Who hasn't heard of Albert Einstein? I mean he is the most famous physicist born on planet earth, and through discovering the theory of relativity engraved his name in our history books for eternity.
Given his intellectual achievements, Albert Einstein and height are rarely discussed, and until researching how tall he was I never gave it a second thought, so assumed he must be of average height, similar to other well known figures, blending in seamlessly into the crowd.
But how tall was he really? Let's investigate his height claims, some heights on paper and compare his height to other well known figures of his time to find out the answer to this question!
Is Albert Einstein Tall or short (Real Height)
For the time period that Einstein lived (1879-1955), the average German man was around 5'7" (170.2 cm) tall, and Einstein fell comfortably in the average range, standing at 5'7.5" (171.5 cm) throughout the majority of the day.
Height Listings
Einstein is listed at 1.70 cm or roughly 5'7" on Google and 5' 7½" (1.71 m)on IMDb.
Heights on Paper
Declaration of Intention
The website artsandculture (1) sourced Einstein's Declaration of Intention from when he was aged 56, which states a height of 5'7" and weight of 175.
Certificate of Naturalization
Similarly, artsandclture (1) also sourced Einstein's Certificate of Naturalization, aged 61, which states a height of 5'7" and weight of 175 pounds
Passport (1879)
Einstein's Official Twitter account references his Swiss passport from 1923, which states his height as 175 cm or roughly 5'9" tall. (2)
Little LogBook" (Dienstbüchlein) of 1901
Einstein's little log book or Dienstbüchlein in German, stated his height as 171.5 cm or 5'7.5" tall.
Height Compared to Other Known Figures
Let's compare Einstein's height to those around him to gain a better understanding of how tall he really was!
Charlie Chaplin 5'4" (162.6 cm)
When Einstein and English comic actor Charlie Chaplin stood side by side when they met in 1931 at the premiere of the film "City of Lights", there appears to be a 3.25 inch height difference between them, with Einstein the taller of the pair.
Therefore when pictured with Charlie, Einstein appears to be 5'7.25" tall.
Winston Churchill 5'6.75" (168.9 cm)
When Einstein met soon to be English Prime Minister Winston Churchill at Chartwell, 1933, there looks to be a 1 inch difference in height between them, with Einstein the taller of the pair.
So when pictured next to Churchill, Einstein looks to be 5'7.75" tall.
John Wheeler 5'9" (175.3 cm)
American and Japanese physicist John Wheeler and Hideki Yukawa were once pictured walking next to Albert Einstein and having a conversation at Princeton in 1954, where Wheeler looks to be 1.5 inches taller than Einstein.
So when pictured next to Wheeler, Einstein appears to be 5'7.5" tall.
The Results - Compared to other known figures of Einstein's time, he appears to be somewhere between 5'7.5"-5'7.75" tall.
Height Compared to Other Great Minds
Let's compare Einstein's height to 9 other popular great minds of our time, with some interesting findings!
- Nikola Tesla, 6'2" (188 cm)
- Edwin Hubble 6'2" (188 cm)
- Charles Darwin, 6" (182.9 cm)
- Thomas Edison 5'10" (177.8 cm)
- Benjamin Franklyn 5'9" (175.3 cm)
- Leonardo da Vinci 5'9" (175.3 cm)
- Alexander Graham Bell 5'7.75" (172.1 cm)
- Albert Einstein 5'7.5" (171.5 cm)
- Isaac Newton, 5'6" (167.6 cm)
- Stephen Hawking, 5'6" (167.6 cm)
- The average height of the 10 great minds is 176.1 cm or 5'9.5" tall which was over average height for the time period in which each of them lived, and within average height range for today.
- Einstein places 8th at 5'7.5" tall, which is 2 inches shorter than the average height of the list.
- The tallest people on the list are both Nikola Tesla and Edwin Hubble at 6'2" (188 cm), and the shortest are Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking at 5'6" (167.6 cm). This is a 8 inch difference in height.
Summary
Albert Einstein stood somewhere between 5'7.75 (172.1 cm) - 5'8" (172.7 cm) tall after waking out of bed, but the height he stood at for the majority of the day is closer to 5'7.5" (171.5 cm), and that is what I will list him at on this page.
Related Heights
- Elsa Einstein, Wife (m. 1903-1919), 5'3.5" (161.3 cm)
- Hans Albert Einstein, Son, 5'8" (172.7 cm)
- Michele Besso, Best friend, 5'6" (167.6 cm)
- Niels Bohr, Colleague, 5'9.75" (177.2 cm)
- Kurt Gödel, Colleague, 5'7" (170.2 cm)