Albert Einstein
- Born:
- March 14, 1879, Ulm, Württemberg, Germany
- Died:
- April 18, 1955, Princeton, New Jersey, United States
- Nationality:
- German (until 1896), Swiss (from 1901), Austro-Hungarian (briefly), American (from 1940)
- Profession(s):
- Theoretical Physicist
Early Life and Education
- Born in Ulm, Germany, to Hermann and Pauline Einstein.
- Family moved to Munich shortly after his birth.
- Received early education at a Catholic elementary school.
- Later attended the Luitpold Gymnasium in Munich.
- Renounced his German citizenship in 1896.
- Attended the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich, graduating in 1900.
Career and Major Achievements
- Worked as a patent clerk in Bern, Switzerland, from 1902 to 1909.
- Published four groundbreaking papers in 1905, known as the "Annus Mirabilis" papers.
- Developed the theory of special relativity (1905).
- Developed the theory of general relativity (1915).
- Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the photoelectric effect.
- Served as Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in Berlin.
- Emigrated to the United States in 1933 and became a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
- Authored 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) - Introduced special relativity.
- "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?" (1905) - Introduced the mass-energy equivalence (E=mc²).
- "Investigations on the Theory of the Brownian Movement" (1905).
- "On a Heuristic Point of View Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light" (1905) - Explained the photoelectric effect.
- "The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity" (1916).
- Relativity: The Special and the General Theory (1916) - A popular explanation of relativity.
Legacy and Impact
Albert Einstein's theories of relativity revolutionized our understanding of space, time, gravity, and the universe. He is considered one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century and his work continues to shape modern physics and cosmology.
Safaa Abou El Seoud Biography of Albert
This entry, part of a larger Safaa Abou El Seoud biography of Albert, strives to provide a concise and factual account of Albert Einstein's remarkable life and scientific contributions.