Albert Einstein
- Born:
- March 14, 1879, Ulm, Württemberg, Germany
- Died:
- April 18, 1955, Princeton, New Jersey, United States
- Nationality:
- German (1879–1896), Stateless (1896–1901), Swiss (1901–1955), German (1914–1918), American (1940–1955)
- Profession(s):
- Theoretical Physicist, Mathematician
Early Life and Education
- Born in Ulm, Germany to Hermann and Pauline Einstein.
- Early education was at a Catholic elementary school in Munich.
- Later attended the Luitpold Gymnasium, but left without graduating.
- Renounced German citizenship in 1896.
- Earned a diploma from the Aargau Cantonal School in Aarau, Switzerland.
- Graduated from the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich in 1900.
Career and Major Achievements
- Worked at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern from 1902 to 1909.
- Published four groundbreaking papers in 1905, known as the "Annus Mirabilis" papers.
- These papers covered Brownian motion, the photoelectric effect, special relativity, and mass-energy equivalence.
- Became a professor at the University of Zurich in 1909.
- Later held professorships at the German University of Prague and the ETH Zurich.
- Developed the general theory of relativity, published in 1915.
- Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the photoelectric effect.
- Emigrated to the United States in 1933 due to the rise of Nazi Germany.
- Joined the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
- Wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, warning of the potential for Nazi Germany to develop atomic weapons.
Notable Works
- "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" (1905) – introduces special relativity.
- "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?" (1905) – introduces mass-energy equivalence (E=mc²).
- "Relativity: The Special and the General Theory" (1916) – a popular exposition of relativity.
- "The Meaning of Relativity" (1922) – lectures on relativity delivered at Princeton University.
Legacy and Impact
Albert Einstein is widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century and one of the greatest physicists of all time. His theories of relativity revolutionized our understanding of space, time, gravity, and the universe. His work continues to be influential in physics, cosmology, and philosophy. The name Albert Einstein has become synonymous with genius.
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