Serendipitous Connection

Senior Editor A. J. Kox received an unexpected email after his interview in the September 29th NRC-Handelsblad. Out of the blue, a reader of the paper sent Kox two Albert Einstein documents. Both were, up-‘til-now, unknown; one item is a manuscript of the speech Albert Einstein gave at the Genootschap Gold Medal ceremony in December of 1923. The other is a letter to the organizers of the ceremony in which Einstein explains that his manuscript was written after giving the speech—that he did not realize the speech would be published but that he has done his best to faithfully remember and record it for them in the manuscript he was sending them.

Coincidentally our next publication, Volume 14 of the CPAE covers the time period when the speech was given. This serendipitous connection led to a timely and fruitful lead in our research at the EPP. We are continually searching for unknown Einstein or Einstein-related material. If you are the owner of an Einstein letter or manuscript, or other pertinent document, or if you know someone who is: please get in touch with us.