History UsefulNotes / AlbertEinstein

* The opera EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH by Phillp Glass (premiered 1976). Not a speaking or singing role but Einstein appears playing a violin.

* ''Series/{{Genius}}'', a Creator/NationalGeographicChannel biograhic series starring Creator/GeoffreyRush as Einstein.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': Jimmy Neutron admires Einstein. In one episode he was inspired to be a model hall monitor after finding out from his principal that Einstein was a hall monitor as a kid. It was later reviled that the hall monitor that his principal was talking about was actually [[spoiler:the principal's sister, Eunice, who looks like Einstein]].

* In ''ComicBook/TalesDesignedToThrizzle'' he and MarkTwain are [[BuddyCopShow Buddy Cops]].

* In ''ComicBook/{{Powers}}'', Christian Walker goes to Albert to show off his powers and, hopefully, finally understand why he has them and how they work. Einstein cannot explain them, but [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped his speech about the true nature of science is a thing of beauty to behold]].

** Einstein appears playing poker with Data, Isaac Newton, and Creator/StephenHawking (played by the ''real'' Stephen Hawking) in episode "Descent: Part I", via use of the Holodeck:

Theoretical physicist, patent clerk, statesman, philosopher, amateur violinist, father of modern physics, superstar, one of the smartest humans in history, and the most famous scientist of the 20th century. '''Albert Einstein''' (March 14, 1879 -- April 18, 1955) [[TropeCodifier was single-handedly responsible for pretty much every genius-related trope]] in 20th-century[=/=]21st-century media: [[AbsentMindedProfessor the brilliant yet witty and genial old man]], [[EinsteinHair the fly-away hair]], [[CloudCuckooLander the mild loopiness and absent mindedness]], etc, etc.

* ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'': In "Out of Time", time traveling villains convince the Nazis to attempt to kidnap Einstein to use his genius to win WWII. The Legends rescue him, but Professor Martin Stein is [[BrokenPedestal disappointed]] to find his idol is a DirtyOldMan. Stein ends up punching him out when he refuses to cooperate with them.

* ''Einstein & Eddington'', in which Einstein is played by Andy Serkis (i.e. Gollum)

Born in Ulm, Germany, Einstein was the son of an engineer. He was gifted in math and science from an early age. (The urban legend that he failed mathematics in high school was completely untrue. He did fail the entrance examination to The Zürich Institute of Technology, [[CripplingOverspecialization because the exam was in]] ''[[CripplingOverspecialization French]]'', [[CripplingOverspecialization a language he read poorly]][[note]]On the other hand, [[UsefulNotes/DichterAndDenker Wernher von Braun]] ''did'' fail ninth-grade algebra, so you can use that to cheer your kid up about his bad grades if you like.[[/note]]) [[TeenGenius He first started thinking about relativity at the age of 16]], as he tried to imagine how a light wave would look if he traveled with it at the speed of light.[[note]]The idea of relativity was sort of "in the air" when Einstein was growing up in TheGayNineties, as the similarly-multitalented Austrian Ernst Mach was articulating it at the time. There is no question, however, that Einstein's contributions were revolutionary [[/note]]

* He was OneOfUs. The next time you feel bad because you're obsessed with a "kid's" show, remember Einstein was a fan of the early 1950's TV puppet show and ''WesternAnimation/BeanyAndCecil'' precursor ''Time for Beany'', which was a kid's show heavy on ParentalBonus. He reputedly interrupted a high-level conference by announcing, "You will have to excuse me, gentlemen. It's ''Time for Beany''."

Born in Ulm, Germany, Einstein was the son of an engineer. He was gifted in math and science from an early age. (The urban legend that he failed mathematics in high school was completely untrue. He did fail the entrance examination to The Zürich Institute of Technology, [[CripplingOverspecialization because the exam was in]] ''[[CripplingOverspecialization French]]'', [[CripplingOverspecialization a language he read poorly]][[note]]On the other hand, [[DichterAndDenker Wernher von Braun]] ''did'' fail ninth-grade algebra, so you can use that to cheer your kid up about his bad grades if you like.[[/note]]) [[TeenGenius He first started thinking about relativity at the age of 16]], as he tried to imagine how a light wave would look if he traveled with it at the speed of light.[[note]]The idea of relativity was sort of "in the air" when Einstein was growing up in TheGayNineties, as the similarly-multitalented Austrian Ernst Mach was articulating it at the time. There is no question, however, that Einstein's contributions were revolutionary [[/note]]

* Einstein has often been accused of plagiarism. It is true that other scientists had written about relativity before Einstein. In fact, relativity as a concept is first considered by ''Galileo'' in 1632, although Galileo's work didn't include anything like time slowing down as you speed up or lengths contracting. It was [[CoolOldGuy Hendrik Lorentz]] that first came up with the idea that light speed is constant, and it was [[TheSmartGuy Henri Poincare]] who originally came up with the equation E = mc[[superscript:2]], only he wrote it as "m = E/c[[superscript:2]]". But to Einstein's credit, he was the only person to realize that relativity can be applied to the entire universe. Also, Lorentz and Poincare made very different physical assumptions than Einstein - namely the existence of a perfect reference point and the [[ScienceMarchesOn Luminiferous Aether]]. Though [[TheObiWan Lorentz]] and Einstein would become friends, Einstein never got over (what he perceived to be) Poincare's scientific conservatism.

* In ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'', Dr. Peter Venkman tries to tell Dr. Ray Stanz that being fired from their university research positions won't be bad because "Einstein did his greatest stuff while he was working as a patent clerk.", but Ray retorts [[AnalogyBackfire "Do you know how much a patent clerk earns?!"]]

* ComicBook/LexLuthor considers Einstein one of his idols, and refuses to commit any acts of evil on his birthday.

* Appears playing poker with Data, Isaac Newton, and Creator/StephenHawking (played by the ''real'' Stephen Hawking) in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Descent: Part I", via use of the Holodeck:
-->'''Einstein''': The uncertainty principle will not help you now, Stephen. Hm? All the quantum fluctuations in the universe will not change the cards in your hand. I call. You are bluffing. And you will lose!\\
'''Hawking''': Wrong again, Albert. [''reveals four-of-a-kind'']

** The story "Time and the Rani".

* In ''Series/RedDwarf'' episode "Meltdown", he's a wax droid.
* Jor-El mentions in SupermanReturns that out of all Earth scientists, maybe Einstein is the only one who "understands".

** In another cartoon, he and ThomasEdison are on ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}''. The third contestant (who has a score of negative-100, in comparison to the high scores of his two opponents), says, "Listen, I know the game is almost over, but just for the record, I don't think my buzzer was working properly."

* Like Dexter, fellow boy-genius [[TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy Neutron]] admires Einstein. In one episode he was inspired to be a model hall monitor after finding out from his principal that Einstein was a hall monitor as a kid. It was later reviled that the hall monitor that his principal was talking about was actually [[spoiler: the principal's sister, Eunice, who looks like Einstein.]]

* One episode of the cartoon ''The Mummy'' (a spin-off of Film/TheMummyTrilogy films) has Imhotep kidnap Einstein to help him decode the Scrolls of Thebes.

* In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert'', Einstein builds a time machine shortly after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and uses it to go back in time and [[strike: kill]] remove Adolf Hitler from time long before the war. [[AlternateHistory It worked]]. [[HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct Sort of]].
* In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'', set after the original time travel event, the Russians use a new time machine to erase Einstein in 1927, before the original time travel event, but after Einstein removed Hitler from time itself (1924).

-->'''Albert Einstein:''' "What she needs is to go out with someone like you. The problem is...she would never go out with someone like you.
-->'''Ed Walters:''' "Well that's easy, just lend me your brain for a couple of days. (beat) "What?"
-->'''Albert Einstein:''' "Are you thinking what I am thinking?"
-->'''Ed Walters:''' "What would be the odds of that happening?"
* Appears playing poker with Data, Isaac Newton, and Creator/StephenHawking (played by the ''real'' Stephen Hawking) in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Descent: Part I", via use of the Holodeck:
-->'''Einstein''': The uncertainty principle will not help you now, Stephen. Hm? All the quantum fluctuations in the universe will not change the cards in your hand. I call. You are bluffing. And you will lose!\\
'''Hawking''': Wrong again, Albert. [''reveals four-of-a-kind'']
** Einstein also appeared as a hologram in "The Nth Degree", working with the [[FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome then-hyper-intelligent]] Reg Barclay.
* ''Einstein & Eddington'', in which Einstein is played by Andy Serkis (i.e. Gollum)
* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': Dexter himself praises and cherishes Albert Einstein so much, he even has a poster of of him in his room.
* Like Dexter, fellow boy-genius [[TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy Neutron]] admires Einstein. In one episode he was inspired to be a model hall monitor after finding out from his principal that Einstein was a hall monitor as a kid. It was later reviled that the hall monitor that his principal was talking about was actually [[spoiler: the principal's sister, Eunice, who looks like Einstein.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'', Einstein masqueraded as a Texan used car salesman named Big Al because the pay was better and he felt more accepted by the community.
* The Creator/SteveMartin play ''Picasso At The Lapin Agile'', about an imagined meeting between Einstein and Creator/PabloPicasso.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', the Warners come to sell cookies to Einstein, and end up [[EurekaMoment inspiring him to write the Mass-Energy Conversion formula.]]
* Similarly There is a ''[[Comicstrip/TheFarSide Far Side]]'' cartoon about Einstein's EurekaMoment.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Powers}}'', Christian Walker goes to Albert to show off his powers and, hopefully, finally understand why he has them and how they work. Einstein cannot explain them, but [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped his speech about the true nature of science is a thing of beauty to behold]].

* In the ''Literature/HeecheeSaga'' future, Robinette Broadhead has an A.I. created to be Einstein. Every single writing by and about Einstein is used to create an A.I. as close to the real thing as possible. This [[HeroicBSOD creates a problem later on]] when the A.I. discovers that God really does play dice with the universe.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** The story "Time and the Rani".
** Creator/MattSmith has written fanfic featuring Eleven and Einstein. A bunch of Who fans are demanding to be allowed to read it.
** A short episode written by a contest-winning kid revealed that he and The Doctor are engaged in a prank war, filching one another's petty (and occasionally not so petty) possessions for no adequately explained reason.

* [[InNameOnly But not]] ''WesternAnimation/LittleEinsteins''.
* Implied in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' that he stole the Relativity theory from someone named "Smith". It is implied he savagely beat poor Smith to death. He also beat up God to steal the secret of Shrinky-Dinks.
* In ''Series/RedDwarf'' episode "Meltdown", he's a wax droid.
* In ''ComicBook/TalesDesignedToThrizzle'' he and MarkTwain are [[BuddyCopShow Buddy Cops]].
* The song "Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)" by Music/CountingCrows, which is about the guilt for his part in designing nuclear weapons.
* The song "Albert Einstein - Everything Is Relative" by Silicon Dreams, which is about, eh, every wrong trope they could apply, as already the title hints.

* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'':
** In one cartoon, a frustrated-looking Einstein is leaning on a blackboard where several incorrect versions of his Theory of Relativity are written, all with a wrong number in place of the 2. Behind him a maid has just cleaned his counter, and he turns as she says, "There we go, everything's squared away, all ''squaaaared'' away."
** In another cartoon, he and ThomasEdison are on ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}''. The third contestant (who has a score of negative-100, in comparison to the high scores of his two opponents), says, "Listen, I know the game is almost over, but just for the record, I don't think my buzzer was working properly."
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'', Plucky convinces Shirley to channel Einstein's genius into him so he can pass a hard math test. (Plucky doesn't find out until it's too late that Einstein ''flunked'' math in grade school, which Shirley tells him later.)
* One episode of the cartoon ''The Mummy'' (a spin-off of Film/TheMummyTrilogy films) has Imhotep kidnap Einstein to help him decode the Scrolls of Thebes.

* ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'' features Einstein slinging verses with Creator/StephenHawking.
* In the short story ''The Old Man And C'' by Sheila Finch, Einstein [[RichardNixonTheUsedCarSalesman became a violin teacher instead]]. A master violin teacher with world-famous students, but he's troubled in his old age by the feeling that he ''really'' should have been doing something else with his life.
* ComicBook/LexLuthor considers Einstein one of his idols, and refuses to commit any acts of evil on his birthday.
* Jor-El mentions in SupermanReturns that out of all Earth scientists, maybe Einstein is the only one who "understands".
* In ''WebComic/TheUnspeakableVaultOfDoom'', Einstein was spared from becoming [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhoo's ]]snack because Nyarly had plans to use him on the Manhattan Project.
* ''Videogame/{{Tropico}} 5'' features [[http://finalstage.es/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/abraham-zwestein-tropico-5.png Abraham Zweinstein]], a Central European physicist who flees to America and develops a new, terrible weapon.

* He appears at the cover of one of the science books Sven looks at in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDCE73Stargazer'' alongside another one with Creator/StephenHawking.

* The song "Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)" by CountingCrows, which is about the guilt for his part in designing nuclear weapons.

* The Nicholas Roeg film ''Insignificance'', about the imaginary meeting of Einstein, MarilynMonroe, [[RedScare Sen. Joseph McCarthy]] and [=Joe DiMaggio=] in a hotel room. The characters are billed as The Professor, The Actress, The Senator and The Ballplayer: but it's not difficult to figure out who's who.

->''"To punish me for my contempt of authority, [[BadassBoast Fate made me an authority myself!]]"''

* He was OneOfUs. The next time you feel bad because you're obsessed with a show, remember Einstein was a fan of the early 1950's TV puppet show and ''WesternAnimation/BeanyAndCecil'' precursor ''Time for Beany'', which was a kids show heavy on ParentalBonus. He reputedly interrupted a high-level conference by announcing, "You will have to excuse me, gentlemen. It's ''Time for Beany''."

Theoretical physicist, patent clerk, statesman, philosopher, amateur violinist, father of modern physics, superstar, one of the smartest humans in history, and the most famous scientist of the 20th century. '''Albert Einstein''' (March 14, 1879 -- April 18, 1955) [[TropeCodifier was single-handedly responsible for pretty much every genius-related trope]] in 20th-century-21st century media: [[AbsentMindedProfessor the brilliant yet witty and genial old man]], [[EinsteinHair the fly-away hair]], [[CloudCuckooLander the mild loopiness and absent mindedness]], etc, etc.