Philosophy
The Writer's Almanac...
It was on this day in 1933 that Albert Einstein officially moved to the United States to teach at Princeton University. He had been in California working as a visiting professor when Hitler took over as chancellor. His apartment in Berlin and his summer cottage in the country were raided, his papers confiscated, and his bank accounts closed. He returned to Europe and handed in his German passport, renouncing his citizenship. He considered offers from all over the world, including Paris, Turkey, and Oxford. Einstein eventually decided on Princeton, which offered him an attractive package teaching at its Institute for Advanced Study — but he had his hesitations about the university. For one thing, it had a clandestine quota system in place that only allowed a small percentage of the incoming class to be Jewish. The Institute's director, Abraham Flexner, was worried that Einstein would be too directly involved in Jewish refugee causes, so he micromanaged Einstein's public appearances, keeping him out of the public eye when possible. He even declined an invitation for Einstein to see President Roosevelt at the White House without telling the scientist. When Einstein found out, he personally called Eleanor Roosevelt and arranged for a visit anyway, and then complained about the incident in a letter to a rabbi friend of his, giving the return address as "Concentration Camp, Princeton." In 1938, incoming freshmen at Princeton ranked Einstein as the second-greatest living person; first place went to Adolf Hitler.
Albert Einstein House [Wikipedia]
- Einstein Quotes
Well, this is supposed to be the "ultimate" Einstein quotes edited by Alice Calaprice who is "...a renowned expert on Albert Einstein and was a longtime senior editor at Princeton University Press. She has worked with the Collected Papers of Albert Einstein...
- 14 Grand For An Einstein Letter
"Albert Einstein's letter on Nazis sold for $14,000" October 12th, 2011 BBC NEWS A 1939 letter from Albert Einstein warning of the "calamitous peril" to Jews posed by the Nazis has been sold at auction for nearly $14,000 (£9,000). The Nobel-winning...
- "a Brain Is A Terrible Thing To Lose"--al Gore
I might as well address this issue for it inevitably comes up in discussions about Einstein and that is the story of Einstein's brain. Einstein died on April 18th, 1955 at the age of seventy six in Princeton, New Jersey from heart failure. An autopsy...
- Some Einstein Artifacts
Einstein's Nobel medal "It will perhaps be pleasanter and more understandable if instead of making a speech I play the violin." "A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy." This is interesting--the only...
- Unusual Einstein Photographs
Here is a collection of not too often seen photographs of Einstein "Declaration of Intention" to become a U.S. citizen, January 15th, 1936. October 1st, 1940--Citizenship "Observatório Nacional", during Einstein's visit to Brazil, in 1925 Conrad...
Philosophy
Albert Einstein moves to Princeton University on this date
Dean Henry Burchard Fine of Princeton University and Albert Einstein in 1921
The Writer's Almanac...
It was on this day in 1933 that Albert Einstein officially moved to the United States to teach at Princeton University. He had been in California working as a visiting professor when Hitler took over as chancellor. His apartment in Berlin and his summer cottage in the country were raided, his papers confiscated, and his bank accounts closed. He returned to Europe and handed in his German passport, renouncing his citizenship. He considered offers from all over the world, including Paris, Turkey, and Oxford. Einstein eventually decided on Princeton, which offered him an attractive package teaching at its Institute for Advanced Study — but he had his hesitations about the university. For one thing, it had a clandestine quota system in place that only allowed a small percentage of the incoming class to be Jewish. The Institute's director, Abraham Flexner, was worried that Einstein would be too directly involved in Jewish refugee causes, so he micromanaged Einstein's public appearances, keeping him out of the public eye when possible. He even declined an invitation for Einstein to see President Roosevelt at the White House without telling the scientist. When Einstein found out, he personally called Eleanor Roosevelt and arranged for a visit anyway, and then complained about the incident in a letter to a rabbi friend of his, giving the return address as "Concentration Camp, Princeton." In 1938, incoming freshmen at Princeton ranked Einstein as the second-greatest living person; first place went to Adolf Hitler.
Joliot-Curie, Marie Curie's daughter and Einstein on the steps of the Mercer St. house
Albert Einstein House [Wikipedia]
- Einstein Quotes
Well, this is supposed to be the "ultimate" Einstein quotes edited by Alice Calaprice who is "...a renowned expert on Albert Einstein and was a longtime senior editor at Princeton University Press. She has worked with the Collected Papers of Albert Einstein...
- 14 Grand For An Einstein Letter
"Albert Einstein's letter on Nazis sold for $14,000" October 12th, 2011 BBC NEWS A 1939 letter from Albert Einstein warning of the "calamitous peril" to Jews posed by the Nazis has been sold at auction for nearly $14,000 (£9,000). The Nobel-winning...
- "a Brain Is A Terrible Thing To Lose"--al Gore
I might as well address this issue for it inevitably comes up in discussions about Einstein and that is the story of Einstein's brain. Einstein died on April 18th, 1955 at the age of seventy six in Princeton, New Jersey from heart failure. An autopsy...
- Some Einstein Artifacts
Einstein's Nobel medal "It will perhaps be pleasanter and more understandable if instead of making a speech I play the violin." "A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy." This is interesting--the only...
- Unusual Einstein Photographs
Here is a collection of not too often seen photographs of Einstein "Declaration of Intention" to become a U.S. citizen, January 15th, 1936. October 1st, 1940--Citizenship "Observatório Nacional", during Einstein's visit to Brazil, in 1925 Conrad...