Educators in leading universities throughout the East were represented at the meeting Tuesday evening, through messages hailing Professor Einstein’s great contributions to science.
Princeton University, through its president, Prof. John Grier Hibben, hailed Prof. Einstein as an honorary graduate of the University, saying:
“I am writing on behalf of Princeton University to extend to Prof. Einstein our congratulations upon his revolutionary contributions to the advancement of knowledge. We at Princeton are particularly interested in him personally, as we had the privilege a few years ago of receiving Prof. Einstein as the guest of the University, at which time he delivered a series of lectures to the leading scholars in mathematics and physics assembled at Princeton from all of the universities and colleges of the East. At that time we conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Science and enrolled him as one of our honorary graduates. We are indeed proud to have his name in this way permanently connected with the history of Princeton and its scholarly tradition.” Prof. Einstein’s achievements as a Jew were emphasized by Dr. Julian Morgenstern, president of the Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, who declared that Einstein “has brought honor to Judaism and the Jewish people.” Referring to the celebration, Dr. Morgenstern said: “The fiftieth birthday of Albert Einstein is one which Jews, the world over, may well celebrate. Through his significant and epoch-making researches and discoveries he has furthered immeasurably the advancement of human knowledge and rendered himself thereby a benefactor of mankind. He has given this service not merely as scientist and scholar, but also as a Jew, conscious of his Jewish heritage and of the obligations which this lays upon him. He has borne himself proudly as a Jew in the councils of scholars and of scholarly institutions. He has brought honor to Judaism and the Jewish people. His example is a source of inspiration and emulation.”
Wiring a message on behalf of the University of Kansas, Chancellor E. H. Lindley wrote: “The University of Kansas, founded by the intrepid pioneers who fought to make the soil of Kansas free, joins in tribute to a great pioneer whose discoveries will yield new freedom to the human spirit.”
Chancellor E. A. Burnett, of the University of Nebraska, commended Prof. Einstein for his interest in the rehabilitation of Palestine, saying: “The people of America have known you long through your contribution to knowledge. Few men have done so much that is fundamental in so many fields of science and no one has exerted greater influence on the scientific thought of our day. We know you not alone as a scientist but also as a humanitarian, a citizen of the world. We honor you for your interest in and your labor for the rehabilitation of Palestine. I am delighted as the representative of the University of Nebraska and the people of the State of Nebraska to join in the celebration of your fiftieth anniversary.”
Paying tribute to the simple life of Prof. Einstein, Judge Benjamin N. Cardozo, of the New York Court of Appeals, wrote, in reviewing the fifty years of Einstein’s life: “These fifty years of life are surely more than half a century. They have revolutionized time itself. They have changed the courses of the stars. They have humbled us with a sense of the relativity of our knowledge and exalted us with the thought of its unmeasured heights and depths.
“Life upon this planet will be something different, it will have a new and fuller meaning for generations yet to come, because this man has lived and labored in the generation that is ours. For these great deeds and for his pure and simple life, I offer him my homage.”
Calling Einstein one of the great minds of the century, President David Kinely of the University of Illinois sent the following message: “The Faculty of the University of Illinois, through me, sends its greetings to you on your fiftieth birthday. It joins in the homage paid you as one of the great minds of the century, who have broadened and deepened the foundations of human knowledge. Your great work has contributed to the unity of knowledge and has strengthened the common brotherhood of man, which finds its roots in the increase of knowledge and wisdom. We greet you as a scholar, a scientist, a great discoverer and patriot.”
Prof. J. McKeen Cattell, editor of “Science,” and past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, wrote for the celebration: “Every scientific man in every country in the world would be glad to join in sending greetings and expressions of respect and honor to Prof. Albert Einstein on his fiftieth birthday. It has not before happened in all history that great scientific achievement has been so universally recognized while the author is still in the fullness of his powers. Prof. Einstein has thus not only made an unparalelled contribution to the advancement of science, but he has also been able in large measure to promote interest in international and racial cooperation and good-will.”
The University of Michigan sent its tribute to Einstein through President C. C. Little in a message saying: “The career of Albert Einstein is commensurate with the vastness of the sub-
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jects with which his mind has dealt. As a thinker his abilities have spanned great speaces and have explored dizzy heights and profound depths. As a scientist he has applied to his own work and that of others the light of impersonal but inspired criticism. As a man he has proved alert to the dignity and tradition of the Jewish people and a leader in its further development along the lines of a wise and co-operative nationalism. Any one of his major lines of achievement would have made him an outstanding figure. Their combination in a unique degree makes the whole world his debtor.”
President James Angell of Yale University said of Einstein that “the revolutionary character of his discoveries is everywhere recognized and promises to give to the twentieth century a position of commanding eminence in the history of science.”
Clark University, through its president, Wallace W. Atwood, said: “The intellectual world is slowly, but certainly, coming to appreciate that Prof. Albert Einstein has already made contributions of the most profound significance, and has stimulated thought and effort among all scientific workers. His vision is an inspiration to all of us.”
The annual meeting of the New York Jewish Education Association will be held Sunday, April 21, at the Jewish Club Quarters, Park Royal Hotel.
The meeting will be devoted to a review and a discussion of the activities of the Jewish Education Association and of the problem of Jewish education generally.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
