Letters provide glimpse into Einstein’s genius mind
JERUSALEM: Ahead of Albert Einstein’s 140th birthday, 110 manuscript pages penned by the legendary German-born scientist were unveiled by an Israeli university on Wednesday, providing a glimpse into his genius mind.
The documents were presented at a press conference held by the Givat Ram Hebrew University of Jerusalem, of which Einstein was a founding father.
The pages, most of which have never been displayed before, include both personal and scientific musings, many written between 1944 and 1948.
Among them are four letters from Einstein to his life-long friend and colleague Michele Besso.
Three of these letters, written in 1916, refer to a “glorious idea” Einstein had about the absorption and emission of light by atoms, according to a press release by the university. This idea later became the basis of laser technology.
The manuscripts also include a handwritten, unpublished appendix to a scientific article on Unified Theory which Einstein submitted to the Prussian Academy of Science in 1930, the university said.
Einstein devoted the last 20 years of his life to attempting to unify the forces of nature into a single theory, Professor Hanoch Gutfreund, Director of the Hebrew University’s Einstein Archives said. Gutfreund described Einstein’s pages as “typical of his creative mind.”
“He filled whole pages of mathematical calculation with very little text: They were either preparation for stunning articles or summaries of ideas when he struggled to formulate the unified theory,” he said.
The letters also shine a light on Einstein’s feelings about the political climate in Europe.
In a 1935 letter written from the Unites States to his son Hans Albert in Switzerland, Einstein expressed concern about the deteriorating situation in Europe and the rise of the Nazi party in Germany. He expressed cautious hope for a gradual improvement in Germany.
“Let’s just hope we won’t have a Europe war first... the rest of Europe is now starting to finally take the thing seriously, especially the English. If they would have come down hard a year and a half ago, it would have been better and easier,” the letter said.
Einstein left Germany just before Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 and renounced his German citizenship. He moved to the United States where he got citizenship in 1940.
In 1952, Einstein was offered the Israeli presidency, but he declined and bequeathed his personal and scientific writings to the Hebrew University, leading to the founding of the Albert Einstein Archives.
To date, the archives have made 80,000 manuscripts, items of correspondence, photographs and materials from Einstein’s scientific achievements, public activity and private life accessible to the public.
The new manuscripts were acquired for the archives as a philanthropic gift by the Crown-goodman Family Foundation in Chicago. They were purchased from a private collector in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
IN 1952, EINSTEIN WAS OFFERED THE ISRAELI PRESIDENCY, BUT HE DECLINED