzie(1919–2010) · US-Neoklassik
Lionel W. McKenzie wird in der Wikipedia-EN-Infobox als Doktorand Morgensterns aufgeführt.[10]
- —Martin Shubik(1926–2018) · Spieltheorie
Martin Shubik wird in der Wikipedia-EN-Infobox als Doktorand Morgensterns geführt; promovierte an der Princeton University in den 1950er-Jahren.[11]
- 1920–1934
Fellow participant in the Mises-Privatseminar in Vienna.
- 1929–1934
Both participants in the Mises-Privatseminar; at the same time predecessor and successor at the head of the Konjunkturforschungsinstitut (Hayek until 1931, Morgenstern 1931-38).[5]
- 1929–1934
Beide Teilnehmer am Mises-Privatseminar; mises.org-Liste führt Machlup und Morgenstern als regelmäßige Teilnehmer.[5]
- 1929–1934
Haberler held his courses at the University of Vienna partly jointly with Oskar Morgenstern.[5]
- 1929–1938
Participant in the Mises-Privatseminar in Vienna as a member of the inner circle of the Austrian School.[5]
- 1930–1938
Co-editor of the “Zeitschrift für Nationalökonomie” with Oskar Morgenstern; joint dissemination of Austrian-economic ideas.[7]
- 1944–1944John von Neumann(1903–1957) · Spieltheorie / Wiener Kreis (Mathematik)
Publizierte 1944 gemeinsam mit dem Mathematiker John von Neumann die bahnbrechende „Theory of Games and Economic Behaviour" – Geburtsstunde der Spieltheorie.[1]
- —
Morgenstern was in lively correspondence with Kauder and encouraged his history-of-science work on the history of marginalism.[6]
Oskar Morgenstern in the context of the School as a whole: five generations, their teacher-student lineages, circles and collegial ties.
Show in the family tree →SOURCES ON STATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS27 citations · 5 sources
- [1]NDB: Morgenstern, Oskar · 14×
Places of Activity
The Books
- The Limits of EconomicsOriginalEnglish
- Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, 2nd. ed., revised and enlarged [with John von Neumann]OriginalEnglish
- On the Accuracy of Economic Observations1950OriginalEnglish
- Über die Genauigkeit Wirtschaftlicher Beobachtungen1952OriginalGerman
- Über die Genauigkeit Wirtschaftlicher Beobachtungen, 2., völig neu bearbeitete und erweiterte Auflage1965OriginalGerman
Essays, Reviews, Lectures
- APA
- Oskar Morgenstern. (n.d.). Edited by mises.at and scholarium. Accessed July 17, 2026, from https://mises.at/en/denker/oskar-morgenstern
- Chicago
- “Oskar Morgenstern.” n.d. Edited by mises.at and scholarium. Accessed July 17, 2026. https://mises.at/en/denker/oskar-morgenstern.
- German historical style
- Oskar Morgenstern, edited by mises.at and scholarium, https://mises.at/en/denker/oskar-morgenstern (accessed July 17, 2026).