The terrifying details of Albert Einstein’s autopsy

• Albert Einstein died in 1955.
• A bizarre robbery occurred after his death.
• What happened during Einstein’s autopsy?

More than 67 years after his death, secrets about Albert Einstein’s bizarre autopsy continue to come to light. The genius’ death was a watershed for the history of science and it’s honored every April 18 around the world.

After Einstein’s death, it was discovered that something unthinkable happened to his brain. One of the doctors performing the procedure committed a heinous crime and stole the organ without the family’s permission. After twenty years, the mystery and rumors still surround his death.

WHAT HAPPENED DURING EINSTEIN’S AUTOPSY?

In 1955, Albert Einstein’s death overshadowed the entire world and marked an important point in the history of science. On April 16 of that year, the first press reports indicate that the German physicist complained of severe chest pain that led him to the grave.

He was admitted to the Princeton hospital, in New Jersey, where doctors treated him quickly. His prognosis was not favorable and, according to Infobae, Einstein suffered an abdominal aortic aneurysm that led him to have internal bleeding. There was a chance he could be saved with surgery but he refused.

«I want to leave when I want»

The scientist was clear about his wishes and stressed that he did not want the treatment. “I want to leave when I want. It is in bad taste to prolong life artificially. I’ve done my part, it’s time to go. And I’m going to do it with elegance,» he said according to Infobae.

He died after two days in the hospital on April 18, 1955. Before dying, he had only one request: to be cremated. The physics genius did not want people to worship his bones and, therefore, he requested that his ashes be scattered in a river.

Did Einstein have an autopsy?

However, Einstein’s wishes were not granted. Before cremation could proceed, his body was autopsied. Pathologist Thomas Harvey performed the procedure and did something truly horrifying. The doctor stole Einstein’s brain.

Without permission from the family or permission from the hospital, the doctor took Einstein’s brain and kept it. The family was unaware of this fact and when they received his ashes, they honored his final wishes. National Geographic reported that Einstein’s family had him cremated in a private ceremony.

What happened to Einstein’s brain?

After the theft, rumors began to emerge about Thomas Harvey’s acquisition. According to National Geographic, when the rumors reached the family, he contacted Einstein’s eldest son, Hans Albert, and convinced him to let him keep the scientist’s most precious organ.

However, the hospital immediately fired Dr. Harvey. He immediately got a job at the University of Pennsylvania and did not hesitate to bring the scientist’s brain, dissected it into 240 pieces that he preserved in celloidin, a hard and elastic form of cellulose. He created 200 slides that he asked to be analyzed, according to HNG . Filed Under: Albert Einstein Autopsy

An unusual brain?

The rest of Albert Einstein’s brain was cut into two parts, kept in containers with formalin and hidden in Harvey’s house in a box that had contained cider bottles, according to Infobae. His obsession with learning more about Einstein’s brain led him to ask several doctors to examine the material, but no one believed it was real.

His wife ended up leaving him and that was when some neurologists determined that the brain that Harvey had sent them was not very different from a normal brain, even below the normal range for a man of Einstein’s age,  according to National Geographic. Filed Under: Albert Einstein Autopsy