New Jersey Scientist Stole Einstein's Brain For Controversial 'Experiment'
What do lasers, solar panels, stock market forecasts, and paper towels all have in common? They probably wouldn't exist in their current forms without the groundwork laid by Albert Einstein! One of the most significant thinkers and scientists to grace recorded history, his work in theoretical physics completely changed our understanding of the world. That's why, when Einstein died in April of 1955, one man was determined to get his hands on the genius' brain.
After His Death
Some of Albert Einstein's final words were a commentary on death: "I want to go when I want," he said. "It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share; it is time to go. I will do it elegantly." And so, on April 18, 1955, he passed away peacefully at the Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center in New Jersey.
A Scientific Legacy
The world mourned. Einstein was one of the sharpest minds history has ever known, often considered the most influential physicist to have ever lived, aside from Isaac Newton. He won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 thanks to his studies on electrons, and his work on gravity serves as a foundation for modern experts. However, following his death, it wasn't his theories that underwent scrutiny.
Meet Thomas Harvey
Thomas Harvey (below) was a pathologist and doctor at Princeton University Hospital, and when Einstein died from a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm — in other words, he bled out internally — the doctor was tasked with the autopsy. He felt a huge weight on his shoulders.
Shocking Finds
Right in front of him was the dead body of one of the smartest people to have ever lived. Surely, there was something to be learned from an autopsy? Maybe, Thomas Harvey figured, he could actually learn how Einstein had become so smart in the first place. Maybe he could uncover something that could truly help humanity.
