The Danish Astronomical Society was proud to announce that Albert Einstein’s letters have been found in the archives. The letters from society’s then-chairperson Elis Strømgren to the world-famous physicist were written in 1920 when Einstein to give a lecture in Copenhagen on general relativity.
A series of letters exchanged between the society and physicist Albert Einstein nearly a hundred years ago has been uncovered, chairperson Majken Brahe Ellegaard Christensen said. The unexpected discovery impressed the Danish scientists who were so proud that the Danish society had communicated with Einstein.
“And it’s hugely valuable to find hand-written letters from the one and only Albert Einstein,” chairperson said. She reminded that Mr Einstein received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. In his letters to Elis Strømgren, they have been discussing physicist’s visit to Copenhagen. In fact, the discovered letters do not reveal anything groundbreaking, they are still of great value.
“This reminds us that a great man like Einstein, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics the following year, prioritised coming to Copenhagen to tell Danes about the theory of relativity,” Majken Brahe Ellegaard Christensen said.
The society chairperson described the letters as yellowed and written in slanted handwriting, and the society described Einstein’s writing style as “extremely polite”. Finding handwritten letters from one of the most famous figures in the history of scientific discovery is a boon for the Danish Astronomical Society, its chairperson said.
“It reminds us about the heritage we have, what the society stands for and what we must live up to today,” she said.
The Danish Astronomical Society will now look into whether the letters can be digitised, enabling anyone to see and read them, and published photos of some of the pages on its website. Their further preservation of Einstein’s handwritten letters will also be taken into consideration.
