Collecting rare items is nothing new, but as people’s material wealth grows, their tastes in collectibles have taken a turn for the bizarre. Celebrities with eccentric collections? Sure. Museums dedicated to breakups, UFOs, death, or even toilets? Absolutely. But the most macabre of all? The obsession with preserving and collecting famous people’s body parts!
From Einstein’s brain to Galileo’s fingers, history is filled with tales of scientists, musicians, and inventors whose remains found unexpected second lives. Let’s take a look at some of the weirdest posthumous fates of historical icons.
Einstein’s Brain: Too Smart for Its Own Good
It’s no secret that Jewish people have made a huge mark on science, and Albert Einstein was undoubtedly one of the greatest. But even he couldn’t have predicted that after his death, his brain would be stolen!
On April 18, 1955, Einstein passed away at Princeton Hospital at the age of 76. He had left clear instructions for his remains: no grand funeral, cremation, and ashes scattered in secret—no worship, no hero cult. His children followed his wishes and scattered his ashes into the Delaware River.
But just two days later, his son Hans opened The New York Times and was greeted by a shocking headline: “Unlocking the Secrets of Einstein’s Brain!”
Wait… what?
That’s right—someone had secretly taken his brain! And the culprit? A Princeton pathologist named Dr. Thomas Harvey.
Harvey was tasked with performing Einstein’s autopsy. But instead of simply doing his job, he carefully removed the brain, filled the empty skull with cotton, and kept the brain for himself. Smooth move, doc.
When Hans found out, he was furious, but Harvey convinced him that the brain would be used for valuable scientific research. Reluctantly, Hans agreed.
But karma had its way. Harvey was fired from Princeton Hospital for his little stunt, and his career took a nosedive. He spent years carrying Einstein’s brain around, cutting it into 240 pieces and storing them in jars, hoping to uncover the secrets of genius. Spoiler alert: he never did.
For decades, Harvey wandered across America, unable to hold a stable job. His wife left him, partly because she was sick of hearing, “If you don’t stop nagging, I’ll get rid of the brain!”
In the end, parts of Einstein’s brain ended up in various institutions, while others were permanently lost. Talk about a brain drain.
Chopin’s Heart: A Homeland’s Precious Relic
Frederic Chopin was more than just a brilliant pianist—he was a national treasure for Poland. And even in death, his heart refused to stay away from home.
In 1849, as he lay dying in Paris, the 39-year-old composer made a desperate wish: “Bury my body in Paris, but let my heart rest in Poland.”
His devoted sister, Ludwika, honored his wish in the most dramatic way possible—by smuggling his heart across the border in a jar of brandy, hidden under her skirt.
For years, Chopin’s heart remained in the family, passing from one relative to another before finally being enshrined in a column at the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw.
And then came World War II.
The Nazis, obsessed with racial superiority and genetics, took an unusual interest in Chopin’s heart. Fortunately, Polish patriots managed to hide it just in time. It wasn’t until 1949, on the 100th anniversary of his death, that the heart was returned to its rightful place.
Yet even after all this, scientists kept wanting to cut it open for research! Some experts hoped to analyze it to confirm whether Chopin died of tuberculosis. However, public outrage shut that idea down—because you don’t dissect Poland’s soul.
Galileo’s Fingers: What Kind of Grudge Was That?
If anyone got the short end of the stick in the “body part collection” department, it was Galileo Galilei. The father of modern physics, astronomy, and science? Cool. The victim of some bizarre grave robbery? Not so cool.
Galileo died in 1642 at the age of 78. Nearly a century later, in 1737, at a ceremony honoring him, a fanatical admirer decided to help himself to a few keepsakes. The man cut off three of Galileo’s fingers, a tooth, and a piece of his spine—then quietly disappeared.
One finger eventually made its way to Florence’s Museum of the History of Science, while the spine was kept at Padua University, where Galileo had once taught.
But what about the other fingers and tooth? They were lost for over a century. At one point, the descendants of the original thief didn’t even realize what they had and sold them at an auction.
It wasn’t until the 21st century that a private collector accidentally brought the relics to a museum, only to be told, “Hey, congrats! You just bought Galileo’s missing fingers!” Now they, too, are proudly displayed in a museum.
Edison’s Last Breath: A Token of Friendship or Just Weird?
In the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan, among the many artifacts celebrating American innovation, lies an object more mysterious than the first car or a light bulb prototype—a glass tube supposedly containing Thomas Edison’s last breath.
Yes, you read that right.
The story goes like this: Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, was obsessed with Thomas Edison. As a kid, he idolized Edison. As an adult, they became close friends, even spending vacations together.
When Edison was on his deathbed in 1931, Ford wanted to capture his last breath—literally. According to legend, Ford had Edison’s son, Charles, seal a test tube with his father’s final exhale and send it to him.
Whether this was an emotional gesture, a bizarre keepsake, or some kind of mystical belief in the power of breath, no one knows for sure. But the test tube remains there to this day, quietly puzzling visitors.
Conclusion: Fame’s Strange Afterlife
Being a celebrity in life is one thing, but staying famous after death—sometimes in pieces—is a whole different story.
From Einstein’s wandering brain to Galileo’s missing fingers, these stories prove that the price of greatness doesn’t end at the grave. Whether for science, patriotism, or sheer obsession, people have gone to great (and creepy) lengths to hold on to the remains of history’s most brilliant minds.
So next time you admire a famous person, maybe just buy a biography. It’s a lot less weird than keeping their body parts in a jar.