Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, in the Kingdom of Württemberg in the German Empire. His parents were Hermann Einstein, a salesman and engineer, and Pauline Koch. In 1880, the family moved to Munich, where Einstein's father and his uncle Jakob founded Elektrotechnische Fabrik J. Einstein & Cie, a company that manufactured electrical equipment.
Einstein showed an early fascination with science and mathematics. At age five, his father showed him a pocket compass, and Einstein realized that something in "empty" space acted upon the needle; he later described the experience as one of the most revelatory moments of his life.
In 1905, while working as a patent clerk in Bern, Switzerland, Einstein published four groundbreaking papers in the scientific journal Annalen der Physik. This period is often referred to as his "Annus Mirabilis" or miracle year:
In 1915, Einstein completed his General Theory of Relativity, which revolutionized our understanding of gravity. Rather than viewing gravity as a force, Einstein described it as a curvature of spacetime caused by mass and energy. This theory predicted phenomena such as the bending of light by gravity and the existence of black holes, which were later confirmed through observation.
Einstein emigrated to the United States in 1933 to escape the rise of Nazi Germany. He accepted a position at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, where he remained for the rest of his life. During World War II, he was instrumental in alerting President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the potential for Nazi Germany to develop atomic weapons, though he later became a passionate advocate for nuclear disarmament and world peace.
Einstein passed away on April 18, 1955, in Princeton. His contributions to physics fundamentally changed our understanding of the universe, from the smallest particles to the largest cosmic structures. He remains one of the most influential scientists in human history, and his name has become synonymous with genius.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution." — Albert Einstein
Einstein House: Kramgasse 49, Bern, Switzerland. Visit website
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