Einstein's E=mc2 'was Italian's idea'

The mathematical equation that ushered in the atomic age was discovered by an unknown Italian dilettante two years before Albert Einstein used it in developing the theory of relativity, it was claimed yesterday.

Olinto De Pretto, an industrialist from Vicenza, published the equation E=mc2 in a scientific magazine, Atte, in 1903, said Umberto Bartocci, a mathematical historian.

www.guardian.co.uk...

De Pretto had stumbled on the equation, but not the theory of relativity, while speculating about ether in the life of the universe, said Prof Bartocci. It was republished in 1904 by Veneto's Royal Science Institute, but the equation's significance was not understood

Stumbling upon the equation is one thing... Understanding it is quite another... No reason to give Einstein the boot here...and still deserves credit for it's relation (haha, get it?) to Relativity....