Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Institute for Advanced Study opened its doors in 1930 following a partnership between Abraham Flexner and representatives of the Bamberger siblings. Louis Bamberger and Caroline Fuld originally planned to fund a dental school but Flexner convinced them to support abstract research instead.
Albert Einstein arrived at the institute in 1933 as a refugee from Germany due to the rise of fascism that forced many prominent mathematicians to flee Europe. The institute became a key lifeline for scholars fleeing persecution across the continent when other options disappeared.
The institute consists of four schools: Historical Studies, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. A program in Systems Biology also operates within this framework alongside these established departments.
Thirty-four Nobel Laureates have worked at the IAS over its history while forty-two out of sixty-one Fields Medalists have been affiliated with the institute. Nine Abel Prizes were garnered by Institute professors or visiting scholars since 2003 and thirty-nine Cole Prizes went to scholars associated with the IAS since 1928.
The institute's first African-American permanent faculty member joined in 2007 after decades of struggle toward greater inclusivity within academic circles. David Blackwell became the first African-American mathematician to visit the IAS in 1941 but William S. Claytor turned down an offer in 1939 on principle.