The Donor and the Prize

Einstein's Theories of Relativity and Gravitation by Albert Einstein, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here. The Donor and the Prize

The Donor and the Prize

In May, 1920, Mr. Eugene Higgins, an American citizen long resident in Paris, a liberal patron of the arts and sciences, and a lifelong friend of the Scientific [3]American and its proprietors, suggested that the success of the Fourth Dimension Prize Contest of 1910 had been so great that it might be desirable to offer another prize in similar fashion for the best popular essay on the Einstein theories. He stated that if in the opinion of the Scientific American these theories were of sufficient importance, and the probability of getting a good number of meritorious essays were sufficiently great, and the public need and desire for enlightenment were sufficiently present, he would feel inclined to offer such a prize, leaving the conduct of the contest to the Scientific American as in the former event. It was the judgment of the editors of the Scientific American that all these provisos should be met with an affirmative, and that Mr. Higgins accordingly could with propriety be encouraged to offer the prize.

In his preliminary letter Mr. Higgins had suggested that in view of the apparent greater importance of the subject to be proposed for discussion by the contestants of 1920, the prize offered should probably be more liberal than in the former instance. This view met with the approval of the editors as well; but they were totally unprepared for the receipt, late in June, of a cablegram from Mr. Higgins stating that he had decided to go ahead with the matter, and that he was forwarding a draft for $5,000 to represent the amount of the prize. Such a sum, exceeding any award open to a professional man with the single exception of the Nobel Prize, for which he cannot specifically compete, fairly took the breath of the Editors, and made it immediately [4]clear that the contest would attract the widest attention, and that it should score the most conspicuous success. It also made it clear that the handling of the contest would be a more serious matter than had been anticipated.

In spite of the fact that it would not for some time be possible to announce the identity of the Judges, it was felt that the prospective contestants should have every opportunity for extensive preparation; so the contest was announced, and the rules governing it printed as far as they could be determined on such short shrift, in the Scientific American for July 10, 1920. Several points of ambiguity had to be cleared up after this initial publication. In particular, it had been Mr. Higgins’ suggestion that in the very probable event of the Judges’ inability to agree upon the winning essay, the prize might, at their discretion, be divided between the contributors of the best two essays. This condition was actually printed in the first announcement, but the Post Office Department insisted upon its withdrawal, on the ground that with it in force the contestant would not know whether he were competing for $5,000 or for $2,500, and that this would introduce the “element of chance” which alone was necessary, under the Federal statutes, to make the contest a lottery. So this provision was replaced by one to the effect that in the event the Judges were not able to agree, the Einstein Editor should cast the deciding vote between the essays respectively favored by them.

The announcement attracted the widest attention, and was copied in newspapers and magazines all over the world. Inquiries poured in from all quarters, [5]and the Einstein Editor found it almost impossible to keep himself supplied with proofs of the conditions and rules to mail in response to these inquiries. It was immediately clear that there was going to be a large number of essays submitted, and that many distinguished names would be listed among the competitors.

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This book is part of the public domain. Albert Einstein (2020). Einstein's Theories of Relativity and Gravitation. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022.

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