Biography

  • Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in the town of Ulm, in Württemberg, Germany.
  • Albert's family moved around Europe, including Munich, Italy and Aarau Switzerland.
  • Albert attended the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich where he trained to be a teacher in both physics and mathematics.
  • Upon his graduation in 1901 he was awarded Swiss citizenship and unable to find a teaching position, so he decided to work as a technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office where he worked on much of his famous research. He earned his Ph.D in 1905.
  • In 1908 he became Privotdozent in Berne, 1909 he became Professor Extraordinary at Zurich, 1911 Professor of Theoretical Physics at Prague then returning to Zurich in 1912. In 1914 he accepted appointment as the Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute and became a Professor at the University of Berlin.
  • He was granted German citizenship in 1914 and stayed there until 1933 when he emigrated to the US and became a US citizen in 1940.
  • He accepted a position in 1940 as Professor of Theoretical Physics at Princeton and resigned in 1945.
  • He became a leader for the World Government Movement after World War II, and he was offered, by Israel, the office of President. He declined but was one of the founders or the Hebrew Univeristy of Jerusalem.
  • Albert Einstein was awarded honorary doctorates in science, medicine, and philosophy from universities the world over. He was also granted memberships to the leading scientific academies all over the world. However, the genius he is reknown for today landed him in solitude for much of his life.
  • He was married twice. He was married to Mileva Maric from 1903 to 1919, they had a daughter and two sons. Later in 1919 Al married his cousin Elsa Löwenthal. Elsa died in 1936, and Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 in Princeton, New Jersey.