September 26, 1905: Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity

Yes, he was young once.

No, his hair never was under much control.

September 26, 1905: The German magazine Annalen der Physik (Annals of Physics) publishes a research paper by Albert Einstein, a 26-year-old German physicist living in Bern, the capital of Switzerland and part of the country's German section.

One of four "Annus Mirabilis" (Year of Miracles) papers of his that were published that year, it includes a fundamental new definition of space and time. It identifies 2 fundamental principles: The principle of relativity, and the principle of the constancy of light, which served as the axiomatic basis of his theory.

The speed of light is constant, at 299,792.458 meters, or 186,282 miles, per second. That doesn't change, no matter how fast the observer is traveling. Einstein, who never learned how to drive a car, but enjoyed riding a bicycle, used this example: Suppose it were possible to ride a bike that were capable of traveling at (let's round up) 30,000 meters per second, or about 1/10th of the speed of light. And suppose there were a headlight on the front of the bike. The light projected from that headlight wouldn't gain any speed due to the 30,000 MPS at which the bike was moving: It would still be traveling at 300,000 MPS, not 330,000.

But there was more. The paper also included the most famous equation in the history of science, which has become as identified with Einstein as the topic of genius or his later unruly white hair: E = mc². Here, "E" means the amount of energy contained in an object; "m" means the object's mass; and "c" means the speed of light. Therefore: The energy contained in an object equals the multiplication of the object's mass and the square of the speed of light.

This would seem like it would produce enormous amounts of energy. But since most objects don't have enough mass to contain much energy, this gives us little to worry about -- most of the time. Eventually, with prodding from physicists following up on his work, Einstein realized that, given enough mass, terrible weapons could be designed and built using his theory. And Einstein never wanted that.

He once said, "If my theory of general relativity should be proven correct, Germany will say that I am a German, and France will say that I am a citizen of the world. But if it should be proven incorrect, France will say that I am a German, and Germany will say that I am a Jew."

On May 29, 1919, Sir Arthur Eddington, a British astronomer, observed a solar eclipse on the island of Principe, off the west coast of Africa, and saw how stars near the Sun were displaced from their normal positions. He declared this to be proof of Einstein's theory. French astronomer Andrew Crommelin observed the same eclipse in Sobral, Ceará, Brazil, and also declared the theory to have been proven correct.

But not everyone agreed with Eddington, or Crommelin, or Einstein. One Hundred Authors Against Einstein was published in 1931. When asked to comment on this denunciation of relativity by so many scientists, Einstein replied that to defeat relativity, one did not need the word of 100 scientists, just one fact.

Annalen der Physik was founded in 1799, and published almost exclusively in the German language until the 20th Century, as German was then the world's leading language for scientists. It began publishing articles in English if they were written by non-Germans. It suspended operations during World War II, and when restarted in 1946, English became its more common language. In 1990, following the reunification of Germany, Annalen der Physik began publishing only in English. It is still published monthly today.

In a 2011 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History, rapper-comedian Zach Sherwin made his debut in the series, as Einstein, against "Nice" Peter Shukoff, playing Stephen Hawking. His best line was, "I'm as dope as two rappers, so you'd better be scared, because that means Albert E. equals M-C, squared!" (MC meaning "Master of Ceremonies," or lead rapper.) The episode was so well-received that Sherwin became a regular guest star in it.

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September 26, 1905 was a Tuesday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Highlanders were swept in a doubleheader by the St. Louis Browns, at Hilltop Park in Upper Manhattan. The Browns won the opener, 6-3 in 10 innings. Tom Jones (not related to the later Welsh singer) had 3 hits for the Browns.

The Browns won the nightcap, 7-2, in a game called due to darkness after 8 innings. For the Browns, future Hall-of-Famer Bobby Wallace and Ben Koehler hit home runs, while Jones had 3 more hits, and George Stone also had 3 hits.

For the Highlanders, who officially took on the informal nickname Yankees in 1913, feisty shortstop Norman Elberfeld, known as the "Tabasco Kid" for his hot temper, but usually just "Kid," had 2 hits, but the rest of the team combined only had 5 off winning pitcher Jim Buchanan, 1 by losing pitcher Louis LeRoy. Buchanan went 5-9 for the Browns that season, his only season in the major leagues.

Incidentally, while many players, most notably Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, have been named after Presidents, Jim Buchanan, born James Forrest Buchanan, is 1 of only 5 players in Major League Baseball history to have the same first and last name of a President of the United States. Bert Adams, a catcher for the Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies in the 1910s, was born John Bertram Adams. John Anthony "Johnny" Tyler was a left fielder who played for the Boston Braves in 1934 and '35.

There have been 2 John Kennedys to reach the majors. John Irvin Kennedy was the 1st black player for the Phillies, a shortstop who played only 5 games in the majors, all in 1957. And John Edward Kennedy debuted as an infielder for the Washington Senators, while JFK was President in Washington in 1962. He closed his career in 1974, with JFK's hometown team, the Boston Red Sox. There was also a James Azar "Jim" Carter who pitched in the Negro Leagues, for the 1948 Newark Eagles.

* The New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-5 at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh. Honus Wagner went 3-for-5 with an RBI for the Pirates. Despite this, the Giants' Red Ames won his 21st game of the season, and Christy Mathewson picked up his 3rd save.

* The Brooklyn Superbas beat the Chicago Cubs, 1-0 at the West Side Grounds in Chicago. Mal Eason had the highlight of a horrible season, pitching a 3-hit shutout for the team that would become the Dodgers in 1911. He finished 5-21 on the season.

* The Chicago White Sox swept a doubleheader from the Boston Americans at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston, 10-5 and 3-1, the 2nd game called due to darkness after 8 innings. In the opener, Doc White pitched to just 1 batter, allowing a hit, and had to leave the game due to an injury. Future Hall-of-Famer Ed Walsh pitched the rest of the way. Walsh then won the 2nd game. The Americans became the Boston Red Sox in 1908.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 6-4 in 10 innings at Columbia Park in Philadelphia. Ty Cobb, just 20 years old, went 0-for-4.

* A doubleheader was split at American League Park in Washington. The Cleveland Naps won the 1st game, 2-0. The Washington Senators won the 2nd game, 13-6. Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, the Cleveland team's best hitter, 2nd baseman, manager and namesake, did not play in either game. In the 1st game, Bob Rhoads pitched a 6-hit shutout. In the 2nd game, Charlie Hickman went 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs for the Senators, and Joe Stanley went 2-for-5 with 5 RBIs. The Naps became the Cleveland Indians in 1915, and the Cleveland Guardians in 2022.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Beaneaters, 13-1 at the Palace of the Fans in Cincinnati. The Beaneaters became the Braves in 1912.

* And the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-2 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.