Albert Einstein |
1879-1955 |
Einstein was born in Ulm, Wurrttemberg, Germany on March 14, 1879. His education started in Munich around the year 1886. From the ages 6 to 13, he had both violin lessons and religious education (Judaism) at home. In 1888, he enrolled in the Luitpold Gymnasium, where he was taught religious education. In 1891, Einstein began studying mathmatics, particularly calculus.
Four years later, Einstein failed an examination that would have given him the opportunity to study at Zurich's Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule (ETH) to become an electrical engineer. After this failure, he attended a secondary school at Aarau, planning to enter ETH later on. In 1900, Einstein graduated from Aarau as a mathematics and physics teacher but still could not obtain a position at ETH as an assistant. He managed to avoid being drafted for the Swiss military on the basis that he had flat feet and varicose veins. So by mid 1901, he obtained a temporary job as a math teacher at the Technical High School in Winterthur and later on, a temporary teaching position at a private school in Schaffhausen.
From 1902-1906, Einstein worked as a third class technical expert at a patent office in Bern. In 1905, he earned a doctorate from the University of Zurich for a thesis On a new determination of molecular dimensions.In 1906, he was promoted to a second class technical expert. While there, Einstein wrote a number of theoretical physics publications without any contact with colleagues or scientific resources. In 1908, Einstein became a lecturer at the University of Bern and the next year, he became professor of physics at the University of Zurich. Two years later, he was appointed a full professorship at the Karl-Ferdinand University in Prague. In 1912, he finally got to ETH by taking up a chair there. In 1914, Einstein accepted a research position at the Prussian Academy of Sciences at the University of Berlin. In addition, he was offered the directorship of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics in Berlin.
In 1921, Einstein visited the U.S.A. for the first time in his life. He was there to raise financial support for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. During his stay, he accepted the Barnard Medal and lectured several times on relativity. He also received the Nobel Prize for his 1905 work on the photoelectric effect. In 1932, he was offered a post at Princeton and was granted US citizenship in 1940.
Einstein contributed to mathematics in many fields. These include:
By 1949, Einstein was very ill and thus, he began to draw up his will by 1950. One week before his death, Einstein wrote his last letter to Bertrand Russell that contained his agreement that his name should be placed in a manifesto persuading all countries to give up nuclear weapons. He died in Princeton, New Jersey, USA on April 18, 1955.
Sites About Einstein |
Description |
| Einstein Biography from Encyclopaedia Britannica | A biography of Einstein's life. |
| Albert Einstein | From the Mathematician's History Page |
| Albert Einstein | Biography and his Nobel Peace Prize speech |
| Albert Einstein | More Pictures of Einstein from M.I.T. |
| Albert Einstein | Einstein Quotes |
| Albert Einstein | From the Institute of Physics, U.S.A. |
| Albert Einstein | From Clarke University, U.S.A. |
| Albert Einstein | From the University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. |
| Albert Einstein | From Glasgow University |
| Blackboard used by Einstein in a 1931 lecture | From Oxford University |
