Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman: Adventures of a Curious Character

by Richard P. Feynman

A day or two before the talk I saw Wigner in the hall. ‘Feynman,’ he said, ‘I think that work you’re doing with Wheeler is very interesting, so I’ve invited Russell to the seminar.’ Henry Norris Russell, the famous, great astronomer of the day, was coming to the lecture! Wigner went on. ‘I think Professor von Neumann would also be interested.’ Johnny Von Neumann was the greatest mathematician around. ‘And Professor Pauli is visiting from Switzerland, it so happens, so I’ve invited Professor Pauli to come’—Pauli was a very famous physicist—and by this time, I’m turning yellow. Finally, Wigner said, ‘Professor Einstein only rarely comes to our weekly seminars, but your work is so interesting that I’ve invited him specially, so he’s coming, too.’