64 Interesting Facts About Albert Einstein

Last updated on August 17th, 2024

45. A simple man: Einstein believed and wished that people should be respected for their humanitarian work and thoughts, and not for their nationality and origin. In this context, expressing his cynicism for nationalistic pride, he once said: “If relativity is proved right, the Germans will call me a German, the Swiss will call me a Swiss citizen, and the French will call me a great scientist. If relativity is proved wrong, the French will call me Swiss, the Swiss will call me a German, and the Germans will call me a Jew.”

46. Refused to become president: Einstein was offered the opportunity to become president of Israel after the death of its first president in 1952. Einstein politely refused the offer, saying that he did not have the natural aptitude and experience to deal with people properly. And he could only understand a little of science and none of human nature.

47. Einstein could have lived longer: before he died, doctors suggested surgery to Einstein, as he suffered from a burst blood vessel. However, Einstein refused, stating, “It is tasteless to prolong life artificially.”

Also Read: 41 Interesting Facts About Henry Ford

Honor for Albert Einstein  

48. Atomic number 99: Just after Einstein died in 1955, the recently discovered element with atomic number 99 was given the name ‘einsteinium’ in his honor.

49. Time magazine named Albert Einstein its “Person of the Century.”

50. Einstein until the age of seven used to repeat his sentences to himself softly. This could be the reason he was considered to be dull during his early childhood days.

51. His language of choice: in 1923, when Einstein tried learning Hebrew he felt that it was unproductive for him to do so. German was the only language that he was comfortable with.

52. His last words: on his death bed, he uttered his last words in German to his attendant who did not understand German and those last words of his are still unknown.

53. Asperger’s syndrome: Einstein during his young age was perceived to be suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome. Children suffering from this syndrome are emotionally detached from their peers and have little to no empathy for others.

54. Being busy with himself: during his teenage years, Albert always liked to spend his time solving his own problems, playing violin or cards, or constructing something new with building blocks. Hans Albert Einstein reported that his father also had this incredible ability to concentrate on the task at hand without getting distracted by the noise in the background or anything as such happening.

55. Einstein said, “I never belonged to my country, my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart.”

56. Right-hander or left-hander: Einstein was right-handed, as opposed to the persistent popular belief that he was a lefty. Left-handed people are generally considered to be genius or to have a high IQ, which is why Einstein is wrongly thought to be left-handed by many. There are several evidences that support this argument including some photographs that show him holding a pen and paper with his right hand, and playing the violin like a right hander.

57. Smoking habit: smoking was Einstein’s passion and obsession. One could see the trail of smoke behind him when he walked from his home to his office. He liked to smoke pipe but wouldn’t mind even a cigarette or a cigar. He enjoyed smoking so much that he had a judgmental and calm effect while doing so, which helped him in his job as a thinker.

58. Sleep was important: Einstein said that he needed at least 10 hours of sleep to function well.

59. Einstein never drove cars. He liked to walk a lot and drove bike when needed.

60. Interestingly, he once picked a grasshopper from the ground and ate it.

61. He gave his ex-wife his Nobel Prize money as a divorce settlement. However, his wife could only use the interest on the prize money and not the principal amount, which was reserved for his sons from the wife.

62. He received the Nobel Prize for photoelectric effect and not relativity as thought by many.

63. His eyes: you can see Einstein’s eyes that are kept safely in a box in New York City.

64. He wasn’t a spy: however, Einstein was thought of as a Soviet spy by the FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.

Albert Einstein’s brain facts

1. Albert Einstein’s brain was removed within seven and a half hours of his death.

2. His brain was removed in Princeton Hospital by pathologist Thomas Stoltz Harvey shortly after his death in 1955.

3. After the brain was removed, it weighed 1230 g, which is less than the average adult male brain (about 1,400 grams.)

4. His brain was injected 50% formalin through the internal carotid arteries before being suspended in 10% formalin. It was kept in a jar for the next 20 years.

5. Einstein’s brain had a parietal lobe that was 15% larger than the average brain.

6. Einstein had extraordinary prefrontal cortices, right behind the forehead, which revealed an intricate pattern of convolutions.

7. The study of his brain reveals that the motor face area in Einstein’s left hemisphere was extraordinarily expanded into a big rectangular patch. This is the region which is responsible for processing information from the face and tongue and laryngeal apparatus.

8. Research on Einstein’s brain has suggested that it had high number of glial cells per neuron. Einstein’s better-thinking abilities and conceptual skills, are perhaps, the result of this.

9. Einstein’s son, Hans Einstein, endorsed the removal of his father’s brain for the purpose of scientific research and publishing. However, some recent research claims that the brain was removed without the permission of Einstein or his immediate family.

10. The great physicist’s brain was photographed from various angles for the sake of future research.

11. His brain was dissected in 240 blocks (each measuring around 1 cu. cm.)

12. Forty-six small portions of Einstein’s brain were acquired by the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia.

13. Absent in Einstein’s brain was the lateral sulcus (Sylvian fissure). Researchers accredit Einstein’s exceptional thinking to this unusual brain anatomy. However, it is noteworthy here that the study was based on the photographs of the whole brain and not the direct examination of the brain.

14. Hippocampus in Einstein’s brain was also studied to determine the characteristics that helped Einstein in his work. It was realized that the neurons on the left side of the hippocampus were larger than those on the right side.

10 famous quotes by Albert Einstein

1. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

2. “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”

3. “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

4. “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.”

5. “Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is the character.”

6. “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.”

7. “Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”

8. “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

9. “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”

And our favorite:

10. “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”

Albert Einstein – quick facts