Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 October 2008
The publication of the hundredth volume of a learned journal is surely an appropriate excuse for a mild outbreak of retrospective self-congratulation, even if (as in the present case) the occasion does not coincide with any particular anniversary in the history of the journal. With this in mind, the Editorial Committee of Mathematical Proceedings have commissioned a number of survey articles by distinguished mathematicians, which will appear in this and the following two parts of volume 100; the purpose of this editorial is to sketch in the historical background and to introduce the survey articles.
† Unfortunately, the article by Birkhoff will not be ready in time for inclusion in volume 100, but we hope to publish it as soon as possible thereafter.