6 0 0 C A L E N D A R 1 9 2 0
kingdom. The war and the world revolution will end in
world anarchy, and the salvation will come from the nation
of Israelites restored in Palestine. Encloses a booklet. Prove-
nance: IsJHU. [43 267].
February 9 The Leidsch Universiteitsfonds nominates him to special
professor (“bijzonder hoogleeraar”) at the University of
Leyden.
February11 1-page TLS from Max Planck to members of KWIP board
of trustees. As acting president of the board since the death
of Wilhelm von Siemens, proposes a written vote for
Friedrich Schmidt-Ott as new president, with a deadline of
20 February 1920. Provenance: GyBSa, I. HA, Rep. 76 Vc,
Sekt. 2, Tit. 23, Litt. A, Nr. 116, Bl. 57. [81 928].
February 12 His lecture at the University of Berlin is broken up by stu-
dents protesting against his open admission policy.
February 13 “Uproar in the Lecture Hall” (Vol. 7, Doc. 33) is published.
In his telephone statement to Carl H. Becker, declares the
press accounts of the uproar tendentious; sees no reason for
remonstrating against the presence of non-students. “Utter
chaos” (“wüste Lärmszenen”) was out of question. Prove-
nance: GyBSa, I. HA, Rep. 76 Va, Sekt. 2, Tit. 12, Nr. 3, Bd.
14, Bl. 53. [85 437].
German newspaper articles on the rejection of the Gold
Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society report that at the
December session of the Royal Astronomical Society in
London it was proposed to confer the Gold Medal on Ein-
stein. He was informed of the motion unofficially. Allegedly
he was even asked whether he was a Swiss or a Dutch citi-
zen, and he had “truthfully” answered he was a German cit-
izen. Provenance: Tägliche Rundschau. At the January
session, after a fierce debate, the motion was rejected on the
grounds that the medal cannot go to Germany, even less to
Berlin. Provenance: Vossische Zeitung, 14 February 1920,
ME.
February 14 The Ministry of Education publishes a statement on the
events that had taken place at Einstein’s lecture of 12 Febru-
ary. The protest against admission of nonauthorized persons
was not political, even less anti-Semitic. The next lecture
will be delivered as a public one in the Auditorium Maxi-