Charles A.J. Vlek sat down and brought his memories of SPUDM onto paper.

Historical development of SPUDM 1969-1997: Research Conference on Subjective Probability, Utility and Decision Making

Abstract
The start-up in 1969 and the next 28 years are described of the international research conference on Subjective Probability, Utility and Decision Making, whose 23rd biennial manifestation took place in London, August 2011. SPUDM began in Hamburg on April 10-12, 1969, as a Research Conference on Subjective Probability and Related Fields. It adopted its current name at the third conference in Uxbridge, UK. As a distinctly European response to the growing literature, SPUDM was just another expression of the big wave of research interests in decision models, methods and processes, which rolled on in the 1950s and 1960s. A description is given of SPUDM’s inception around 1969 and its thriving development since then. The important role of Ward Edwards’ early decision-theoretic reviews is highlighted, as are the inspiring roles of Bruno De Finetti and Masanao Toda. SPUDM’s gradual expansion and differentiation are discussed, and its thematic developments between 1969 and 1997 are surveyed. Typical quotations are given and some pictures of SPUDM inspirators and activists are provided. A postscript anno 2012 gives a more distant look back on later developments, and some suggestions for SPUDM in its fifth decade.

Locations, Programs and Members of the Organizing Committees of SPUDM Conferences through the years:

Thanks to the following people who helped putting this list and the conference programs together up to 2011: Tommy Gärling, Oswald Huber, Helmut Jungermann, Eugenie Kalteis, Judith Kas, Pieter Koele, John Maule, Henry Montgomery, Joop van der Pligt, Joanna Sokolowska, Barbara Summers, Gaëlle Villejoubert