A Mathematical History Tour: Einstein

Saturday, May 16, 2026

Einstein's Blackboard

Einstein's Blackboard, History of Science Museum, Oxford

Ninety-five years ago today - May 16, 1931 - Einstein gave a lecture on cosmology. It was the second of three lectures he gave at Rhodes House, and some quick-thinking dons "rescued" the blackboard and dontated it to Oxford's History of Science Museum. (Actually, they saved two boards, but one of them ended up accidentally erased by a cleaner at the museum.)

This blackboard is now one of the most popular exhibits at the History of Science Museum. Ironically, Einstein felt annoyance at these blackboards being preserved; he even protested against it happening. He didn't like the idea of a "personality cult" nor the negative feelings it might create in other eminent scholars. Additionally, what he presented that day was something he considered a work in progress. But people do flock to see this, and I have to admit to a sense of reverence myself when I visited.

Oxford's History of Science Museum (far right)

Oxford's History of Science Museum is near the Old Bodleian Library and just west of the Sheldonian Theatre. The building itself is interesting for its own history. It is the world's oldest surviving purpose-built public museum building - originally built to house the "curiosities" of Elias Ashmole (1683). Ashmole's collection outgrew the building, which was then used to serve the Oxford English Dictionary project. It became a science museum in 1924. And there are many amazing items to be found here. I've included just a small sampling in the next few pictures.

Astrolabe of Queen Elizabeth I, gifted to her by Sir Robert Dudley in the first year of her reign

16th-century marble copy of John Dee's "Holy Table"

Telescopes (part of a 2022 Alice in Wonderland display)

Portable Sundial

Models of Mathematical Shapes

I could post dozens more pictures, and they could be more varied. I tend to be attracted to mathematical items and items from the Tudor Era. But despite the wide variety, many visitors come specifically to see Einstein's blackboard. The blackboard is in the lowest level of the museum, and even walking through this historic building in order to get there is an experience of beauty and interest. In the next few pictures I'm looking back up just before entering the room where the blackboard is exhibited.

Once you get to the bottom of the stairs (and are done staring upward) walk midway through the basement room and look left. You will see Einstein's blackboard posted very visibly on the wall.

Einstein's Blackboard, History of Science Museum, Oxford

Below is the view as you exit. Across Broad Street from the museum is Blackwell's Books (highly recommended!) and Bodleian's Weston Library (also highly recommended!). At the bottom of this post is a short video about how to get to the blackboard - if interested.

Saturday, March 14, 2026

Einstein and Pavia

Ponte Coperto, River Ticino, Pavia, Italy

Normally on today's date - March 14 - I'm encouraging people to celebrate Pi Day. But this year I've decided to post in honor of the birthday of Albert Einstein. I'm choosing to write about one slice of his life :-)

Ponte Coperto, River Ticino, Pavia, Italy

Ponte Coperto, River Ticino, Pavia, Italy - dome of Duomo di Pavai in background

Einstein's family moved to Pavia from Munich, seeking better possibilities for his father's electrical business. Einstein was a teenager at this time, and still in gymnasium (high school), so he stayed behind in Munich to finish his schooling and joined his family during school holidays. Young Albert quickly fell in love with this beautiful city. Because of this, much of my post is simply pictures of the beauty of Pavia - with a splash of humor at the end.

Duomo di Pavia

Pavia University

Ancient Towers outside Pavia University

Walking through Pavia

Einstein would take walks through the city with his sister Maja - something he still reminisced about decades later and looked back on fondly. He especially enjoyed the covered bridge, Ponte Coperto, over the River Ticino that flows through Pavia, which is why I opened this post with so many pictures of the covered bridge.

Riverside walk in Pavia, Italy - Ponte Coperto in the distance

View from Ponte Coperto, Pavia, Italy

More than 50 years later, Einstein mentioned Pavia in a letter. A phrase from that letter is engraved on a plaque inside the bridge memorializing Einstein's time in Pavia:

AN DIE SCHÖNE BRÜCKE IN PAVIA HABE ICH OFT GEDACHT . . .

I have often thought of the beautiful bridge in Pavia . . .

Einstein Plaque, Ponte Coperto, Pavia, Italy

And now for the silly ending that I can't help but include.

Just a bit of a walk down-river from the bridge is an intriguing sight that I like to believe inspired some of Einstein's whimsy.

Walking alongside the Ticino River, Pavia, Italy

La Linguacciona, Pavia, Italy

I mean, he was still thinking of his time in Pavia half a century later, so might La Linguacciona have inspired Einstien's pose in a picture taken many years later? We'll never know for sure, but I like to think it did.

Albert Einstein on his birthday in 1951