Biography

Albert Einstein is perhaps the most amazing scientific mind the world has ever seen. Few people (with the exception of Newton, Hawking, etc.) in the history of the world compare to his superior genius. Albert Einstein not only changed the scientific community forever, but changed every-day life as we know it.

Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany in March 14, 1879. He had a troubled childhood as most people know. From the time he was very young, he had a deep seeded interest in math and science. At times, he got so board with his schoolwork he stopped doing it and consequently failed math. Einstein's mathematics professor, Hermann Minkowski, got so angered with Albert's lack of interest in the class; he called Einstein a "lazy dog." From the time he was very young till his death, he would only study what he wanted to. When Einstein was in college, he often got upset because the Physics Professors only covered the "Old Physics" and Einstein wanted to learn about the "New Physics."

Einstein's life after college was nothing to brag about either. He passed his math and physics examinations with flying colors but could not find a job. He applied to many different jobs, but it seemed like no matter what he did he could not land one. His family was also getting worried about him. On April 19, 1901, Einstein's father, Hermann Einstein, wrote a letter Professor Wilhelm Ostwald at the University of Leipzig, telling the Professor that Einstein was an outstanding man who would be a great asset. Einstein was looking for an Assistant position, which would allow him to continue his studies in theoretical and experimental physics. The letter did nothing. And Einstein went jobless for over eight months after graduating from the Zurich Politechnikum. Then in June 1902, Einstein got a job at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern with the title of "Technical expert third class."

Einstein first big break came when he got published in the very popular journal "Annalen der Physik." This was still before he discovered Relativity.

What Einstein did next would be the biggest scientific break in recent history: Instead of accepting the Newtonian laws of physics like everyone else did, Einstein went against the grain and totally dismissed the "Old Physics." He envisioned a world where space and time are relative and the speed of light is absolute (at the time, it was believed that space and time were absolute and the speed of light was relative). And he was right. He then wrote a paper called "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies," which was published in the Annalen der Physik. The paper was later given the name "Special Relativity." It was published June 30, 1905. Einstein awaited criticism and controversy from the paper but received little to none. This was a huge surprise to Einstein because he had totally rewritten the basic laws of physics that Newton founded. After a long wait, Einstein received a letter from the leading Physicist at the time Max Planck. The great Physicist wanted some clarification on some of the topics in Special Relativity. Einstein was overjoyed at this reply.

Einstein later published another paper in 1915 called "General Relativity." General Relativity took over when Special Relativity started to fail.

Controversy started to rise when Einstein released his second paper called "General Relativity." The controversy was so great that in 1922 when he received his Nobel Prize in physics, it was explicitly stated that the award was not for the Special and General theories. The controversy died down in the late 20's and early 30's when technology was evolved enough to prove Relativity true.

Einstein's started to phase out of the physics community during the late 30's early 40's. Einstein died April 18, 1955.

Overview of Einstein's Life

• He was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm Germany to his parents Hermann and Pauline.
• Einstein had problems with school which led him to be kicked out.
• In 1900, Einstein graduated and went unemployed for eight months having off and on jobs as a high school teacher.
• June 30, 1905 Einstein published his breakthrough paper "Special Relativity."
• In 1908, Einstein became a lecturer at the University of Bern.
• In 1909, he became a professor of physics at the University of Zurich.
• Also in 1909, Einstein is reconized as the leading scientific thinker.
• In 1911, he became a professor at the Karl-Ferdinand University.
• In 1912 Einstein began working on what would be his second big breakthrough.
• Then in 1915, he published "General Relativity."
• In 1922, Einstein recieved the most prestigious science award: The Nobel Prize in Physics for the work he had done on the Photoelectric Effect. It was not for relativity!
• On Augest 2, 1939, Albert Einstein wrote FDR a letter explaning the possible destructive power of a atomic bomb. FDR took it seriously, and, in turn, started the Manhattan Project.
• In 1940, Einstein became citizen of the United States.
• Einstein spent the later years of his life searching for a theory called the "Grand Unified Theory." He never found it, and still to this day it remains a mystery.
• Einstein died April 18, 1955