In 1939, Albert Einstein co-authored a letter with physicist Leo Szilard to then-U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, warning about Nazi Germany's progress in nuclear research, urging the U.S. to start its own nuclear program. The letter is now going on a New York City auction by Christie's, and id estimated to be valued between $4 million and $6 million.
In response to Einstein's letter, Roosevelt formed an advisory committee on uranium, which eventually became the precursor to the Manhattan Project, leading to the development and eventual use of the first atomic bombs in 1945.
The original letter sent by Einstein is at the Roosevelt Library, while a signed version is part of the personal collection of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who purchased it in 2002 for $2.1 million. The letter is estimated to be valued between $4 million and $6 million at a Christie's auction in New York.
The letter highlighted the potential of uranium as a new energy source and the possibility of a powerful new type of bomb being developed.
Szilard helped Einstein write the letter to FDR while the two were at a cabin on Long Island's North Shore. After Szilard's passing, his heirs sold the letter, which eventually came into the possession of Malcolm S. Forbes.
Einstein later regretted the letter, feeling responsible for America's atomic weapon production during WWII.
Einstein and Roosevelt had mutual respect and trust, with Roosevelt previously inviting Einstein to the White House. William Harris of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum mentioned that Roosevelt would have trusted Einstein even if he didn't fully comprehend the science.
Christie's auction house will sell over 150 pieces from Allen's museum collection in September, including a Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-10, the Einstein letter, and Ed White's spacesuit from the Gemini program.
The estate of Paul Allen, the late co-founder of Microsoft, is closing Living Computers: Museum + Labs, his collection of vintage technology, which offered hands-on experience with retro computers, and a lab. The museum, started in 2012, was temporarily closed in 2020 due to COVID-19 but is now permanently shut down with all online presence deleted.
In 2022, Allen's art collection set a record-breaking auction, raising over $1.5 billion for philanthropic causes. At the time of his death, his net worth was estimated at over $20 billion by Forbes.
Sources: BBC, Yahoo, The Register, The Times Hub, WION, Iconstyle, Townsville Bulletin, Business Telegraph, Robb Report, Newser, Exbulletin, Livemint, AOL.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.
