The first week of September, 2025, the Friends of Herrontown Woods will be co-sponsoring two events at the Princeton Public Library related to Albert Einstein and Oswald Veblen. One is a talk entitled "How Oswald Veblen Quietly Created Einstein's Princeton." The other is a performance of songs from a new musical called "Einstein's Begonia." The presentation is on Thursday, Sept. 4 at 7pm and the musical is Sunday, Sept. 7 at 3pm. The two events are featured in an article in the Town Topics.
This photo from 1921, found in Veblen House after Elizabeth Veblen passed, captures the budding friendship between Einstein and Veblen as they walked on Princeton University campus, the day Einstein arrived to receive an honorary degree and deliver a week of lectures on his theory of relativity.
Most if not all biographies of Einstein barely mention Oswald Veblen, and yet since 1905 Veblen--mathematician, visionary, humanitarian--had been working quietly, behind the scenes, to lift up American mathematics and scholarship generally. The features that drew Einstein to Princeton--its first rate math department, the new Institute for Advanced Study, the marvelous facilities at the original Fine Hall--were to a considerable extent shaped by Veblen's vision and efforts.
We're so fortunate to have historian Cindy Srnka assisting with this presentation. She discovered Veblen while doing research for the history/nature walks she leads at the Institute Woods for the Historical Society of Princeton. It was Veblen who persuaded the IAS to acquire the 700 acres of open space now known as the Institute Woods, back in the 1930s and 40s.
When Albert Einstein died in 1955, among the items he left behind, along with the theory of relativity and other great discoveries, was a beloved angel wing begonia. Einstein's secretary began making cuttings of the plant to distribute to Einstein's physics and math friends.
The offspring of that one plant have since spread near and far. Prompted by Kim Dorman of the public library, I tracked one down and published my research and impressions in a couple blogposts that attracted considerable attention on the web. One day, Rebecca Pronsky contacted me. Not only did she have an Einstein begonia, she was also well along in writing a musical about it. How many musicals are written about a plant?
She sent me recordings of the wonderful songs she had written for the musical, and I put her in touch with the Princeton Public Library to arrange a performance. That performance will be on Sept. 7, from 3-4:30.
No comments:
Post a Comment