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Capsule History at Bainbridge House
Grandfather Clock: Einstein the scientist. Einsteinintroduced a new theory about time, and so our tour begins withEinstein’s own timepiece, his grandfather clock. Einstein was,arguably, at his most productive in his 20s and 30s, and he lived tosee the world accept the concepts he published in 1905 at age 26.In addition to introducing the concept of “spacetime,” he challengedthe wave theory of light, validated the kinetic-molecular theory ofheat, and proved the concept that would lead to E = MC2.Though scorned as “Jewish science” by his own countrymen, and thoughthey flouted Newtonian physics, these concepts were taken seriously bya British astronomer who, with photographs of the 1919 solar eclipse,proved that gravity could indeed bend light. In 1922, at age 42, helearned that he had been recognized with the 1921 Nobel Prize forPhysics.The New York Times described him on April 3, 1921, upon his arrival inNew York: “A man in a faded gray raincoat and flopping black felt hatthat nearly concealed the gray hair that straggled over his ears stoodon the boat deck of the steamship Rotterdam yesterday, timidly facinga battery of cameramen. In one hand he clutched a shiny briar pipe andwith the other clung to a precious violin. He looked like an artist –a musician. He was.””But underneath his shaggy locks was a scientific mind whosedeductions have staggered the ablest intellects of Europe…” (April3, 1921, quoted in The Einstein Almanac).The Music Stand: Einstein as a young person. Stories ofEinstein’s musical exploits are apocryphal in Princeton. He liked to”play in,” unannounced, with chamber music groups, unannounced. One ofthe more titillating stories: that he sometimes practiced his violin,nude, in his bedroom with the curtains open.At Bainbridge House, the music stand helps us to recall Einstein’schildhood. According to Alice Calaprice, an Einstein biographer who isa Princeton resident, the young Einstein was a thoughtful dreamer whofrequently got his knuckles rapped for failing to respond quickly.Though scorned for his inability to do simple calculations, he wasteaching himself calculus at the age of 12.Music must have offered a respite from the harsh discipline at school.He began taking violin lessons at age six. Though he quit taking thelessons to study on his own, he also taught himself piano. InPrinceton at least one musician remembers his reputation for notalways being able to keep a steady beat. Perhaps because he was selftaught, and he did not have a teacher standing over him, requiring himto play to a metronome’s beat, he acquired the habit of what ischaritably called an “individual sense of rhythm.””Einstein was a huge lover of music but no great musician – he was thefirst to admit that,” says Maureen Smyth of the Historical Society ofPrinceton. “As he grew older he spent more time playing the piano thanthe violin.”Middle age: the favorite chair of a refugee. The tub chairthat sits next to the clock, Einstein’s favorite, evokes the story ofhis middle years and the sadder story of his expulsion from Germany.As the Hitler movement rose to power, Einstein – emboldened by hiscelebrity and impassioned by his support of pacifism, antimilitarism,and anti-Semitism – spoke out against the Nazi regime. By 1933 herealized his days of living full time in Germany were over, and hebegan looking for work in America. That year the Nazis confiscated hishouse and bank accounts. Somehow friends managed to smuggle his papersand his furniture out of Germany.This chair represents Einstein’s life as a younger man, known forbeing both a romantic dreamer and arrogant genius. It is part of the94-item collection of Einstein’s furniture that was donated to theHistorical Society a couple of years ago. “Some of the pieces stillhave the Berlin shipping tags on them,” says Gail Stern, the HSPdirector. Thanks to the acquisition of another property, she hopes toexpand the space at Bainbridge House and be able tap the collectionfor rotating exhibits.The pipe, from the collection of Gillett Griffin, recalls the old manwith the frowzy hair and fuzzy slippers caricatured by Walter Matthauin the movie “IQ” who sailed on Carnegie Lake and helped schoolchildren with their homework.Anthropologist Ashley Montagu wrote about how Einstein looked in hislater years (as quoted by Calaprice): “He wore his usual jersey, baggypants, and slippers. What especially struck me as he approached thedoorway was that he seemed not to walk but to glide in a sort ofundeliberate dance. It was enchanting. And there he was, bright, sad,eyes, cascading white hair, with a smile of greeting on his face, afirm handshake.”Historical Society of Princeton, Bainbridge House, 158 Nassau Street.The museum is open and free to visitors, Tuesday to Sunday, noon to 4p.m., and Einstein lore is featured in the walking tours on Sundays at2 p.m. (609-921-6748).Previous StoryNext StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
