Albert Einstein

Einstein in 1921
Born 14 March 1879
Ulm, Kingdom of
Württemberg, German
Empire
Died 18 April 1955 (aged 76)
Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
Residence Germany, Italy, Switzerland,
Austria (present-day Czech
Republic), Belgium, United
States
Citizenship Subject of the
Kingdom of
Württemberg during
the German Empire
(1879–1896)[note 1]
Stateless
(1896–1901)
Citizen of
Switzerland (1901–
1955)
Austrian
subject of the Austro-
Hungarian Empire
(1911–1912)
Subject of the
Kingdom of Prussia
during the German
Empire (1914–
1918)[note 1]
German citizen
of the Free State of
Prussia (Weimar
Republic, 1918–1933)
Citizen of the
United States (1940–
1955)
Education Federal
polytechnic school
(1896–1900; B.A.,
1900)
University of
Zurich (Ph.D., 1905)
Known for General
relativity
Special
relativity
Photoelectric
effect
E=mc2 (Mass–
energy equivalence)
E=hf (Planck–
Einstein relation)
Theory of
Brownian motion
Einstein field
equations
 Bose–Einstein
statistics
Bose–Einstein
condensate
Gravitational
wave
Cosmological
constant
Unified field
theory
EPR paradox
Ensemble
interpretation
List of other
concepts
Spouse(s) Mileva Marić
(m. 1903; div. 1919)
Elsa Löwenthal
(m. 1919; died[1][2] 1936)
Children "Lieserl" Einstein
Hans Albert Einstein
Eduard "Tete" Einstein
Awards Barnard Medal
(1920)
Nobel Prize in
Physics (1921)
Matteucci
Medal (1921)
ForMemRS
(1921)[3]
Copley Medal
(1925) [3]

Gold Medal of
the Royal
Astronomical Society
(1926)
Max Planck
Medal (1929)
Member of the
National Academy of
Sciences (1942)
Time Person of
the Century (1999)
Scientific career
Fields Physics, philosophy
Institutions Swiss Patent
Office (Bern) (1902–
1909)
University of
Bern (1908–1909)
 University of
Zurich (1909–1911)
Charles
University in Prague
(1911–1912)
ETH Zurich
(1912–1914)
Prussian
Academy of Sciences
(1914–1933)
Humboldt
University of Berlin
(1914–1933)
Kaiser Wilhelm
Institute (director,
1917–1933)
German
Physical Society
(president, 1916–
1918)
Leiden
University (visits,
1920)
Institute for
Advanced Study
(1933–1955)
Caltech (visits,
1931–1933)
University of
Oxford (visits, 1931–
1933)
Thesis Eine neue Bestimmung der
Moleküldimensionen (A New
Determination of Molecular
Dimensions) (1905)
Doctoral Alfred Kleiner
advisor
Other acade Heinrich Friedrich Weber
mic advisors
Influenced Satyendra
Nath Bose
Ernst G. Straus
Nathan Rosen
Leó Szilárd
Signature

Albert Einstein (/ˈaɪnstaɪn/ EYEN-styne;[4] German: [ˈalbɛɐ̯t ˈʔaɪnʃtaɪn] (

 listen); 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical
physicist who developed the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of
[5]

modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics).[3][6]:274 His work is also

known for its influence on the philosophy of science.[7][8] He is best known
to the general public for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2,
which has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation".[9] He
received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical
physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric
effect",[10] a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory.
Near the beginning of his career, Einstein thought that Newtonian
mechanics was no longer enough to reconcile the laws of classical
mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. This led him to
develop his special theory of relativity during his time at the Swiss Patent
Office in Bern (1902–1909). However, he realized that the principle of
relativity could also be extended to gravitational fields, and he published
a paper on general relativity in 1916 with his theory of gravitation. He
continued to deal with problems of statistical mechanics and quantum
theory, which led to his explanations of particle theory and the motion of
molecules. He also investigated the thermal properties of light which laid
the foundation of the photon theory of light. In 1917, he applied the
general theory of relativity to model the structure of the universe.[11][12]
Except for one year in Prague, Einstein lived in Switzerland between
1895 and 1914, during which time he renounced his German citizenship
in 1896, then received his academic diploma from the Swiss federal
polytechnic school (later the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule,
ETH) in Zürich in 1900. After being stateless for more than five years, he
acquired Swiss citizenship in 1901, which he kept for the rest of his life.
In 1905, he was awarded a PhD by the University of Zurich. The same
year, he published four groundbreaking papers during his renowned
annus mirabilis (miracle year) which brought him to the notice of the
academic world at the age of 26. Einstein taught theoretical physics at
Zurich between 1912 and 1914 before he left for Berlin, where he was
elected to the Prussian Academy of Sciences.
In 1933, while Einstein was visiting the United States, Adolf Hitler came
to power. Because of his Jewish background, Einstein did not return to
Germany.[13] He settled in the United States and became an American
citizen in 1940.[14] On the eve of World War II, he endorsed a letter to
President Franklin D. Roosevelt alerting him to the potential development
of "extremely powerful bombs of a new type" and recommending that the
US begin similar research. This eventually led to the Manhattan Project.
Einstein supported the Allies, but he generally denounced the idea of
using nuclear fission as a weapon. He signed the Russell–Einstein
Manifesto with British philosopher Bertrand Russell, which highlighted
the danger of nuclear weapons. He was affiliated with the Institute for
Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, until his death in 1955.
Einstein published more than 300 scientific papers and more than 150
non-scientific works.[11][15] His intellectual achievements and originality
have made the word "Einstein" synonymous with "genius".[16]