Dr. Albert Einstein, a "humble man of science," answers reporters' questions before the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Pittsburgh, 1934. It would be earlier that day, using only chalk as his tool on a small circular auditorium, Einstein eliminated some weak spots in his Mass-Energy Theorem, replacing them with "more firm logical substance."

A Times article sought to translate what boiled down to three symbols: "In these 3 symbols, so simple that a high school student of algebra could grasp their meaning, are represented the 3, and only 3, fundamental units of the entire material universe. One stands for matter, another for energy and the third for the velocity of light, the last being the only absolute in which all else is merely relative." In other words: E = mc2. Thousands sought admission to the lecture, but the hall could accommodate only 400.