Albert Einstein’s brain was taken by the opportunistic pathologist who performed his autopsy hours after he died and kept in two jars for 30 years.
The stolen brain of Albert Einstein was preserved in a cookie jar for 30 years until being discovered by a journalist.
Albert Einstein’s brain became a prized possession after his death as a result of his world-famous genius. Albert Einstein’s brain was stolen and an autopsy was done on him just hours after he died on April 18, 1955.
While Einstein’s son was first upset, he eventually agreed to allow the doctor, Thomas Harvey, to transfer the brain to researchers who wanted to see if the physicist’s genius stemmed from a physically different brain.
That tortuous, decades-long search has brought some controversial results, maybe at the expense of the Einstein family and the genius himself.
Thomas Harvey stole Albert Einstein’s brain.
Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Germany, and left an incomparable legacy, from knowing Charlie Chaplin to escaping Nazi Germany and revolutionizing physics.
Many scientists speculated that his brain might be physically different from the typical human mind because he was revered all around the world for his brilliance. So when he died of a ruptured aorta in Princeton Hospital at the age of 76, Thomas Harvey took his brain from his body right away.
Harvey “had some great professional ambitions based on that brain,” according to Carolyn Abraham, author of Possessing Genius: The Bizarre Odyssey of Einstein’s Brain.
Harvey not only stole Albert Einstein’s brain, but also the physicists’ eyeballs, which he handed to Einstein’s ophthalmologist.
On April 20, the rest of Einstein’s body was burned in Trenton, New Jersey, and his son, Hans Albert Einstein, discovered Harvey’s actions. He eventually consented to research the brain, but only on the condition that the findings be published in prestigious scientific journals.
Harvey went on to record and photograph the brain in great detail. He reportedly weighed it at 1,230 grams, which was lighter than the average for guys his age. He then chopped the brain into 240 bits, photographing them and commissioning a painting of them.
Harvey stated that his motivation was entirely scientific, and he drove the brain across the country in order to donate bits of it to interested scientists. The clever pathologist even provided samples to the United States Army.
“They believed that having it would put them on a level with the Russians, who were collecting their own brains at the time,” Abrahams explained. It was a thing that people were gathering brains.”
Harvey’s obsession with Albert Einstein’s brain, on the other hand, cost him not only his position at Princeton but also his medical license and family.
Harvey moved to Wichita, Kansas, where he kept the brain in a cider box behind a beer cooler, to the shock of one writer in 1978. The first research of Einstein’s brain was released in 1985 after word got out, with contentious results.
Was It Really That Different From The Average Mind?
The first investigation of Albert Einstein’s stolen brain, published in Experimental Neurology in 1985, indicated that it did indeed appear physically different from the average brain.
The genius was said to have a higher-than-average number of glial cells, which keep the brain’s neurons oxygenated and therefore active.
A further study published in 1996 by the University of Alabama at Birmingham claimed that these neurons were also more densely packed than typical, allowing for faster information processing.
Further analysis of Harvey’s images three years later suggested that Einstein’s inferior parietal lobule was wider than typical, suggesting that he was a more visual thinker than others.
In 2012, research stated that Einstein’s brain has an additional ridge in the mid-frontal lobe, which is connected with planning and remembering.
However, some question this research, such as Pace University psychologist Terence Hines, who described them as “neuromythology.”
“You can’t take just one brain of someone who is different from everyone else – and we pretty much all are – and say, Ah-ha!” he said strongly. ” I’ve discovered what makes T. Hines a stamp collector.”
Hines isn’t the only one who is skeptical. “I don’t know if Einstein was a genius because his parietal lobes were different,” neurologist Dr. Frederick Lepore, who collaborated on the 2012 study, said. ‘Where is special relativity?’ you could ask if you placed my feet to the fire. We have no idea where general relativity came from.”
Despite the fact that most of Einstein’s brain was returned to Princeton Hospital, the issue regarding its particular is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. However, other slides of the legendary organ were donated to medical organizations.
Before his death in 2007, Thomas Harvey gave the rest of Einstein’s brain to the National Museum of Health and Medicine, with samples of his own on display at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia.
Nordlingen, The Town Inside A Meteorite Crater With Millions Of Meteorite Diamonds
The German town of Nördlingen is embedded with 72,000 tons of microscopic diamonds. About 15 million years ago, a meteorite hit this region, and the impact created a massive depression and formed rocks containing diamonds, glass, and crystals. The town was built in the impact crater sometime around 898 CE.
Before Radar: How Giant Acoustic Mirrors Detected Enemy Aircraft in WWI and WWII
Long before radar revolutionized air defense, enormous acoustic mirrors and specialized sound locators stood as the first line of defense against enemy aircraft. Designed as giant “ears,” these structures amplified distant engine noises, allowing operators to detect incoming planes by sound alone. Dive into the intriguing world of these pioneering listening devices, their operation, limitations, and enduring legacy in military history.
The true story Of The Radium Girls that change US labor laws
Hundreds of young women worked in clock factories during World War I, painting watch dials with luminous radium paint. The company lied about the risk of radiation, claiming there was no danger, which resulted in the death of the young women.
The World’s First Seismograph: How Ancient China Detected Earthquakes 1,800 Years Ago
Over 1,800 years ago, long before modern technology, the ancient Chinese astronomer and inventor Zhang Heng created the world’s first seismograph in 132 AD. This ingenious bronze device could detect distant earthquakes by releasing small balls from dragons’ mouths into toads’ mouths—each indicating a different compass direction. Its historic detection of an earthquake 400 miles away astonished the imperial court and transformed the way societies understood and responded to seismic events.
How Sleep Deprivation Was Once Used as Torture
Sleep deprivation, long before modern interrogation techniques, was considered a “clean” and effective form of torture—leaving no physical scars, yet breaking minds with haunting silence. Victims endured days and nights without rest, leading to vivid hallucinations, disorientation, and psychological torment. This article traces the dark history of sleep deprivation as a weapon, examines the science behind its effects on the brain, and shines a light on the painful balance between human endurance and cruelty in the annals of coercion.
The Horrific story of Ariel Castro and the Cleveland abduction
Cleveland abduction victims Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight, and Amanda Berry were forced to live in Ariel Castro's house of horrors for 10 years. He raped and beat them until they escaped in 2013.
Iranian inmate dies from happiness after finding out he will not be executed
An Iranian man who was convicted of murder reportedly died from happiness after learning that his death sentence was being commuted.
Susanna Salter: The Trailblazing Story of America’s First Female Mayor
In 1887, Susanna Salter became the first female mayor in the United States, elected in Argonia, Kansas. Her nomination was initially a prank by men opposing women in politics. However, she won by a landslide and served effectively, inspiring the women’s suffrage movement and breaking barriers for women in leadership.
How Greek prime minister in 1830’s tried to spread the potato in Greece
A Greek prime minister in 1830’s tried to spread the potato in Greece but people weren’t interested so he put armed guards in front of shipments of potatoes so people would think they were important. People later started stealing these potatoes a lot which spread the crop to all of Greece.
Inside China’s Footbinding Tradition: The Painful Ritual of Lotus Shoes and Bound Feet
In China, Lotus shoes were used to bind women's feet to keep their feet small
D.B. Cooper: Man who hijacked a plane and jumped out with a $200,000
On November 22, 1971, DB Cooper hijacked a Boeing 727, drank a whisky, smoked a fag, and then jumped out of the plane with $200,000. He was never again seen.
June and Jennifer Gibbons The silent twin who Only Spoke to Each Other
Identical twins June and Jennifer Gibbons were born on 11 April 1963 at a military hospital in Aden, Yemen where their father worked as part of the Royal Air Force.
Nuclear bomb accidentally dropped on North Carolina in 196
4 January 1961: The 4241st Strategic Wing's Boeing B-52G-95-BW Stratofortress, serial number 58-0187, was on a 24-hour airborne alert mission off the United States' Atlantic Coast.
What is the story behind Wrigley chewing gum?
Wrigley's was originally a soap company that gifted baking powder with their soap. The baking powder became more popular than the soap so they switched to selling baking powder with chewing gum as a gift. The gum became more popular than the baking powder so the company switched to selling gum.
Nicholas Winton ‘British Schindler’: Man who rescued 669 Czech children from Nazis
A man named Nicholas Winton saved 669 kids during WWII and lived almost all his life without letting people know.
The Baltic Way: the longest unbroken human chain in history
On August 23, 1989, about 2 million people from Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania formed a human chain that united all 3 countries to show the world their desire to escape the Soviet Union and the communism that brought only suffering and poverty. This power stretched 600 km.
Hedy Lamarr, A Hollywood actress who also a mathematician and inventor
Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr was also a mathematician and the inventor of frequency hopping spread spectrum, a technology still used for bluetooth and wifi
George Dantzig solved two famous “unsolved” problems in statistics mistakenly as assignment
In 1939, George Dantzig arrived late to his statistics class. On the board were two famous “unsolved” problems in statistics written as an example by his professor. Dantzig mistook the examples for homework assignments. He solved the “unsolved” problems and submitted the homework to his professor a few days later. His solutions earned him a doctorate.
How European Rabbits Took over Australia
In 1859, wealthy settler Thomas Austin released 13 wild rabbits on his Australian estate. By 1920, their population grew to 10 billion.
Story of Kathrine Switzer: the first woman to run in Boston Marathon
Before women were allowed to run in the Boston Marathon, Kathrine Switzer participated. A race official attempted to forcefully remove her from the race in 1967, but her boyfriend pushed him down. She was the first female finisher who had a numbered entry in the race.
Robert Odlum, the first person to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge
The first person to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge was a professional high diver who "wanted to demonstrate that people did not die simply by falling through the air, thus encouraging people to be willing to jump from a burning building into a net." He proved himself correct by safely falling 135 feet through the air and dying only when he hit the water.
Marion Stokes recorded 30 years of television
Marion Stokes, a Philadelphia woman began taping whatever was on television in 1979 and didn’t stop until her death in 2012. The 71,000 VHS and Betamax tapes she made are the most complete collection preserving this era of TV. They are being digitized by the Internet Archive.
Mother who spent entire life savings for daughter’s cancer treatment won the lottery
A mother won $2 million from a $10 scratch-off lottery ticket after she spent all of her entire life savings to pay her daughter’s cancer treatment. She bought the winning ticket after her daughter’s last cancer treatment.
What exactly was the US's 'Ghost Army' during WWII?
During WW2, there was a special unit of men dubbed the ‘Ghost Army’. The unit was made of artists, creative and engineers and their job was to create deception about the enemy. From inflatable tanks to phony convoys to scripted conversations in bars intended to spread disinformation, they used all possible tricks to fool the enemy.
Will & William Wests: The puzzling situation of two inmates who are identical but not related
These are the mugshots of Will West and William West, and they are not related. They were both sent to Leavenworth Prison at the same time, in 1903, and after some confusion, the staff understood they had two different prisoners with the nearly same name, who looked exactly alike. They are part of the reason fingerprints are now used as identification.
