Albert Einstein Biography: Birth, Early Life, Education, Scientific Career, Inventions, Awards, and Honours, Legacy, and More

Albert Einstein Biography: He was a theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity and photoelectric effects. In 1921, he won the Nobel Prize for Physics 1921 for his work on the photoelectric effect. Take a look at his early life, education, inventions, scientific career, awards, honours, and more.

Albert Einstein Biography 

Albert Einstein: Early Life, Education, Marriage, Children, Teaching Career

He was born on 14 March 1879 in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany, to a secular, middle-class Jews. His father was Hermann Einstein, and his mother was Pauline Koch. His father was a featherbed salesman, and later he ran an electrochemical factory with moderate success. Albert Einstein had one sister, named Maria. His family moved to Munich, where he started his schooling at the Luitpold Gymnasium. Later, his parents moved to Italy, where he continued his education at Arau, Switzerland. He went to the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich in 1896. There, he was trained as a teacher in physics and mathematics. In 1901, Albert gained his diploma and acquired Swiss citizenship. At that time, he didn't get the teaching post, but he took a position as a technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office. He gained his doctor's degree in 1905.

Albert Einstein would write that in his early years, two wonders deeply affected him. The first was his encounter with the compass. At that time, he was five years old. He was puzzled that invisible forces could deflect the needle. And the second one was when he discovered a book of geometry at the age of 12 and called it his "sacred little geometry book".

In the Swiss Patent Office, when he got spare time, he produced much of his remarkable work. He was appointed Privatdozent in Berne in 1908. He became Professor Extraordinary at Zurich in 1909 and Professor of Theoretical Physics at Prague in 1911. In the following year, he returned to Zurich to fill a similar post. 

He was also appointed Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute in 1914 and Professor at the University of Berlin. In 1914, he became a citizen of Germany and remained in Berlin until 1933. In 1940, he became a United States citizen and retired from his post in 1945. 

Albert Einstein married Mileva Maric in 1903. The couple had a daughter and two sons. In 1919, they divorced. In the same year, Albert married his cousin, Elsa Lowenthal, who died in 1936. 

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Albert Einstein: Scientific Career and Inventions

Albert Einstein was a leading figure in the World Government Movement after World War II. He was also offered the Presidency of the State of Israel, but he declined it, and he collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in developing the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

He was always interested in solving the problems of physics and also had a clear view and determination to solve them. He made his strategy his own and was able to visualise the main stages on the way to his goal. In fact, he saw his critical achievements as merely one more step toward the next level of advancement.

When his scientific work started, Albert Einstein realised the inadequacies of Newtonian mechanics and his special theory of relativity emanated from an attempt to reconcile the laws of mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. 

He worked on classical problems of statistical mechanics and problems in which they were merged with quantum theory. This paved the way for an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules. He explored the properties of light with a low radiation density, and his observations and survey laid the foundation of the photon theory of light.

He postulated the correct interpretation of the special theory of relativity in the early days of Berlin and also furnished a theory of gravitation. He published his paper on the general theory of relativity in 1916. At this point in time, he also contributed to the problems of the theory of radiation and statistical mechanics.

He embarked on the construction of unified field theories in the 1920s, and he was also working on the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory. He preserved this work in America. 

By developing a quantum theory of monoatomic gas, he contributed to statistical mechanics. He also did valuable work in connection with atomic transition probabilities and relativistic cosmology.

After taking retirement, he continued to work towards the unification of the basic concepts of physics. He took the opposite approach to geometrisation as the majority of physicists. 

He received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine, and philosophy from several European and American universities. 

Albert Einstein: Important Works

His important works include:

Special Theory of Relativity (1905),

Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950),

General Theory of Relativity (1916),

Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926), and

The Evolution of Physics (1938).

Non-scientific works are:

About Zionism (1930),

Why War? (1933),

My Philosophy (1934), and

Out of My Later Years (1950)

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Albert Einstein: Awards and Honours

Barnard Medal (1920)
Nobel Prize in Physics (1921)
Matteucci Medal (1921)
ForMemRS (1921)
Copley Medal (1925)
Gold Medal (1926)
Max Planck Medal (1929)

Benjamin Franklin Medal (1935)
Member of the National Academy of Sciences (1942)
Time Person of the Century (1999)

Albert Einstein: Legacy

The work of Einstein continues to win Nobel Prizes for successful physicists. 

A Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery of Bose-Einstein condensates in 1995.

Black holes are now known to number in the thousands.

Also, new generations of space satellites have continued to verify the cosmology of Einstein.

Let's scroll through some tweets to witness his legacy:

Without Nobel Laureate Albert Einstein’s many contributions to theory of quantum mechanics, enhanced oil recovery in Oil & Gas Industry would be but a dream.
On his birthday & International Day of #Mathematics, #ONGCCelebrates India’s pivotal role in its development. @g20org pic.twitter.com/z1tCPSnX1Y

— Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) (@ONGC_) March 14, 2023

Warm tributes to Nobel laureate Albert Einstein, 20th century’s most celebrated scientist.After contributing to theoretical development of nuclear physics,he later spoke out against the use of nuclear weapons & started believing in the Gandhian philosophy preaching non-violence. pic.twitter.com/TovBlAavDj

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) March 14, 2023

Albert Einstein, born on this day, met fellow Nobel Prize laureate Rabindranath Tagore at his home in Germany on 14 July 1930. The two minds explored the concepts of science, religion and philosophy.

Read an excerpt from their conversation: https://t.co/h638caaAYZ#Einstein144 pic.twitter.com/GeCjDSX8A0

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) March 14, 2023

On April 17, 1955, Einstein experienced internal bleeding caused by a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm that Rudolph Nissen had previously surgically confirmed in 1948. He brought with him to the hospital a speech that he had prepared for a television show to celebrate the seventh anniversary of the State of Israel, but he did not finish it in time. Einstein refused the operation, saying: "I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I've done my part; it's time to go. I'll do it elegantly."

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