Thomas Stoltz Harvey: Difference between revisions
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==Autopsy of Albert Einstein== |
==Autopsy of Albert Einstein== |
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The autopsy was conducted at [[Princeton Hospital]], Princeton NJ, on April 18 at 8:00 am. Einstein's brain weighed 1,230 grams -well within the normal human range- which immediately dispelled the concept that intelligence and brain size were directly related. Dr. Harvey sectioned the preserved brain into 170 pieces<ref>{{cite book|title=Body bazaar: the market for human tissue in the biotechnology age|first1=Lori B.|last1=Andrews|first2=Dorothy|last2=Nelkin|publisher=Crown Publishers |
The autopsy was conducted at [[Princeton Hospital]], Princeton NJ, on April 18 at 8:00 am. Einstein's brain weighed 1,230 grams -well within the normal human range- which immediately dispelled the concept that intelligence and brain size were directly related. Dr. Harvey sectioned the preserved brain into 170 pieces<ref>{{cite book|title=Body bazaar: the market for human tissue in the biotechnology age|first1=Lori B.|last1=Andrews|first2=Dorothy|last2=Nelkin|publisher=Crown Publishers |
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|year=2001|isbn=0609605402|page=9|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=w84gAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Thomas+Stoltz+Harvey%22+einstein+brain+%22170+pieces%22&dq=%22Thomas+Stoltz+Harvey%22+einstein+brain+%22170+pieces%22&hl=en&cd=1}}</ref> in a lab at the University of Pennsylvania, a process that took three full months to complete. Those 170 sections were then sliced in microscopic slivers and mounted onto slides and stained. There were 12 sets of slides created with hundreds of slides in each set. Harvey retained two complete sets for his own research and distributed the rest to handpicked leading pathologists of the time. No permission for the removal and preservation had been given by Einstein or his family, but when the family learned about the study, permission to proceed the study was granted as long as the results were only published in scientific journals and not sensationalised.<ref>{{cite book|title=Posthumous interests: legal and ethical perspectives|first1=Daniel|last1=Sperlin|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008|isbn=0521877849|page=144|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=fDTZeUBh_oIC}}, [http://books.google.com/books?id=fDTZeUBh_oIC&pg=PA144 Chapter 4, p. 144]</ref> |
|year=2001|isbn=0609605402|page=9|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=w84gAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Thomas+Stoltz+Harvey%22+einstein+brain+%22170+pieces%22&dq=%22Thomas+Stoltz+Harvey%22+einstein+brain+%22170+pieces%22&hl=en&cd=1}}</ref> in a lab at the [[University of Pennsylvania]], a process that took three full months to complete. Those 170 sections were then sliced in microscopic slivers and mounted onto slides and stained. There were 12 sets of slides created with hundreds of slides in each set. Harvey retained two complete sets for his own research and distributed the rest to handpicked leading pathologists of the time. No permission for the removal and preservation had been given by Einstein or his family, but when the family learned about the study, permission to proceed the study was granted as long as the results were only published in scientific journals and not sensationalised.<ref>{{cite book|title=Posthumous interests: legal and ethical perspectives|first1=Daniel|last1=Sperlin|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008|isbn=0521877849|page=144|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=fDTZeUBh_oIC}}, [http://books.google.com/books?id=fDTZeUBh_oIC&pg=PA144 Chapter 4, p. 144]</ref> |
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In August, 1978, ''New Jersey Monthly'' [[reporter]] Steven Levy published an article, "I Found Einstein's Brain", based on his interview with Dr. Harvey when he was living in [[Wichita, Kansas]]. In 1988, Dr. Harvey retired and moved to [[Lawrence, Kansas]]. In 1996, Harvey moved from [[Weston, Missouri]] to [[Titusville, New Jersey]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} In 1994 documentary ''[[Relics: Einstein's Brain]]'', Kinki University Professor Sugimoto Kenji asks Harvey for a piece of the brain, to which Harvey consents and slices a portion of the brain-stem. Footage shows Harvey segmenting and handing over to Sugimoto a portion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9ulxEGlw5w&NR=1 |title=Relics: Einstein's Brain (1994) |date=2006-08-03 |accessdate=2010-06-16}}</ref> In 1998, Harvey delivered the remaining uncut portion of Einstein's brain to Dr. Elliot Krauss, a pathologist at [[University Medical Center at Princeton]]. Certain parts of Einstein's brain were found to have a higher proportion of [[glial cells]] than the average male brain. |
In August, 1978, ''New Jersey Monthly'' [[reporter]] Steven Levy published an article, "I Found Einstein's Brain", based on his interview with Dr. Harvey when he was living in [[Wichita, Kansas]]. In 1988, Dr. Harvey retired and moved to [[Lawrence, Kansas]]. In 1996, Harvey moved from [[Weston, Missouri]] to [[Titusville, New Jersey]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} In 1994 documentary ''[[Relics: Einstein's Brain]]'', Kinki University Professor Sugimoto Kenji asks Harvey for a piece of the brain, to which Harvey consents and slices a portion of the brain-stem. Footage shows Harvey segmenting and handing over to Sugimoto a portion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9ulxEGlw5w&NR=1 |title=Relics: Einstein's Brain (1994) |date=2006-08-03 |accessdate=2010-06-16}}</ref> In 1998, Harvey delivered the remaining uncut portion of Einstein's brain to Dr. Elliot Krauss, a pathologist at [[University Medical Center at Princeton]]. Certain parts of Einstein's brain were found to have a higher proportion of [[glial cells]] than the average male brain. |
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Revision as of 12:04, 14 September 2011
Thomas | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 10, 1912 |
| Died | April 5, 2007 (aged 94) |
| Known for | theft and autopsy of Albert Einstein's brain |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | pathologist |
Thomas Stoltz Harvey (October 10, 1912 – April 5, 2007) was a pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Albert Einstein in 1955. Harvey studied at Yale University as an undergraduate and later as a medical student under Dr. Harry Zimmerman. In his third year of medical school he contracted tuberculosis and was bedridden for the next year in a sanatorium, claiming it to be one of the biggest disappointments of his life.[1]
Autopsy of Albert Einstein
The autopsy was conducted at Princeton Hospital, Princeton NJ, on April 18 at 8:00 am. Einstein's brain weighed 1,230 grams -well within the normal human range- which immediately dispelled the concept that intelligence and brain size were directly related. Dr. Harvey sectioned the preserved brain into 170 pieces[2] in a lab at the University of Pennsylvania, a process that took three full months to complete. Those 170 sections were then sliced in microscopic slivers and mounted onto slides and stained. There were 12 sets of slides created with hundreds of slides in each set. Harvey retained two complete sets for his own research and distributed the rest to handpicked leading pathologists of the time. No permission for the removal and preservation had been given by Einstein or his family, but when the family learned about the study, permission to proceed the study was granted as long as the results were only published in scientific journals and not sensationalised.[3]
In August, 1978, New Jersey Monthly reporter Steven Levy published an article, "I Found Einstein's Brain", based on his interview with Dr. Harvey when he was living in Wichita, Kansas. In 1988, Dr. Harvey retired and moved to Lawrence, Kansas. In 1996, Harvey moved from Weston, Missouri to Titusville, New Jersey.[citation needed] In 1994 documentary Relics: Einstein's Brain, Kinki University Professor Sugimoto Kenji asks Harvey for a piece of the brain, to which Harvey consents and slices a portion of the brain-stem. Footage shows Harvey segmenting and handing over to Sugimoto a portion.[4] In 1998, Harvey delivered the remaining uncut portion of Einstein's brain to Dr. Elliot Krauss, a pathologist at University Medical Center at Princeton. Certain parts of Einstein's brain were found to have a higher proportion of glial cells than the average male brain.
In 2005, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Einstein's death, the 92-year-old Harvey was able to give interviews regarding the remarkable history of the brain from his home in New Jersey.[citation needed]
Death
Harvey died at the University Medical Center at Princeton on April 5, 2007.[citation needed]
See also
Literature
- Michael Paterniti, Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain (G K Hall & Co, December, 2000) (ISBN 0-7838-9298-5)
- Carolyn Abraham, Possessing Genius: The Bizarre Odyssey of Einstein's Brain (St Martins Press, March, 2002) (ISBN 0-312-28117-X)
Media appearances
The story of Harvey's theft of Einstein's brain, and its subsequent study, was explored in an episode of the Science Channel show Dark Matters: Twisted But True, a series which explores the darker side of scientific discovery and experimentation, which premiered on September 7, 2011.[5]
References
- ^ Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America with Einstein's Brain, Dial Press, 2001
{{citation}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Andrews, Lori B.; Nelkin, Dorothy (2001). Body bazaar: the market for human tissue in the biotechnology age. Crown Publishers. p. 9. ISBN 0609605402.
- ^ Sperlin, Daniel (2008). Posthumous interests: legal and ethical perspectives. Cambridge University Press. p. 144. ISBN 0521877849., Chapter 4, p. 144
- ^ "Relics: Einstein's Brain (1994)". 2006-08-03. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
- ^ "I Have Einstein's Brain, Unidentified Flying Nazis, Killer Thoughts". Dark Matters: Twisted But True. September 7, 2011. Science Channel.