Now You Can See the Source of Einstein’s Genius

When Albert Einstein died in 1955, the literal symbol of his brilliance - his brain – was preserved and pieces of it divided between research institutions for academic study.

Now the Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, a medical history museum specializing in medical oddities, has some of those samples on display to the viewing public.

Forty-six slides containing pieces of Einstein’s brain were donated to the museum by a neuropathologist from the city’s children’s hospital who wanted to ensure this bit of medical and scientific history was properly preserved and shared with the public.

The majority of the samples remain at Princeton’s University Medical Center, where the autopsy of the groundbreaking physicist was performed at the time of this death. Researchers studied Einstein’s brain over the last five decades searching for any physical clues when compared to other brains to explain the genius of the Nobel Prize winner.

For more information on visiting the exhibit, check out the Mütter Museum website. Are you interested in seeing the display in person?