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Albert Einstein
1879–1955 · Theoretical Physicist
The most famous scientist of the 20th century, Einstein reshaped our understanding of space, time, and energy with his theories of relativity.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
Why is this scientist famous?
Developing the theory of relativity and the equation E=mc².
Einstein's ideas touch your life every day. The GPS on your phone works by timing signals from satellites, and those clocks tick slightly differently because of his theory of relativity. Without correcting for Einstein's physics, GPS directions would drift by kilometres. His curiosity about how the universe works inspires scientists — and curious kids — everywhere.
Albert's story
Early Life
Einstein was born in Ulm in the German Empire in 1879 and grew up mainly in Munich. He showed strong ability in mathematics and science from an early age and taught himself advanced mathematics while still a teenager. He disliked rigid and authoritarian teaching methods, but the popular story that he was a poor mathematics student is false. After leaving Germany, he continued his education in Switzerland.
The Miracle Year
In 1905, while working as a third-class patent clerk in Bern, Switzerland, Einstein published four extraordinary papers in a single year. These included his explanation of the photoelectric effect (which later won him the Nobel Prize), a quantitative theory of Brownian motion that provided powerful evidence for the atomic theory of matter, the special theory of relativity, and the famous equation E=mc². Any one of these papers would have been a career-defining achievement; together, they reshaped physics.
General Relativity
In 1915 Einstein completed the field equations of his general theory of relativity, describing gravity as the curvature of spacetime produced by matter and energy. Measurements made during the 1919 solar eclipse were widely interpreted as supporting his prediction that gravity bends light, making Einstein world-famous overnight. The London Times headline read: 'Revolution in Science — New Theory of the Universe — Newtonian Ideas Overthrown.'
Quantum Debates
Einstein's work on light quanta helped establish quantum theory, but he remained dissatisfied with important aspects of its standard interpretation. He debated these questions for decades with physicists including Niels Bohr. In 1935 Einstein, Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen published the EPR paper, highlighting puzzling correlations between separated quantum systems. Later experiments have ruled out broad classes of local hidden-variable theories, although philosophical debate about the interpretation of quantum mechanics continues.
Fleeing Nazi Germany
When Hitler came to power in 1933, Einstein was visiting the United States and never returned to Germany. He settled at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study, where he worked for the rest of his life. In 1939 Einstein signed a letter drafted with physicist Leó Szilárd and sent to President Franklin D. Roosevelt warning that uranium could potentially be used to make extremely powerful bombs and that Germany might pursue such research. The letter contributed to early U.S. government attention to uranium research, although the Manhattan Project itself was established later and Einstein did not work on it.
Legacy
Einstein became a global icon, not just for his physics but for his humanitarianism. He campaigned for civil rights in America, corresponded with W.E.B. Du Bois, and was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952, which he politely declined. He spent his final decades searching for a unified field theory that would unite gravity and electromagnetism — a quest that remains unfinished to this day. He died in Princeton in 1955, having published over 300 scientific papers and 150 non-scientific works.
What did they discover?
Special Relativity
Showed that space and time are relative, not absolute, and that the speed of light is constant for all observers regardless of their motion. This changed the classical understanding of space and time while reducing to Newtonian mechanics at ordinary speeds.
E = mc²
Established the mass-energy relationship expressed as E = mc², showing that mass corresponds to a large amount of energy. This equation underlies nuclear power and is perhaps the most famous equation in science.
General Relativity
Described gravity through the curvature of spacetime caused by matter and energy. Newtonian gravity remains an excellent approximation in many ordinary situations, while general relativity is needed for stronger gravitational fields and high precision. The theory predicted phenomena including gravitational waves and helped provide the framework for modern cosmology.
Photoelectric Effect
Showed that light delivers energy in discrete packets (quanta), laying the foundation for quantum theory and winning the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Brownian Motion
His mathematical analysis of Brownian motion showed how observable particle motion could arise from collisions with unseen molecules and provided powerful quantitative evidence for atomic theory.
Bose-Einstein Condensate
Building on Satyendra Nath Bose's new statistical treatment of photons, Einstein extended the approach to material particles and predicted that sufficiently cold bosons could occupy the same quantum state. Bose-Einstein condensates were first produced experimentally in 1995.
Amazing facts
He won the 1921 Nobel Prize not for relativity but for the photoelectric effect.
When he published his 1905 papers, he was a third-class examiner at the Swiss patent office.
He was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 but politely declined.
After Einstein's death, pathologist Thomas Harvey removed and preserved his brain without prior family permission. Parts were later studied by several researchers, but claims linking its anatomy to Einstein's genius remain controversial.
He loved sailing but never learned to swim.
He published over 300 scientific papers and 150 non-scientific works in his lifetime.
At 16, Einstein failed the general entrance examination for the Swiss Federal Polytechnic, although he performed very well in mathematics and physics. He entered the school the following year after completing further education.
Einstein repeatedly used the metaphor that God 'does not play dice' to express his discomfort with a fundamentally probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics.
The 1919 solar-eclipse observations were widely reported as supporting general relativity and helped make Einstein an international celebrity.
His last words were spoken in German to a nurse who did not speak German, so they were lost forever.
Timeline
Born in Ulm, Germany
Sat the entrance examination for the Swiss Federal Polytechnic; excelled in mathematics and physics but did not pass the full examination
Became a Swiss citizen and took a temporary teaching post
Began working as a patent clerk at the Bern Patent Office
Published four groundbreaking 'miracle year' papers
Became a professor at the University of Zurich
Completed the general theory of relativity
Solar-eclipse observations were widely interpreted as supporting his prediction that gravity bends light
Won the Nobel Prize in Physics for the photoelectric effect
Settled in the United States after the Nazi rise to power and joined the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton
Signed the Einstein-Szilárd letter warning President Roosevelt about the possibility of powerful uranium-based weapons
Declined the presidency of Israel
Died in Princeton, New Jersey, age 76
Awards & honours
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Articles about this scientist
How We Learned How Gravity Works
Why do objects fall, the Moon stay in orbit and planets circle the Sun? Discover how scientists gradually uncovered the physics of gravity.
How We Learned What Light Is
Discover how Ibn al-Haytham, Newton, Young, Maxwell and Einstein transformed our understanding of light, colour, waves and photons.
Einstein and Bohr: The Debate Over Quantum Reality
The equations worked. Einstein still asked what they left out. Bohr argued that the way an experiment is arranged shapes what can be learned from it.
The Quantum Revolution
Physics had been spectacularly successful at explaining the everyday world. Then experiments with light and atoms began producing results that the old rules could not handle. What followed was one of the strangest and most successful revolutions in science.