ed the Einstein refrigerator, a device that had no moving parts and relied only on the absorption of heat to cool its contents. In November 1930, they were awarded a patent for their design. However, their efforts were soon undermined by the Depression Era, the invention of the Freon, and the Swedish company Electrolux acquiring their patents.
Attempts to resurrect the technology began in the 90s and 2000s, with student teams from Georgia Tech and Oxford University attempting to build their own version of the Einstein fridge. Due to Freon’s proven connection to ozone-depletion, and desires to reduce our impact on the environment by using less electricity, the design is considered to be an eco-friendly alternative and a useful device for the developing world.
Death and Legacy:
On April 17th, 1955, Albert Einstein experienced internal bleeding caused by the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which he had sought surgery for seven years prior. He took the draft of a speech he was preparing for a television appearance, commemorating the State of Israel’s seventh anniversary, with him to the hospital, but he did not live long enough to complete it.
Einstein refused surgery, saying: “I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly.” He died in Princeton Hospital early the next morning at the age of 76, having continued to work until near the end.
During the autopsy, the pathologist of Princeton Hospital (Thomas Stoltz Harvey) removed Einstein’s brain for preservation, though without the permission of his family. According to Harvey, he had done this in the hopes that future generations of neuroscientists would be able to discover the cause of Einstein’s genius. Einstein’s remains were cremated and his ashes were scattered at an undisclosed location.
For his lifetime of achievements, Einstein received countless honors, both during his lifetime and posthumously. In 1921, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect, as his theory of relativity was still considered somewhat controversial. In 1925, the Royal Society awarded him the Copley Medal, the oldest Royal Society medal still awarded.
In 1929, Max Planck presented Einstein with the Max Planck medal of the German Physical Society in Berlin, for extraordinary achievements in theoretical physics. In 1934 Einstein gave the Josiah Willard Gibbs lecture, an prestigious annual event where the American Mathematical Society awards a prize for achievements in the field of mathematics. In 1936, Einstein was awarded the Franklin Institute‘s Franklin Medal for his extensive work on relativity and the photoelectric effect.
In 1949, in honor of Einstein’s 70th birthday, the the Lewis and Rosa Strauss Memorial Fund established the Albert Einstein Award. Also known as the Albert Einstein Medal (because it is accompanied with a gold medal) this award was established to recognize high achievement in theoretical physics and the natural sciences.
Since his death, Einstein has been honored by having countless schools, buildings, and memorials named after him. The Luitpold Gymnasium, where he received his early education, was renamed the Albert Einstein Gymnasium in his honor. In August of 1955, four months after Einstein’s death, the 99th chemical element on the Periodic Table was named “einsteinium”.
Also in 1955, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, a research-intensive not-for-profit, private, and nonsectarian medical school was founded in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. Between 1965 and 1978, the US Postal Service issued a series of commemorative stamps known as the Prominent American Series. Einstein was honored with a 8¢ stamp in 1966, the second year of the series.
Similar stamps were issued by the state of Israel in 1956 (a year after his death) and the Soviet Union in 1973. In 1973, an inner main belt asteroid was discovered, which was named 2001 Einstein in his honor. In 1977, the Albert Einstein Society was founded in B