Offer Of The Chair Of Israel's President For Albert Einstein's Greatest Jew

JAKARTA - In 141 years ago, scientist Albert Einstein was born into the world. He is the discoverer of special and general relativity which drastically changed the human view of the universe. In addition, his work in particle and energy theory helped make quantum mechanics and the atomic bomb possible.

Einstein grew up in a secular Jewish family. His father, Hermann Einstein, was a salesman and engineer who, together with his brother, founded the Elektrotechnische Fabrik J. Einstein & Cie, a Munich-based company that mass-produced electrical equipment. Meanwhile, Pauline Koch's mother is a housewife.

Einstein really liked physics and mathematics. He studied at the Federal Polytechnic Academy in Zurich, Switzerland and became a Swiss citizen in 1905. He was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Zurich while working at the Swiss patent office in Bern. That year, historians call Einstein's career the annus mirabilis or 'the year of the miracles'. Einstein published five theoretical papers that had profound effects on the development of modern physics.

One of Einstein's most innovative scientific works published in 1905 discussed what he called the special theory of relativity. In special relativity, time and space are not absolute, but relative to the motion of the observer. Einstein's other scientific work also states that mass and energy are equivalent and can be calculated by the equation, or so far, E = mc2.

Was offered the President of Israel

Einstein was a man of peace. Before Hitler came to power, the physicist condemned conscription in Europe and warned against anti-Semitism and the ideals of the Nazi party.

Launching The Vintage, Saturday, March 14, 2020, Einstein spoke frequently about the racism he observed on his way to the United States (US) and protested against injustices such as the Scottsboro Boys trial, where nine black teenagers were accused of raping a white woman and eight of them were convicted death penalty.

When Hitler came to power in January 1933, Einstein was in the United States, safe from the effects of being Jewish in Germany at the time, having accepted a job in California. As it became clear that the Nazi party was rapidly rising to power, Einstein's views have evolved. In the same year, Einstein decided to stay in the United States and obtained the citizenship of Uncle Sam's Country.

Einstein realized that pacifism was no longer an option and that the most important problem facing Europe was how to defeat Hitler, at any cost. His outspoken skills and immediate criticism angered the German government, which then attacked the science he had researched and the fact that he was Jewish. However, this did not stop Einstein from opposing Hitler and the atrocities committed by his government.

Near the end of his life, Einstein was offered the opportunity to become Israel's second president. But with respect, he refused the offer. Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann, declared Einstein 'the greatest Jew alive' and hoped he would be his successor. But Einsten, who was 73 years old at the time said that he was no longer young and did not have the skills as a president. Plus, he is not an Israeli citizen.

"I was deeply moved by the offer from our State of Israel, and at the same time sad and embarrassed that I could not accept it," Einstein said.

Einstein died on April 18, 1955, at the age of 76 at the University Medical Center at Princeton. The day before his death, Einstein worked on a speech in honor of Israel's seventh anniversary, he was suffering from an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

When he was about to have surgery, Einstein refused because he believed he had lived his life and was satisfied to accept his fate. "I want to go when I want. There's no point in extending life artificially. I've done my part, now it's time to go. I'll do it elegantly," Einstein said.

When Einstein's body was autopsied, pathologist Thomas Stoltz Harvey removed Einstein's brain. The act was carried out without his family's consent on the grounds of preservation and future study by neuroscientists.

During his life, however, Einstein participated in brain studies and at least one biography claims he hopes researchers will study his brain after he dies. Einstein's brain is now at Princeton University Medical Center. As per his wish, his entire body was cremated and his ashes scattered in a secret location.