Today on TV: Albert Einstein’s brain was stolen – 2024-03-01 06:32:32

Albert Einstein did not want a circus to form around his earthly remains. Yle

The physicist Albert Einstein (1879–1955), who developed the theory of relativity, died at the age of 76 in the USA, where he and his wife had fled the Nazis.

The autopsy was performed by pathologist Thomas Harvey (1912–2007) in 1955. He proceeded according to the normal pattern – until he didn’t. Harvey sawed the skull open, reached in, removed the brain and stole it. He kept the brain and took it home. He didn’t make a fuss about it.

Prism in a science document Einstein’s brain let’s say something else: Harvey didn’t ask Einstein’s relatives for permission. They had to read in the newspaper that the brain is not cremated with the rest of the body. That’s when the journey took a turn.

However, the matter was largely cleared up afterwards, and Einstein’s son gave Harvey a limited right to examine the brain for scientific purposes. Later, Harvey quit his job, moved, and took Einstein’s brain with him. Part of the reason could have been Einstein’s publicity. But wherever Harvey’s path leads, Einstein’s executor Otto Nathan tracked him down and asked for updates on how the investigation was progressing, or perhaps more accurately why the investigation wasn’t progressing.

And where is the brain these days?

– You can’t find that out, the neurologist and writer answers to the authors of the documentary Frederick Lepore.

But he is wrong. Dr. X, who remains anonymous and avoids publicity, is responsible for them. However, the guardian of Einstein’s brain agrees to present them to the TV cameras.

– These are the original cans in which Dr. Harvey stored all the parts of the brain in 1955 after the autopsy. The responsibility is great, says the faceless doctor.

Einstein’s brain today on TV1 at 19:00 & Areena. See all TV programs and broadcast times in Telku’s TV guide.