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 (1914–1933), American (1940–1955)
- Profession(s):
- Theoretical Physicist
Early Life and Education
- Received early education in Munich, Germany.
- Renounced German citizenship in 1896.
- Attended the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich, graduating in 1900.
- Awarded a PhD in physics from the University of Zurich in 1905.
Career and Major Achievements
- Worked as a patent clerk in Bern, Switzerland, from 1902 to 1909.
- Published groundbreaking papers in 1905 (the "Annus Mirabilis papers") on Brownian motion, the photoelectric effect, special relativity, and mass-energy equivalence.
- Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Zurich (1909-1911).
- Professor at Charles University in Prague (1911-1912).
- Professor at ETH Zurich (1912-1914).
- Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in Berlin (1914-1933).
- Developed the general theory of relativity (published 1915).
- Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the photoelectric effect.
- Emigrated to the United States in 1933, joining 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) - Special Relativity
- "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?" (1905) - Mass-Energy Equivalence (E=mc²)
- "On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light" (1905) - Photoelectric Effect
- "Investigations on the Theory of the Brownian Movement" (1905)
- "The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity" (1916)
- "Relativity: The Special and the General Theory" (1916, popular science book)
Legacy and Impact
Albert Einstein's contributions to physics revolutionized our understanding of space, time, gravity, light, and the universe. His theories of relativity remain fundamental to modern physics and cosmology. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists of all time. A deeper understanding of the nuances can be found in something like a 'meron medzini biography of albert einstein'.