ALBERT EINSTEIN

Was born in 1879 in Ulm, Germany. He was a keen mathematician from an early age, paying particular attention to calculus. Whilst at secondary school he wrote an essay expressing his desire to study the theoretical aspects of mathematics and physics. His family moved to Italy when he was 16, but he decided to stay in Munich, studying to be an electrical engineer, in an attempt to gain entry into the ETH, a famous technical college in Zurich. He failed his exam though.

In 1900 Albert Einstein graduated as a teacher in mathematics and physics, and tried yet again for a place at the ETH (this time as a teacher). Yet again he was unsuccessful, unlike his friend and genius, mathematician Marcel Grossman. Fortunately, he was able to avoid Swiss military service, due to the poor state of his feet.

Einstein’s first job was a temporary post in a patent office, which he started in 1902. His post was made permanent in 1904, and he lasted there a total of seven years. In his spare time, he wrote a phenomenal amount of work, concerning theoretical aspects of physics. This arduous toil after office hours was finally rewarded in 1905, when he received a doctorate from the University of Zurich. In that same year he was to write three papers, one of which concerned the theory of relativity. He was not the first scientist to postulate the theory; rather he grouped several areas together to come up with the special theory of relativity, which he later developed into the general theory of relativity.

Having gained a seat at the University of Zurich, as a professor of physics, Einstein was soon inundated with offers from other colleges and universities. He was at last being recognised as one of the time’s great thinkers. In 1911 he was made full professor at a university in Prague. This was an important time for Einstein, as the forecasts he made concerning his theories, would begin to be backed up by experimental evidence. He worked closely with mathematician Grossman at this time.

In 1912, he moved from Prague to Zurich to work at the ETH, the college where he had formally been rejected twice. Two years later he returned to Germany to continue his research. He was able to convince several other genii that his theory was correct. In 1919 his theory was proved and he was cast as a hero in popular newspapers.

His first visit to the USA occurred in 1921, the same year in which he was awarded a Nobel Prize. Einstein was far too busy travelling the world, teaching his theory to pick up the prize though! Rather unsurprisingly, years of overwork caught up with him in 1928, when he collapsed, totally exhausted.

Einstein realised that he would have to slow down. He returned to the USA in 1932, to become a professor at Princeton. He planned to split his time between living in America and Germany, but whilst in the US, the Nazis took power in Germany. Einstein, of Jewish origin, never returned. Consequently, he was granted permanent residency in the US in 1935.
He continued working until he was struck by illness in 1949. He died six years later. One of the last things Einstein did was pen a letter to philosopher Bertrand Russell, agreeing that his name should appear on a list pleading for the nuclear disarmament of all International powers. It is for his desire for worldwide peace and his brilliant mind that he should always be remembered.