Albert Einstein was a German born theoretical physicist of Jewish descent, best known for his revolutionary theories of the nature of time and space, which upset the Newtonian conception of the universe.
Einsteins theories seemed to contradict common sense, and produced an intellectual turmoil that lasted several decades. Einstein also extended the Quantum Theory published in 1900 by the German physicist Max Planck to explain the photoelectric effect.
He obtained the Nobel prize for Physics in 1921, and received the honorary degree of D.Sc at Oxford in 1931.
In 1933 he left Germany of his own accord owing to the wave of anti-Semitism in that country.
He was an ardent pacifist and Zionist.
Einsteins theories seemed to contradict common sense, and produced an intellectual turmoil that lasted several decades. Einstein also extended the Quantum Theory published in 1900 by the German physicist Max Planck to explain the photoelectric effect.
He obtained the Nobel prize for Physics in 1921, and received the honorary degree of D.Sc at Oxford in 1931.
In 1933 he left Germany of his own accord owing to the wave of anti-Semitism in that country.
He was an ardent pacifist and Zionist.
His Life
Einstein was born in Germany into a Jewish family living in Munich.
As a boy in Germany, Albert Einstein was very unhappy at school. His schoolmasters treated him badly because they thought he was not very clever. But, when he was 26, after moving to Zurich in Switzerland, he published several scientific papers that completely changed the way scientists think.
His childhood was spent mainly in Munich, Germany, where his father had established an electrical business.
He went to a Catholic school and then moved to Milan, Italy. After traveling widely in north Italy he settled in Switzerland, where he began studying mathematics and physics and worked as a tutor.
In 1894, because of financial problems, Einstein's family emigrated from Germany to live with relatives in Milan, Italy. Later in the same year Einstein joined his family in Milan and within 6 months, taught himself calculus and other advanced subjects. He then went to Switzerland to continue his formal education.
From 1896 to 1900 he attended the Technische Hochschule while supporting himself as a tutor of mathematics and physics.
In 1901 he became a Swiss citizen and he married his first wife in 1903. During these years he studied for his doctorate. In 1902, after becoming a naturalized Swiss citizen, he secured a position as a patent examiner with the Swiss Patent Office in Bern.
During the next few years the modest financial security that his post provided enabled him to do research in his spare time and to obtain his doctorate.
By 1905 he had begun to create a storm in scientific circles with his ideas on light and electro magnetic radiation, and the recognition that this brought him resulted in a special professorship at Zurich in 1909.
Following his first academic appointment he worked at Prague University in 1911 and Zurich again in 1912, subsequently becoming director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute in Berlin (1914 - 1933).
In 1921 he was awarded the top award in science, the Nobel prize, and modestly traveled third class to Stockholm to receive it.
It was not long before the Nazis started to gain military power in Germany. Although he was world-famous, Einstein suffered a lot of abuse because he was Jewish. His position was taken from him by the Nazis because of his Jewish origin. Eventually he had had enough, and in 1933 he went to America where he settled, becoming professor at Princeton University, New Jersey, and eventually taking up American citizenship in 1940.
He spent much of his time trying to persuade world leaders to abandon nuclear weapons.
References
- The New International Illustrated Encyclopaedia, Page 481, 1954.
- Library of Essential Knowledge, Volume 1, Readers Digest, 1980
- New Knowledge Library - Universal Reference Encyclopedia, Volume 9, Bay Books, 1981
- New Encyclopedia, Volume 8, 1971, Funk & Wagnalls
- The Oxford Children's Book of Famous People, 1994, Oxford University Press
- Albert Einstein: His Work
- Albert Einstein: A Leader in Science
Wlodzimierz Holsztynski
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smooth but here and there shallow or even doubtful
"As a boy in Germany, Albert Einstein was very unhappy at school. His schoolmasters treated him badly because they thought he was not very clever."
should be more specific, it should be supported by quotations, or else it's better to remove it. As it is, it may be misleading. It adds to the common trite and often false ideas about unrecognized geniuses and similar,
Also statement:
"Einstein suffered a lot of abuse"
sounds puerile (especially description "a lot").
Regards,
Wlod
Dedanoe Unlishnidaos
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<--!so much from einstein the genius!-->