Portrait of Albert Einstein and Others (1879-1955), Physicist

Josh Thompson    says:

The "Date" field doesn't make any sense. Einstein was *born* in 1879 (as the photo title says).
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

phule    says:

From the Smithsonian's own website, to left of Einstein, with hand-in-jacket, is Albert Abraham Michelson and to the right is Robert Andrews Millikan. Tags added.
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

colide81 says:

This is the coolest picture here on Flickr!!!!!
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

gavino•vz    says:

Albert Einstein has the best hair out of all of them.
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

blech​    says:

The date is the earliest possible date, given when Einstein was born. Michelson died in 1931, and it's unikely that this was taken before Einstein's relativity was widely accepted after the first world war, so I'd suggest this is most likely to be during the 1920s.
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

Coconut.Merengue    says:

I absolutely love this photograph. I love how Einstein is completely different from the rest of the men in the group, with his hair all long and disheveled, and staring off into the distance instead of looking at the camera lol..... a true genius...
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

veggeek says:

The photo is clearly taken in front of the Athenaeum on the campus of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). It was probably taken during the time that Einstein was at Caltech.
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

blech​    says:

From the pages on the Nobel Prize's site about the History of Caltech:

The list of scientists who accepted Millikan's invitation represented the cream of European physics, including Paul Dirac, Erwin Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, Hendrik Lorentz, and Niels Bohr. Albert Einstein's visits to the campus in 1931, 1932, and 1933 capped Millikan's plans to put physics on the map in southern California

Josh Thompson    says:

A few more of the names are given here:
photos.aip.org/searchResult2.jsp?item_id=Eins tein%20Alber...

L-R: Adams, Michelson, Einstein's assistant Walther Meyer, Einstein, Max Farrand of the Huntington Library, Millikan

sigmaman    says:

Love this image. The PUBLIC DOMAIN rocks!
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

ARRANRP says:

1879-1955 is Albert Einstein birth and death
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

Memories by Jules    says:

This made my day! Einstein fascinates me!
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

blech​    says:

gijyun: it might be worth noting that Michelson and Millikan also won Nobel Prizes in physics, for the beginnings of the work proving the speed of light is constant and determining the charge of the electron respectively.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Wolfywhispers says:

Is it just me or does Einstein kinda looks like Peter Sellers?
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

DOLINICK    says:

What is he (Einstein) holding in his left hand?
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

2nihon    says:

I can't tell...looks like the top of a pocket watch or a whistle or something.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

BobMeade says:

Looks like the mouthpiece of a pipe is visibile in Professor Einstein's left hand. He was a keen pipe smoker:

pro.corbis.com/search/Enlargement.aspx?CID=is g&mediau...
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

cotinis    says:

I wanted to second VegGeek's identification of the location--almost certainly the Caltech Athenaeum. Caltech has a lot of historical archives, and the Einstein visits were documented--Smithsonian should be able to contact them and probably get an exact date on the photo:
Aha! Same photo is here on the Caltech archives. The date is given as 1931, as surmised above. Caption reads--replicating information given above, mostly:
Three Nobel Prize winners: Einstein, Millikan, Michelson 1931
Front row: A. A. Michelson, Albert Einstein, Robert A. Millikan; back row: Walter S. Adams, Walther Mayer, Max Ferrrand. Photo was taken in front of the Athenaeum
Photo ID 1.9-1

The Caltech archivist should have more information.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

ComputerHotline    says:

This photo is copied here :
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Portrait_of_ Albert_Einst...
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

earthsound    says:

The The Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, part of the Niels Bohr Library of the Center for History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics, credits the photographer as William Kellogg, California Institute of Technology.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

cotinis    says:

earthsound--very interesting about photographer "William Kellogg". It is hard to find information on him because of the similarity of the name with that of the industrialist W.K. Kellogg, after whom the Kellogg Radiation Laboratory at Caltech is named. I don't think the industrialist took the photo, but I suppose that is possible! (Or could this just be a mistake in the photo credit, that it was from someone at the Kellogg lab at Caltech?)
I did find one reference to a "William Kellogg", a meteorologist, in this NASA History document, but it is not clear if this is the same person as the putative photographer. I like the "Kellogg Lab" idea somewhat better.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Ahmad PK says:

Genius Ghost
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

_Aram Grigoryan_    says:

Very good photo!!!
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

Smithsonian Libraries    says:

Thank you for taking the time to comment on our photo! Since these photos were acquired from various print dealers by our donor, Bern Dibner, in the 1940’s, our records for the collection are a bit sparse. Your comments have been extremely valuable in helping us update information for this image. As you can see, we have already added the 1931 date!
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

Mansour Ali ~ [ On-Off ]    says:

Can u borrow me ur brain for next EXAM, hero?
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

BobMeade says:

On Page 132 of the book

The Einstein scrapbook
By Ze'ev Rosenkranz, Bet ha-sefarim ha-leʼumi ṿeha-universiṭaʼi bi-Yerushalayim Albert Einstein Archives
Published by JHU Press, 2002
ISBN 0801872030, 9780801872037

This photograph is credited as being in front of the Athenaeum, Caltech on January 7, 1931.

The book's author is also visiting associate in History and visiting editor for the Einstein Papers Project at the California Institute of Technology, and is the former Bern Dibner curator of the Albert Einstein Archives at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, so I guess he knows whereof he speaks.

Further ref for the book here:

www.press.jhu.edu/books/title_pages/2581.html

The relevant page of the book may also be viewed via Google Book Search.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Smithsonian Libraries    says:

Thank you for that reference, lifeasdaddy. Although we currently do not have staff available to do further research, your comment will be very helpful when we update the information for this image.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Ramsés el Maldito♡ says:

notable portraits.!
que ha de quedar en mis F/F de photos.!

recuerdos memorables.!


Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

virgiliomulas    says:

Geniale...
Complimenti per questa grandezza.
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Regulla    says:

amazinggggg....
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

CARPEDIEM' [deleted] says:

the king of ners =)
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Glücksklee    says:

What did he know, what people will know already in hundreds of years?
Respect for this persons, and respect to the photographer!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

adebs_e says:

Eistein's one of those people who didn't just come to the world just to leave the same way.He is an inspiration to those who desire to make a mark in life especially in their career.
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Emizael Moura    says:

WOW!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

TopGun_7 says:

i am very inspired by his work
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

antoniaantilope says:

your photographs are really great. I like this one especially because Einstein was a great guy in history.

Yours Antonia
Admin of the Group "Greatest Photographs in 2009"
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

sir_watkyn    says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Creative Imagery (Fav 1,Comment on 1), and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

♫ Marco Wehe ♫    says:

Great Photo!
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

angel.hakasuke says:

I Love Your Picture´s

yusuf_alioglu says:

Excellent....!
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

Carlos Grand    says:

Tempus fugit, non autem memoria - Time flies, but not memory.
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

das auge ! says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Wir haben`s schwarz auf weiss ONLY THE BEST IN B&W ♥ ♥ ♥, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

azulad@ says:

Fotón!!
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

Lú_    says:

Happy Commonsversary, from Indicommons!


Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Smithsonian Photography Initiative    says:

Check out a blog entry on this photograph here:
blog.photography.si.edu/2009/07/09/the-camera -loved-einst...
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

h.tassang says:

Wow my father einstein. U r my everythng. I also hv made theory but dont knw hw to publish
Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )