2024 Summer Premier Auction

In August 1939, renowned physicist Albert Einstein wrote to U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, warning him that the Nazis were working on a new and powerful weapon: an atomic bomb. Fellow physicist Leo Szilard urged Einstein to send the letter and helped him draft it. Despite his critical early involvement, in July 1940, the U.S. Army Intelligence office denied Einstein the security clearance needed to work on what was being called the Manhattan Project. The hundreds of scientists on the project were forbidden from consulting with Einstein, as the left-leaning political activist was deemed a potential security risk.

On August 9, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki, Japan, three days after bombing Hiroshima. By the end of 1945, an estimated 200,000 people had died between the two cities. Although he never worked directly on the atomic bomb, Einstein is often incorrectly associated with the advent of nuclear weapons. His famous equation E=mc² explains the energy released in an atomic bomb but doesn't explain how to build one.

Offered here is a two-page typewritten “Personnel Security” document sent to Albert Einstein on March 3, 1944, from the Army Services Offices on Governors Island, New York. The questionnaire asks Einstein several questions pertaining to his knowledge of the subject. Einstein only answered two of the 13 questions. He acknowledged that he was a U.S. citizen and listed his occupation and employer as “Professor of Theoretical Physics, Member of the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey.” Einstein signed the second page of the document with what appears to be fine-point, brown-colored ink.

This document is a rare and significant piece of history, providing insight into Einstein's limited but impactful involvement with the Manhattan Project. Authenticated by James Spence Authentication (JSA), this document is an invaluable addition to any collection of historical memorabilia.