Einsteinium
“Einstein in Time/Space”— by Samuel Grayson. Dr. Gary Straub. Meadow@StMathews. Winter Solstice ‘24
The “Einstein ethos” of Princeton still charms. Although Albert and I did not cross paths on campus; I did cross in front of his house at #12 Mercer Street every morning on my way to class. 40 years apart, we haunted the hallowed ground. His haunt was the Institute for Advanced Study, which is quietly sequestered in the Jersey pines behind the golf course, a brisk morning’s walk south. His memorabilia still circulates in downtown T-shirt shops. Einstein sighting stories still float around campus. Most of E’s anecdotes stray into fiction. But if this one isn’t true, it should be! A grade schooler timidly knocked on his door and requested an explanation of E=MC2. His reply: “well, I really can’t now, but if you’ll please come back at 4pm, I’ll play it for you on my violin.”
Einstein lectured at Oxford in 1933, pleading British asylum for German scientists. As Nazi terror reigned, a member of Parliament arranged Einstein’s protection at Roughton Heath, his coastal cabin. Grateful for rescue, yet ill at ease with English formality, Albert wanted no “Zwang” (constraint). He was soon whisked away to America as Princeton offered a full professorship. He insisted that creative scientific work cannot be done by an unhappy genius, so he took great interest in the happiness of his students and colleagues. By all accounts, Albert was a friendly, creative soul.
Einstein openly challenged America’s embedded racism and made common cause with HBC Lincoln University and intellectuals like Du Bois and Robeson. When contralto Marian Anderson presented a campus concert at McCarter Theatre, Nassau Inn refused her room. So Einstein extended hospitality. Anderson always stayed on Mercer Street.
When McCarthy cranked up his communist mudslinging at Albert, it splattered back when his incredulous claims were made public. An unhinged J. Edgar filed 1,400 pages on Albert; of which 1,399 needed intense ‘fact-checking!’ Wild obsessions about Einstein and the “death ray” were short-circuited when the Army finally told FBI: no such thing! Undeterred & seizing election wins, Republicans hyped ‘Communist Plot/ Nuclear Fear.’ While political lies were beating up on truth, Einstein quietly convinced FDR about uranium in secret talks on hydrogen and atomic bombs. Later, he regretted his ground breaking work as critical calculations eventuated in such nuclear success.
On a lighter note, Albert was famous for getting lost on long walks and calling the Institute for Advanced Studies in a panic. A car was soon dispatched to round him up from his far meanderings.
In spring ‘55, professor collapsed and died at Princeton hospital. Dr Harvey, the local Quaker pathologist autopsied, replacing all organs save one: Einstein’s brain. When an Army pathology team inquired, Harvey got fired! On the lamb with the brain in a jar, Harvey shared slices with fellow neuroscientists along the way. It’s easy to imagine why an aura of mystery/hysteria enshrouds Einstein’s legacy. His brain was treated more like the Turin Shroud—an object of veneration/inquiry. Family cremated and scattered Dr. E. along the Delaware River. What remains of Einstein’s brain finally came to rest in Mutter Medical Museum. There’s an app for that: INFO@COLLEGEOFPHYSICIANS.ORG
Oh, and by the way, next time you happen to be glancing thru the Table of Elements, pay special attention to element #99…einsteinium!
