Albert Einstein is undoubtedly the most influential scientist of the 20th century . We all know them as the author of the Theory of Relativity and the formulator of the most famous equation that exists: E = mc². However, there are less known facts of his life than in Supercurious we do not want to ignore. It is for this reason that today we want you to accompany us to discover all facets of who was Albert Einstein , not only emphasizing the most relevant facts about Albert Einstein's life or contributions, but also about more unusual events. Are you going to miss them?
Know Who Albert Einstein was: his life, contributions and curiosities
Albert Einstein was a physicist of German origin who developed the special and general theories of relativity and who won in 1921 the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect. He is considered the most influential and popular physicist of the twentieth century.
1. Brief biography of Albert Einstein
Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany , in the bosom of a Jewish family. I had a sister two years younger. The family moved to Munich where they lived until Albert turned 14 and since 1894 they lived in Milan , Italy. He renounced German citizenship in 1896 and he enrolled in the "Federal Polytechnic School of Switzerland" in the city of Zurich . It was stateless until 1901, the year in which Switzerland was nationalized.
Due to the difficulties he had to find a job, in 1902 he was recommended to enter to work in the Patent Office in Bern, capital of Switzerland . In 1903 he married the Serbian mathematician Mileva Maric, with whom he had had a daughter, Lieserl, before marriage and from whom nothing else was known. They had two more children: Hans Albert and Eduard. Divorced from Mileva in 1919, he married that same year with Elsa Löwenthal.
While working at the Berne Patent Office, in 1905, published his Special Theory of Relativity , from which the equation of physics best known worldwide arises as a logical consequence: E = mc². In 1915 he presented the General Theory of Relativity with which he reformulated the whole concept of gravity. Next to her a new science was born: cosmology , which is the study of the origin and evolution of the universe. Fame and popular recognition came to him in 1919 when, thanks to the British observations of an eclipse of the sun, his theory of the curvature of light was confirmed.
In 1921 he won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to Theoretical Physics and especially for the enunciation of the law of the Photoelectric Effect . Due to the rise of Nazism, in 1932 he left Germany definitively and moved to the USA. where he devoted himself to teaching. In 1940 he obtained the American nationality .
In his last years, his efforts concentrated on the integration in a same theory of two different forces, the gravitational and the electromagnetic. He died in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. on April 18, 1955. To know who was Albert Einstein beyond his scientific works (which we will review in our next section on the contributions of Albert Einstein) it is necessary to know that he was a great defender of pacifism, world federalism, democratic socialism, individual freedom and freedom of expression.
2. Albert Einstein's contributions
The contributions of Albert Einstein to science and human history are numerous. In addition to great theories, he left us some quotes to think about: you can discover them in this post about Phrases of Albert Einstein . His most popular legacy, in addition to the Theory of Relativity, is the most famous equation in the history of science: E = mc2 , that is, "the equivalence between mass and energy with the speed of light squared as a multiplying factor". However, the famous formula represented a great sorrow for him, since It meant paving the way to achieving the atomic bomb.
Another of Albert Einstein's contributions to the world of physics was the discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect that earned him the Nobel Prize in 1921. Einstein published more than 300 scientific articles and more than 150 non-scientific papers throughout his life, all of which meant that he was considered a genius. Finally, we must also include in our section on contributions by Albert Einstein another of his great inventions: a compressor for refrigerator.
3. Curiosities of Albert Einstein
But to get closer to who Albert Einstein was, not only is it enough to take a look at his biography or his contributions, but also the curiosities around his life and work can throw us some light . We leave you below some that maybe you did not know:
- Albert Einstein had difficulty expressing himself in his childhood and He did not start talking until he was three years old .
- Einstein's fascination with science began at age 5 when his father gave him a compass and was fascinated by the fact that an invisible force moved the arrow in one direction.
- He had several nationalities : the German, the Swiss, the Austrian and the American, being also stateless for a few years.
- They did not give him the Nobel Prize in Physics for the Theory of Relativity because the scientist who had to evaluate it did not understand it and they were afraid that in the long run it would prove wrong.
- Albert Einstein was a great lover of classical music and played the violin.
- He refused to be the second president of the State of Israel in 1952 for not believing himself prepared to deal adequately with people, which gives us an idea of who Albert Einstein was. You can learn more about this event by consulting our article: Why did Einstein reject the Presidency of Israel?
- Einstein was very amateur navigation, but could not swim .
- The genius of physics also developed for his son a "Theory of happiness." If you also want to know the infallible formula to be happy, do not miss our article on The Theory of Happiness by Einstein .
- Albert Einstein and Marilyn Monroe coincided at a party in the 40s and the actress made a proposal to the genius: "What does the teacher say, should we get married and have a child together? Can you imagine a baby with my beauty and intelligence? " Einstein answered him in a brilliant way. If you want to know the details, we invite you to read: What did Marilyn Monroe propose to Albert Einstein? And if you're intrigued by the personality of the American actress, do not miss this selection of Marilyn Monroe quotes . They have no waste!
Besides Who was Albert Einstein, do not miss ...
If you have enjoyed accompanying us in our approach to who Albert Einstein was, we recommend that you do not miss other related articles (whether you are passionate about scientific topics or want to learn about great personalities of history).
- Do you think that the field of science is monopolized by men? Then you will be interested to know these Scientific Women who managed to rise above the limitations of their gender in past eras. And for you to discover that not only this transgression occurred in the scientific field, we invite you also to discover these Important Women in History .
- If we were to mention a female equivalent of the importance of Albert Einstein, it is likely that one of the most popular names was the first Nobel Prize winner . You can know his particular story in our entry about Who was Marie Curie and deepen your interesting thoughts with this compilation of Marie Curie phrases that will enrich you enormously.
In short, as a farewell to answer the question about who was Albert Einstein, we can say that it was undoubtedly one of the great figures of the twentieth century, and not only for his contributions of Albert Einstein, but also for his unforgettable charisma. As usual, we encourage you to leave us a comment telling us all your impressions . Did you know all the details provided about who Albert Einstein was? What other personalities would you like to discover? Do you have new information about who was Albert Einstein that you would like to share with us? We will read you with much interest!