Albert Einstein TLS re: The Bomb de Albert Einstein - April 19, 1950

Einstein and the Bomb: "the moral, social and political implications inherent in the construction and use of a Hydrogen Bomb"

1p TLS signed by physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955) as "A. Einstein" at lower left. Signed in Princeton, New Jersey on or soon after April 19, 1950. On "Didier, Publishers / 660 Madison Ave., New York" letterhead. Accompanied by the original transmittal envelope with "The Institute for Advanced Study / School of Mathematics / Princeton, New Jersey" letterhead. The letter is lightly creased and folded, else near fine, 8.25" x 11.25".

Company president J.D. Didier wrote Einstein expressing interest in reproducing a televised speech that the physicist had delivered against the use of the Hydrogen Bomb in a short book the firm was preparing on the same subject. On February 12, 1950, Einstein had appeared on Eleanor Roosevelt's television program, and warned that: "The armament race between the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R., originally supposed to be a preventive measure, assumes hysterical character. On both sides, the means to mass destruction are perfected with feverish haste -- behind the respective walls of secrecy. The H-bomb appears on the public horizon as a probably attainable goal. If successful, radioactive poisoning of the atmosphere and hence annihilation of any life on earth has been brought within the range of technical possibilities ..."

The letter from Didier Publishers was addressed to Einstein, signed by him in Princeton, and mailed back to the publishing firm the following day. "The H-Bomb" was published in September 1950, with Einstein's speech appearing as the book's introduction. Hans Bethe, Leo Szilard, and Dr. Sietz were also contributors.

Albert Einstein was a German-Swiss born theoretical physicist internationally recognized as one of the greatest physicists of all time. He enunciated the general theory of Relativity, a law explaining the relationship between the speed of light and its consequence, and the equivalence of mass and energy (E=MC2). For his work in theoretical physics—largely for his 1905 paper on photons and photo-electricity—Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics (announced in November 1922, retroactive for 1921). Working on a unified field theory, he then attempted to explain gravitation and electromagnetism within one set of laws. After Hitler's rise to power and the subsequent expulsion of Jewish scholars from Germany, Einstein joined the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey (1933), which became the most celebrated research center in the world. In 1939, he signed a letter written to President Franklin Roosevelt warning him of the possibility of Germany developing a nuclear bomb. He urged the U.S. to begin uranium research, thus beginning the top secret "Manhattan Project." Later, at Princeton, he tried to develop a unified field theory and to refute the accepted interpretation of quantum physics, both unsuccessfully. Einstein received U.S. citizenship in 1940.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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