Jean van Heijenoort

Jean Louis Maxime van Heijenoort ( ; ; ; July 23, 1912 – March 29, 1986) was a French-Dutch historian of mathematical logic. He was also a personal secretary to Leon Trotsky from 1932 to 1939, and an American Trotskyist until 1947.

Life

Early life Jean van Heijenoort was born in 1912 in Creil, Oise, France, as a son of a working class family. His birthday is 23 July. He had a Dutch father ( 1885), a Dutch man who moved to France and a French mother ( 1887). They got married in 1910. According to French nationality law, Balagny became Dutch. Her husband died in September 1914 during World War I. Van Heijenoort must suffer the hateful emotion by French Chauvinism against people with a German or Dutch name. Van Heijenoort always was called as , "dirty German".

In 1949 the widow Balagny remarried; was her second husband. For this marriage, she restored her French nationality. A daughter was born. And Van Heijenoort spent several years with the mother's sister, also a widow, who had 2 daughters.

Death Van Heijenoort was murdered by his fourth wife Anne-Marie. When Van Heijenoort tried to divorce, Anne threatened to commit suicide. "Of course, she wants to kill me too", he said to a friend. In March 1986, he returned to Mexico City from Stanford. He was shot three times and Anne shot herself thereafter.

Personal life Van Heijenoort had children with two of his four wives. While living with Trotsky in Coyoacán, Van Heijenoort's first wife left him after an argument with Trotsky's spouse.

Van Heijenoort was also one of Frida Kahlo's lovers; in the film Frida, he is played by Felipe Fulop.

Selected works

Books which Van Heijenoort edited alone or with others: