Mistaken Identity and Mirror Images: Albert and Carl Einstein, Leiden and Berlin, Relativity and Revolution

TL;DR

This paper explores the delayed appointment of Albert Einstein at Leiden University, revealing how mistaken identity with Carl Einstein, art movements, and fears of revolution influenced the reception of relativity in early 20th-century Netherlands and Germany.

Contribution

It uncovers the socio-political factors affecting Einstein's academic appointment and the perception of relativity theory in the context of European revolutionary anxieties.

Findings

Delayed appointment due to mistaken identity with Carl Einstein

Revelation of societal fears impacting scientific reception

Insight into the cultural and political climate of early 20th-century Europe

Abstract

Albert Einstein accepted a 'special' visiting professorship at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands in February 1920. Although his appointment should have been a mere formality, it took until October of that year before Einstein could occupy his special chair. Why the delay? The explanation involves a case of mistaken identity with Carl Einstein, Dadaist art, and a particular Dutch fear of revolutions. But what revolution was one afraid of? The story of Einstein's Leiden chair throws new light on the reception of relativity and its creator in the Netherlands and in Germany.