Fate of the brain[edit]
Einstein's autopsy was conducted in a lab at Princeton Hospital by pathologist Thomas Stoltz Harvey shortly after his death in 1955. Harvey removed and weighed the brain and then brought it to a lab at the University of Pennsylvania where he dissected Einstein's brain into several pieces; some of the pieces he kept to himself while others were given to leading pathologists which are still working. He claimed he hoped that cytoarchitectonics would reveal useful information.[2] Harvey injected 11.4% formalin through the internal carotid arteries and afterwards suspended the intact brain in 10% formalin. Harvey photographed the brain from many angles. He then dissected it into about 240 blocks (each about 1 cm3) and encased the segments in a plastic-like material called collodion.[3][4] Harvey also removed Einstein's eyes, and gave them to Henry Abrams, Einstein's eye doctor.[2]
Whether or not Einstein's brain was preserved with his prior consent is a matter of dispute. Ronald Clark's 1979 biography of Einstein states, "he had insisted that his brain should be used for research and that he be cremated", but more recent research has suggested that this may not be true, and that the brain was removed and preserved without the permission of either Einstein nor his close relatives. Hans Albert Einstein, the physicist's son, endorsed the removal after the event, but insisted that his father's brain should be used only for research to be published in scientific journals of high standing.[2]
In 1978, Einstein's brain was "rediscovered" in Dr. Harvey's possession by journalist Steven Levy.[5] The brain sections had been preserved in alcohol in two large mason jars within a cider box for over 20 years. A minor media sensation ensued, with reporters camping out for days on Dr. Harvey's lawn.
In 2010, Harvey's heirs transferred all of his holdings constituting the remains of Einstein's brain to the National Museum of Health and Medicine, including 14 photographs of the whole brain (which is now in fragments) never before revealed to the public.[6][7]
More recently, 46 small portions of Einstein's brain were acquired by the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia. In 2013, these thin slices, mounted on microscope slides, went on exhibit in the museum's permanent galleries.[8]