"UNTIL 11 PM TONIGHT"


One of the 20th century's greatest minds vanished, never to be seen again. Ettore Majorana, Italian physicist, laid the ground work for most of what modern physicists study today. But on March 25th, 1938 he left home and never returned. Of course, theories abound, but none have been proven. Perhaps the weary man left society before his work quite possibly ended mankind.


Ettore Majorana was born August 5, 1906 in Catania, Sicily. His father's brother was a physicist as well, perhaps influencing Majorana. As a boy Majorana was able to do large scale mathematic problems in his head. He entered Sapienza University in 1923 to study engineering, but changed his focus to physics. Enrico Fermi asked Majorana to work with him as  a specialist in Quantum Mechanics.

In 1933 as a Nazi party ascended to power, Majorana traveled to Germany to work with Werner Heisenberg. He considered Heisenberg a friend and enjoyed their working together. He traveled to Copenhagen to work with Niells Bohr. Upon returning to Italy the cripplingly shy Majorana isolated himself for four years, refusing to pursue any scientific work. Majorana never liked being publicly recognized and often refuse to take credit for his work.


He returned to the University of Naples in 1938 upon being named a full professor of Theoretical Physics. But on March 25, 1938 he withdrew money from his bank and bought a ticket to Palermo, ostensibly to visit a friend (who was visiting the U. S. at the time.) He sent a letter to his department head cryptically stating : "I will keep a fond memory of them all at least until 11 pm tonight, possibly later too." Majorana had purchased a return ticket to Palermo, but the ticket was never used. After extensive searches nobody was found and no ransom was ever demanded.


Five theories have been posited as to what fate be fell at Ettore Majorana :

Suicide - plausible, given his exhaustion and weariness

Immigration - to either Venezuela or Argentina (Despite Majorana never having mentioned those countries previously)

Joined a Monastery - also plausible as Majorana was Catholic and monasteries offer solitude

Kidnapped - no ransom ever demanded, but Majorana could have been kidnapped by a country wanting to harness his knowledge for the development of atomic weaponry

Murdered - perhaps for for refusing to aid in developing atomic weaponry, or to keep the "wrong side" from using his knowledge


In 2011 a person submitted to Italian police a photo taken circa 1955 in Buenos Aires. The person claimed to have met Majorana there after World War II. Italian police analyzed the picture with photo recognition software. A 10 point similarity was found between Majorana and the man in the photo - a high similarity. Italian police consider the case closed. If Majorana vanished he did so of his own accord. Ettore Majorana was probably the only person in the world smart enough to know how to vanish and never leave a trace.

SOURCES :

Ettore Majorana. Wikipedia.

Mitchell, Robbie. The Mystery of Ettore Majorana, the Genius Who Vanished. Historic Mysteries, 24 January 2024.


FURTHER MEDIA : 

Frey, Holly / Wilson, Tracy V., hosts. "The Life and Disappearance of Ettore Majorana." Stuff You Missed In History Class, iheartradio, 27 March 2019.

Flowers, Ashley, host. "DISAPPEARED : Ettore Majorana." Supernatural. Parcast, 6 January 2021. 

Turney, Sarah, host. "Ettore Majorana." Disappearances, 5 January 2023.



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