Name Harvey Einbinder | Role Physicist | |
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Died January 30, 2013, New York City, New York, United States Books The myth of the Britannica, An American Genius: Frank Lloyd Wright | ||
Dr. Harvey Einbinder (June 18, 1926 – January 30, 2013) was an American physicist, author and amateur historian.
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Early life
Einbinder was born to Jacob B. Einbinder and Dora (née Abelson) in New Haven, Connecticut. He had one brother David, and one sister Hinde.
Education
Einbinder studied for two years at the University of Connecticut (UConn), at first physics but then mathematics in which he received a degree with "highest distinction" in 1946. He later received his Ph.D. in Physics from Columbia University.
Career
He became a consultant to the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory and to General Electric on the Atlas missile. He published papers on hypersonic aerodynamics and the ionization of solid particles.
Encyclopædia Britannica
Einbinder spent five years combing the Encyclopædia Britannica for flaws, and found enough to fill a 390-page book, called The Myth of the Britannica, published by Grove Press in 1964. As summarized by The Age two years later, Einbinder's book "showed beyond argument that the Britannica was not a completely impartial and absolutely infallible work of general reference; that 666 articles in the 1963 edition were reprinted from editions dating back to 1875 in some cases; that American influence on its editorial policy had become dominant".
Einbinder at one point also disputed the historical accuracy of the Black Hole of Calcutta account. Among his other publications are An American Genius: Frank Lloyd Wright, and the play Mah Name is Lyndon.
Private life
Harvey Einbinder was married to Florence Einbinder, who predeceased him. He died on January 30, 2013 at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City.