Albert Einstein was a German-born physicist who developed the general theory of relativity and the special theory of relativity. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the photoelectric effect. Einstein is considered one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century due to his work developing relativity and proposing the mass-energy equivalence formula E=mc2, which foreshadowed atomic power and weapons.

1. Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a
German-born physicist who
developed the general
theory of relativity. He is
considered one of the most
influential physicists of the
20th century.

2. Albert Einstein Facts
Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 to April 18, 1955) was a
German mathematician and physicist who developed the
special and general theories of relativity. In 1921, he won the
Nobel Prize for physics for his explanation of the photoelectric
effect. In the following decade, he immigrated to the U.S.
after being targeted by the Nazis.
His work also had a major impact on the development of
atomic energy. In his later years, Einstein focused on unified
field theory. With his passion for inquiry, Einstein is generally
considered the most influential physicist of the 20th century.
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3. Albert
Einstein:
Inventions and
Discoveries
As a physicist, Einstein had many discoveries, but
he is perhaps best known for his theory of
relativity and the equation E=MC2, which
foreshadowed the development of atomic power
and the atomic bomb.

4. Theory of Relativity
• Einstein first proposed a special theory of relativity in 1905 in
his paper, “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies,” taking
physics in an electrifying new direction. By November 1915,
Einstein completed the general theory of relativity. Einstein
considered this theory the culmination of his life research.
• He was convinced of the merits of general relativity because it
allowed for a more accurate prediction of planetary orbits around
the sun, which fell short in Isaac Newton’s theory, and for a more
expansive, nuanced explanation of how gravitational forces
worked. Einstein's assertions were affirmed via observations and
measurements by British astronomers Sir Frank Dyson and Sir
Arthur Eddington during the 1919 solar eclipse, and thus a global
science icon was born.

5. Einstein’s E=MC2
• Einstein’s 1905 paper on the matter/energy
relationship proposed the equation E=MC2: energy of
a body (E) is equal to the mass (M) of that body times
the speed of light squared (C2). This equation
suggested that tiny particles of matter could be
converted into huge amounts of energy, a discovery
that heralded atomic power.
• Famed quantum theorist Max Planck backed up the
assertions of Einstein, who thus became a star of the
lecture circuit and academia, taking on various
positions before becoming director of the Kaiser
Wilhelm Institute for Physics from 1913 to 1933.

6. Family
Albert Einstein grew up in a secular
Jewish family. His father, Hermann
Einstein, was a salesman and engineer
who, with his brother, founded
Elektrotechnische Fabrik J. Einstein & Cie,
a Munich-based company that
manufactured electrical equipment.
Albert’s mother, the former Pauline
Koch, ran the family household. Einstein
had one sister, Maja, born two years
after him.

7. Albert Einstein:
Wives and Children
• Albert Einstein married Milena Maric on Jan. 6,
1903. While attending school in Zurich, Einstein
met Maric, a Serbian physics student. Einstein
continued to grow closer to Maric, but his parents
were strongly against the relationship due to her
ethnic background.
• Nonetheless, Einstein continued to see her, with
the two developing a correspondence via letters in
which he expressed many of his scientific ideas.
Einstein’s father passed away in 1902, and the
couple married thereafter.

8. When Did Albert Einstein
Die?
• Albert Einstein died on April
18, 1955, at age 76 at the
University Medical Center at
Princeton. The previous day,
while working on a speech to
honor Israel's seventh
anniversary, Einstein suffered an
abdominal aortic aneurysm. He
was taken to the hospital for
treatment but refused surgery,
believing that he had lived his
life and was content to accept
his fate. "I want to go when I
want," he stated at the time. "It
is tasteless to prolong life
artificially. I have done my share,
it is time to go. I will do it
elegantly."