Einstein, Albert
Entry updated 21 September 2026. Tagged: Theme, People.
(1879-1955) German-born physicist and mathematician, justly famous for his theories of Relativity that revolutionized twentieth-century Physics; the Thought Experiments he conducted while formulating his theories might be regarded as a form of sf. His accomplishments, his move to the United States in 1933, and his eccentricities made him into a celebrity, a status he never aspired to: he has understandably figured in sf stories, like other celebrity icons such as Elvis Presley or the Beatles. There are stories involving Einstein, stories with a simulated Einstein, stories featuring a thinly-disguised Einstein, and stories that reference Einstein.
In Jaqueline Susann's Yargo (1979), Aliens in a UFO seek to kidnap Einstein. Einstein makes an appearance in the first issue of Nicola Cuti's and Tom Sutton's Comic E-Man (original run 1973-1975) and also shows up in later issues. In Elliott S Maggin's novel Superman: Last Son of Krypton (1978), Jor-El contacts Einstein and asks him to help his son Kal-El when he is sent to Earth; so Einstein chooses Jonathan and Martha Kent as the future Superman's foster parents. (Maggin later referenced the novel in his and Dan Jurgens's comic book story "A Matter of Anti-Matter" [April 1986 DC Challenge] when Einstein encounters Superman and comments that they have met before.) In the film loosely associated with the novel, Superman (1978), the infant Superman is taught Einstein's theory of relativity during his flight to Earth. In the Alternate History Young Einstein (1987), Einstein is portrayed as being responsible for ludicrous Inventions like the surfboard and rock'n'roll. In Richard A Lupoff's Countersolar! (1987), Einstein is transported to a Counter-Earth. He also appears in the animated series The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! (1989).
Einstein becomes a Zombie in "Treehouse of Horror III" (1993), an episode of The Simpsons (1989-current). Alan Lightman's Einstein's Dreams (1993) describes the dreams Einstein purportedly had while formulating his theory of relativity. In the animated series Kishin Corps (1993-1994), an international team of agents, formed when aliens invaded Earth during World War Two, takes Einstein from Switzerland to America to work on developing a super-weapon. In Louise Rowder's "The Symmetry of Duty" (in Alternate Tyrants, anth 1997, ed Mike Resnick), Einstein accepts the offer to become President of Israel and allows the government to brutalize the Palestinians. Einstein is one character in Neal Stephenson's sprawling Cryptonomicon (1999).
John Clarke's satirical The Tournament (2002) features Einstein along with other famous people participating in a Paris tennis tournament. In Jean-Claude Carrière's Please, Mr. Einstein (2006), a young girl meets Einstein, somehow alive sixty years after his reported death, and has an extended conversation with him. Chris Roberson's "Annus Mirabilis" (in Tales of the Shadowmen, Volume 2: Gentlemen of the Night, anth 2006, ed Jean-Marc Lofficier and Randy Lofficier) shows Einstein interacting with characters from two early French science fiction novels. In Mark Alpert's Final Theory (2008), Einstein actually achieved a Unified Field Theory. The Russian film Wolf Messing: Who Saw Through Time (2009; original title Wolf Messing: Videvshiy skvoz' vremya) adds fanciful details to an account of the psychic's life (see Psi Powers), including a meeting with Einstein. Paul Malmont's The Astounding, the Amazing, and the Unknown (2011), is about an effort during World War II to discover Nicolas Tesla's secret super-weapon, but Einstein makes an appearance. In Jonathan Hickman's, Nick Pitarra's and Ryan Browne's strange comic series The Manhattan Projects (2012-2018), Einstein enters an Alternate World and is transformed into a killer when he returns. In Chris Kahout's Alternate History Einstein Must Die! (2013), Einstein in 1910 helps England build zeppelins to use in its war with the United States. Einstein appears in the conclusion of the animated Mr. Peabody and Sherman (2014). In Konishi Mikihisa's Manga series Perils of Reincarnation (2014-present; original title Rīnkānēshon no Kaben), Einstein is Reincarnated as a woman. Last Orders (2014), the final volume of Harry Turtledove's alternate history series, The War That Came Early, includes a brief appearance by Einstein. In "Out of Time" (2015), an episode of Rick & Morty (2013-current), Einstein is briefly observed at the end.
Einstein makes two appearances in Umemura Shinya, Fukui Takumi, and Azychika's manga series Record of Ragnarok (2017-current) and also shows up in the Anime adaptation of the series. In Christopher Hinz's Duchamp vs. Einstein (2019), Einstein plays a game of chess with artist Marcel Duchamp while an alien periodically appears. In James Patterson's Max Einstein Saves the Future (2020), a young genius communicates with Einstein during her adventures. (The book advertises itself as being officially approved by the Einstein Archives.) And Einstein is a character in Robert J Sawyer's alternate history novel The Oppenheimer Alternative (2020). Einstein is also encountered in the educational Videogame Mario's Time Machine (1994).
Because of a purported relationship between relativity and Time Travel, there are some stories in which Einstein becomes a time traveller, and he is frequently visited by time travellers. In the Videogame Command & Conquer: Red Alert (1996) (see Command & Conquer), Einstein invents a Time Machine and kills Hitler before he comes to power. Marcus Perry and Tony Donley's comic book series Albert Einstein: Time Mason (2019) portrays Einstein as a member of a secret organization of time travellers seeking to preserve history, leading Einstein to travel to several time periods. In the animated series Super Science Friends (2015-current), Einstein is one of several Superheroes who travel through time to battle Supervillains.
In I Killed Einstein, Gentlemen (1970; original title Zabil jsem Einsteina, pánové) people travel back in time (see Time Travel) to kill Einstein and thus prevent the development of an atomic bomb. Roald Dahl's My Uncle Oswald (1979) involves a time traveller who seeks to obtain and sell the semen of brilliant men, including Einstein, to women who want brilliant children. In the animated educational series Miimu Iro Iro Yume no Tabi (1983-1985; vt The Many Dream Journeys of Meme) a time traveller encounters Einstein and other historical figures. In James P Hogan's The Proteus Operation (1985), time travellers from a Nazi-ruled 1975 (see Hitler Wins) go back to 1942 to prevent a Nazi victory. In Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas, and Ron Harris's two-part comic story "America" (January 1989 The Young All-Stars), a team of young superheroes save Einstein from kidnappers in 1942. Ben Bova's "Inspiration" (April 1994 F&SF), Time Travel brings together Einstein, Lord Kelvin, and H G Wells in 1896, as it is hoped that Einstein will get some ideas from Wells's The Time Machine: An Invention (January-May 1895 The New Review; rev 1895; further rev 1895). Doug Beason's "Determinism and the Martian War, with Relativistic Corrections" (in War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches, anth 1996, ed Kevin J Anderson) describes Einstein's reactions to the Martian invasion in Wells's The War of the Worlds (April-December 1897 Pearson's Magazine; 1898; with epilogue cut 1898). In John Birmingham's alternate history Weapons of Choice (2004), the first volume in his Axis of Time trilogy, a battleship in 2021 experimenting with Wormholes travels back to 1942, where the commander meets Einstein and Franklin D Roosevelt. In Margaret Peterson Haddix's Caught (2012), part of The Missing series, two teenagers travel through time to Einstein's apartment in 1903. In "A Rickle in Time" (2016), an episode of Legends of Tomorrow (2016-2022), the time travellers go back in time to 1942 to prevent Einstein's kidnapping. In "The Education Jungle" (2023), an episode of Tuttle Twins (2021-current), the time travellers meet Einstein in 1934.
In Mark Olshaker's Einstein's Brain (1981), parts of Einstein's brain are inserted into three men, who then form a Hive Mind. In P C Jersild's Geniernas återkomst ["The Return of the Geniuses"] (1987), Einstein and other great intellects are Cloned. Einstein makes two appearances in the holodeck of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994): in "The Nth Degree" (1991), he discusses physics with engineer Barclay, and in "Descent" (1993), Data plays a card game with a simulated Isaac Newton and Einstein alongside the real Stephen Hawking. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) includes animate Einstein bobbleheads. In Alvin Rakoff's The Seven Einsteins (2013), Einstein's DNA is implanted into several newborns.
In the Alley Oop comic strip, "Elbert Wonmug" ( a play on Einstein, interpreted as "one stein") allows the caveman to use his time machine. In Friedrich Dürrenmatt's play The Physicists (1961), one resident in an insane asylum believes that he is Einstein. In Frederik Pohl's Heechee sequence, hero Robinette Broadhead is advised by a computer program that resembles Einstein. In A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001), an animated hologram called Dr. Know who dispenses information to customers also resembles Einstein. In The Nutcracker in 3D (2009), one character called Dr. Albert looks and talks like Einstein.
Probably the first mention of Einstein in sf comes in Ray Cummings's story "The Light Machine" (June 19, 1920 All-Story Weekly). Robert Wilson's and Philip Glass's opera Einstein on the Beach (1976) celebrates Einstein's scientific contributions. In Elliott S Maggin's and Curt Swan's comic book story "The Einstein Connection" (February 1986 Superman) the Villain Lex Luthor breaks out of prison every March 14 because it is Einstein's birthday, and he wants to commemorate important milestones in Einstein's life since he idolizes him. In Martin Amis's "Bujak and the Strong Force, or God's Dice" (in Einstein's Monsters coll 1987), a character speaks of Einstein as "God's literary critic." Richard E Geis's The Einstein Legacy (1987) concerns a man trying to locate a revolutionary theory that Einstein discovered but suppressed, while Robert Masello's The Einstein Prophecy (2015) involves an effort to find a secret prediction by Einstein (see Precognition). In the series Eureka (2006-2012), the city of Eureka is home to a secret research facility founded by Einstein after World War Two. The animated educational series Little Einsteins (2005-2009) stars four bright young children travelling around the world. In Richard McGowan's juvenile Einstein's Underpants – and How They Saved the World (2010), some children employ Einstein's underpants to prevent an alien invasion.
In addition to these stories, there are many others that add fanciful incidents to Einstein's life without becoming science-fictional, such as Insignificance (1985), which describes a meeting between a scientist resembling Einstein and an actress resembling Marilyn Monroe; I.Q. (1987), wherein Einstein plays matchmaker for his niece and a mechanic; and Steve Martin's play Picasso at the Lapin Agile (1993), about a purported meeting of Einstein and Pablo Picasso. All of these works illustrate Einstein's unique status: while many renowned scientists are admired for their achievements, Einstein is the only one who is beloved. So, he is appropriately celebrated in numerous works of sf. [GW]
Albert Einstein
born Ulm, German Empire: 14 March 1879
died Princeton, New Jersey: 18 April 1955
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