Einstein Up In Smoke

Phys. Perspect. 17 (2016) 354–360  2015 Springer Basel 1422-6944/16/040354-7 DOI 10.1007/s00016-015-0171-y Physics in Perspective Einstein Up in Smoke John Lisle* Albert Einstein’s biographers have not explained why he developed the abdominal aortic aneurysm that led to his death. Early conjectures proposed that it was caused by syphilis, without accurate evidence. The present article gives evidence to the contrary, and argues that the principal cause of Einstein’s death was smoking. Key words: Albert Einstein; smoking; pipe; abdominal aortic aneurism. Many writers associate Einstein’s genius with his pipe. One night in May 1905, Einstein made a breakthrough toward the special theory of relativity. Describing that evening, one biographer asked, ‘‘How did he spend it? He surely indulged in his old habit of smoking pipes and cigars while scribbling on countless scraps of paper.’’1 Surely Einstein was smoking when he had his breakthrough. In 1930, the New York Times ran the front-page story ‘‘Einstein Evolving Yet Another Theory,’’ describing the man as ‘‘calculating, jotting down figures and symbols, checking equations, smoking his pipe when he has not forgotten to light it.’’2 A similar article described him pondering the nature of the universe: ‘‘Out of this thought experiment and pipe smoking new basic laws of behavior are expected, laws such as those of Euclid and Newton that lead to new systems of mathematics.’’3 After Einstein’s death, his friend and doctor Ja´nos Plesch wrote some reminiscences of the man, noting, ‘‘The greatest help in his work was his pipe.’’4 Such anecdotes are exaggerations, yet the alleged link between Einstein’s genius and his pipe smoking persists, as it does with the fictional Sherlock Holmes. But strangely, nobody links Einstein’s smoking habit with his death. Not one account of Einstein’s death in the biographies by Jeremy Bernstein, Denis Brian, Ronald Clark, Albrecht Fo¨lsing, Walter Isaacson, Ju¨rgen Neffe, or Abraham Pais mentions smoking.5 At most, some biographers mention his doctor’s orders to stop smoking after surgery. Even medical articles discussing Einstein’s death have neglected to connect his smoking with his chronic ailment.6 For Einstein, smoking pipe tobacco was a daily ritual. He wrote: ‘‘Diet: smoke like a chimney.’’7 His favorite brand was ‘‘Revelation’’ by House of Windsor. When ill, Einstein sometimes stopped smoking following his doctor’s orders. After an ailment in 1915, he wrote to friends, ‘‘I am feeling quite fine … I recuperated * John Lisle is a graduate student in the history department of the University of Texas at Austin. 354 Vol. 17 (2016) Einstein Up in Smoke 355 well, particularly after making the tough decision to give up smoking entirely.’’8 In 1920, Einstein had to ‘‘abstain from smoking during his severe gastric illness.’’ He resumed the habit soon afterwards.9 Relenting to his wife Elsa’s demands, Einstein agreed to abstain from smoking on Thanksgiving, 1934, until the New Year. ‘‘You see,’’ he said, ‘‘I am no longer a slave to my pipe. I am a slave to that woman.’’ 10 Right after New Year’s, he lit up again. By 1947, he had stopped again. When a visitor then offered him some tobacco, Einstein passively remarked, ‘‘No, thank you. My doctor has forbidden me to smoke. Personally, I don’t think it would affect me. But my doctor is a sensitive man—and I don’t want to hurt him.’’11 Ja