Thursday, October 17

Stolen, chopped into more than 200 pieces and analyzed, this is how Albert Einstein's brain ended

Mientras se analizaba la causa de la muerte de Albert Einstein, una autopsia extrajo el cerebro del genio, sin el permiso de su familia.
While the cause of Albert Einstein’s death was being analyzed, an autopsy removed the brain of the genius, without the permission of his family.

Photo: Keystone / Getty Images

When Albert Einstein was rushed to the hospital in 1955, knew that his end was near, but the famous German physicist of 76 years old he was ready and clearly informed his doctors that he was not I wanted to receive medical attention.

Einstein died of an abdominal aortic aneurysm on 18 April 1955, let a legacy like no other. The frizzy-haired scientist had become an icon of the 20th century, befriending Charlie Chaplin, escaping Nazi Germany as authoritarianism loomed, and pioneering an entirely new model of physics.

Einstein was so revered, in fact, that only hours after his death, his inimitable brain was stolen from his corpse and remained hidden in a jar in a doctor’s house.

After years of tutoring children, the father of a lifelong friend recommended Einstein for a clerk position at a patent office in Bern. The job provided him with the security Einstein needed to marry his longtime girlfriend, with whom he had two children. Meanwhile, Einstein continued to formulate theories about the universe in his spare time.

Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gourion visits Albert Einstein at Princeton University in 1951. (AFP via Getty Images)

The physics community initially ignored him, but he made a name for himself by attending lectures and international meetings. Finally, in 1915, completed his general theory of relativity, and thus became a thinker praised throughout the world, rubbing shoulders with academics and celebrities from Hollywood alike.

When World War I broke out, Einstein publicly opposed Germany’s nationalist fervor. Later, as World War II brewed, Einstein and his second wife, Elsa Einstein, immigrated to the United States to avoid persecution by the Nazis. In 1932, the growing Nazi movement had described Einstein’s theories as “Jewish physics” and the country denounced his work.

In his last day, Einstein was busy writing a speech for a television appearance commemorating the seventh anniversary of the State of Israel when he experienced an abdominal aortic aneurysm, a condition during which the body’s main blood vessel becomes too large and bursts. Einstein had experienced a condition like this before and had it surgically repaired in 1948. But this time, he refused surgery.

Photo taken on June 6, 1915 at Princeton University from physicist Albert Einstein, author of the theory of relativity, and Dr. Frank Aydelotte, president of Swarthmore University. (AFP via Getty Images)

When Albert Einstein died, some speculated that the cause of his death might have been related to a case of syphilis. However, no evidence of syphilis was found in Einstein’s body or brain in the autopsy that followed his death.

Hours after his death, the doctor who performed the autopsy on the corpse of one of the most brilliant men in the world extracted his brain and took it away home without the permission of Einstein’s family.

His name was Dr. Thomas Harvey , and was convinced that it was necessary to study Einstein’s brain, since he was one of the most intelligent men in the world. Even though Einstein had written instructions to be cremated upon death, his son Hans finally gave Dr. Harvey his blessing, because he evidently also believed in the importance of studying the mind of a genius.

Harvey meticulously photographed the brain and cut it into 150 chunks, some of which he sent to other researchers, and one tried to give it to Einstein’s granddaughter in the years 90, but she refused.

About 1921: Albert Einstein and his wife Elsa. (Keystone/Getty Images)

In 1985, published an article about Einstein’s brain, in which he claimed that it actually looked different from the average brain and therefore functioned differently. However, later studies have refuted these theories, although some researchers maintain that Harvey’s work was correct.

Meanwhile, Harvey lost his medical license due to incompetence at 1988.

Keep reading:

  • 1906: the earthquake that almost destroyed everything San Francisco
  • The famous wedding of the Prince Rainier III of Monaco and the glamorous actress, Grace Kelly
  • Operation Praying Mantis: the most important naval attack since World War II