Albert Einstein is one of the most notable and influential scientists of the twentieth century. Although he became known as a genius of science, he was slow in learning to speak as a child. Einstein also rebelled in school, which left many teachers to believe he would amount to little. His interest in science and math was inspired by a compass, his "sacred little geometry book," and classical music. By the age of sixteen, he wrote his first research science paper.
Einstein attempted to skip the last few years of high school to enter the Swiss institute of Technology. But he failed the entrance exam. His most famous discovery is the theory of relativity, E=mc2. This theory overturned Isaac Newton's laws by explaining the relation of energy and mass as a consequence of space and time. It was first introduced in a three-page paper in 1905. So ahead of its time, the theory could not be proven until years later.
Born in Germany and raised in the Jewish faith, Einstein strongly opposed injustices of race and religion. He helped out however he could. Einstein supported the American civil rights movement and efforts of the Zionist movement to preserve and cultivate the Jewish faith. He played an important role in setting up the Hebrew University of Israel.
Many people have thought that Einstein was the creator of the atomic bomb. But this is not true. During World War II, he wrote a letter to President Roosevelt warning of Germany's possible use of nuclear weapons. Einstein was actually barred from helping the United States to make the atom bomb.
Albert Einstein was more than a world-famous scientist. His name and image have come to represent genius and intellect.
"With fame I become more and more stupid, which of course is a very common phenomenon."
"Why is it that nobody understands me, yet everybody likes me?"
"I'm doing just fine, considering that I have triumphantly survived Nazism and two wives."
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious."
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
Einstein wrote his first scientific paper, "On the Investigation of the State of the Ether in a Magnetic Field," in 1895 at the age of 16. It was never published but sent to his uncle for critique.
Einstein was a member of the Princeton chapter of the NAACP and served as co-chair of the American Crusade to End Lynching, which was headed by his friend Paul Robeson.
Efforts were made by reputable German scholars and government officials to debunk Einstein's work and to stop the teaching of his theories because of his Jewish heritage.
While Einstein was considered a genius, at times he was more of an absent-minded professor. He was notorious for forgetting dates and numbers, losing things, and had problems spelling in the English language.
Einstein attributes his interest in science to a compass that his father gave to him when he was 10 years old.
From 1901 to 1954 Albert Einstein published more than 300 scientific works.
In 1944 a handwritten copy of Einstein's work on electrodynamics is sold for $6 million to finance war bonds.
In 1946 Einstein accepted an honorary degree from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, the first school to grant college degrees to African Americans in the United States and gave a speech addressing racism.
In 1952 Einstein was offered the position of president of Israel, but he declined.
After his death, Einstein's brain was donated to the Princeton Medical Center.
Awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics (1922)
Awarded the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London (1925)
Awarded a gold medal by the Royal Astronomical Society of England (1926)
Awarded the Max Planck medal for extraordinary achievements in theoretical physics (1929)
Awarded the Franklin Medal by the Franklin Institute (1935)
The 99th element, a metallic synthetic element is named "einsteinium" in honor of Albert Einstein. (1955)
The Albert Memorial, a bronze and marble sculpture, is erected in the Washington, D.C. National Mall by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (1979)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the president of the United States during most of World War II. He received a letter from Einstein that inspired him to start a scientific research program to build the atomic bomb.
Mileva Maric
The first wife of Albert Einstein, she came from a wealthy Serbian family and was highly educated. She had a lifelong problem with her hip that caused her to limp.
Elsa Lowenthal
The second wife and distant cousin of Albert Einstein.
Leo Szilard
Scientist and student of Albert Einstein, he encouraged Einstein to write a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II. The letter urged the president to start an American research program to develop an atomic bomb before the Germans were able to do so.
1879
Albert Einstein is born in Ulm, Germany, on March 14.
1880
Einstein's family moves to Munich. His father and uncle start an electrical engineering company called Einstein & Cie.
1885
Einstein goes to a Catholic primary school. He learns about his religion, Judaism, at home and begins playing the violin.
1888
Einstein changes schools to attend the Luitpold-Gymnasium.
1894
His family moves to Italy and he stays behind to finish school. He later joins the family after leaving school before the end of the school year. He tries to skip ahead in his studies by applying to the Zurich Polytechnic School (later named the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, or the ETH). But he fails the exam.
1895
He finishes his high school education at the Aargau Cantonal School in Aarau, Switzerland.
1896
He gives up being a German citizen. After graduating from Aargau, he enters the ETH. He trains to become a teacher in physics and mathematics. At the ETH, he meets and later falls in love with Serbian classmate Mileva Maric.
1900
He graduates from the ETH. He applies to become an assistant there, but he is not accepted.
1901
He becomes a Swiss citizen. He publishes his first scientific paper, "Conclusions Drawn from the Phenomena of Capillarity," in March. He finds a job as a substitute teacher at the technical school in Winterthur. Later he works as a tutor at a private boarding school in Schaffhausen.
1902
A daughter is born to Einstein and Mileva. She is named Lieserl. It is believed that she was born in January and later given up for adoption. Einstein begins working at the Patent Office in Bern, Switzerland.
1903
He marries Mileva Maric on January 6 in Bern.
1904
Einstein and Mileva's first son, Hans Albert, is born on May 14.
1905
This year is referred to as "Einstein's miracle year"–the year in which his most important scientific papers are published. One paper called "Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend On It's Energy Content?" introduces the theory of relativity, E=mc2.
1906
He receives a doctoral degree from the University of Zurich in January.
1908
He becomes an instructor, or privatdozent, at the University of Bern.
1909
He becomes a professor at the University of Zurich in May. He receives an honorary degree from the University of Geneva.
1910
His second son, Eduard, is born on July 28.
1911
He becomes a professor of theoretical physics at the German University of Prague in April. He goes to the first world physics conference, the Solvay Conference in Brussels.
1912
He accepts a position as a professor of theoretical physics at the ETH in Zurich.
1914
He moves with his family to Berlin. There he begins his position as a research professor at the University of Berlin and serves as director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics. His wife and two sons return to Zurich after a few months.
1917
He becomes very ill and is cared for by his cousin Elsa Lowenthal. He assumes the position of director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics in October.
1919
He officially divorces his wife Mileva Maric on February 14. A few months later, he marries his cousin, Elsa Lowenthal on June 2.
1921
He travels to the United States for the first time in April to receive an honorary degree at Princeton University. He also lectures on the theory of relativity. With Chaim Weitzmann, Einstein tours the United States to raise money to create the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
1922
He is awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize of Physics "for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect."
1933
As the Nazis come into power in Germany, Einstein resigns from the Prussian Academy of Sciences. He and his wife Elsa move to the United States. He becomes the professor of theoretical physics at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study in New Jersey.
1939
He writes a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt warning him of the possible use of atomic energy by the Germans in the current war. This letter is believed to have pushed President Roosevelt to start a program to research and develop nuclear weapons. This program becomes known as the Manhattan Project.
1940
He becomes a naturalized citizen of the United States.
1945
He retires from the Princeton Institute.
1948
He goes to the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital after having terrible stomach pain. Doctors discover that he has an aneurysm, or a blood-filled lump, in his abdomen.
1955
Einstein dies on April 18 in Princeton, New Jersey.
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