Einstein’s Brain
Albert Einstein's brain underwent a similar predicament following his passing in 1955. Thomas Harvey, a pathologist, took care of his body and then removed the brain for study. It's not unexpected that people were interested in studying Albert Einstein's brain given that the name "Einstein" has come to be associated with "genius." This narrative is contentious because it is still unknown if Harvey had authorization to act as he did or whether he merely took Einstein's brain and refused to give it back.
Einstein had instructions for his corpse to be incinerated and his ashes to be spread in a secret place, according to the scientist's biographers. Naturally, Harvey was unaware of any of this and was just interested in the possibility to further his own career. When Einstein's son Hans Albert learned about it, he was incensed, but Harvey was able to persuade him to let him keep the brain so he could research "the secret of genius," with the condition that he would publish his results as soon as possible in academic publications.
However, the years stretched into decades and nothing changed. Everyone ultimately forgot about Einstein's brain, but Harvey kept hold of it, transporting it across the country in numerous mason jars. Although it wasn't known at the time, Harvey's silence over those years was due to the lack of anything to say. Harvey didn't want the findings of the numerous neurologists and neuropathologists who examined the tiny samples he was willing to share to be made public because they all concluded that the brain was normal.
The first articles on Einstein's brain, asserting numerous differences between his brain and an ordinary one, which could have highlighted the traits of brilliance, didn't come out until 1985, three decades after Einstein's passing. Although many people attacked and refuted these works, Harvey retained his brain. He had already lost his marriage, his job, and his career at that point, leaving him with nothing but his wits. After Einstein passed away, his heirs finally donated his brain, the most of which was donated to the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
