Talk:Albert Einstein

GA Reassessment

Albert Einstein

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article (edit | visual edit | history) · Article talk (edit | history) · Watch • Watch article reassessment page • GAN review not found

Result: Kept, with thanks to XOR'easter for their hard work. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 18:11, 8 May 2023 (UTC)

It looks like there's some uncited text and other problems including

• If one end of a wormhole was positively charged, the other end would be negatively charged. These properties led Einstein to believe that pairs of particles and antiparticles could be described in this way.
• Later, after the death of his second wife Elsa, Einstein was briefly in a relationship with Margarita Konenkova. Konenkova was a Russian spy who was married to the Russian sculptor Sergei Konenkov (who created the bronze bust of Einstein at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton).[67][68][failed verification]*the Einstein-Cartan theory section
• The equations of motion section
• The Adiabatic principle and action-angle variables section
• In "Über die Entwicklung unserer Anschauungen über das Wesen und die Konstitution der Strahlung" ("The Development of our Views on the Composition and Essence of Radiation"), on the quantization of light, and in an earlier 1909 paper, Einstein showed that Max Planck's energy quanta must have well-defined momenta and act in some respects as independent, point-like particles. This paper introduced the photon concept (although the name photon was introduced later by Gilbert N. Lewis in 1926) and inspired the notion of wave–particle duality in quantum mechanics. Einstein saw this wave–particle duality in radiation as concrete evidence for his conviction that physics needed a new, unified foundation.
• The matter waves section
• Although he was lauded for this work, his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. Notably, Einstein's unification project did not accommodate the strong and weak nuclear forces, neither of which was well understood until many years after his death. Although mainstream physics long ignored Einstein's approaches to unification, Einstein's work has motivated modern quests for a theory of everything, in particular string theory, where geometrical fields emerge in a unified quantum-mechanical setting.
• The other investigations section
• Einstein suggested to Erwin Schrödinger that he might be able to reproduce the statistics of a Bose–Einstein gas by considering a box. Then to each possible quantum motion of a particle in a box associate an independent harmonic oscillator. Quantizing these oscillators, each level will have an integer occupation number, which will be the number of particles in it.
• Many popular quotations are often misattributed to him.[example needed]

and possibly more. Though some of these could have been general referenced and I missed it. Onegreatjoke (talk) 18:01, 17 February 2023 (UTC)

Seems rather odd to open this without editing the article yourself or raising any issues on the article talkpage first. --JBL (talk) 18:45, 17 February 2023 (UTC)

This review was put on hold for two months to relieve pressure on topic editors at GAR. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 22:57, 17 April 2023 (UTC)

On a first reading, none of the uncited statements look atrocious. Various standard textbooks/histories/biographies should cover them, I think. XOR'easter (talk) 18:56, 20 April 2023 (UTC)

Working through these as I find the time. XOR'easter (talk) 21:04, 23 April 2023 (UTC)

All the {{citation needed}} tags are addressed now. XOR'easter (talk) 20:20, 5 May 2023 (UTC)

XOR'easter, thanks for your efforts. A couple of things still need to be directly cited: the quotes in the sentence beginning "As he stated in the paper" in the physical cosmology section, the Einstein–Cartan theory and Wave–particle duality sections. Also, do you think MOS:OVERSECTION is a problem at all? ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 16:46, 8 May 2023 (UTC)

The citation for the "As he stated in the paper..." is immediately preceding that passage. I don't see the need to repeat footnotes there.

There are more divisions into short subsections than I would have included, but I'm not sure that's a problem per se. XOR'easter (talk) 17:41, 8 May 2023 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

"German-born Jewish theoretical physicist"

Why is Einstein not identified as "Jewish" in the lead but as a "German-born theoretical physicist"? I went to add the word "Jewish" and saw a note requesting that it not be changed and to refer to the Talk page discussion, but do not see any discussion about it here. I propose changing the lead to include his Jewish identity, which was very important to Einstein and was, in fact, the reason why he had to flee his German country of origin. StoneDante (talk) 20:59, 4 May 2026 (UTC)

I agree with this, it seems suspicious that the Jewish part of his identity is being left out, especially since it wasn't something he was ashamed of at all. Eseseso (talk) 15:53, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

I decided to make the change in the description and the introduction. Einstein was Jewish and publicly so; Wikipedia should reflect that reality. The burden of argument must be made to justify excluding Einstein's Jewishness, not to justify including it. StoneDante (talk) 16:57, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

Did you check the archives? I believe that the issue is not whether to mention it but rather where. The lead is supposed to be a summary; what is the justification for mentioning it in the summary? Is it more important than the fact, also not ing the lead, that he did not get Nobel prizes for Relativity? -- Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz Username:Chatul (talk) 17:34, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

@Chatul I'm not and never will contest the primary importance of Einstein's work. It makes little sense, however, to include "German-born" but not "Jewish" in the lead and introduction. StoneDante (talk) 18:24, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

MOS:ETHNICITY applies here, which says: Ethnicity, religion, or sexuality should generally not be in the lead unless relevant to the subject's notability. Is the fact that Einstein was Jewish relevant to his notability? If it isn't, then it shouldn't be in the lead. I see that @Muboshgu has removed it from the lead, so I invite them to join this discussion. Chess enjoyer (talk) 17:48, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

We have plenty of content at Albert Einstein#Religious and philosophical views and Religious and philosophical views of Albert Einstein which state that Einstein was agnostic and not that connected with his religion. He was discriminated against because of it, but it is not key to his notability. – Muboshgu (talk) 17:53, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

@Muboshgu How is his being born in Germany more notable than his Jewishness? Einstein gave up his German citizenship twice, once before he was 20 and again after the rise of the Nazis. He was persecuted for being Jewish, his scientific discoveries were famously condemned as "Jewish science" by antisemites, and was publicly outspoken about his secular and cultural Jewish identity. His agnosticism doesn't make him less Jewish. StoneDante (talk) 18:22, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

The opening paragraph should usually provide context for that which made the person notable. In most modern-day cases, this will be the country, region, or territory where the person is currently a national or permanent resident – Muboshgu (talk) 18:54, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

@Chess enjoyer How is Einstein's birthplace of Germany more relevant to his notability than his Judaism? StoneDante (talk) 18:16, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

I don't see any reasoning behind why you think his Judaism is more relevant than his German birth. – Muboshgu (talk) 19:14, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

Frankly, that doesn't belong there either, nor does most of the lead. His major achievements were too numerous to summarize in a corpus that is supposed to be brief. -- Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz Username:Chatul (talk) 20:54, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

@Muboshgu I agree with @Chatul. His Jewishness is relevant to at minimum the same degree as the fact that he was born in what is now Germany - that is to say, it colored and affected his life and work (and the world's response to him). But he wrote his Theory of Relativity in Switzerland in 1905 after he relinquished German citizenship and was a Swiss citizen. Per MOS:NATIONALITY Einstein shouldn't be regarded as "German-born" because of that ("if the person is notable mainly for past events, where the person was such when they became notable") - but that would be against WP:N since Einstein isn't notably Swiss. Einstein was famously, publicly, and notably a Jew born in Germany. StoneDante (talk) 21:11, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

A case can be made to remove "German-born", a la Elon Musk, but this talk discussion is supposed to be about adding "Jewish". I see no evidence that it "colored and affected his life and work". – Muboshgu (talk) 21:23, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

I don't agree with Muboshgu in this case. From his flight from Germany, to his later activities, most biographies would in part ascribe Einstein's notability to his Jewish identity. I suggest we find some authoritative biographies of Einstein and read more and quote specific aspects of his biography that are highly relevant to his notability. Yes, he'd be notable Jewish or Swiss or German, but also, there is a relationship to his Jewish identity that was very much relevant to his life and work. Also check out the well-elucidated tests in the Wikipedia:Jew-tagging essay that explain why this could be relevant enough to discuss in the article and maybe even the lead or the early sentences of it. Andre🚐 22:40, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

@AndreJustAndre I looked at the one Einstein related thread archived on the Wikipedia:Jew-tagging essay and was directed to the following quote: I am neither a German citizen nor do I believe in anything that can be described as a "Jewish faith." But I am a Jew and glad to belong to the Jewish people, though I do not regard it in any way as chosen. (https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein#1920s). I think that is sufficient evidence from the man himself that "German-born" alone is an inaccurate label that risks confusing the reader about Einstein's relationship to both Germany and his Jewishness. StoneDante (talk) 20:51, 6 May 2026 (UTC)

Jewish yes. Folks here could use more library time. Einstein books abound describing his extensive efforts to help establish a homeland for Jews in the region of Palestine. Einstein's Jewishness is essential to his life and career. Editors David E. Rowe and Robert J. Schulmann tell the reader of Einstein on Politics that Einstein's first political act was to write a newspaper piece in late 1919 warning about the dangers faced by vulnerable Jews immigrating to right-wing Germany. The book talks at length about Einstein's activity in Jewish affairs. Similarly, Ze'ev Rosenkranz writes extensively in Einstein Before Israel about Einstein's fame as a pro-Jewish activist, and Einstein's hope that the Jews and Arabs of Palestine would collaborate to build a healthy state together rather than the incoming Jews creating a religious all-Jewish state forever at war with the native Arabs. A wealth of material in there. Take a look at your local library; there is much more of this to be found. Binksternet (talk) 01:28, 6 May 2026 (UTC)

Einstein and the Academic Assistance Council in 1933

Right now the article says Einstein was on a visit in the US in Februry 1933 and couldn't return to Germany.

Then it says "Aided by the Academic Assistance Council, founded in April 1933 by British Liberal politician William Beveridge to help academics escape Nazi persecution, Einstein was able to leave Germany."

The timeline doesn't add up. The organization was founded after his leave, it couldn't help him to leave.

The claim about the AAC helping Einstein is most likely wrong. He isn't even listed amongst the scientist who was helped by the AAC: Council for At-Risk Academics

Probably, this edit adding this claim should be reverted and the source should be removed https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albert_Einstein&diff=prev&oldid=1094089001#cite_ref-Albert_Hall_131-0 ~2026-30008-97 (talk) 23:33, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

"Alberteinstein" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect Alberteinstein has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2026 May 19 § Alanturing until a consensus is reached. 𝔅𝔦𝔰-𝔖𝔢𝔯𝔧𝔢𝔱𝔞? 18:50, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

Enrollment date error in intro

The second paragraph of the intro says "In 1897, at the age of seventeen, he enrolled in the mathematics and physics teaching diploma program at the Swiss federal polytechnic school in Zurich."

"1897" should be "1896".

The article's own body text says his Matura was "awarded to him in September 1896" and that "at seventeen, he enrolled in the four-year mathematics and physics teaching diploma program." The intro contradicts the body.

Also, 1897 minus 1879 = 18, not seventeen. The age and the year can't both be right. The age is correct, the year is wrong.

Sources confirming 1896:

• The article's own "Childhood, youth and education" section
• Britannica: "graduated in 1896" from Aarau, then enrolled at the polytechnic (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Albert-Einstein)
• The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Vol. 1, Doc. 28: matriculation date October 29, 1896

Please change "In 1897" to "In 1896" in the second paragraph of the intro. Thank you. WikiContrib24 (talk) 00:26, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

Another great catch!  Done (see message on your talk page for a link to the edit request wizard) Mikewem (talk) 00:34, 8 June 2026 (UTC)