John W. Addison Jr. ’51

John was born in Ann Arbor, Mich. He came to Princeton after graduating from Phillips Academy. He majored in mathematics, was a member of Court Club and Whig-Clio, served on the senior board of The Daily Princetonian, and graduated with military honors. He roomed with Ted Holmes.

After college, John obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin. He was also a member of the Institute for Advanced Study and a guest of the Mathematical Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. Ultimately John went to UC Berkeley, where he taught for more than 30 years and was the chair of the mathematics department. His research focused on theory of definability, descriptive set theory, model theory, and recursive function theory.

John died March 7, 2025. He was predeceased by his wife, Mary Ann; and is survived by his four sons West ’84, Thomas, Alonzo ’87, and Samuel.