Who said “The only source of knowledge is experience.”?

Misattributed

Not Albert Einstein. It's commonly credited to them, but the evidence shows it isn't theirs.

What the research foundListed as misattributed to Albert Einstein; no source in their known works.

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APA

“The only source of knowledge is experience.” [Quotation attributed to Albert Einstein]. (n.d.). Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/865-the-only-source-of-knowledge-is-experience/

MLA

“The only source of knowledge is experience.” Attributed to Albert Einstein. Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/865-the-only-source-of-knowledge-is-experience/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

“The only source of knowledge is experience.” Attributed to Albert Einstein. Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/865-the-only-source-of-knowledge-is-experience/.

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“Deep experience is never peaceful.”
— Henry James
Verifiedde Mauves, Galaxy Magazine (February/March 1874), ch. V, reprinted in A Passionate Pilgrim (1875) and later in The Madonna of the Future and Other Tales (1879) and the New York Edition of James' works, vol. 13 (1908) · evidenceDetails & citeExperience

More quotes by Albert Einstein

“Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.”
VerifiedAlbert Einstein, as quoted by Virgil Henshaw in Albert Einstein: Philosopher Scientist (1949) edited by Paul A. Schilpp · evidenceDetails & citeConscience
“We all try to escape pain and death, while we seek what is pleasant.”
VerifiedOut of My Later Years (1950), Ch. 7 "Morals and Emotions" (1938), p. 15 · evidenceDetails & citePleasure
“The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of every day [sic] thinking.”
Verified"Physics and Reality" (as translated by Jean Piccard) in the Journal of the Franklin Institute Vol. 221, Issue 3 (March 1936), at p. 349 · evidenceDetails & citeScience and Scientists
“I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.”
VerifiedOut of My Later Years (1950), Ch. 2 "Self-Portrait" (1936), p. 5 · evidenceDetails & citeSolitude
All 177 Albert Einstein quotes →