Early Life and Education
– Born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Germany
– Parents were Hermann Einstein, a salesman and engineer, and Pauline Koch
– Attended a Catholic elementary school in Munich
– Transferred to the Luitpold-Gymnasium for advanced education
– Showed exceptional aptitude for physics and mathematics at a young age
– Completed secondary education at the Argovian cantonal school in Aarau, Switzerland
– Fell in love with Marie Winteler, daughter of Jost Winteler
– Renounced German citizenship to avoid military service
– Achieved top grades in history, physics, algebra, geometry, and descriptive geometry
– Enrolled in mathematics and physics teaching diploma program at the Federal polytechnic school
Career and Achievements
– Developed the theory of relativity, revolutionizing physics
– Made significant contributions to quantum mechanics
– Received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his work on the photoelectric effect
– Ranked the greatest physicist of all time in a 1999 poll of leading physicists
– Known for his intellectual achievements and originality
– Published four groundbreaking papers in 1905, known as his ‘annus mirabilis’
– These papers introduced the theory of the photoelectric effect, explained Brownian motion, and proposed the special theory of relativity
– In 1915, he presented the general theory of relativity, incorporating gravitation
– Made important contributions to statistical mechanics and quantum theory
– Worked on the quantum physics of radiation, introducing the concept of photons
Personal Life and Citizenship
– Moved to Switzerland in 1895 and acquired Swiss citizenship in 1901
– Secured a permanent position at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern in 1903
– Moved to Berlin in 1914 and became a German citizen again
– Fled Germany in 1933 due to the rise of Adolf Hitler and obtained American citizenship in 1940
– Endorsed a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt about the German nuclear weapons program before World War II
– Engaged in relationships with Margarete Lebach, Estella Katzenellenbogen, Toni Mendel, and Ethel Michanowski
– Brief relationship with Margarita Konenkova, thought to be a Russian spy
– Son Eduard diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent his life in care or confinement
– Elsa Löwenthal remained loyal despite infidelity, died in 1936
– Einstein’s letters released in 2006 revealed additional romantic involvements
Challenges and Unsuccessful Endeavors
– Opposed the introduction of fundamental randomness in quantum theory
– Attempted to develop a unified field theory that included electromagnetism
– Became increasingly isolated from the mainstream of modern physics
– Fought against the idea of God playing dice with the universe
– Struggled to reconcile his geometric theory of gravitation with electromagnetism
Recognition and Travels
– Einstein was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1920
– He was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect
– Einstein became an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1924
– He received the Royal Society’s Copley Medal in 1925
– Einstein was elected an International Member of the American Philosophical Society in 1930
– Einstein became a celebrity scientist after his theory of relativity was confirmed in 1919
– He arrived in the United States in 1921 and was welcomed by Mayor John Francis Hylan in New York City
– Einstein gave lectures and attended receptions at Columbia University, Princeton, and the White House
– He traveled to Europe via London and met prominent figures in British scientific and intellectual life
– In 1922, Einstein toured Asia for six months, visiting countries like Japan, China, and India
– Welcomed by British High Commissioner Sir Herbert Samuel in Mandatory Palestine
– Greeted with enthusiasm by the people of Mandatory Palestine
– Awarded membership of the Spanish Academy of Sciences and met fellow Nobel laureate Santiago Ramón y Cajal during his visit to Spain
– Einstein’s involvement in the League of Nations from 1922 to 1932
– Visiting Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina in South America and conducting research at the California Institute of Technology in the US Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein
Albert Einstein (/ˈaɪnstaɪn/ EYEN-styne;German: [ˈalbɛɐt ˈʔaɪnʃtaɪn] ⓘ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is widely held to be one of the greatest and most influential scientists of all time. Best known for developing the theory of relativity, Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics, and was thus a central figure in the revolutionary reshaping of the scientific understanding of nature that modern physics accomplished in the first decades of the twentieth century. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which arises from relativity theory, has been called "the world's most famous equation". He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect", a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory. His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. In a 1999 poll of 130 leading physicists worldwide by the British journal Physics World, Einstein was ranked the greatest physicist of all time. His intellectual achievements and originality have made the word Einstein broadly synonymous with genius.
In 1905, a year sometimes described as his annus mirabilis (miracle year), Einstein published four groundbreaking papers. These outlined a theory of the photoelectric effect, explained Brownian motion, introduced his special theory of relativity—a theory which addressed the inability of classical mechanics to account satisfactorily for the behavior of the electromagnetic field—and demonstrated that if the special theory is correct, mass and energy are equivalent to each other. In 1915, he proposed a general theory of relativity that extended his system of mechanics to incorporate gravitation. A cosmological paper that he published the following year laid out the implications of general relativity for the modeling of the structure and evolution of the universe as a whole. The middle part of his career also saw him making important contributions to statistical mechanics and quantum theory. Especially notable was his work on the quantum physics of radiation, in which light consists of particles, subsequently called photons.
For much of the last phase of his academic life, Einstein worked on two endeavors that proved ultimately unsuccessful. Firstly, he fought a long rearguard action against quantum theory's introduction of fundamental randomness into science's picture of the world, objecting that "God does not play dice". Secondly, he attempted to devise a unified field theory by generalizing his geometric theory of gravitation to include electromagnetism too. As a result, he became increasingly isolated from the mainstream of modern physics.
Born in the German Empire, Einstein moved to Switzerland in 1895, forsaking his German citizenship (as a subject of the Kingdom of Württemberg) the following year. In 1897, at the age of seventeen, he enrolled in the mathematics and physics teaching diploma program at the Swiss Federal polytechnic school in Zürich, graduating in 1900. In 1901, he acquired Swiss citizenship, which he kept for the rest of his life. In 1903, he secured a permanent position at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern. In 1905, he submitted a successful PhD dissertation to the University of Zurich. In 1914, he moved to Berlin in order to join the Prussian Academy of Sciences and the Humboldt University of Berlin. In 1917, he became director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics; he also became a German citizen again, this time as a subject of the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1933, while he was visiting the United States, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. Horrified by the Nazi "war of extermination" against his fellow Jews, Einstein decided to remain in the US, and was granted American citizenship in 1940. On the eve of World War II, he endorsed a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt alerting him to the potential German nuclear weapons program and recommending that the US begin similar research. Einstein supported the Allies but generally viewed the idea of nuclear weapons with great dismay.
