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Childhood and education

• From graduation to the “miracle year” of scientific theories
• General relativity and teaching career
• World renown and Nobel Prize
• Nazi backlash and coming to America
• Personal sorrow, World War II, and the atomic bomb
• Increasing professional isolation and death

What did Albert Einstein do?

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Albert Einstein

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Albert Einstein was a famous physicist. His research spanned from quantum mechanics to theories about gravity and motion. After publishing some groundbreaking papers, Einstein toured the world and gave speeches about his discoveries. In 1921 he won the Nobel Prize for Physics for his discovery of the photoelectric effect .

Albert Einstein is best known for his equation E = mc 2 , which states that energy and mass (matter) are the same thing, just in different forms. He is also known for his discovery of the photoelectric effect , for which he won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. Einstein developed a theory of special and general relativity, which helped to complicate and expand upon theories that had been put forth by Isaac Newton over 200 years prior. 

Albert Einstein had a massive influence on contemporary physics. His theory of relativity shifted contemporary understanding of space completely. Along with his equation E = mc 2 , it also foreshadowed the creation of the atomic bomb . Einstein’s understanding of light as something which can function both as a wave and as a stream of particles became the basis for what is known today as quantum mechanics .

Albert Einstein was raised in a secular Jewish family and had one sister, Maja, who was two years younger than him. In 1903 Einstein married Milena Maric, a Serbian physics student whom he had met at school in Zürich. They had three children: a daughter, named Lieserl, and two sons, named Hans and Eduard. After a period of unrest, Einstein and Maric divorced in 1919. Einstein, during his marriage, had begun an affair with his cousin Elsa Löwenthal. They were married in 1919, the same year he divorced Maric.

How did Albert Einstein die?

After suffering an abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture several days before, Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955, at age 76.

In December 1926 Albert Einstein wrote to Max Born that “[t]he theory produces a good deal but hardly brings us closer to the secret of the Old One. I am at all events convinced that He does not play dice.” Einstein was reacting to Born’s probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics and expressing a deterministic view of the world. Learn more.

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Albert Einstein (born March 14, 1879, Ulm , Württemberg, Germany—died April 18, 1955, Princeton , New Jersey , U.S.) was a German-born physicist who developed the special and general theories of relativity and won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the photoelectric effect . Einstein is generally considered the most influential physicist of the 20th century.

(Read Einstein’s 1926 Britannica essay on space-time.)

Einstein’s parents were secular , middle-class Jews. His father, Hermann Einstein, was originally a featherbed salesman and later ran an electrochemical factory with moderate success. His mother, the former Pauline Koch, ran the family household. He had one sister, Maria (who went by the name Maja), born two years after Albert.

Einstein would write that two “wonders” deeply affected his early years. The first was his encounter with a compass at age five. He was mystified that invisible forces could deflect the needle. This would lead to a lifelong fascination with invisible forces. The second wonder came at age 12 when he discovered a book of geometry , which he devoured , calling it his “sacred little geometry book.”

Einstein became deeply religious at age 12, even composing several songs in praise of God and chanting religious songs on the way to school. This began to change, however, after he read science books that contradicted his religious beliefs. This challenge to established authority left a deep and lasting impression. At the Luitpold Gymnasium , Einstein often felt out of place and victimized by a Prussian-style educational system that seemed to stifle originality and creativity. One teacher even told him that he would never amount to anything.

Yet another important influence on Einstein was a young medical student, Max Talmud (later Max Talmey), who often had dinner at the Einstein home. Talmud became an informal tutor, introducing Einstein to higher mathematics and philosophy . A pivotal turning point occurred when Einstein was 16 years old. Talmud had earlier introduced him to a children’s science series by Aaron Bernstein, Naturwissenschaftliche Volksbucher (1867–68; Popular Books on Physical Science ), in which the author imagined riding alongside electricity that was traveling inside a telegraph wire. Einstein then asked himself the question that would dominate his thinking for the next 10 years: What would a light beam look like if you could run alongside it? If light were a wave , then the light beam should appear stationary, like a frozen wave. Even as a child, though, he knew that stationary light waves had never been seen, so there was a paradox . Einstein also wrote his first “scientific paper” at that time (“The Investigation of the State of Aether in Magnetic Fields”).

Einstein’s education was disrupted by his father’s repeated failures at business. In 1894, after his company failed to get an important contract to electrify the city of Munich , Hermann Einstein moved to Milan to work with a relative. Einstein was left at a boardinghouse in Munich and expected to finish his education. Alone, miserable, and repelled by the looming prospect of military duty when he turned 16, Einstein ran away six months later and landed on the doorstep of his surprised parents. His parents realized the enormous problems that he faced as a school dropout and draft dodger with no employable skills. His prospects did not look promising.

Fortunately, Einstein could apply directly to the Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule (“Swiss Federal Polytechnic School”; in 1911, following expansion in 1909 to full university status, it was renamed the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, or “Swiss Federal Institute of Technology”) in Zürich without the equivalent of a high school diploma if he passed its stiff entrance examinations. His marks showed that he excelled in mathematics and physics , but he failed at French , chemistry , and biology . Because of his exceptional math scores, he was allowed into the polytechnic on the condition that he first finish his formal schooling. He went to a special high school run by Jost Winteler in Aarau , Switzerland , and graduated in 1896. He also renounced his German citizenship at that time. (He was stateless until 1901, when he was granted Swiss citizenship.) He became lifelong friends with the Winteler family, with whom he had been boarding. (Winteler’s daughter, Marie, was Einstein’s first love; Einstein’s sister, Maja, would eventually marry Winteler’s son Paul; and his close friend Michele Besso would marry their eldest daughter, Anna.)

Einstein would recall that his years in Zürich were some of the happiest years of his life. He met many students who would become loyal friends, such as Marcel Grossmann, a mathematician, and Besso, with whom he enjoyed lengthy conversations about space and time. He also met his future wife, Mileva Maric, a fellow physics student from Serbia.

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Albert Einstein

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Questions and Answers on Albert Einstein

During his stay at the Patent Office, and in his spare time, he produced much of his remarkable work and in 1908 he was appointed Privatdozent in Berne. In 1909 he became Professor Extraordinary at Zurich, in 1911 Professor of Theoretical Physics at Prague, returning to Zurich in the following year to fill a similar post. In 1914 he was appointed Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute and Professor in the University of Berlin. He became a German citizen in 1914 and remained in Berlin until 1933 when he renounced his citizenship for political reasons and emigrated to America to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at Princeton * . He became a United States citizen in 1940 and retired from his post in 1945.

After World War II, Einstein was a leading figure in the World Government Movement, he was offered the Presidency of the State of Israel, which he declined, and he collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Einstein always appeared to have a clear view of the problems of physics and the determination to solve them. He had a strategy of his own and was able to visualize the main stages on the way to his goal. He regarded his major achievements as mere stepping-stones for the next advance.

At the start of his scientific work, Einstein realized the inadequacies of Newtonian mechanics and his special theory of relativity stemmed from an attempt to reconcile the laws of mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. He dealt with classical problems of statistical mechanics and problems in which they were merged with quantum theory: this led to an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules. He investigated the thermal properties of light with a low radiation density and his observations laid the foundation of the photon theory of light.

In his early days in Berlin, Einstein postulated that the correct interpretation of the special theory of relativity must also furnish a theory of gravitation and in 1916 he published his paper on the general theory of relativity. During this time he also contributed to the problems of the theory of radiation and statistical mechanics.

In the 1920s, Einstein embarked on the construction of unified field theories, although he continued to work on the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory, and he persevered with this work in America. He contributed to statistical mechanics by his development of the quantum theory of a monatomic gas and he has also accomplished valuable work in connection with atomic transition probabilities and relativistic cosmology.

After his retirement he continued to work towards the unification of the basic concepts of physics, taking the opposite approach, geometrisation, to the majority of physicists.

Einstein’s researches are, of course, well chronicled and his more important works include Special Theory of Relativity (1905), Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950), General Theory of Relativity (1916), Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926), and The Evolution of Physics (1938). Among his non-scientific works, About Zionism (1930), Why War? (1933), My Philosophy (1934), and Out of My Later Years (1950) are perhaps the most important.

Albert Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many European and American universities. During the 1920’s he lectured in Europe, America and the Far East, and he was awarded Fellowships or Memberships of all the leading scientific academies throughout the world. He gained numerous awards in recognition of his work, including the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925, and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.

Einstein’s gifts inevitably resulted in his dwelling much in intellectual solitude and, for relaxation, music played an important part in his life. He married Mileva Maric in 1903 and they had a daughter and two sons; their marriage was dissolved in 1919 and in the same year he married his cousin, Elsa Löwenthal, who died in 1936. He died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, New Jersey.

This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel . It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures . To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.

* Albert Einstein was formally associated with the Institute for Advanced Study located in Princeton, New Jersey.

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Albert Einstein

By: History.com Editors

Updated: May 16, 2019 | Original: October 27, 2009

The German-born physicist Albert Einstein developed the first of his groundbreaking theories while working as a clerk in the Swiss patent office in Bern. After making his name with four scientific articles published in 1905, he went on to win worldwide fame for his general theory of relativity and a Nobel Prize in 1921 for his explanation of the phenomenon known as the photoelectric effect. An outspoken pacifist who was publicly identified with the Zionist movement, Einstein emigrated from Germany to the United States when the Nazis took power before World War II. He lived and worked in Princeton, New Jersey, for the remainder of his life.

Einstein’s Early Life (1879-1904)

Born on March 14, 1879, in the southern German city of Ulm, Albert Einstein grew up in a middle-class Jewish family in Munich. As a child, Einstein became fascinated by music (he played the violin), mathematics and science. He dropped out of school in 1894 and moved to Switzerland, where he resumed his schooling and later gained admission to the Swiss Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich. In 1896, he renounced his German citizenship, and remained officially stateless before becoming a Swiss citizen in 1901.

Did you know? Almost immediately after Albert Einstein learned of the atomic bomb's use in Japan, he became an advocate for nuclear disarmament. He formed the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists and backed Manhattan Project scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer in his opposition to the hydrogen bomb.

While at Zurich Polytechnic, Einstein fell in love with his fellow student Mileva Maric, but his parents opposed the match and he lacked the money to marry. The couple had an illegitimate daughter, Lieserl, born in early 1902, of whom little is known. After finding a position as a clerk at the Swiss patent office in Bern, Einstein married Maric in 1903; they would have two more children, Hans Albert (born 1904) and Eduard (born 1910).

Einstein’s Miracle Year (1905)

While working at the patent office, Einstein did some of the most creative work of his life, producing no fewer than four groundbreaking articles in 1905 alone. In the first paper, he applied the quantum theory (developed by German physicist Max Planck) to light in order to explain the phenomenon known as the photoelectric effect, by which a material will emit electrically charged particles when hit by light. The second article contained Einstein’s experimental proof of the existence of atoms, which he got by analyzing the phenomenon of Brownian motion, in which tiny particles were suspended in water.

In the third and most famous article, titled “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies,” Einstein confronted the apparent contradiction between two principal theories of physics: Isaac Newton’s concepts of absolute space and time and James Clerk Maxwell’s idea that the speed of light was a constant. To do this, Einstein introduced his special theory of relativity, which held that the laws of physics are the same even for objects moving in different inertial frames (i.e. at constant speeds relative to each other), and that the speed of light is a constant in all inertial frames. A fourth paper concerned the fundamental relationship between mass and energy, concepts viewed previously as completely separate. Einstein’s famous equation E = mc2 (where “c” was the constant speed of light) expressed this relationship.

From Zurich to Berlin (1906-1932)

Einstein continued working at the patent office until 1909, when he finally found a full-time academic post at the University of Zurich. In 1913, he arrived at the University of Berlin, where he was made director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics. The move coincided with the beginning of Einstein’s romantic relationship with a cousin of his, Elsa Lowenthal, whom he would eventually marry after divorcing Mileva. In 1915, Einstein published the general theory of relativity, which he considered his masterwork. This theory found that gravity, as well as motion, can affect time and space. According to Einstein’s equivalence principle–which held that gravity’s pull in one direction is equivalent to an acceleration of speed in the opposite direction–if light is bent by acceleration, it must also be bent by gravity. In 1919, two expeditions sent to perform experiments during a solar eclipse found that light rays from distant stars were deflected or bent by the gravity of the sun in just the way Einstein had predicted.

The general theory of relativity was the first major theory of gravity since Newton’s, more than 250 years before, and the results made a tremendous splash worldwide, with the London Times proclaiming a “Revolution in Science” and a “New Theory of the Universe.” Einstein began touring the world, speaking in front of crowds of thousands in the United States, Britain, France and Japan. In 1921, he won the Nobel Prize for his work on the photoelectric effect, as his work on relativity remained controversial at the time. Einstein soon began building on his theories to form a new science of cosmology, which held that the universe was dynamic instead of static, and was capable of expanding and contracting.

Einstein Moves to the United States (1933-39)

A longtime pacifist and a Jew, Einstein became the target of hostility in Weimar Germany, where many citizens were suffering plummeting economic fortunes in the aftermath of defeat in the Great War. In December 1932, a month before Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany, Einstein made the decision to emigrate to the United States, where he took a position at the newly founded Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey . He would never again enter the country of his birth.

By the time Einstein’s wife Elsa died in 1936, he had been involved for more than a decade with his efforts to find a unified field theory, which would incorporate all the laws of the universe, and those of physics, into a single framework. In the process, Einstein became increasingly isolated from many of his colleagues, who were focused mainly on the quantum theory and its implications, rather than on relativity.

Einstein’s Later Life (1939-1955)

In the late 1930s, Einstein’s theories, including his equation E=mc2, helped form the basis of the development of the atomic bomb. In 1939, at the urging of the Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard, Einstein wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt advising him to approve funding for the development of uranium before Germany could gain the upper hand. Einstein, who became a U.S. citizen in 1940 but retained his Swiss citizenship, was never asked to participate in the resulting Manhattan Project , as the U.S. government suspected his socialist and pacifist views. In 1952, Einstein declined an offer extended by David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s premier, to become president of Israel .

Throughout the last years of his life, Einstein continued his quest for a unified field theory. Though he published an article on the theory in Scientific American in 1950, it remained unfinished when he died, of an aortic aneurysm, five years later. In the decades following his death, Einstein’s reputation and stature in the world of physics only grew, as physicists began to unravel the mystery of the so-called “strong force” (the missing piece of his unified field theory) and space satellites further verified the principles of his cosmology.

HISTORY Vault: Secrets of Einstein's Brain

Originally stolen by the doctor trusted to perform his autopsy, scientists over the decades have examined the brain of Albert Einstein to try and determine what made this seemingly normal man tick.

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Part of the Einstein exhibition.

Einstein's Education

According to popular lore, Albert Einstein was a poor student. It is true that he did not earn top grades in every subject, but he excelled at math and science, even though he skipped classes and had to cram for exams. "It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle," he wrote, "that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry." Einstein taught himself geometry at the age of 12, wrote his first "science paper" at age 16 and received his Ph.D. at the age of 26 in 1905—the same year he published four groundbreaking articles in physics.

Even as a teenager, Einstein had already developed a profound mistrust of authority. He questioned not only his teachers but also long-standing mathematical and scientific "givens," such as ancient Greek rules of geometry and laws of physics established by other scientists. Ironically, Einstein's queries and resulting breakthroughs eventually turned him into an authority himself.

The Rigors of School

Albert started his formal education at a Catholic school in Munich. The young boy ranked first in his class more than once, to the delight of his family. In 1887, Einstein transferred to the Luitpold Gymnasium in Munich, but he wilted under what he called a rigid atmosphere. At the age of 15, Einstein decided to educate himself.

College Bound

At age 16, Einstein took the entrance exam for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology—but failed the language and history sections. On the director's advice, Einstein enrolled in a Swiss secondary school that encouraged his "free thinking." His graduation in 1896 qualified him to enter the Federal Institute in Zurich.

Einstein enthusiastically enrolled in a math and physics program but found lectures and tests intolerable. With the aid of lecture notes from his friend Marcel Grossmann, Einstein passed the final examination and graduated, but the ordeal was so loathsome that Einstein lost interest in science for an entire year.

20 Things You Need to Know About Einstein

Everything you need to know about the smartest man of the 20th century

A childhood portrait of Albert Einstein and his sister Maja.

Einstein was slow in learning how to speak. His parents even consulted a doctor. He also had a cheeky rebelliousness toward authority, which led one headmaster to expel him and another to amuse history by saying that he would never amount to much. But these traits helped make him a genius. His cocky contempt for authority led him to question conventional wisdom. His slow verbal development made him curious about ordinary things — such as space and time — that most adults take for granted. His father gave him a compass at age five, and he puzzled over the nature of a magnetic field for the rest of his life. And he tended to think in pictures rather than words.

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Albert Einstein Biography

Einstein is also well known as an original free-thinker, speaking on a range of humanitarian and global issues. After contributing to the theoretical development of nuclear physics and encouraging F.D. Roosevelt to start the Manhattan Project, he later spoke out against the use of nuclear weapons.

Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Einstein settled in Switzerland and then, after Hitler’s rise to power, the United States. Einstein was a truly global man and one of the undisputed genius’ of the Twentieth Century.

Early life Albert Einstein

Einstein was born 14 March 1879, in Ulm the German Empire. His parents were working-class (salesman/engineer) and non-observant Jews. Aged 15, the family moved to Milan, Italy, where his father hoped Albert would become a mechanical engineer. However, despite Einstein’s intellect and thirst for knowledge, his early academic reports suggested anything but a glittering career in academia. His teachers found him dim and slow to learn. Part of the problem was that Albert expressed no interest in learning languages and the learning by rote that was popular at the time.

“School failed me, and I failed the school. It bored me. The teachers behaved like Feldwebel (sergeants). I wanted to learn what I wanted to know, but they wanted me to learn for the exam.” Einstein and the Poet (1983)

At the age of 12, Einstein picked up a book on geometry and read it cover to cover. – He would later refer to it as his ‘holy booklet’. He became fascinated by maths and taught himself – becoming acquainted with the great scientific discoveries of the age.

Albert Einstein with wife Elsa

Despite Albert’s independent learning, he languished at school. Eventually, he was asked to leave by the authorities because his indifference was setting a bad example to other students.

He applied for admission to the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. His first attempt was a failure because he failed exams in botany, zoology and languages. However, he passed the next year and in 1900 became a Swiss citizen.

At college, he met a fellow student Mileva Maric, and after a long friendship, they married in 1903; they had two sons before divorcing several years later.

In 1896 Einstein renounced his German citizenship to avoid military conscription. For five years he was stateless, before successfully applying for Swiss citizenship in 1901. After graduating from Zurich college, he attempted to gain a teaching post but none was forthcoming; instead, he gained a job in the Swiss Patent Office.

While working at the Patent Office, Einstein continued his own scientific discoveries and began radical experiments to consider the nature of light and space.

Einstein in 1921

He published his first scientific paper in 1900, and by 1905 had completed his PhD entitled “ A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions . In addition to working on his PhD, Einstein also worked feverishly on other papers. In 1905, he published four pivotal scientific works, which would revolutionise modern physics. 1905 would later be referred to as his ‘ annus mirabilis .’

Einstein’s work started to gain recognition, and he was given a post at the University of Zurich (1909) and, in 1911, was offered the post of full-professor at the Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague (which was then part of Austria-Hungary Empire). He took Austrian-Hungary citizenship to accept the job. In 1914, he returned to Germany and was appointed a director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics. (1914–1932)

Albert Einstein’s Scientific Contributions

Quantum Theory

Einstein suggested that light doesn’t just travel as waves but as electric currents. This photoelectric effect could force metals to release a tiny stream of particles known as ‘quanta’. From this Quantum Theory, other inventors were able to develop devices such as television and movies. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.

Special Theory of Relativity

This theory was written in a simple style with no footnotes or academic references. The core of his theory of relativity is that:

“Movement can only be detected and measured as relative movement; the change of position of one body in respect to another.”

Thus there is no fixed absolute standard of comparison for judging the motion of the earth or plants. It was revolutionary because previously people had thought time and distance are absolutes. But, Einstein proved this not to be true.

He also said that if electrons travelled at close to the speed of light, their weight would increase.

This lead to Einstein’s famous equation:

Where E = energy m = mass and c = speed of light.

General Theory of Relativity 1916

Working from a basis of special relativity. Einstein sought to express all physical laws using equations based on mathematical equations.

He devoted the last period of his life trying to formulate a final unified field theory which included a rational explanation for electromagnetism. However, he was to be frustrated in searching for this final breakthrough theory.

Solar eclipse of 1919

In 1911, Einstein predicted the sun’s gravity would bend the light of another star. He based this on his new general theory of relativity. On 29 May 1919, during a solar eclipse, British astronomer and physicist Sir Arthur Eddington was able to confirm Einstein’s prediction. The news was published in newspapers around the world, and it made Einstein internationally known as a leading physicist. It was also symbolic of international co-operation between British and German scientists after the horrors of the First World War.

In the 1920s, Einstein travelled around the world – including the UK, US, Japan, Palestine and other countries. Einstein gave lectures to packed audiences and became an internationally recognised figure for his work on physics, but also his wider observations on world affairs.

Bohr-Einstein debates

During the 1920s, other scientists started developing the work of Einstein and coming to different conclusions on Quantum Physics. In 1925 and 1926, Einstein took part in debates with Max Born about the nature of relativity and quantum physics. Although the two disagreed on physics, they shared a mutual admiration.

As a German Jew, Einstein was threatened by the rise of the Nazi party. In 1933, when the Nazi’s seized power, they confiscated Einstein’s property, and later started burning his books. Einstein, then in England, took an offer to go to Princeton University in the US. He later wrote that he never had strong opinions about race and nationality but saw himself as a citizen of the world.

“I do not believe in race as such. Race is a fraud. All modern people are the conglomeration of so many ethnic mixtures that no pure race remains.”

Once in the US, Einstein dedicated himself to a strict discipline of academic study. He would spend no time on maintaining his dress and image. He considered these things ‘inessential’ and meant less time for his research. Einstein was notoriously absent-minded. In his youth, he once left his suitcase at a friends house. His friend’s parents told Einstein’s parents: “ That young man will never amount to anything, because he can’t remember anything.”

Although a bit of a loner, and happy in his own company, he had a good sense of humour. On January 3, 1943, Einstein received a letter from a girl who was having difficulties with mathematics in her studies. Einstein consoled her when he wrote in reply to her letter

“Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics. I can assure you that mine are still greater.”

Einstein professed belief in a God “Who reveals himself in the harmony of all being”. But, he followed no established religion. His view of God sought to establish a harmony between science and religion.

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”

– Einstein, Science and Religion (1941)

Politics of Einstein

Einstein described himself as a Zionist Socialist. He did support the state of Israel but became concerned about the narrow nationalism of the new state. In 1952, he was offered the position as President of Israel, but he declined saying he had:

“neither the natural ability nor the experience to deal with human beings.” … “I am deeply moved by the offer from our State of Israel, and at once saddened and ashamed that I cannot accept it.”

Einstein receiving US citizenship.

Albert Einstein was involved in many civil rights movements such as the American campaign to end lynching. He joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and  considered racism, America’s worst disease. But he also spoke highly of the meritocracy in American society and the value of being able to speak freely.

On the outbreak of war in 1939, Einstein wrote to President Roosevelt about the prospect of Germany developing an atomic bomb. He warned Roosevelt that the Germans were working on a bomb with a devastating potential. Roosevelt headed his advice and started the Manhattan project to develop the US atom bomb. But, after the war ended, Einstein reverted to his pacifist views. Einstein said after the war.

“Had I known that the Germans would not succeed in producing an atomic bomb, I would not have lifted a finger.” (Newsweek, 10 March 1947)

In the post-war McCarthyite era, Einstein was scrutinised closely for potential Communist links. He wrote an article in favour of socialism, “Why Socialism” (1949) He criticised Capitalism and suggested a democratic socialist alternative. He was also a strong critic of the arms race. Einstein remarked:

“I do not know how the third World War will be fought, but I can tell you what they will use in the Fourth—rocks!”

Rabindranath Tagore and Einstein

Einstein was feted as a scientist, but he was a polymath with interests in many fields. In particular, he loved music. He wrote that if he had not been a scientist, he would have been a musician. Einstein played the violin to a high standard.

“I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music… I get most joy in life out of music.”

Einstein died in 1955, at his request his brain and vital organs were removed for scientific study.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan . “ Biography of Albert Einstein ”, Oxford, www.biographyonline.net 23 Feb. 2008. Updated 2nd March 2017.

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19 Comments

Albert E is awesome! Thanks for this website!!

• January 11, 2019 3:00 PM

Albert Einstein is the best scientist ever! He shall live forever!

• January 10, 2019 4:11 PM

very inspiring

• December 23, 2018 8:06 PM

Wow it is good

• December 08, 2018 10:14 AM

Thank u Albert for discovering all this and all the wonderful things u did!!!!

• November 15, 2018 7:03 PM
• By Madalyn Silva

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• November 02, 2018 3:37 PM
• By Ankit Gupta

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• October 17, 2018 4:39 PM
• By brooklynn

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• October 12, 2018 4:25 PM
• By Richard Clarlk

Albert Einstein: facts about his life, death, education and work

In 1919, theoretical physicist Albert Einstein published his pioneering theory of general relativity. His work established new ideas about the formation of the universe and black holes, revolutionising our knowledge of gravity, time and space. When and where was he born? When and how did he die? Read more about his life, plus 5 little-known facts from author Andrew Robinson…

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Born in Germany on 14 March 1879, Albert Einstein became well established in the scientific community for his general theories of relativity, which redefined understandings of space, time, matter, energy, and gravity. In 1921, Einstein won the Nobel Prize for Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect – and he is today considered one of the most respected figures in the history of science. Read on for the story of his life or jump to 5 little-known facts …

Albert Einstein's early life

Albert Einstein was the eldest child of Hermann Einstein, an electrical engineer and salesman, and Pauline Koch. He had one sister, named Maja. Just six weeks after Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, his family moved to Munich. From a young age Einstein showed a keen interest in music, and he learned how to play the piano and violin. In 1887 Einstein began his education at the Luitpold Gymnasium (a secondary school) in Munich.

In 1896, aged 17, Einstein enrolled at Zürich Polytechnic, where he studied for a mathematics and physics teaching diploma. Four years later he completed his diploma but was unable to find a teaching job, so he began work at the Swiss Patent Office as a technical assistant in 1901.

Einstein met Mileva Marić while they both were studying at Zürich Polytechnic. The couple married in 1903 and together they had two sons. It has been suggested the couple may have had a daughter before they married, but the child may have died or been adopted. The couple ultimately separated in 1914 before divorcing in 1919. Einstein married his second wife, Elsa Löwenthal, in 1919.

Albert Einstein's research

In 1900, after completing his diploma at Zürich Polytechnic, Einstein began researching for a doctorial thesis. In 1905 he completed a doctorate degree from the University of Zurich. In the same year, four of his research papers were published, including one on the special theory of relativity, which revealed new findings on the relationship between time and space.

More like this

After demonstrating his impressive work in theoretical physics, Einstein was made a privatdozent [an academic title conferred by some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries] in Bern, Switzerland in 1908.

Einstein became professor extraordinary [a lower-ranking professorship] at University of Zurich in 1909, before being made professor of theoretical physics at Charles University in Prague in 1911. Einstein’s academic career developed further in 1914 when he became the director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics and a professor at the University of Berlin.

In 1915 Einstein published his work on the general theory of relativity, which suggests that “space and time are woven together, and become distorted by objects with mass”. This theory is considered by many to be the most significant scientific concept developed in modern-day physics. As a result of his outstanding work, in 1921 Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for services to theoretical physics.

What was Einstein's Theory of Relativity?

Einstein during the second world war.

With the rise of Nazism in Germany in the early 1930s, the Nazi party began to restrict the number of Jews who could hold academic positions in universities across Germany. Einstein, who was from a Jewish family, feared facing persecution. In 1933 he renounced his German citizenship and emigrated to the US, where he became a professor at Princeton University in New Jersey.

Following the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Einstein wrote a letter to President Franklin D Roosevelt to express his fears that the Nazis were developing nuclear weapons. He warned the president that the US needed to begin its own research into atomic bombs in order to protect the country from the Nazi threat. This letter influenced the establishment of the Manhattan Project , led by physicist J Robert Oppenheimer – the research scheme that initiated the development of the first nuclear weapons. However, Einstein himself refused involvement in the Manhattan Project, as he was a pacifist.

After the US dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Einstein became active in the political movement to prevent the use of atomic bombs in the future.

In the 1940s Einstein also became involved in campaigns advocating civil rights in the US, and he joined National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1946 he made an impassioned speech at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in which he stated that racism is "a disease of white people".

In the later years of his life, Einstein continued to work as a theoretical physicist, and he further developed his theory of general relativity.

When did Albert Einstein die?

On 17 April 1955, Einstein experienced an abdominal aortic aneurysm and internal bleeding, but refused to undergo surgery [it has been suggested he may have wished to decide when he could die]. He died the next day at Princeton Hospital in New Jersey, aged 76.

Just hours after his death, Einstein’s brain was removed without the permission of his family, and it was taken to the University of Pennsylvania. It was dissected, cut into 240 pieces, and samples were put onto slides, ready to be examined under a microscope. Einstein’s son Hans Albert eventually agreed for his father’s brain to be used for scientific investigation.

• Read more | What happened to Albert Einstein's brain?

Over the past six decades, numerous studies have been published on Einstein’s brain, and some scientists have even suggested that the unusual features of his brain [such as having an extra ridge on his mid-frontal lobe ] may be linked to his high level of intelligence.

In 1999, TIME Magazine named Einstein as the ‘Person of the Century’.

5 little-known facts about Albert Einstein

Andrew Robinson reveals five surprising facts about the famous physicist, from his theory of relativity to his views on pacifism and nuclear weapons…

Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity was rejected in Britain until 1919

Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity made him instantly famous when it was confirmed by British astronomers, led by scientist Arthur Eddington, during a solar eclipse in 1919. But when the unknown Einstein first published it in 1905, the theory convinced hardly a single British thinker – either in the sciences or the humanities. University of Cambridge scientists either ignored, reinterpreted or rejected relativity, for lack of experimental evidence, until it was accepted and taught to undergraduates by Eddington in 1920. University of Oxford philosophers were even more scathing, ridiculing the theory as late as 1919 because it appeared to contradict their training in the Greek classics such as Euclid.

Albert Einstein abandoned pacifism as soon as the Nazis came to power

Einstein’s militant pacifism in response to the First World War is well known. Less known is his change of mind in 1933, a few months after Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany, in favour of European military rearmament against the Nazi threat—long before most European and American politicians. In 1939, he even recommended to US President Franklin Roosevelt the building of an atomic bomb, thereby helping to launch the Manhattan Project in 1941–2. But after the Second World War, Einstein changed his mind yet again and fought very publicly against nuclear weapons. His last public act, days before his death in 1955, was to sign the anti-nuclear Russell-Einstein Manifesto, initiated by British philosopher Bertrand Russell.

Albert Einstein turned down the presidency of Israel

In 1952, Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel, following the death of his long-time sparring partner, Chaim Weizmann. He turned it down, while simultaneously observing that his relationship with the Jewish people had become his “strongest human bond”. This decision was the culmination of three decades of ambivalence towards Zionism. Jewish by birth, and also by sympathy, Einstein always suspected that Zionism would encourage the use of violence. Although he raised money for the Zionist cause in the 1920s, and supported the foundation of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem—to which he willed all of his papers after his death—Einstein remained too much of an individualist to commit himself to any nation.

Albert Einstein never returned to Europe after 1933

From the 1920s, Einstein was celebrated as a citizen of the world, partly as a result of his global lectures in Europe, Japan, Palestine, South America and the United States. But after he left Europe in 1933, and settled in Princeton, New Jersey, he never returned to his homeland. Indeed, he never left America before his death in 1955 – despite countless invitations to travel. Part of this reluctance was his undying distrust of his native Germany following the horrors of the Nazi period. In addition, Einstein had no wish to entangle himself in the politics of Palestine. But most of all, he loved solitude in Princeton for the sake of his all-important physics.

• Read more about Einstein's visits to Britain

Albert Einstein is probably the most quoted figure of our time

Einstein is one of the most widely quoted people of all time, and probably the most quoted figure from the 20th century. The website Wikiquote has many more entries for Einstein than for Aristotle, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton , Charles Darwin or Stephen Hawking, and even than Einstein’s opinionated contemporaries Winston Churchill and George Bernard Shaw – including an ever-expanding section of misquotations and invented ‘quotations’. Beyond science, Einstein was an avid commentator on education, marriage, money, the nature of genius, music-making, politics and more. As he seriously joked to a friend in 1930: “To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.”

Andrew Robinson is the author of 25 books in the arts and sciences, including Einstein on the Run: How Britain Saved the World's Greatest Scientist ( Yale University Press, 2019)

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• World Biography

Albert Einstein Biography

Born: March 14, 1879 Ulm, Germany Died: April 18, 1955 Princeton, Massachusetts German-born American physicist and scientist

The German-born American physicist (one who studies matter and energy and the relationships between them) Albert Einstein revolutionized the science of physics. He is best known for his theory of relativity, which holds that measurements of space and time vary according to conditions such as the state of motion of the observer.

Early years and education

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Germany, but he grew up and obtained his early education in Munich, Germany. He was a poor student, and some of his teachers thought he might be retarded (mentally handicapped); he was unable to speak fluently (with ease and grace) at age nine. Still, he was fascinated by the laws of nature, experiencing a deep feeling of wonder when puzzling over the invisible, yet real, force directing the needle of a compass. He began playing the violin at age six and would continue to play throughout his life. At age twelve he discovered geometry (the study of points, lines, and surfaces) and was taken by its clear and certain proofs. Einstein mastered calculus (a form of higher mathematics used to solve problems in physics and engineering) by age sixteen.

Einstein's formal secondary education ended at age sixteen. He disliked school, and just as he was planning to find a way to leave without hurting his chances for entering the university, his teacher expelled him because his bad attitude was affecting his classmates. Einstein tried to enter the Federal Institute of Technology (FIT) in Zurich, Switzerland, but his knowledge of subjects other than mathematics was not up to par, and he failed the entrance examination. On the advice of the principal, he first obtained his diploma at the Cantonal School in Aarau, Switzerland, and in 1896 he was automatically admitted into the FIT. There he came to realize that he was more interested in and better suited for physics than mathematics.

Einstein passed his examination to graduate from the FIT in 1900, but due to the opposition of one of his professors he was unable to go on to obtain the usual university assistantship. In 1902 he was hired as an inspector in the patent office in Bern, Switzerland. Six months later he married Mileva Maric, a former classmate in Zurich. They had two sons. It was in Bern, too, that Einstein, at twenty-six, completed the requirements for his doctoral degree and wrote the first of his revolutionary scientific papers.

Famous papers

Thermodynamics (the study of heat processes) made the deepest impression on Einstein. From 1902 until 1904 he reworked the foundations of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics (the study of forces and their effect on matter); this work formed the immediate background to his revolutionary papers of 1905, one of which was on Brownian motion.

In Brownian motion, first observed in 1827 by the Scottish botanist (scientist who studies plants) Robert Brown (1773–1858), small particles suspended in a liquid such as water undergo a rapid, irregular motion. Einstein, unaware of Brown's earlier observations, concluded from his studies that such a motion must exist. He was guided by the thought that if the liquid in which the particles are suspended is made up of atoms, they should collide with the particles and set them into motion. He found that the motion of the particles will in time experience a forward movement. Einstein proved that this forward movement is directly related to the number of atoms per gram of atomic weight. Brownian motion is to this day considered one of the most direct proofs of the existence of atoms.

The theory of relativity came from Einstein's search for a general law of nature that would explain a problem that had occurred to him when he was sixteen: if one runs at, say, 4 4 miles per hour (6.4 kilometers per hour) alongside a train that is moving at 4 4 miles per hour, the train appears to be at rest; if, on the other hand, it were possible to run alongside a ray of light, neither experiment nor theory suggests that the ray of light would appear to be at rest. Einstein realized that no matter what speed the observer is moving at, he must always observe the same velocity of light, which is roughly 186,000 miles per second (299,274 kilometers per second). He also saw that this was in agreement with a second assumption: if an observer at rest and an observer moving at constant speed carry out the same kind of experiment, they must get the same result. These two assumptions make up Einstein's special theory of relativity. Also in 1905 Einstein proved that his theory predicted that energy (E) and mass (m) are entirely related according to his famous equation, E=mc 2 . This means that the energy in any particle is equal to the particle's mass multiplied by the speed of light squared.

Academic career

These papers made Einstein famous, and universities soon began competing for his services. In 1909, after serving as a lecturer at the University of Bern, Einstein was called as an associate professor to the University of Zurich. Two years later he was appointed a full professor at the German University in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Within another year-and-a-half Einstein became a full professor at the FIT. Finally, in 1913 the well-known scientists Max Planck (1858–1947) and Walther Nernst (1864–1941) traveled to Zurich to persuade Einstein to accept a lucrative (profitable) research professorship at the University of Berlin in Germany, as well as full membership in the Prussian Academy of Science. He accepted their offer in 1914, saying, "The Germans are gambling on me as they would on a prize hen. I do not really know myself whether I shall ever really lay another egg." When he went to Berlin, his wife remained behind in Zurich with their two sons; they divorced, and Einstein married his cousin Elsa in 1917.

In 1920 Einstein was appointed to a lifelong honorary visiting professorship at the University of Leiden in Holland. In 1921 and 1922 Einstein, accompanied by Chaim Weizmann (1874–1952), the future president of the state of Israel, traveled all over the world to win support for the cause of Zionism (the establishing of an independent Jewish state). In Germany, where hatred of Jewish people was growing, the attacks on Einstein began. Philipp Lenard and Johannes Stark, both Nobel Prize–winning physicists, began referring to Einstein's theory of relativity as "Jewish physics." These kinds of attacks increased until Einstein resigned from the Prussian Academy of Science in 1933.

Career in America

On several occasions Einstein had visited the California Institute of Technology, and on his last trip to the United States he was offered a position in the newly established Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, Massachusetts. He went there in 1933.

Einstein played a key role (1939) in the construction of the atomic bomb by signing a famous letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945). It said that the Germans had made scientific advances and that it was possible that Adolf Hitler (1889–1945, the German leader whose actions led to World War II [1939–45]), might become the first to have atomic weapons. This led to an all-out U.S. effort to construct such a bomb. Einstein was deeply shocked and saddened when his famous equation E=mc 2 was finally demonstrated in the most awesome and terrifying way by using the bomb to destroy Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. For a long time he could only utter "Horrible, horrible."

It would be difficult to find a more suitable epitaph (a brief statement summing up a person's person's life) than the words Einstein himself used in describing his life: "God …gave me the stubbornness of a mule and nothing else; really …He also gave me a keen scent." On April 18, 1955, Einstein died in Princeton.

For More Information

Cwiklik, Robert. Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity. New York: Barron's Educational Series, 1987.

Goldberg, Jake. Albert Einstein. New York: Franklin Watts, 1996.

Goldenstern, Joyce. Albert Einstein: Physicist and Genius. Springfield, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 1995.

Hammontree, Marie. Albert Einstein: Young Thinker. New York: Aladdin, 1986.

Ireland, Karin. Albert Einstein. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Silver Burdett Press, 1989.

McPherson, Stephanie Sammartino. Ordinary Genius: The Story of Albert Einstein. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 1995.

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Albert Einstein Biography

Birthday: March 14 , 1879 ( Pisces )

Born In: Ulm, Germany

Do you fondly call the whiz kid in your class/ organization ‘Einstein’? If yes, then you aren’t the only one who does so. People around the world honor their friends and acquaintances with the title of ‘Einstein’ for the person’s immaculate brilliance and genius mind. While there may be a lot of genius minds set at work to this date, only once in a century is someone like Albert Einstein born. The 19th century not just witnessed the birth of Albert Einstein, but with it, the birth of modern Physics. Rightly known as the Father of Modern Physics, Albert Einstein was, without a doubt, the most influential physicist of the 20th century. With his research and finding, Einstein created a revolution in the field of science. Amongst his numerous works: (a) the general theory of relativity, which provided a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of space and time, and (b) the photoelectric effect that established the quantum theory within physics are the most important ones. During his lifetime, Einstein published more than 300 scientific papers, apart from 150 non-scientific works. He was the proud recipient of numerous awards, such as the Nobel Prize in Physics, the Copley Medal, the Matteucci Medal, and the Max Planck medal. Other than these, he has also been credited by Times magazine as the Person of the Century. Such was his contribution to mankind that his name Einstein has been made synonymous with being "genius".

Recommended For You

German Celebrities Born In March

Died At Age: 76

Spouse/Ex-: Elsa Löwenthal (1919–1936), Mileva Marić (1903–1919)

father: Hermann Einstein

mother: Pauline Einstein

siblings: Maja Einstein

children: Hans Albert Einstein Eduard Einstein, Ilse Einstein, Lieserl Einstein , Margot Einstein

Born Country: Germany

Physicists American Men

political ideology: socialist

Died on: April 18 , 1955

place of death: Plainsboro Township, New Jersey, United States

Personality: INTP

Cause of Death: Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Ancestry: German American, Swiss American, German Swiss

Notable Alumni: Federal Polytechnic School In Zurich, University Of Zurich

Founder/Co-Founder: Olympia Academy

discoveries/inventions: Law Of The Photoelectric Effect, Einstein Refrigerator

education: University Of Zurich, Federal Polytechnic School In Zurich

You wanted to know

What was albert einstein’s iq.

We all know that Albert Einstein was a genius and his ideas and theories led to several inventions. It is very natural to assume that he must have had a superlative IQ, but we do not have any record to prove that Einstein was ever tested for IQ. As IQ testing was still evolving during Einstein's emergence as a brilliant physicist, he was never really tested for it. Several attempts have been made to estimate the IQs of long-dead intellectuals and famous people and estimates have been arrived at, but we cannot say with certainty whether these IQ estimates are accurate. Based on Einstein's choice of research and experiments, it can be assumed that he must have had an extremely high IQ. Some studies put his IQ at 160.

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Born to Hermann Einstein and Pauline Einstein, in Ulm, in the Kingdom of Wurttemberg, Albert Einstein was one of the two children of the couple. He had a younger sister named Maja Einstein.

The family shifted base to Munich, where his father, along with his uncle, founded the Elektrotechnische Fabrik J. Einstein & Cie Company, manufacturing electrical equipment based on direct current.

Albert’s first taste of education was at the Catholic Elementary School when he was five. After acquiring three years of education, he was transferred to the Luitpold Gymnasium. After completing advanced primary and secondary school education, he left Germany.

Right from early childhood, Einstein showed signs of having an in-depth talent and skill for Mathematics. During this time, he used to build models and mechanical devices, but those were for mere entertainment.

It was at the age of ten that Einstein’s fascination for Mathematics grew when he was handed over popular books on Science, mathematical texts, and philosophical writings by Max Talmund. These included Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and Euclid's Elements.

In 1894, with the introduction of alternating current to the world, Einstein’s father went out of business. As such, in search of trade, the family moved to Milan initially and a few months later to Pavia.

Einstein, however, stayed back in Munich to complete his studies at Luitpold Gymnasium. Though he did try to adhere to the wishes of his father who wanted Einstein to pursue electrical engineering, it wasn’t long before Einstein withdrew his name from the school roll list as his views clashed with the study regimen of the education center. While Einstein craved creative learning, the institution focused on rote learning

Joining his family in Pavia in 1894, he started working on what was his first paper titled, ‘On the Investigation of the State of the Ether in a Magnetic Field’.

The following year, Einstein appeared for the examinations for the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich. Though he did not clear the test, his grades in Physics and Mathematics were exceptional.

Adhering to the advice of the Principal of Polytechnic, Einstein enrolled himself in the Aargau Cantonal School in Aarau, Switzerland, for the academic year 1895-96, to complete his secondary schooling.

Fearing the call for military service, Einstein renounced his citizenship in the German Kingdom of Wurttemberg in 1896. His decision was duly supported by his father. In the month of September, he passed the exam with overall good grades, once again gaining top grades in papers of mathematics and physics.

Einstein was only seventeen years of age when he enrolled in the four-year Mathematics and Physics teaching diploma program at ETH Zurich. He was awarded the Zurich Polytechnic teaching diploma degree in 1900.

The following year, i.e. in 1901, Einstein gained Swiss citizenship.

Post graduating, Einstein spent two years in search of a job in the teaching sector, but could not secure even one. Finally, with the help of his former classmate’s father, he bagged the chair of an assistant examiner at the Federal Office for Intellectual Property, the patent office.

It was in 1903 that Einstein became a permanent officer therein. His job involved evaluating patent applications for electromagnetic devices.

His work was mostly related to questions about the transmission of electric signals and electrical-mechanical synchronization of time. It was through this that Einstein made his conclusion about the nature of light and the fundamental connection between time and space.

Most of Einstein’s strikingly remarkable works came during this period. He utilized his free time by engaging himself in scientific research. In 1901, he published the paper ‘Folgerungen aus den Kapillarität Erscheinungen’ (Conclusions from the Capillarity Phenomena) in the most prominent scientific journal, Annalen der Physik.

Four years thence, in 1905, he completed his thesis by presenting a dissertation which was entitled “A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions”. For the same, he was awarded a Ph.D. by the University of Zurich. However, the degree was just the beginning of the many more things that were waiting to come up.

The year 1905, fondly called the Annus Mirabilis or the miracle year in the life of Einstein, saw the birth of Einstein as an innovator and creator, for it was during this year that he published his four ground-breaking papers.

The papers provided information on the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity, and the equivalence of matter and energy. They not only changed the way the world looked at time, space, and matter but also contributed and laid the foundation for the growth of Modern Physics. Additionally, the papers brought Einstein to the limelight.

As expected, post the publication of the papers, Einstein became instantly famous and was recognized as the leading scientist. In 1908, he was appointed as a lecturer at the University of Bern. However, Einstein quit this position as well as the one he was holding at the patent office to take up the profile of physics docent at the University of Zurich.

In 1911, he became a full-time professor at Karl-Ferdinand University in Prague.

Three years later, in 1914, he returned to Germany as he was appointed director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics and a professor at the Humboldt University of Berlin, with a special clause in his contract that freed him from most teaching obligations.

Two years thence in 1916, Einstein was appointed as the president of the German Physical Society, a position he held for two years. During this time, Einstein also attained membership in the Prussian Academy of Sciences.

Einstein’s growing reputation resulted in his being invited officially by the Mayor of New York, who personally welcomed the great scientist on April 2, 1921. During his stay in New York, Einstein delivered several lectures at Columbia and Princeton University.

Post New York, Einstein moved to Washington D.C, where he accompanied several representatives of the National Academy of Science to the White House.

During his journey back to Europe, Einstein made a short stay as the guest of the British statesman and philosopher Viscount Haldane in London. During his visit, Einstein met several scientific, intellectual, and political figures and delivered a lecture at King's College.

The following year, in 1922, Einstein journeyed to Asia and later to Palestine, as a part of a six-month excursion and speaking tour. His travels included Singapore, Ceylon, and Japan, where he gave a series of lectures to more than thousands of Japanese.

His first lecture in Japan lasted for four hours after which he met the emperor and the empress at the Imperial Palace. Einstein's visit to Palestine lasted for 12 days. It also became his only visit to the region.

Einstein’s next visit to America was in 1933. He visited several universities during the tour. He even undertook his third two-month visiting professorship at the California Institute of Technology.

While returning to Belgium by the end of March, Einstein heard the news that his cottage and recreational boat had been confiscated by the Nazis, who had risen to power under the authority of Germany’s new chancellor.

Upon returning, Einstein almost immediately went to the German consulate where he turned down his passport and renounced his German citizenship. (He had earlier renounced citizenship in the German Kingdom of Wurttemberg).

A new law had been set in Germany according to which Jews could not hold any official positions, including teaching at the universities. Not only was Einstein’s work targeted, but he himself was on the list of assassination targets of the Nazis with a $5,000 bounty on his head.

Einstein found his temporary shelter in England, before returning to the US in October of 1933. Therein, he took up a position at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, New Jersey, that required his presence for six months each year. His association with the institute lasted until his death.

Einstein was uncertain of his future, as he had offers from European Universities as well. He, however, made the decision to permanently stay in the United States and thus, applied for citizenship.

In the year 1939, a group of Hungarian scientists attempted to alert Washington of the ongoing atomic bomb research undertaken by the Nazis. However, not much heed was paid to their warning. As such, they resorted to Einstein, who wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, alerting him of the possibility.

The letter immediately drew the attention of the US government, which became directly involved in uranium research and associated chain reaction research. The US utilized its immense financial and scientific resources to initiate the Manhattan Project and surfaced as the only country to successfully develop an atomic bomb during World War II.

Einstein gained permanent citizenship in the US in the year 1940. What was most appealing to him about this country and its culture was the existence of meritocracy, unlike Europe. In the US, people were rewarded for their work and they had the right to say and think what pleased them.

Einstein, in his later years, was even offered the position of President of Israel, but he declined the same stating that he had neither the aptitude nor the experience.

In 1905, Einstein came up with his revolutionary works, which were focused on the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, the special theory of relativity, and the equivalence of matter and energy.

He worked on thermodynamic fluctuations and statistical physics. He even worked on general relativity and applied the same to explain cosmology. The other work carried out by Einstein includes the Schrodinger gas model and the Einstein refrigerator.

He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.

In 1929, Einstein was presented with the Max Planck medal of the German Physical Society in Berlin

In 1936, he was awarded the Franklin Institute's Franklin Medal for his extensive work on relativity and the photo-electric effect

International Union of Pure and Applied Physics named 2005 as the "World Year of Physics" commemorating the 100th anniversary of the publication of the ‘annus mirabilis’ papers.

Albert Einstein has to his name a science park, located on the hill, Telegrafenberg in Potsdam, Germany. The park has a tower named Einstein Tower which is an astrophysical, built to perform checks of Einstein's theory of General Relativity

Washington DC houses the Albert Einstein Memorial. In it is a monumental bronze statue depicting Einstein seated with manuscript papers in hand.

Four months after his death, the chemical element 99 (einsteinium) was named for him

The Time magazine, in 1999, named Einstein as the Person of the Century. That same year, the British Journal ‘Physics World’ conducted a poll of 130 leading physicists which ranked Einstein “the greatest physicist of all time.”

The United States Postal Service honored Einstein with a Prominent Americans series 8-cent postage stamp.

In 2008, Einstein was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

The year 1896 was an important one for Einstein as far as his personal life was concerned, for it was then that he met Mileva Mariac. The two became great friends and very soon, this friendship culminated in marriage. However, before the nuptial knots were tied, Einstein and Mariac became parents to their firstborn, a daughter whom they named Lieserl.

Einstein and Mariac married in January 1903. The following year, Mariac gave birth to their first son, Hans Albert Einstein. Six years later, the couple was blessed with another son, Eduard. In 1914, Einstein moved to Berlin, while his wife and two sons remained in Zurich.

Five years later, the two divorced on February 14, 1919. The same year, Einstein remarried his then-lady love, Elsa Lowenthal, after having had a relationship with her since 1912.

In 1933, the couple immigrated to the United States. After having been diagnosed with heart and kidney problems in 1935, Elsa didn’t live long and passed away in December 1936.

Albert Einstein experienced internal bleeding, which was caused by the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm on April 17, 1955. Although Dr. Rudolph Nissen had reinforced the same surgically in 1948, the problem reappeared. He was admitted to the Princeton Hospital.

Though the doctors were preparing for the surgery, Einstein refused the same saying he did not want to prolong life using artificial measures. As a result, Einstein breathed his last on April 18, 1955. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at an undisclosed location.

He is known as the Father of Modern Physics. Interestingly, his surname has been adjudged with the meaning ‘genius’, and is used by the world all over.

A mastermind and impeccable theoretical physicist, he is responsible for creating new waves in the field of modern physics. However, as a child, he faced speech difficulties and had a slow cadence in speaking.

There are two instances that had a marked effect on the life of this Nobel Prize-winning physicist – the encounter with the compass and discovering Euclid’s Element, a geometry book which he fondly called ‘holy little geometry book’.

Post-death, the pathologist of Princeton Hospital, Thomas Stoltz Harvey, removed this proficient scientist’s brain for preservation without the permission of his family, in the hope that the neuroscience of the future would be able to discover what made the man who developed the theory of relativity so intelligent.

Albert Einstein considered himself an agnostic, not an atheist as some people believe.

He was a ladies’ man and had numerous extramarital affairs.

His mother was a piano player and she instilled in him a lifelong love for music. Einstein himself was a talented violin player.

He was a slow learner as a child and had speech problems.

It is said that he expected a lot from his first wife and set some weird rules for her to follow.

Einstein was well-known for his unkempt appearance, especially his unruly hair. A fact that not many people know is that he hated wearing socks.

Einstein was once offered the presidency of Israel which he politely declined.

His Nobel Prize money went to his ex-wife as a divorce settlement.

He was famous for being absent-minded—he could not remember names, dates, and phone numbers.

He loved sailing and was given a boat as a gift on his 50th birthday. But he was not a good sailor and had to be constantly rescued.

He parted his last words in German. However, the nurse attending to him was not familiar with the language.

While he was the proponent of the “Manhatten Project,” Einstein actually saw nuclear weapons with great dismay.

See the events in life of Albert Einstein in Chronological Order

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Albert Einstein

This brilliant physicist worked to crack open the mysteries of the universe. Check out the time line below to learn about the life of this legend.

Albert Einstein is born in Ulm, Germany . As a child, the prodigy enjoys solving math riddles and building skyscrapers out of playing cards. Some of his card creations are 14 mini-stories tall!

Sixteen-year-old Einstein writes his first scholarly paper on the force of magnetism. Bet that pulled in a lot of readers. Ha-ha. Get it?

Living in Switzerland , the physicist figures out that matter—the tiny particles that form objects—can be turned into energy, and vice versa. He also comes up with the famous formula E=mc2, which calculates the energy produced by converting a given amount of matter. He’s now a star!

Einstein wows the world by publishing his theory of relativity. The theory explains gravity—basically ginormous objects such as planets bend the space around them as they travel or pulsate. These curves in space then produce a gravitational pull toward the planet.

Einstein receives the Nobel Prize in physics—an award for major scientific accomplishments.

The science genius continues his research at Princeton University in New Jersey , and his life’s work helps completely change people’s understanding of the universe. The contributions of this brainy guy are mind-blowing.

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Legendary scientist Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) first gained worldwide prominence in 1919 after British astronomers verified predictions of Einstein's general theory of relativity through measurements taken during a total eclipse. Einstein's theories expanded upon universal laws formulated by physicist Isaac Newton in the late seventeenth century.

Before E=MC2

Einstein was born in Germany in 1879. Growing up, he enjoyed classical music and played the violin. One story Einstein liked to tell about his childhood was when he came across a magnetic compass. The needle's invariable northward swing, guided by an invisible force, profoundly impressed him as a child. The compass convinced him that there had to be "something behind things, something deeply hidden."

Even as a small boy Einstein was self-sufficient and thoughtful. According to one account, he was a slow talker, often pausing to consider what he would say next. His sister would recount the concentration and perseverance with which he would build houses of cards.

Einstein's first job was that of patent clerk. In 1933, he joined the staff of the newly created Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He accepted this position for life, and lived there until his death. Einstein is probably familiar to most people for his mathematical equation about the nature of energy, E = MC2.

E = MC2, Light and Heat

The formula E=MC2 is probably the most famous calculation from Einstein's special theory of relativity . The formula basically states that energy (E) equals mass (m) times the speed of light (c) squared (2). In essence, it means mass is just one form of energy. Since the speed of light squared is an enormous number, a small amount of mass can be converted to a phenomenal amount of energy. Or if there's a lot of energy available, some energy can be converted to mass and a new particle can be created. Nuclear reactors, for instance, work because nuclear reactions convert small amounts of mass into large amounts of energy.

Einstein wrote a paper based on the new understanding of the structure of light. He argued that light can act as though it consists of discrete, independent particles of energy similar to particles of a gas. A few years before, Max Planck's work had contained the first suggestion of discrete particles in energy. Einstein went far beyond this though and his revolutionary proposal seemed to contradict the universally accepted theory that light consists of smoothly oscillating electromagnetic waves. Einstein showed that light quanta, as he called the particles of energy, could help to explain phenomena being studied by experimental physicists. For example, he explained how light ejects electrons from metals.

While there was a well-known kinetic energy theory that explained heat as an effect of the ceaseless motion of atoms, it was Einstein who proposed a way to put the theory to a new and crucial experimental test. If tiny but visible particles were suspended in a liquid, he argued, the irregular bombardment by the liquid's invisible atoms should cause the suspended particles to move in a random jittering pattern. This should be observable through a microscope. If the predicted motion is not seen, the whole kinetic theory would be in grave danger. But such a random dance of microscopic particles had long since been observed. With the motion demonstrated in detail, Einstein had reinforced the kinetic theory and created a powerful new tool for studying the movement of atoms.

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Albert Einstein: His life, theories and impact on science

Where would science be without Albert Einstein?

• Early years

Career highlights

Einstein's remarkable brain, einstein's scientific legacy.

• Astronomical legacy

Additional resources

Albert Einstein is often cited as one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century. His work continues to help astronomers study everything from gravitational waves to Mercury 's orbit. 

The scientist's equation that helped explain special relativity – E = mc^2 – is famous even among those who don't understand its underlying physics. Einstein is also known for his theory of general relativity (an explanation of gravity ), and the photoelectric effect (which explains the behavior of electrons under certain circumstances); his work on the latter earned him a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.

Einstein also tried in vain to unify all the forces of the universe in a single theory, or a theory of everything, which he was still working on at the time of his death.

Related: What is the Theory of Everything?

Einstein's early years

Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Germany, a town that today has a population of just more than 120,000. There is a small commemorative plaque where his house used to stand (it was destroyed during World War II). The family moved to Munich shortly after his birth, according to the Nobel Prize website , and later to Italy when his father faced problems with running his own business. Einstein's father, Hermann, ran an electrochemical factory and his mother Pauline took care of Albert and his younger sister, Maria.

— What is wormhole theory?

— Was Einstein wrong? Why some astrophysicists are questioning the theory of space-time

— Albert Einstein: Before and after relativity

Einstein would write in his memoirs that  two "wonders"  deeply affected his early years, according to Hans-Josef Küpper, an Albert Einstein scholar. Young Einstein encountered his first wonder — a compass — at age 5: He was mystified that invisible forces could deflect the needle. This would lead to a lifelong fascination with unseen forces. The second wonder came at age 12 when he discovered a book of geometry, which he worshipped, calling it his "holy geometry book."

Contrary to popular belief, young Albert was a good student, according to an online archive . He  excelled in physics and mathematics , but was a more "moderate" pupil in other subjects, Küpper wrote on his website. However, Einstein rebelled against the authoritarian attitude of some of his teachers and dropped out of school at 16. He later took an entrance exam for the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich, and while his performances in physics and math were excellent, his marks in other areas were subpar, and he did not pass the exam. The aspiring physicist took additional courses to close the gap in his knowledge and was admitted to the Swiss Polytechnic in 1896. In 1901 he received his diploma to teach physics and mathematics. 

However, Einstein could not find a teaching position, and began work in a Bern patent office in 1901, according to his Nobel Prize biography . It was while there that, in between analyzing patent applications, he developed his work in special relativity and other areas of physics that later made him famous.

Einstein married Mileva Maric, a longtime love of his from Zurich, in 1903. Their children, Hans Albert and Eduard, were born in 1904 and 1910. (The fate of a child born to them in 1902 before their marriage, Lieserl, is unknown.) Einstein divorced Maric in 1919 and soon after married Elsa Löwenthal. Löwenthal died in 1933.

Einstein's career sent him to multiple countries. He earned his doctorate from the University of Zurich in 1905 and subsequently took on professor positions in Zurich (1909), Prague (1911) and Zurich again (1912). Next, he moved to Berlin to become director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute and a professor at the University of Berlin (1914). He also became a German citizen. 

A major validation of Einstein's work came in 1919, when Sir Arthur Eddington, secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society, led an expedition to Africa that measured the position of stars during a total solar eclipse . The group found that the position of stars was shifted due to the bending of light around the sun . (In 2008, a BBC/HBO production dramatized the story in " Einstein and Eddington .") 

Einstein remained in Germany until 1933 when dictator Adolf Hitler rose to power. The physicist then renounced his German citizenship and moved to the United States to become a professor of theoretical physics at Princeton. He became a U.S. citizen in 1940 and retired in 1945.

Einstein remained active in the physics community throughout his later years. In 1939, he famously penned a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt warning that uranium could be used for an atomic bomb. 

Late in Einstein's life, he engaged in a series of private debates with physicist  Niels Bohr  about the validity of quantum theory . Bohr's theories held the day, and Einstein later incorporated quantum theory into his own calculations. 

Einstein's death

Einstein died of an aortic aneurysm on April 18, 1955. A blood vessel burst near his heart, according to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) . When asked if he wanted to have surgery, Einstein refused. "I want to go when I want to go," he said. "It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share; it is time to go. I will do it elegantly."

Einstein's body — most of it, anyway — was cremated; his ashes were spread in an undisclosed location, according to the AMNH. However, a doctor at Princeton Hospital, Thomas Harvey, had controversially performed an autopsy, and removed Einstein's brain and eyeballs, according to the BBC .

Harvey sliced hundreds of thin sections of brain tissue to place on microscope slides and  snapped 14 photos  of the brain from several angles. He took the brain tissue, slides and images with him when he moved to Wichita, Kansas, where he was a medical supervisor in a biological testing lab.

Over the next 30 years, Harvey sent a few slides to other researchers who requested them, but kept the rest of the brain in two glass jars, sometimes in a cider box under a beer cooler. The story of Einstein's brain was largely forgotten until 1985, when Harvey and his colleagues published their study results in the journal Experimental Neurology .

Harvey failed a competency exam in 1988, and his medical license was revoked, Blitz wrote. Harvey eventually donated the brain to Princeton Hospital, where the brain's journey had begun. Harvey died in 2007. Pieces of Einstein's brain are now at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, Live Science reported .

Harvey's 1985 study authors reported that Einstein's brain had a higher number of glial cells (those that support and insulate the nervous system) per neurons (nerve cells) than other brains they examined. They concluded that it might indicate the neurons had a higher metabolic need — in other words, Einstein's brain cells needed and used more energy, which could have been why he had such advanced thinking abilities and conceptual skills.

However, other researchers have pointed out a few problems with that study, according to Eric H. Chudler , a neuroscientist at the University of Washington. First, for example, the other brains used in the study were all younger than Einstein's brain. Second, the "experimental group" had only one subject — Einstein. Additional studies are needed to see if these anatomical differences are found in other people. And third, only a small part of Einstein's brain was studied.

Another study, published in 1996 in the journal Neuroscience Letters , found that Einstein's brain weighed only 1,230 grams, which is less than the average adult male brain (about 1,400 g). Also, the scientist's cerebral cortex was thinner than that of five control brains, but the density of neurons was higher.

A study published in 2012 in the journal Brain revealed that Einstein's brain had extra folding in the gray matter , the site of conscious thinking. In particular, the frontal lobes, regions tied to abstract thought and planning, had unusually elaborate folding.

Einstein's legacy in physics is significant. Here are some of the key scientific principles that he pioneered:

Theory of special relativity : Einstein showed that physical laws are identical for all observers, as long as they are not under acceleration. However, the speed of light in a vacuum is always the same, no matter at what speed the observer is traveling. This work led to his realization that space and time are linked to what we now call space-time . So, an event seen by one observer may also be seen at a different time by another observer. 

Theory of general relativity : This was a reformulation of the law of gravity. In the 1600s, Newton formulated three laws of motion, among them, outlining how gravity works between two bodies. The force between them depends on how massive each object is, and how far apart the objects are. Einstein determined that when thinking about space-time, a massive object causes a distortion in space-time (like putting a heavy ball on a trampoline). Gravity is exerted when other objects fall into the "well" created by the distortion in space-time, like a marble rolling towards a large ball. General relativity passed a major test in 2019 in an experiment involving a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way .

Photoelectric effect : Einstein's work in 1905 proposed that light should be thought of as a stream of particles (photons) instead of just a single wave, as was commonly thought at the time. His work helped decipher curious results scientists were previously unable to explain. 

Unified field theory : Einstein spent much of his later years trying to merge the fields of electromagnetism and gravity. He was unsuccessful but may have been ahead of his time. Other physicists are still working on this problem.

Einstein's astronomical legacy

There are many applications of Einstein's work, but here are some of the most notable ones in astronomy :

Gravitational waves : In 2016, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected space-time ripples — otherwise known as gravitational waves— that occurred after black holes collided about 1.4 billion light-years from Earth . LIGO also made an initial detection of gravitational waves in 2015, a century after Einstein predicted these ripples existed. The waves are a facet of Einstein's theory of general relativity.

Mercury's orbit : Mercury is a small planet orbiting close to a very massive object relative to its size — the sun. Its orbit could not be understood until general relativity showed that the curvature of space-time is affecting Mercury's motions and changing its orbit. There is a small chance that over billions of years, Mercury could be ejected from our solar system due to these changes (with an even smaller chance that it could collide with Earth).

Gravitational lensing : This is a phenomenon by which a massive object (like a galaxy cluster or a black hole) bends light around it. Astronomers looking at that region through a telescope can then see objects directly behind the massive object, due to the light being bent. A famous example of this is Einstein's Cross, a quasar in the constellation Pegasus : A galaxy roughly 400 million light-years away bends the light of the quasar so that it appears four times around the galaxy.

Black holes : In April 2019, the Event Horizon telescope showed the first-ever images of a black hole . The photos again confirmed several facets of general relativity, including not only that black holes exist, but also that they have a circular event horizon — a point at which nothing can escape, not even light.

To find the answers to frequently asked questions about Albert Einstein , visit The Nobel Prize website. Additionally, you can learn about The Einstein Memorial at the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C.  

Bibliography

"Einstein: The Life and Times". American Journal of Physics (1973). https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1119/1

"On the brain of a scientist: Albert Einstein". Experimental Neurology (1985). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3979509/

"The fascinating life and theory of Albert Einstein". Mih, W. C. Nova Publishers (2000).   https://books.google.co.uk/books

"Alterations in cortical thickness and neuronal density in the frontal cortex of Albert Einstein". Neuroscience Letters (1996). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8805120/

"The cerebral cortex of Albert Einstein: a description and preliminary analysis of unpublished photographs". Brain, Volume 136, Issue 4 (2012). https://academic.oup.com/brain/article/136/4/1304/356614?login=true

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Albert Einstein

     next >>>, growing up and early life.

• Growing up Einstein
• Education, the Patent Office, and Marriage
• The Miracle Year
• Theory of General Relativity
• Academic Career and Nobel Prize
• Leaving Germany and World War II
• More Discoveries
• Later Life and Death
• Albert Einstein Quotes and Bibliography

5 Fascinating Facts About Albert Einstein

Let's take a closer look at the life of this incredible genius:

Einstein was a late talker

His parents worried that there was something wrong with him early on and even had him examined by doctors. He didn't really start using words until after he was two years old, but even after he started speaking, he often took unnatural pauses. No one knew in these very early years that they had a genius on their hands. In fact, many biographies on Einstein include the family maid's opinion of young Einstein. She thought he was "a dope." While he was slow with language, Einstein showed early sparks of interest in science. A gift of a compass from his father when he was five years old led to a lifetime fascination with magnetic fields.

READ MORE: What Was Albert Einstein's IQ?

Einstein wasn't a big fan of school

Despite some claims, he actually did well in his classes, especially math and science. Einstein, however, didn't like the way he was taught. He later remarked that "It is almost a miracle that modern teaching methods have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for what this delicate little plant needs more than anything, besides stimulation, is freedom," according to an article on the American Institute of Physics website .

Some of his most important learning was done outside of class. His uncle, Jakob Einstein, introduced him to algebra. A young Jewish medical student, Max Talmud, also served as an advisor of sorts. Talmud visited the Einstein home for dinner weekly for a time and brought books for young Einstein to read. These influential texts included People's Books on Natural Science and philosophical works by Immanuel Kant and David Hume.

Einstein had a lifelong passion for music

At the age of 6, he took up the violin at his mother's request. Einstein was quickly won over by classical music, especially the works of Wolfgang Mozart . According to Jürgen Neffe's Einstein: A Biography , Einstein once said that "Mozart's music is so pure and beautiful that I see it as a reflection of the inner beauty of the universe."

Over the years, Einstein became quite a skilled musician. A 17-year-old Einstein earned praise from his rendition of a Beethoven sonata he played for an exam at school. The evaluator stated that he "shone in a deeply felt performance," according to Physics World magazine. For the rest of his life, music would be a source of joy for the famous scientist.

Einstein had a daughter, but no one really knows what happened to her

He became involved with fellow student Mileva Marić and she gave birth to a daughter in 1902. The child was named Lieserl. Einstein and Mileva were unwed and living apart at the time of the child's birth. When they were reunited later, Mileva did not have the baby with her. There has been much speculation about Lieserl's fate over the years, from her being raised by relatives or put up for adoption or dying young from illness. But no one knows for certain what became of Lieserl. Einstein and Mileva later married and had two sons, Hans Albert and Eduard, before divorcing in 1919.

Not only was he a great scientist, but Einstein was also passionate about social issues

He had been a pacifist during World War I , but he became concerned at the rising anti-Semitism in Germany following the war. He began to speak out in favor of creating a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine. Einstein visited the United States in the early 1920s to raise funds for what is now known as Hebrew University. In 1952, he was even invited to become the president of Israel, but he turned the job down.

Einstein also supported the civil rights movement in America. In the 1940s, he penned the essay "The Negro Question," which appeared in Pageant magazine. Einstein wrote that the racial divide in his new homeland (he became a U.S. citizen in 1940) deeply troubled him. "I can escape the feeling of complicity in it only by speaking out." A member of the NAACP, Einstein considered racism to be the "worst disease" in the country.

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Albert Einstein

Introduction.

Scientific Breakthroughs

In 1905 Einstein caused a stir by publishing five major research papers. These papers forever changed the way people thought about the universe. One of these papers contained completely new ideas about the properties of light. Einstein received the Nobel prize for physics in 1921, mainly for the work in this paper.

In another paper, Einstein presented what is now called the special theory of relativity. This theory states that measurements of space and time are relative. That is, they change when taken by people moving at different speeds. This idea was entirely new. The special theory of relativity also changed how scientists thought about energy and matter . (Matter is everything that takes up space.)

Later Years

When the Nazi Party took over Germany in 1933, Einstein left the country. He eventually settled in the United States.

During World War II Einstein urged the United States to build nuclear weapons . He felt that these weapons might be needed to defeat the Nazis. The United States did create the first atomic bomb in 1945. Einstein, however, did not work to develop the bomb. After World War II he tried to prevent any future use of atomic weapons. Einstein died in Princeton, New Jersey, on April 18, 1955.

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10 facts about Albert Einstein

Find out about this extraordinary physicist….

Discover the scientist whose ideas and theories about time and space changed the world and what we think about the universe in our 10 facts about Albert Einstein…

Albert Einstein Facts

Full name: Albert Einstein

Born: 14 March 1879

Occupation: Scientist specialising in physics, also known as a theoretical physicist*

Died: 18 April 1955

Best known for: His theory of relativity*

1. Albert Einstein was born in Germany, but lived in Italy, Switzerland and Czechia (which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), until he eventually moved to the United States in 1933.

Albert never went back to Germany after moving to the USA . He didn’t feel safe in Germany because of the events that led to World War 2 , and instead settled down to life in the American town of Princeton , New Jersey .

2. When Albert was a boy, he fell in love with physics when his father gifted him a compass.

He was fascinated by the way the magnets moved inside of the compass, and thought about this when he was older and coming up with his theories around relativity.

3. Albert hated the strict discipline of the grammar school he attended as a teenager, and left aged 15…

While at school, he excelled at maths , physics , and philosophy , but struggled with other subjects like languages .

4. …but he still managed to write his first scholarly paper at just 16 years old!

The paper was inspired by his compass, and discussed the force of magnetism .

5. Rather than becoming a physicist straight away, Albert first trained as a teacher.

In 1896 , he was accepted into the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zürich, Switzerland. He originally failed the entrance exam, but was let anyway due to his exceptional maths results ! However, this was on the condition that Albert also went to high school and finished his formal schooling.

6. After failing to find work as a maths and physics teacher, Albert decided to obtain a Ph.D. in physics.

He obtained this degree in 1905 – a year that came to be known as Albert’s “ year of miracles “, because he published four groundbreaking papers in just 12 months!

7. One of the discoveries Albert announced in 1905 was his famous formula: E=mc 2

Albert figured out that matter – the tiny particles that make up everything in the world – can be turned into energy . The equation, E=mc 2 , describes how this conversion can be achieved. This amazing breakthrough made the 26-year-old Albert Einstein a star!

8. The formula formed part of Albert’s ‘general theory of relativity’, which he worked on over the next ten years.

Other scientists, for example Dutch physicist Hendrik Lorentz , had already been forming pieces of the theory. However, Albert was the first one to put the whole thing together. He published the complete theory in 1915 , where it wowed the world!

9. Albert’s theory of relativity helped scientists understand how the universe works.

Albert’s theory showed that the effects of gravity result from the ways that objects affect space and time . These interactions can only been seen on enormous objects like the planets. As a result, Albert’s general theory of relativity describes the way that amazing phenomena like the movement of planets, the birth and death of stars, black holes, and evolution of the universe, are possible.

Check out our space facts article to learn more about these out-of-this-world places!

10. He went on to win The Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.

The Nobel Prize is an award for major scientific accomplishments – and by the time Albert won it, he and his discoveries were famous around the world. He continued working on theories until his death in 1955 , aged 76.

*A theoretical physicist is a scientist who try to figure out how the world and universe works.

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Inside Albert Einstein's Tragic Childhood

Albert Einstein is one of the most famous scientists in history and changed how we understand the universe and time through his work. But before he became a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, his life wasn't an easy one. Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Germany, and experienced early difficulties with speech, according to Biography .

During Einstein's childhood, his father's businesses struggled to stay afloat, and he was separated from his family during his schooling. In the 1890s, he remained behind to finish elementary school when the rest of his family moved to Italy. Einstein experienced antisemitism and isolation while in school and detested the rigid Germanic teaching system. He left secondary school in Munich before graduating. "Active attacks and verbal abuse on the way to and from school were frequent but usually not all that serious," Einstein told a newspaper editor in 1920 (via "The Ultimate Quotable Einstein" ). "They sufficed, however, to establish an acute feeling of alienation already in childhood."

Early learning difficulties

As a small child, Albert Einstein was slow to begin speaking. According to "American Sketches: Great Leaders, Creative Thinkers, and Heroes of a Hurricane,"  the issue worried his parents enough that they consulted a specialist. When he finally began to talk, he acquired an unusual habit. "Every sentence he uttered, no matter how routine, he repeated to himself softly, moving his lips," his sister, Maria Einstein, known as Maja, wrote in a biographical sketch of her brother (via "The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein: The early years, 1879-1902" ). "This odd habit persisted until his seventh year."

The family maid nicknamed Albert "der depperte" (the dopey one) because of this eccentricity. He also balked at his parents' first attempt at formally educating him. When he was 5, a teacher came to the house. Albert, who was prone to violent temper tantrums as a small child, threw a chair at the woman, who "was so frightened that she ran away terrified and was never seen again," Maja recounted.

Shaky family finances

When Albert was 2 years old, Albert Einstein's father, Hermann, moved the family from Ulm to Munich to build a plumbing and electrical business with his brother Jakob. According to Albert's sister, Maria Einstein, the venture turned out to be financially disastrous. "It is hard to say why it never really flourished. ... [I]n short, business affairs grew progressively worse," she wrote (via "The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein" ). The somewhat mercurial Jakob convinced his brother Hermann to move the business to Italy in 1894, again uprooting Albert and his little sister Maja, who loved their homelife in Munich.

While the rest of the family decamped to Italy, Albert, by then in his early teens, was forced to stay behind to continue his studies while living as a boarder. The business didn't fare much better in Italy, and their financial difficulties continued to mount. Young Albert felt the burden of his family's precarious financial circumstances while attending college in Switzerland in 1898. "What oppresses me most ... is the misfortune of my poor parents," he wrote to his sister (via "Albert Einstein, The Human Side: Glimpses from His Archives" ). "I am nothing but a burden to my family. ... Really, it would have been better if I had never been born," he added.

Problems at school

Albert Einstein was a good student and made high grades, but he balked at the rigid system of his secondary school in Munich, per "Einstein: His Space and Times." The teachers weren't interested in their students' creative natures and taught through rote memorization. "The style of teaching in most subjects was repugnant to him; moreover, his home room teacher did not seem very well disposed toward him," his sister recalled in her biographical sketch. "The military tone of the school, the systematic training in the worship of authority that was supposed to accustom pupils at an early age to military discipline, was also particularly unpleasant for the boy."

She said one of Einstein's teachers at the school felt "nothing good will ever come of him." Because of Einstein's aversion to the school's methods and the prospect of mandatory military service when he turned 16, he dropped out of school and joined his parents in Italy, according to Britannica . After failing his entrance exams in several subjects (he did well in the math and physics sections) for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, he agreed to finish his final year of high school education in Switzerland. At 17, the university admitted him, but he butted heads with several of his professors there as well, per History .

Antisemitism

In Munich, Albert Einstein attended a Catholic school, and as a quiet loner with good grades, his schoolmates bullied him because he was Jewish, according to "Einstein: His Space and Times."  Einstein would later recall one particularly uncomfortable moment in class during elementary school when the priest in charge of their religious studies brought in a large nail to demonstrate how Jesus had been crucified. In one retelling of the incident, the priest specifically added that the crucifixion came at the hands of the Jews, per "Einstein's Religiosity and the Role of Religion in His Private Life."  At the end of the lesson, all the other students were staring at Einstein.

"Among the children, anti-Semitism was alive, especially in elementary school," he recalled (via "The Ultimate Quotable Einstein"). "It was based on conspicuous racial characteristics and on impressions left from the lessons on religion." The experience stuck with him into adulthood when he was again subjected by the Nazis to similar attacks and worse (they put a price on his head) in the 1930s.

Into adulthood

Albert Einstein's traumatic childhood experiences colored his later life, in many ways for the better. The antisemitism he faced as a child in tandem with the rise of Nazism pushed the physicist to become an outspoken critic of racism, according to "Einstein on Race and Racism." In 1931, he wrote an article calling out American racism for The Crisis magazine, the brainchild of writer and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois. When Einstein moved to Princeton, New Jersey, a few years later, he befriended several prominent Black Americans, including the folk singer Paul Roberson and Marian Anderson, the opera singer, per Princeton Magazine .

Einstein's negative experiences with the German education system also influenced him in adulthood. With his platform as a preeminent thinker, he often spoke out about the importance of creativity over dogmatic education. "Imagination is more important than knowledge," he told an interviewer in 1929 (via "The Ultimate Quotable Einstein"). "Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

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Albert Einstein Biography: Birth, Early Life, Education, Scientific Career, Inventions, Awards, and Honours, Legacy, and More

Albert einstein biography: he was born on 14 march 1879 in ulm, wurttemberg, germany. he was a physicist who developed the special and general theories of relativity. in 1921, he won the nobel prize for physics. read more about his early life, education, his inventions, scientific career, awards, honours, and more..

Albert Einstein Biography 

Albert Einstein: Early Life, Education, Marriage, Children, Teaching Career

He was born on 14 March 1879 in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany, to a secular, middle-class Jews . His father was Hermann Einstein, and his mother was Pauline Koch. His father was a featherbed salesman, and later he ran an electrochemical factory with moderate success. Albert Einstein had one sister, named Maria. His family moved to Munich, where he started his schooling at the Luitpold Gymnasium. Later, his parents moved to Italy, where he continued his education at Arau, Switzerland. He went to the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich in 1896. There, he was trained as a teacher in physics and mathematics. In 1901, Albert gained his diploma and acquired Swiss citizenship. At that time, he didn't get the teaching post, but he took a position as a technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office. He gained his doctor's degree in 1905.

Albert Einstein would write that in his early years, two wonders deeply affected him. The first was his encounter with the compass. At that time, he was five years old. He was puzzled that invisible forces could deflect the needle. And the second one was when he discovered a book of geometry at the age of 12 and called it his "sacred little geometry book".

In the Swiss Patent Office, when he got spare time, he produced much of his remarkable work. He was appointed Privatdozent in Berne in 1908. He became Professor Extraordinary at Zurich in 1909 and Professor of Theoretical Physics at Prague in 1911. In the following year, he returned to Zurich to fill a similar post. 

He was also appointed Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute in 1914 and Professor at the University of Berlin. In 1914, he became a citizen of Germany and remained in Berlin until 1933. In 1940, he became a United States citizen and retired from his post in 1945. 

Albert Einstein married Mileva Maric in 1903. The couple had a daughter and two sons. In 1919, they divorced. In the same year, Albert married his cousin, Elsa Lowenthal, who died in 1936. 

Albert Einstein: Scientific Career and Inventions

Albert Einstein was a leading figure in the World Government Movement after World War II. He was also offered the Presidency of the State of Israel, but he declined it, and he collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in developing the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

He was always interested in solving the problems of physics and also had a clear view and determination to solve them. He made his strategy his own and was able to visualise the main stages on the way to his goal. In fact, he saw his critical achievements as merely one more step toward the next level of advancement.

When his scientific work started, Albert Einstein realised the inadequacies of Newtonian mechanics and his special theory of relativity emanated from an attempt to reconcile the laws of mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. 

He worked on classical problems of statistical mechanics and problems in which they were merged with quantum theory. This paved the way for an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules. He explored the properties of light with a low radiation density, and his observations and survey laid the foundation of the photon theory of light.

He postulated the correct interpretation of the special theory of relativity in the early days of Berlin and also furnished a theory of gravitation. He published his paper on the general theory of relativity in 1916. At this point in time, he also contributed to the problems of the theory of radiation and statistical mechanics.

He embarked on the construction of unified field theories in the 1920s, and he was also working on the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory. He preserved this work in America. 

By developing a quantum theory of monoatomic gas, he contributed to statistical mechanics. He also did valuable work in connection with atomic transition probabilities and relativistic cosmology.

After taking retirement, he continued to work towards the unification of the basic concepts of physics. He took the opposite approach to geometrisation as the majority of physicists. 

Albert Einstein: Important Works

His important works include:

Special Theory of Relativity (1905),

Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950),

General Theory of Relativity (1916),

Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926), and

The Evolution of Physics (1938).

Non-scientific works are:

About Zionism (1930),

Why War? (1933),

My Philosophy (1934), and

Out of My Later Years (1950)

Albert Einstein: Awards and Honours

Barnard Medal (1920) Nobel Prize in Physics (1921) Matteucci Medal (1921) ForMemRS (1921) Copley Medal (1925) Gold Medal (1926) Max Planck Medal (1929)

Albert Einstein: Legacy

The work of Einstein continues to win Nobel Prizes for successful physicists. 

A Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery of Bose-Einstein condensates in 1995.

Black holes are now known to number in the thousands.

Also, new generations of space satellites have continued to verify the cosmology of Einstein.

Without Nobel Laureate Albert Einstein’s many contributions to theory of quantum mechanics, enhanced oil recovery in Oil & Gas Industry would be but a dream. On his birthday & International Day of #Mathematics , #ONGCCelebrates India’s pivotal role in its development. @g20org pic.twitter.com/z1tCPSnX1Y — Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) (@ONGC_) March 14, 2023

Warm tributes to Nobel laureate Albert Einstein, 20th century’s most celebrated scientist.After contributing to theoretical development of nuclear physics,he later spoke out against the use of nuclear weapons & started believing in the Gandhian philosophy preaching non-violence. pic.twitter.com/TovBlAavDj — Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) March 14, 2023

Albert Einstein, born on this day, met fellow Nobel Prize laureate Rabindranath Tagore at his home in Germany on 14 July 1930. The two minds explored the concepts of science, religion and philosophy. Read an excerpt from their conversation: https://t.co/h638caaAYZ #Einstein144 pic.twitter.com/GeCjDSX8A0 — The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) March 14, 2023

On April 17, 1955, Einstein experienced internal bleeding caused by a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm that Rudolph Nissen had previously surgically confirmed in 1948. He brought with him to the hospital a speech that he had prepared for a television show to celebrate the seventh anniversary of the State of Israel, but he did not finish it in time. Einstein refused the operation, saying: "I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I've done my part; it's time to go. I'll do it elegantly."

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Science 'supersedes' creationism, Einstein tells religious students in newly revealed letter

In the letter, the famous physicist also writes that God can be thought of as "analogous to humans."

An old Einstein letter, in which the famous physicist tells a religious studies teacher and her students that science "supersedes" religious creation and that God can be thought of as "analogous to humans," has been put up for sale for $125,000. 

The typed letter, from April 11,1950, was sent by Einstein to Martha Munk — a rabbi's wife and religious studies teacher at an unnamed school or college in New York City. Munk, like Einstein, was forced to flee Nazi-occupied Germany during the Holocaust, according to The Raab Collection , the company facilitating the letter's sale. (The letter is written in German and has been translated to English.)

Munk had previously written to Einstein to ask him questions posed by her pupils. "On behalf of the students of a series of lectures on religion, I would like to ask you whether you think that it is possible for a modern scientist to reconcile the idea of the creation of the world by God, a higher power, with his scientific knowledge," Munk wrote in her initial letter sent earlier that year.

In response, Einstein wrote: "The person who is more or less trained in scientific thinking is alien to the religious creation (in the original sense) of the cosmos, because he applies the standard of causal conditionality to everything. This does not refute the religious attitude but, in a certain sense, replaces and supersedes it."

Related: 10 discoveries that prove Einstein was right about the universe — and 1 that proves him wrong

In the letter, Einstein also addressed his thoughts on how God might be interpreted: "As long as the stories in the Bible had been taken literally, it was obvious what kind of faith was expected from the readers. If you are however to interpret the Bible symbolically (metaphorically), it is not clear anymore whether God is in fact to be thought of as a person (and therefore not a monotheistic deity), which is somehow analogous to humans," Einstein wrote. "In that case, it is difficult to assess what remains of the faith in its original sense."

Einstein's views on religion are well known. The physicist was raised Jewish and maintained his association with Jewish people, despite not believing in the God depicted in the Torah. Einstein spent his life trying to explain how the universe was formed without divine influence. 

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In 2018, a lengthy missive penned by the German scientist in 1954, known as "Einstein's God letter," was auctioned for $2.9 million . In this document, the physicist detailed how he had not believed biblical stories in his youth and how this had freed him to a "fanatic orgy of free-thinking." Einstein also noted that he instead believed in Spinoza's God — an amorphous, impersonal god responsible for the orderliness of the universe that was first proposed by the 17th-century Jewish Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza, according to Christie's , which facilitated the auction. In the letter he also wrote: "The word God is for me nothing but the expression and product of human weakness."

Other letters from Einstein have also fetched a high price. In May 2022, one of his handwritten letters containing his famous E=mc2 equation sold for $1.2 million . 

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The new letter adds further insight into Einstein's views on religion.

"Not only was the letter written by Albert Einstein, one of the great figures and scientists of all time, it speaks to the ongoing, powerful debate between science and religion," Nathan Raab , principal of The Raab Collection, told Live Science in an email. "It's beyond exciting to get a glimpse of his personal thoughts on such an important issue."

Harry is a U.K.-based senior staff writer at Live Science. He studied marine biology at the University of Exeter before training to become a journalist. He covers a wide range of topics including space exploration, planetary science, space weather, climate change, animal behavior, evolution and paleontology. His feature on the upcoming solar maximum was shortlisted in the "top scoop" category at the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Awards for Excellence in 2023. 

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Philosophical Musings: Einstein and Milne's Reflections (The World As I See It by Albert Einstein/ Not that It Matters by A. A. Milne‪)‬

Publisher description.

"Book 1: Contemplate the universe with “The World As I See It by Albert Einstein: Albert Einstein's Philosophical Reflections on Life and Humanity.” Einstein's profound insights into life and humanity provide a thought-provoking journey, inviting readers to ponder the mysteries of existence. Book 2: Join the whimsical reflections of life with “Not that It Matters of A. A. Milne's Wit and Charm as He Reflects on Life's Peculiarities and Delights.” A. A. Milne's unique perspective adds a touch of charm and humor to the exploration of everyday wonders, creating a delightful contrast to Einstein's philosophical musings."