This blog post is the biography of Albert Einstein, the genius. Albert Einstein was a world-renowned theoretical physicist who changed the way we look at energy and matter. He was a German and is best known for developing the energy-mass equation and the Theory of Relativity. He revolutionized modern physics and won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922.
Even though Albert Einstein is a name that everyone knows, he wasn't born that way. When he was born, he had trouble learning to speak. Those around him thought that he would never be able to speak or learn anything. Yet, he achieved feats that others wouldn't even dare think about.
How did a child who had trouble speaking become a man the entire world speaks about? Read this article and find out. Get a glimpse into Albert Einstein's personal and professional journey. Find out how his contributions to modern physics changed the course of human events.
Early Life
Birth
Albert Einstein, the genius, was born on March 14th, 1879, in a city called Ulm in the German Empire. Both his parents, father Hermann and mother Pauline, came from Jewish merchant families. When he was a kid, Hermann Einstein loved Mathematics. So, he went to Stuttgart, which was 75 miles away, for high school. However, his family's financial condition was not so good. Moreover many colleges at that time did not accept Jewish students. Therefore, he did not go to college. Instead, he returned to his village and got into trade. A few years later, he moved to Ulm with his parents because Ulm was an industrial center.
When he was 29 years old, he married the 18-year-old Pauline Koch. Three years later, on March 14th, 1879, their first son was born. Initially, they wanted to name the boy Abraham, which was Hermann's father's name. But the name sounded too Jewish. So, they named him Albert instead.
After a year of Albert's birth, Hermann's business started failing. So, Hermann moved with his family to Munich, where his younger brother had opened a gas and electrical supply company. Eventually, the company would get so big that, at a point, it would employ 200 people and set to compete against Siemens.
One year later, in 1881, Albert's younger sister Maria, also known as Maja, was born. She would later become one of the most important people in Albert's life.
Difficulty in learning to speak
As a kid, Einstein had trouble in learning to talk. So, when he was two years old, he developed a peculiar habit. Before he said anything out loud, he wanted to make sure that the entire sentence sounded properly. So, he repeated it within himself, to make sure it doesn't sound gibberish. Looking at his behavior, people started thinking that he would never be able to learn at all. Even though Einstein soon proved everyone wrong, this little habit continued throughout his life. As a result, he suffered from a mild case of echolalia, a psychiatric disorder in which a person is compelled to repeat the other person's spoken words. In his later life, Einstein would come to believe that this slow verbal development actually contributed to his success.
Einstein, 3 years old - By YouTube - http://th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/~jr/physpiceinstein.html., Public Domain, Link
Things like light, gravitation, electricity, etc. are intriguing to kids. But, as they grow up, they lose the awe for these little things as other things take precedence. However, Einstein was different. The stage where he was fascinated by these little things came a little late in his childhood. So, even after he became an adult, the trivial stuff never ceased to amaze him.
Due to his difficulty with language, Einstein started to think in pictures rather than in words. Unlike normal people, who think in words and speak it out, Einstein used to think in pictures, and then translate it into words before speaking it out. This made him a genius because it helped him visualize the concepts in Mathematics and Theoretical Physics in his mind.
Life-changing incidents
When Albert Einstein was a kid, two major incidents happened, that would change his life forever.
When he was four or five years old, his father gave him a magnetic compass. Looking at the needle move, little Einstein froze. The fact that the needle moved, without Einstein even touching it, fascinated him. It made him believe that there was something hidden behind things. This created in Einstein a lifelong lust for the forces of nature, which would come to define who he was.
At around the same time, his mother, a pianist, made him take violin lessons. This would create in little Einstein, lifelong devotion to music. In his later years, whenever he would hit a roadblock in his experiments and did not know what to do, he would take his violin and start playing Mozart's tunes or improvising melodies. And suddenly, he would stumble upon a solution to the problem.
Schooling
Einstein's parents were not religious. So, when he was 6 years old, they sent him to a catholic school, which didn't teach anything about their religion. Even though the year was 1885, antisemitism, the hatred against Jews, was already prevalent in elementary schools in Germany. So, little Einstein was often bullied by his schoolmates. Therefore, little Einstein started feeling like an outsider who didn't belong there.
When he was 9 years old, he joined the Luitpold Gymnasium. Unlike the previous school, this school had a teacher who taught him and other Jews about their culture and religion.
Love for Mathematics
As a child, Einstein disliked playing. Even though other children played near him, he never joined them. Instead, he sat alone, pondering over the forces of nature and solving mathematical problems. He studied the following year's textbooks during the summer vacation. Therefore, since primary school, he was the top of his class. Thus, even though he struggled with language early on, it did not stop him from becoming exceptionally good at his studies.
When he was in his fifties, after Einstein became famous, allegations arose, claiming that he had failed in Mathematics as a child. It was meant to motivate underachieving students. However, in response to these allegations, Einstein explained that he had never failed in Mathematics. To prove him right, the principal of his high school released a letter showing how good his grades were. So, next time, if you see a social media post claiming that Albert Einstein failed in Mathematics as a child, don't believe it.
Love for science
When Einstein was 10 years old, as part of their Jewish culture, his family invited a poor medical student to dine with them every Thursday. The medical student, called Max Talmud, was 21 years old at that time. He gave Einstein a Geometry book that Einstein would have learned only two years later, according to the school schedule.
Initially, Talmud helped Einstein solve the problems in that book. But within a few months, Einstein had mastered the book. After finishing the book, Einstein started learning higher mathematics. By the age of 13, he had already mastered algebra, Euclidean Geometry, and calculus. Talmud, who was amazed by Einstein's mathematical genius, could no longer follow him anymore.
Talmud also brought Einstein several science books. One of the noteworthy books among these was an illustrated series. The series consisted of 21 little volumes. Einstein read these books thoroughly. They explained the relation between Physics and Biology and reported the scientific experiments at that time in great detail. These books seem to have become influential in Einstein's life. They might have helped him create thought experiments, which eventually led to the Theory of Relativity.
At this age, Einstein also started taking an active interest in philosophy. He started following the works of Immanuel Kant, who was a renowned German philosopher.
Becoming Stateless
Leaving Germany
In 1894, when Einstein was 15 years old, his father's company closed down due to bankruptcy. So, his father decided to set up a smaller company with less investment in Italy. Consequently, his family moved to Italy. However, Einstein stayed back at a relative's house to finish the last 3 years of school. During that time, his teachers started to disapprove of his visual, imaginative approach to learning, which was indispensable to him.
Since childhood, Einstein never really liked the German authoritarian teaching methods. He felt that being a part of the education system with an established hierarchy felt like being a machine. So, he quit school and went to Italy, where his parents were. Thereafter, he decided to study by himself and join the Zurich Polytechnic in Switzerland.
Even though Einstein had successfully escaped the German authoritarian education system, there was still one more problem that terrified Einstein. It was the mandatory military service every German had to do, once he turned 17. But for Einstein, who hated German education because it felt like a military system, serving in the real military was a terrifying thought. However, if he was a German citizen when he turned 17 and did not report for military service, the country would accuse him of desertion. The only way out was to not to be a German citizen when he turned 17. So, he renounced his German citizenship, and officially, from 1896, Einstein was not a citizen of any country.
First visualized thought experiment
After returning to Italy, Einstein took the entrance exam to join the Swiss Federal Polytechnical School (ETH) in Zurich. Even though he passed the sections on Science and Mathematics, he failed in language, biology, history, and geography.
So, he spent a year preparing for the entrance exam in a school nearby. Surprisingly, Einstein, who hated the German teaching principles, fell in love with his new school. The reason for this is not hard to imagine. In the new school, students were encouraged to visualize images. It was in this school that Einstein learned to create his first visualized thought experiment. In this experiment, Einstein imagined a person chasing a beam of light. This would become the first of many such thought experiments, which helped him formulate the General theory of relativity.
First love
During his time at the school, Einstein fell in love with Marie Whinteler, his guardian's daughter. Not just Einstein, but his entire family came to like Marie.
After finishing a year at the school, in 1896, Einstein retook the entrance exam. This time, he passed it and joined a four-year diploma program at the Zurich Polytechnic (Swiss Federal Polytechnical School), to become a physics and mathematics teacher .
This began a career spanning almost six decades that made him a world-renowned physicist. At the same time, it also ended his romance with Marie.
Zurich Polytechnic
Until now, Einstein had been a child prodigy whose intellect in Mathematics and Physics was unparalleled. But during his time at Zurich Polytechnic and for a few years after that, his life turned upside down.
Getting in trouble with the Mathematics professor
During his time at Zurich Polytechnic, he fell in love with Physics and wanted to become a physicist. He thought that basic knowledge in Mathematics was enough to become a successful physicist. So, he started neglecting Mathematics and skipping many Mathematics classes. As a result, his Mathematics professor started hating him.
Getting in trouble with Heinrich Weber
Even though he was not in good terms with his Mathematics professor, he was in good terms with his Physics professor, Heinrich Weber, whom he admired. Weber taught many basic concepts of Physics, which Einstein came to love. Weber, too, admired Einstein for his intellect and brilliance, at such a young age. However, with time, Einstein became dissatisfied with Weber because he focused too much on the historical concepts of Physics rather than on modern developments. He thought that Weber was 50 years out of date.
Einstein was an outspoken student. He hated authority and, at times, was disrespectful to teachers. So, when he became disappointed with Weber's teaching methods, he made no efforts to hide his feelings. Moreover, unlike the other students who addressed Weber as 'Mr. Professor', he addressed him as 'Mr. Weber'. This destroyed the admiration they had for each other, and Weber came to think of Einstein as an arrogant student.
Getting in trouble with Jean Pernet
He was also not in good terms with his other Physics professor, Jean Pernet, who was in charge of practicals. Einstein was a student who never stuck to the syllabus. If he didn't find a subject interesting, he would skip its classes. If he found a subject interesting, he would read beyond what was assigned to its syllabus. So, since the beginning, Einstein skipped Pernet's classes. Even when he attended Pernet's lab classes, Einstein disregarded the instruction sheet provided by Pernet for solving the exercise. Instead, he created his own solution for these exercises. This annoyed Pernet a lot. So, he failed Einstein in the course called 'Physical Experiments for Beginners', the only Physics course in which Einstein failed.
Once, in July 1889, during such an experiment, Einstein was implementing his own solution. However, something went wrong and caused an explosion that damaged his right hand. Even though he recovered from it physically, it might have contributed to his decision to become a theoretical physicist rather than an experimental physicist.
Meeting interesting people
Even though the time at Zurich Polytechnic was difficult for Einstein, it also helped him meet some interesting people and forge rewarding relationships. Two of these interesting people, who played important roles in his life, are Marcel Grossman and Mileva Maric.
Even though Einstein was not in good terms with his professors, he was good at making friends. Some of them remained his friends throughout his life. One of these friends worth mentioning is Marcel Grossman. Even though Grossman was a Jew like Einstein, he was very different from Einstein. While Einstein loved Physics, Grossman was a Mathematics genius. While Einstein rarely attended lectures, Grossman obediently attended lectures and took notes. This would eventually become beneficial to Einstein, because Einstein, who himself did not take any notes, would later use his notes to study for the exams. So, saying that Grossman's notes played a big factor in Einstein's graduation wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Mileva Maric was the only female in the group of five students who enrolled for the diploma program. Mileva, like Einstein, loved Physics, liked to think independently, and detested authority. So, even though Mileva was often called the ugly girl of the class, and Einstein was the intelligent, handsome boy of the class, Einstein came to like Mileva. They bonded easily and read books and papers on higher physics together. He saw her as a companion and a friend, and eventually, they fell in love.
Einstein and Mileva, 1912 - By Unknown author - http://ba.e-pics.ethz.ch/latelogin.jspx?records=:33805&r=1448594392396#1448594400592_1, Public Domain, Link
Exams
If life at the Zurich Polytechnic was hard for Einstein, life after that only became even harder.
During those days, students at the Polytechnic had to take only two exams in their four years - the Intermediates and the Finals. These two exams were mostly based on the notes from the professors. Einstein, who mostly did what he pleased and skipped classes, had no notes to study for these exams. But his friend Grossmann kept meticulous notes. So, Einstein started cramming for the intermediates using Grossman's notes, three months before the exam. The exam took place in October 1898. When the results came, Einstein was pleasantly surprised. Having secured the highest grade, he had scored more than Grossman, whose notes he had borrowed.
However, in the Finals, Einstein wasn't as lucky. He had also spent most of his time reading other books. So, in 1900, when his final set of grades came, his absence from lectures and the bad reputation among his professors finally showed their effect. Einstein was placed fourth in his class of five people, barely managing to pass. Moreover, due to his reputation with professors, he couldn't get a job as a research assistant. Indeed, Professor Weber was so annoyed with Einstein that, when he needed two assistants, he hired two unknown students from the Engineering department, instead of hiring Einstein. As a result, Einstein became the only graduate in his class who couldn't secure a job after graduation. So, he was forced to return to Italy and stay with his parents.
The Unemployed Graduate
For the next two years, he would desperately send job applications throughout Europe to become a research assistant. But Einstein was a below-average graduate, with no academic accomplishments and no reference from his professors. So, it is not surprising that he never got a job he desired. But what is surprising is that, of all the job applications he sent through the post, he only got one reply. However, it too turned out to be a rejection. So, Einstein took up small jobs like teaching in a school temporarily and tutoring a rich kid.
Einstein deeply desired to become a Swiss citizen. So, he had been saving money since his first year at college. Therefore, some months after his graduation, Einstein applied for Swiss citizenship, despite not having a steady job. After a thorough investigation, he was granted Swiss citizenship in 1901. So, Einstein, who had been stateless for five years, finally became a country's citizen.
The first job
His troubles ended in 1902 when he finally got a job at the patent office to review patents. The one who got him this job was his college friend Grossman, the same person whose notes have saved him in college. Grossman's father knew the director of the patent office. So, they changed the requirements of the job to suit the qualifications of Einstein. Therefore, after two years of searching for a job, Einstein finally got a job.
By this time, Mileva had become pregnant with Einstein's child. But Einstein couldn't marry her due to the lack of a job. By the time he got the job, his daughter was born. But as a Swiss citizen, working in a decent job, he couldn't afford to have an illegitimate child. So, they gave her daughter to a friend of Mileva's parents.
Conducting research during spare time
Even though Einstein had wanted a research assistantship, he only got a job to review patents. But despite not getting a research assistantship, Einstein's love for science never faded. So, while reviewing patent applications, he used to ponder over the big questions in physics. Moreover, Einstein started a discussion group with some of his friends. They talked about science, inventions, and philosophy. Meanwhile, he started his doctoral degree at the University of Zurich.
Normally, it would be difficult to pursue a doctoral degree in science while doing a full-time job due to the numerous experiments that need to be done. But Einstein was a theoretical physicist. So, he could do his research at home or at the patent office's library in his spare time. He didn't even have to go to the university or a research laboratory.
Albert Einstein, the Genius
Einstein's year of miracles
All his hard work bore fruit in 1905 when he completed his Ph.D. dissertation. That year, Einstein published 5 scientific papers, which came to be known as the Annus Mirabilis papers. These papers explained the Photoelectric effect using Quantum theory, mathematically proved the existence of atoms, laid the foundation for his General theory of relativity, and established that energy and mass are interchangeable (e=mc2). Einstein got his doctoral degree a year later.
Even though the year 1905 would later come to be recognized as 'Einstein's year of miracles,' when he published these papers, Einstein did not get any recognition. This was because he did not even have a doctoral degree or a university teaching position in 1905. So, people did not know him. The only person who supported him at that time was Max Planck, who invented the Quantum theory. So, partly due to Planck's backing, Einstein soon became known among the scientific community.
As a result, in 1908, due to the recognition by the scientific community, Einstein was appointed as a lecturer at the University of Bern. One year later, he became an associate professor for the faculty of Theoretical Physics. Meanwhile, Einstein and Mileva were married and had two sons.
Returning to Germany
In 1913, Einstein was asked to be a professor at the University of Berlin in Germany. He accepted the offer and moved to Germany but kept the Swiss citizenship. Soon, the first world war started. But since Einstein was a Swiss citizen, he didn't join the military. Instead, he worked on completing his theories.
But since he worked all the time, he couldn't spend much time with Minerva. So, she took the kids and went back to Zurich. In the following years, he worked hard to complete his General Theory of Relativity, at times forgetting to eat and sleep. Finally, he finished it in 1915. But it took its toll on him, and he was diagnosed with gallstones. During this time, his cousin Elsa took care of him. So, they got close.
In 1919, Einstein and Mileva got divorced. Einstein agreed to give the Nobel prize money to Mileva if he ever won one. Soon after the divorce, Einstein married Elsa.
Winning the Nobel Prize in physics
In 1922, the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to Albert Einstein. The Nobel Committee did not find any suitable candidate in 1921 who met the criteria laid down by Alfred Nobel. So, they decided to reserve the award until the next year and awarded it to Einstein in 1922.
Even though the General Theory of Relativity is an interesting discovery, in 1921, it was new, strange, and controversial. So, The Nobel Committee decided to not give Einstein the Nobel prize for his discovery of the General Theory of Relativity, because they feared that it might be disproved later. So, they gave Einstein the Nobel Prize for his contributions to theoretical physics and for his discovery of the law of the Photoelectric effect, instead. Einstein did not accept the award in person since he was traveling to China and Japan during that time. As agreed during the divorce settlement, all of his award money went to his ex-wife and two sons.
Traveling the world and moving to the USA
In the next ten years, Einstein traveled the world and toured many countries as a member of the international committee on intellectual cooperation. He received great respect in all the countries he visited. He traveled to the USA in 1930 for a two-month work visit to the California Institute of Technology. But he stayed there for more than the intended duration due to various commitments.
Meanwhile, in Germany, the Nazis were rising to power under Adolf Hitler. Due to his religion, Einstein was hated by the Nazis. They also burned many of his books. This forced him to get out of Europe and settle in Princeton, New Jersey as a resident scholar. In 1939, along with other scientists,, he wrote a letter to President Roosevelt. They urged him to think upon starting the country's own nuclear research as the Nazis were working on creating bombs that could be used to destroy America. He ultimately became an American citizen in 1940.
Later years
It was in these years residing in America that Einstein worked on most of his theories.
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence”
– Albert Einstein (Source)
Some of his significant works include general relativity, special relativity, thermodynamic fluctuations, gravitational waves, wormholes, wave-particle duality, Bose-Einstein statistics, Bose-Einstein condensates, and unified field theory, to name a few.
He also researched superconductivity and force but later abandoned the research to focus on other subjects. He also collaborated with many other scientists like Ervin Schrodinger and De Haas.
Award and honors
He was Time Magazine's Person of the Century in the year 1999. The runners up for the position included Mahatma Gandhi and Franklin Roosevelt.
Other Interests
Apart from his usual academic research, Einstein was also actively interested in music since his early years and was fascinated with Mozart and Beethoven. He performed for his friends regularly and continued to enjoy and play music till his last years.
Einstein was also a bit involved in politics and was even the founder of a political party in his early years. He supported socialism and did not believe in any personal god. He was impressed by Mahatma Gandhi and was himself a member of many humanitarian and social reform groups.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better
– Albert Einstein (Source)
Death
Einstein died on April 18th, 1955, due to internal bleeding caused by an abdominal aortic aneurysm. He was working on a speech he was supposed to give on television when he was rushed to the hospital. He declined surgery as he did not want to prolong his life artificially. His final words were in German. But the nurse who attended to him in those moments did not understand German. So, his final thoughts were lost in translation.
His death also became controversial because the scientist who conducted his autopsy removed his brain and preserved it without obtaining his family's permission. His remains were then cremated. The scientist ultimately returned his brain after a few years.
Facts you probably didn't know
- Einstein was very fat when he was born and had trouble speaking properly until the age of 2. Even later, he only used to speak very rarely until the age of nine years.
- He threw tantrums very often when he was young, and his sister had to bear the brunt of his antics. He also got angry easily in his adult life.
- Einstein played piano and violin well and even played music in his last years for a junior quartet.
- He occasionally wore women's sandals and hated wearing socks as they tore quickly.
- Einstein's first lover was 2 years older than him, his first wife was 3 years older than him and his second wife was also 3 years older than him.
- The iconic photo wherein Einstein can be seen sticking his tongue out to the paparazzi was the result of him getting tired of smiling for photographers.
- The character of Yoda in Star Wars was partially modeled after Einstein's face as his picture was in the room where the character was being designed.
- Einstein was offered to be the president of Israel when he was 73 years old. But he declined the offer saying that he is inexperienced in dealing with people.
- He ultimately regretted his association with the Manhattan Project, which created the first nuclear weapons and dissuaded the use of science for war.
- Einstein had a terrible memory. He often forgot his keys, left behind his clothes and suitcase, and even forgot the train station he was supposed to get down at.
- Albert Einstein and Max Planck became lifelong friends.
Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value – Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein, the Genius
We hope you enjoyed this biography of Albert Einstein, the genius. As you can see, even Einstein suffered in his lifetime. Even though he was a genius, he couldn't get a job for two years. And even when he got a job, it was not a job that he had desired. Even after publishing five groundbreaking theories in a year, Albert Einstein, the genius, wasn't even recognized. But he never lost the love for Physics. So, when situations seem dire and success seems impossible, read this biography of Albert Einstein, the Genius. More importantly, never give up and remember what he said:
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
―
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