Einstein atomic bomb letter to go up for auction

[Pelican Press 0]

Einstein atomic ***** letter to go up for auction

Getty Images

Albert Einstein reportedly regretted signing the letter

A letter from Albert Einstein, which encouraged the US to develop the world’s first nuclear ******, is to go up for auction.

Written to President Franklin D Roosevelt, in 1939, the note warns that ***** Germany might be able to create such weapons – and suggests the US begins its own atomic programme.

Three years later, America began the Manhattan Project, which led to the first ever use of atomic weapons, against Japan, in 1945.

The letter is being sold as part of an auction of artefacts belonging to

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

co-founder Paul Allen, who ***** in 2018 at the age 65.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

“Personal computing would not have existed without him.”

His personal collection is go on ***** at Christie’s, in New York, in September.

There will be a range of items reflecting his interest in – and influence on – computing, but the Einstein letter is expected to be the centrepiece.

It has been given an estimated value of between $4m and $6m (£3.2m-£4.7m).

It was actually written by Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard with help from other scientists – but it was signed by Einstein because his status as one of the greatest scientific figures of all time made it more likely to get the president’s attention.

Getty Images

Einstein signed the letter, written by physicist Leo Szilard (right)

Dated 2 August 1939 – just weeks before the Second World War was declared – it warns that Germany may have worked out the science to create a nuclear *****.

“It is conceivable – though much less certain – that extremely powerful ****** of a new type may thus be constructed,” it says.

But Einstein is reported to have later regretted the letter due to its role in making America the only country – at the time – to make nuclear weapons.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

“Had I known that the Germans would not succeed in producing an atomic *****, I would never have lifted a finger.”

Getty Images

A PDP-10 computer similar to that which is going on *****

Also being auctioned is a computer from 1971, a DEC PDP-10: KI-10 model which Mr Allen helped restore.

Christie’s says this is similar to a model which he would have worked on with Bill Gates when they founded

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

.

These types of computers were key in the development in early forms of the internet.

The computer is expected to fetch between $30,000 and $50,000.

And a spacesuit belonging to astronaut Ed White – who became the first ********* to perform a spacewalk, in 1965 – has an estimated value of $80,000 to $120,000.

Getty Images

In 1965, Ed White became the first ********* to perform a spacewalk

In 2022, Mr Allen’s art collection set a new world record for the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

raising over $1.5bn (£1.2bn).

It included works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Vincent Van Gogh.

It was his wish that the proceeds would go to philanthropic causes.

During his life, he donated more than $2bn to charitable causes, set up art and culture museums and also owned various ********* sports teams.

His net worth at the time of his ****** was estimated at over $20bn by

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Getty Images

Paul Allen (left) with Bill Gates in 1984

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Einstein #atomic #***** #letter #auction

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up