Timeline Monday 18 April 1955

Events on Monday 18 April 1955 4

• 1879 – 1955 Albert Einstein Relativity Pioneer The physicist who developed the theory of relativity, fundamentally changing our understanding of space and time.
• 1955 Albert Einstein dies in Princeton An aortic aneurysm, and a refusal of surgery Einstein's aneurysm ruptured on 17 April 1955 and he declined an operation, saying it was tasteless to prolong life artificially and that he wanted to go when he wanted. He died early the next morning at Princeton Hospital, aged 76. A sheet of equations for a unified field theory lay beside the bed.
• 1955 Bandung Conference Asian and African nations meet to promote decolonization and cooperation Representatives of 29 Asian and African nations met in Bandung, Indonesia, to discuss decolonization, economic cooperation, and opposition to colonialism. The conference laid groundwork for the Non-Aligned Movement founded in 1961. Leaders including Sukarno, Nehru, and Zhou Enlai attended.
• 1955 The stolen brain Thomas Harvey removes it during the autopsy The pathologist kept Einstein's brain without family permission, later securing reluctant consent from Hans Albert, and sectioned it into 240 blocks. He lost his post and carried the pieces around the country for decades. Einstein had asked to be cremated and his ashes scattered in an undisclosed place.