Film

MAN WHO STOLE EINSTEIN'S BRAIN, THE

Albert Einstein’s genius was matched by his celebrity status. Upon Einstein’s death in April 1955, Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, the chief pathologist at Princeton Hospital, conducted the autopsy. While the family prepared for the body’s burial, Harvey covertly maneuvered to keep the esteemed physicist’s brain, hoping research could reveal the secrets to its brilliance and bring him acclaim. Sharing slides of slivered tissues with the world’s leading pathologists provided few revelations beyond the artifact’s novelty, as it becomes clear the complete organ was more impressive than the sum of its parts. Archival material and Harvey’s recordings reveal his hubris through the decades that destroyed his professional and personal life, while his treasured specimen gained mythic status in a cardboard box.

Using her journalistic expertise to separate fact from fiction, director Michelle Shephard pieces together the bizarre details of a fascinating quest that cautions against the dangers of obsession and delusions of grandeur.