Early Life

einstein young boyAlbert Einstein was born in a city called Ulm, in Southwest Germany on
March 14, 1879.  In 1880 his family moved to Munich, where his uncle
and father started a company that manufactured D.C. based electrical
equipment.  While attending elementary school in Munich, he began
gaining an interest in classical music, and learned to play the violin.


Einstein later spoke of two influential moments from his childhood.
First, he recalled his father giving him a compass when he was about
five years old.  He marveled at the invisible magnetic force causing the
compass to dance, and later said that "something deeply hidden had to
be behind things."1  The second was when he discovered a geometry book
at age 12, and he read it over and over again. 


He continued to be fascinated by mathematics and science, and avidly
pursued them as a young student.  At age 16 he wrote his first scientific
paper titled: "The Investigation of the State of Aether in Magnetic Fields."
He questioned in his mind what a beam of light would look like if you
could run along beside it at the same speed.  This relative thinking is
an idea that obviously continued with him into adulthood.



Photo: http://www.biography.com/people/albert-einstein-9285408#image-einstein-1894-approx-young-raw

Einstein Quotes

"Imagination is more important than knowledge.  Knowledge is limited.  Imagination encircles the world."
-Albert Einstein - Quoted in interview by G.S. Viereck. October 26,1929.  Reprinted in "Glimpses of the Great" (1930).

Einstein Trivia

einstein geometry

Much of his early interest in the natural sciences can be attributed to his friendship with a medical student, Max Talmud.  Talmud brought him many books to read, including the geometry book that he found so fascinating.
Photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein