Einstein::Biography

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) is one of the most well-known and influential scientists of the twentieth century.

He is also an enthusiastic activist for peace and the science freed from politics and other prejudices.

Albert Einstein was born in 1879 in Ulm, Germany.

He moved with his family to Switzerland in 1895.

He got his diploma in 1900 and was employed at patent office in Bern in 1902.

In 1905 he published in the "Annalen der Physik" papers that changed the whole course of science: works on the quantum of light and photo-electric effect, the Brownian motion of particles and atomic theory and the famous special theory of relativity.

From 1907 to 1914, he perfected his theory and published his work on the general theory of relativity in 1915.

During the first World War, Einstein was among the scientists who were against the war.

He cosigned in the "Manifesto to Europeans" separating himself from the German militarism.

In 1922, despite the growing anti-Semite movements, Einstein was awarded the Nobel prize in physics ""for his services to theoretical physics and in particular for his discovery of the law of the photo-electric effect." He also began his works on unified field theory and debated with Niels Bohr on quantum theory intepretation at the fifth Solway Congress in 1927.

He visited the U.S. in 1930 and in 1932, he accepted to be professor at Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton with the intention of dividing time between there and Germany.

However, in 1933, as the Nazis came to power in Germany, he settled in the U.S.

The second World War broke out in 1939 and Einstein signed in the letter warning President Roosevelt of possibility of the Nazis creating atomic bombs.

Nevertheless, he was horrified by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and spent the rest of his life working for denuclearization.

He served as chairman of Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists and was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 but declined.

Einstein died in 1955 in Princeton.

Albert Einstein is a person of great charisma and influence both inside and outside science. He is one of the few scientists known widely by non-scientific people. His works on photo-electric effect contributes in establishing the foundation for quantum physics, a new and radical branch of science.

His theory of relativity both special and general helps humanity approach nearer the nature of time and space as well as the universe and by doing so considerably change the way man views the world. It also inspires new views and debates in other fields like phylosophy, theology, etc. Besides science, Einstein was actively involved in social issues.

He was a firm pacifist in both World Wars and was a pioneer in anti-nuclearization movements. Despite being one of the authors of the letter urging President Roosevelt to take action in the matter of nuclear weapon, he did not do anything else for the atomic bomb project. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Einstein made many appeals for nuclear disarmament which had influence in both the science community and the public. He was also an early and firm supporter of the United Nation and civil liberties.

Source: http://www.aip.org/history/einstein