Oskar Becker was born in Leipzig on 5 September 1887. In 1908/1909, he studied physics, chemistry and psychology in Oxford, followed by mathematics, theoretical physics and philosophy in Leipzig and Freiburg. He earned his doctorate in Leipzig in 1914. His habilitation (post-doctoral qualification) was finished in 1922 under Edmund Husserl, whose assistant he was along with Martin Heidegger. In 1931, Becker was appointed to a professorship at the University of Bonn, which he held until his retirement. He died in Bonn on 13 November 1964.
Oskar Becker is best known as a historian of mathematics. His contributions to basic research in mathematics, to the establishment of modal logic and to geometry are equally as important. Becker is considered to be one of the intellectual fathers of the Erlangen or methodical school of constructivism.
The collection encompasses 52 folders containing 180 sheets each that have all been catalogued (Search the collections) They are mostly composed of papers and lecture manuscripts as well as other notes. The only correspondence of note that Becker maintained was with Paul Lorenzen.