Albert Einstein

Final years
Einstein's two-story house, white frame with front porch in Greek revival style, in Princeton (112 Mercer Street).

In 1948, Einstein served on the original committee which resulted in the founding of Brandeis University. A portrait of Einstein was taken by Yousuf Karsh on February 11 of that same year. In 1952, the Israeli government proposed to Einstein that he take the post of second president. He declined the offer, and remains the only United States citizen to ever be offered a position as a foreign head of state. On March 30, 1953, Einstein released a revised unified field theory.

He died in his sleep at a hospital in Princeton, New Jersey, on April 18, 1955, leaving the Generalized Theory of Gravitation unsolved. The only person present at his deathbed, a hospital nurse, said that just before his death he mumbled several words in German that She did not understand. He was cremated without ceremony on the same day he died at Trenton, New Jersey, in accordance with his wishes. His ashes were scattered at an undisclosed location.

His brain was preserved in a jar by Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Einstein. Harvey found nothing unusual with his brain, but in 1999 further analysis by a team at McMaster University revealed that his parietal operculum region was missing and, to compensate, his inferior parietal lobe was 15% wider than normalhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/h i/sci/tech/371698.stm. The inferior parietal region is responsible for mathematical thought, visuospatial cognition, and imagery of movement.

Personality
Albert Einstein was much respected for his kind and friendly demeanor rooted in his pacifism. He was modest about his abilities, and had distinctive attitudes and fashions—for example, he minimized his wardrobe so that he would not need to waste time in deciding on What to wear. He occasionally had a playful sense of humor, and enjoyed sailing and playing the violin. He was also the stereotypical "absent-minded professor"; he was often forgetful of everyday items, such as keys, and would focus so intently on solving physics problems that he would often become oblivious to his surroundings.

Religious views
Although he was raised Jewish, he was not a believer in Judaism. He simply admired the beauty of nature and the universe. From a letter written in English, dated March 24, 1954, Einstein wrote, "It was, of course, a lie What you read about my Religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called Religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it."

He also said (in an essay reprinted in Living Philosophies, vol. 13 (1931)): "A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, our perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds - it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity; in this sense, and this alone, I am a deeply Religious man."

The following is a response made to Rabbi Herbert Goldstein of the International Synagogue in New York which read, "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of What exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings." After being pressed on his Religious views by Martin Buber, Einstein exclaimed, "What we [physicists] strive for is just to draw His lines after Him." Summarizing his Religious beliefs, he once said: "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."

He also expressed admiration for Buddhism, which he said "has the characteristics of What would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: It transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and the spiritual, and it is based on a Religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity."

Victor J. Stenger, author of Has Science Found God? (2001), wrote of Einstein's presumed pantheism, "Both deism and traditional Judeo-Christian-Islamic theism must also be contrasted with pantheism, the notion attributed to Baruch Spinoza that the deity is associated with the order of nature or the universe itself. This also crudely summarizes the Hindu view and that of many indigenous religions around the world. When modern scientists such as Einstein and Stephen Hawking mention God in their writings, this is What they seem to mean: that God is'' Nature."''

He was a fond lover of Mahatma Gandhi and his political views.

Political views
Einstein considered himself a pacifist http://www.amnh.org/exhib itions/einstein/peace/ind ex.php and humanitarian http://www.amnh.org/exhib itions/einstein/global/in dex.php, and in later years, a committed democratic socialist. He once said, "I believe Gandhi's views were the most enlightened of all the political men of our time. We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence for fighting for our cause, but by non-participation of anything you believe is evil." Einstein's views on other issues, including socialism, McCarthyism and racism, were controversial (see Einstein on socialism). Einstein was a co-founder of the liberal German Democratic Party.

The U.S. FBI kept a 1,427 page file on his activities and recommended that he be barred from immigrating to the United States under the Alien Exclusion Act, alleging that Einstein "believes in, advises, advocates, or teaches a doctrine which, in a legal sense, as held by the courts in other cases, would allow anarchy to stalk in unmolested and result in government in name only", among other charges. They also alleged that Einstein "was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four communist fronts between 1937-1954" and "also served as honorary chairman for three communist organizations.
"http://foia.fbi.gov/foiai ndex/einstein.htm

Soviet Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee Solomon Mikhoels, 1943]]

Einstein opposed tyrannical forms of government, and for this reason (and his Jewish background), opposed the Nazi regime and fled Germany shortly after it came to power. He initially favored construction of the atomic bomb, in order to ensure that Hitler did not do so first, and even sent a letter http://hypertextbook.com/ eworld/einstein.shtml to President Roosevelt (dated August 2, 1939, before World War II broke out, and likely authored by Le��ilᲤ) encouraging him to initiate a program to create a nuclear weapon. Roosevelt responded to this by setting up a committee for the Investigation of using uranium as a weapon, which in a few years was superseded by the Manhattan Project.

After the war, though, Einstein lobbied for nuclear disarmament and a world government: "I know not with What weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

Einstein was a supporter of Zionism. He supported Jewish settlement of the ancient seat of Judaism and was active in the establishment of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, which published (1930) a volume titled About Zionism: Speeches and Lectures by Professor Albert Einstein, and to which Einstein bequeathed his papers. However, he opposed nationalism and expressed skepticism about whether a Jewish nation-state was the best solution. He may have imagined Jews and Arabs Living peacefully in the same land. In later life he was offered the post of second president of the newly-created State of Israel, but declined the offer, claiming that he lacked the necessary people skills.

Einstein, along with Albert Schweitzer and Bertrand Russell, fought against nuclear tests and bombs. As his last public act, and just days before his death, he signed the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, which led to the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. His letter to Russell read:

:Dear Bertrand Russell,

::Thank you for your letter of April 5. I am gladly willing to sign your excellent statement. I also agree with your choice of the prospective signers.

:With kind regards, A. Einstein

Popularity and cultural impact
Einstein's Popularity has led to widespread use of Einstein in advertising and merchandising, including the registration of "Albert Einstein" as a trademark.

The photo (detail from the original) of this humorous expression was taken during Einstein's [[birthday on March 14, 1951, UPI]]

Entertainment
Albert Einstein has become the subject of a number of novels, films and plays, including Nicolas Roegs film Insignificance, Fred Schepisis film I.Q., Alan Lightmans novel Einsteins Dreams, and Steve Martins comedic play "Picasso at the Lapin Agile". He was the subject of Philip Glasss groundbreaking 1976 opera Einstein on the Beach. Since 1978, Einstein's humorous side has been the subject of a live stage presentation Albert Einstein: The Practical Bohemian, a one man show performed by actor Ed Metzger.

He is often used as a model for depictions of eccentric scientists in works of fiction; his own character and distinctive hairstyle suggest eccentricity, electricity, or even lunacy and are widely copied or exaggerated.

On Einstein's 72nd birthday in 1951, the UPI photographer Arthur Sasse was trying to coax him into smiling for the camera. Having done this for the photographer many times that day, Einstein stuck out his tongue instead http://www.mentalfloss.co m/archives/archive2003-03 -14.htm. The image has become an icon in pop culture for its contrast of the genius scientist displaying a moment of levity. Yahoo Serious, an Australian film maker, used the photo as an inspiration for the intentionally anachronistic movie Young Einstein.

Licensing
The Roger Richman Agency, Inc. licences the commercial use of the name "Albert Einstein" and associated imagery and likenesses of Einstein, as agent for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Einstein actively supported the university during his life and this support continues with the royalties received from licensing activities. As head licensee the Agency can control commercial usage of Einstein's name which Does not comply with certain standards (e.g., when Einstein's name is used as a trademark, the ™ symbol must be used http://www.albert-einstei n.net/styleguide-readonly /brand.html).

Honors
In 1999, Einstein was named "Person of the Century" by TIME magazine.

a unit used in photochemistry, the einstein

the chemical element 99, einsteinium

the asteroid 2001 Einstein

the Albert Einstein Peace Prize