FactSentinel

Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955, at Princeton Hospital, and within hours pathologist Thomas Harvey performed the autopsy and removed his brain, reportedly without prior authorization from the family. Harvey later obtained retroactive permission from Einstein's son, Hans Albert, on the condition that the brain be used solely for scientific research rather than public display. Harvey preserved the organ, photographed it from multiple angles, and had it sectioned into 240 blocks, which he mounted on slides for microscopic study.

The evidence for this claim is extensive and well documented. Harvey kept the brain in his possession for decades, occasionally sending sections to researchers who requested them. Several peer-reviewed studies emerged from this material, including analyses published in the 1980s and 1990s examining neuron density, glial cell ratios, and cortical thickness in comparison to control brains. Photographs taken shortly after the autopsy have since been published in scientific journals and books, providing visual documentation of the preservation process. In 2010, the remaining slides and photographs were transferred to the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Maryland, where they remain accessible to researchers today.

A common misconception is that Einstein wanted his brain studied. In fact, his explicit wish was to be cremated entirely, making Harvey's actions ethically controversial despite their scientific value. Another misconception is that the studies conclusively proved Einstein's intelligence had an anatomical basis; while some structural differences were noted, the scientific consensus holds that these findings remain inconclusive and cannot definitively explain his exceptional abilities.