Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein Biography (1879 – 1955)
(Born March 14, 1879, Ulm, Württemberg, Ger.—died April 18, 1955, Princeton, N.J., U.S.)
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.Education
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, Maja, born two years after
Albert.
Einstein would write that two ―wonders‖ deeply affected his early years. The first washis 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 often felt out of place and victimized by a Prussian-style educational systemthat seemed to
stifle originality and creativity. One teacher even told him that he would never amount to anything.
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, Italy, to work with a relative. Einstein was left at a boarding housein Munich and expected
to finish his education.
Fortunately, Einstein could apply directly to the ―Swiss Federal Polytechnic School‖; in 1911, 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 mathscores, he was allowed into the polytechnic on the
condition that he first finishes his formal schooling.
Independent scholar and special relativity
In 1902 Einstein reached perhaps the lowest point in his life. He could not marry to his girlfriend
MaricMileva and support a family without a job, and his father's business went bankrupt. Desperate
and unemployed, Einstein took lowly jobs tutoringchildren, but he was fired from even these jobs.The turning point came later that year, when the father of his lifelong friend, Marcel Grossman, was
able to recommend him for a position as a clerk in the Swiss patent office in Bern.
With a small but steady income for the first time, Einstein felt confident enough to marry Maric,
which he did on Jan. 6, 1903. Their children, Hans Albert andEduard, were born in Bern in 1904
and 1910, respectively. In hindsight, Einstein's job at the patent office was a blessing. He would
quickly finish analyzing patent applications, leaving him time to daydream about the vision that had
obsessed him since he was 16: What will happen if you race alongside a light beam? Einstein also
submitted a paper in 1905 for his doctorate.
General relativity
Atfirst Einstein's 1905 papers were ignored by the physics community. This began to change after
he received the attention of just one physicist, perhaps the most influential physicist of his
generation, Max Planck, the founder of the quantum theory.
Soon, Einstein was offered a series of positions at increasingly prestigious institutions, including the
University of Zürich, the University ofPrague, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and finally
the University of Berlin, where he served as director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics from
1913 to 1933.
Even as his fame spread, Einstein's marriage was falling apart. He was constantly on the road,
speaking at international conferences, and lost in contemplation of relativity. The couple argued
frequently about their...