No one in the 20th century is more synonymous with the word “genius”, than Albert Einstein. From his early childhood, Einstein was raised within a family that had broken away from their Jewish heritage by not following traditional views and conventional ideas. This outsider mentality being paired with heightened intellectual development helped Einstein form his theories. The theories he developed and his contributions to science has made him one of the world's most recognized theoretical physicists. Contrary to popular belief, Einsteins' contributions to society weren't limited to the world of science. He also had resonating ethical viewpoints on nuclear weapons, world peace, and religion.
Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany in 1879. The first child born to a non-traditional Jewish couple, Hermann and Pauline Einstein. When Hermann's merchant business failed he moved the family to Munich, Germany and started an electrical engineering business with his brother Jakob. Young Albert showed an early interest in science but was unhappy with the strict principles of the Catholic elementary school he attended. Along with primary school, Albert received Jewish religious instruction as well as music lessons at home. Albert's mother was a talented musician and not only taught him to play piano, but also encouraged him to play the violin. Both of these instruments he would continue to play throughout his life. At the age of 10 he was accepted to the Luitpold Gymnasium in Munich, Germany. Though it was a respected secondary school, most of Albert's studies and reading were done on his own under the direction of his Uncle, Jakob and a close family friend, Max Talmud. Talmud, a young medical student who regularly ate dinner with the Einstein's would lend popular science and philosophy books to Albert. When the Einsteins moved to Italy in 1894, Albert dropped out of school, and renounced both his German citizenship and and his Jewish faith. Albert tried applying to two different schools where he failed both entrance examinations. He had to attend a Swiss secondary school before he was able to get accepted to a teachers training program at Zurich Polytechnic. While studying at this school he met his future wife, Mileva Maric. After graduation, Albert and Mileva married and settled in Bern, Switzerland where they raised their three children. Throughout Albert Einstein's adult life he worked on perfecting his ideas and theories which would eventually be accepted as massive breakthroughs in physics and the scientific community as a whole.