10. Loved to Sail
When Einstein attended college at the Polytechnic Institute in Zurich,
Switzerland, he fell in love with sailing. He would often take a boat
out onto a lake, pull out a notebook, relax, and think. Even though
Einstein never learned to swim, he kept sailing as a hobby throughout
his life.
9. Einstein's Brain
When Einstein died in 1955, his body was cremated and his ashes
scattered, as was his wish. However, before his body was cremated,
pathologist Thomas Harvey at Princeton Hospital conducted an autopsy in
which he removed Einstein's brain. Rather than putting the brain back in
the body, Harvey decided to keep it, ostensibly for study. Harvey did
not have permission to keep Einstein's brain, but days later, he
convinced Einstein's son that it would help science. Shortly thereafter,
Harvey was fired from his position at Princeton because he refused to
give up Einstein's brain.
For the next four decades, Harvey kept Einstein's chopped-up brain
(Harvey had it cut into over 200 pieces) in two mason jars with him as
he moved around the country. Every once in a while, Harvey would slice
off a piece and send it to a researcher. Finally, in 1998, Harvey
returned Einstein's brain to the pathologist at Princeton Hospital.
8. Einstein and the Violin
Einstein's mother, Pauline, was an accomplished pianist and wanted her
son to love music too, so she started him on violin lessons when he was
six years old. Unfortunately, at first, Einstein hated playing the
violin. He would much rather build houses of cards, which he was really
good at (he once built one 14 stories high!), or do just about anything
else. When Einstein was 13-years old, he suddenly changed his mind about
the violin when he heard the music of Mozart. With a new passion for
playing, Einstein continued to play the violin until the last few years
of his life. For nearly seven decades, Einstein would not only use the
violin to relax when he became stuck in his thinking process, he would
play socially at local recitals or join in impromptu groups such as
Christmas carolers who stopped at his home.
7. Presidency of Israel
A few days after Zionist leader and first President of Israel Chaim
Weizmann died on November 9, 1952, Einstein was asked if he would accept
the position of being the second president of Israel. Einstein, age 73,
declined the offer. In his official letter of refusal, Einstein stated
that he not only lacked the "natural aptitude and the experience to deal
properly with people," but also, he was getting old.
6. No Socks
Part of Einstein's charm was his disheveled look. In addition to his
uncombed hair, one of Einstein's peculiar habits was to never wear
socks. Whether it was while out sailing or to a formal dinner at the
White House, Einstein went without socks everywhere. To Einstein, socks
were a pain because they often would get holes in them. Plus, why wear
both socks
and shoes when one of them would do just fine?
5. A Simple Compass
When Albert Einstein was five years old and sick in bed, his father
showed him a simple pocket compass. Einstein was mesmerized. What force
exerted itself on the little needle to make it point in a single
direction? This question haunted Einstein for many years and has been
noted as the beginning of his fascination with science.
4. Designed a Refrigerator
Twenty-one years after writing his Special Theory of Relativity, Albert
Einstein invented a refrigerator that operated on alcohol gas. The
refrigerator was patented in 1926 but never went into production because
new technology made it unnecessary. Einstein invented the refrigerator
because he read about a family that was poisoned by a sulphur
dioxide-emitting refrigerator.
3. Obsessed Smoker
Einstein loved to smoke. As he walked between his house and his office
at Princeton, one could often see him followed by a trail of smoke.
Nearly as part of his image as his wild hair and baggy clothes was
Einstein clutching his trusty briar pipe. In 1950, Einstein is noted as
saying, "I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and
objective judgment in all human affairs," Although he favored pipes,
Einstein was not one to turn down a cigar or even a cigarette.
2. Married His Cousin
After Einstein divorced his first wife, Mileva Maric, in 1919, he
married his cousin, Elsa Loewenthal (nee Einstein). How closely were
they related? Quite close. Elsa was actually related to Albert on both
sides of his family. Albert's mother and Elsa's mother were sisters,
plus Albert's father and Elsa's father were cousins. When they were
both little, Elsa and Albert had played together; however, their romance
only began once Elsa had married and divorced Max Loewenthal.
1. An Illegitimate Daughter
In 1901, before Albert Einstein and Mileva Maric were married, the
college sweethearts took a romantic getaway to Lake Como in Italy. After
the vacation, Mileva found herself pregnant. In that day and age,
illegitimate children were not uncommon and yet they were also not
accepted by society. Since Einstein did not have the money to marry
Maric nor the ability to support a child, the two were not able to get
married until Einstein got the patent job over a year later. So as not
to besmirch Einstein's reputation, Maric went back to her family and had
the baby girl, whom she named Lieserl.
Although we know that Einstein knew about his daughter, we don't
actually know what happened to her. There are but just a few references
of her in Einstein's letters, with the last one in September 1903. It is
believed that Lieserl either died after suffering from scarlet fever at
an early age or she survived the scarlet fever and was given up for
adoption. Both Albert and Mileva kept the existence of Lieserl so secret
that Einstein scholars only discovered her existence in recent years.
