Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany, in 1879. When he was 4 or 5 years old his father gave him a magnetic compass. Einstein liked his compass; it gave him a fascination for science. Einstein's mother had introduced him to music, and his parents gave him a violin so he could play in the family orchestra. Next to his music and compass he liked long, quiet walks with his father.

When Einstein was older his parents decided to put him in school. They did not believe in strict orthodox Jewish faith, but they wanted a school so that they could get the best education for their son. Einstein went to a Catholic School in Munich. Even though he was different the students did not show any prejudice. In school Albert found Greek and Latin difficult and he did not learn much of those languages. Einstein was lonely most of the time. He had no friends of his own age. Sometimes it seemed like he was from a different planet. Max Talmey, a medical student, became his friend and he gave Einstein a book on Geometry. Einstein was 10 years old when he got the book and it was like a door opened. He read the book through, over and over again. In the clear, logical propositions of Geometry, Einstein saw the order in the universe. The book made him so excited that he could not wait to go into the Geometry class which just opened in his school. When Einstein was 11 years old he studied Physics at university.

Later on in Einstein's life his father's factory went bankrupt. The family decided to move to Italy, but Einstein stayed back because for he was still in school. Einstein's father arranged board and room for his son in a friend's home. Einstein was quite lonely now. He was fifteen and he talked and made a few casual friends, but he was not doing any better in school. He failed to follow the military rules which the school was based on. One day Albert was called to the office and they asked him to leave the school. So he gathered his clothes and went to his family.

Einstein wandered around Italy for awhile, putting off his plans for the future. After his father failed in his business, he could no longer get help from his father. Einstein was going to be a mathematician but he had no diploma from his German school. Then the family stepped in and gathered up a small monthly sum for him, and he left for Switzerland, hoping to attend school there.

When he got to the Switzerland Polytechnical School in Zurich, they were astonished by his knowledge of mathematics. He was not allowed in because of his poor french, but after a year in Aarau he passed with a good record in his studies. Then he returned to Polytechnical School as a teacher's assistant in Science. He always wondered how the little needle on the compass worked which made him want to understand the beauty and order of natural laws.

Albert Einstein gave up his German citizenship to be a Swiss citizen, mainly so he wouldn't have to join the army in Germany. He worked many jobs while going for his Ph.D. degree, but his health was bad because he often he went hungry. His wealth was in the scientific books that were available to him. He made great use of them. He had a few friends with the same interests and one of them was a girl named Mileva Maritsch. Mileva was planning to be a Physics teacher.

As soon as Einstein received his Ph.D., he went looking for a full time teaching position. But there was none available for him. He wanted to marry Mileva, but without a job it was impossible. So Einstein took a place as a clerk in the Swiss Patent office in Bern. The couple got married and had two little boys. After a few years they realized their marriage was failing.

Einstein was still in his twenties when he discovered new factors in the relation between water and energy. When he was twenty-six years old he thought out his theory of relativity and light. After some time, he wrote a book called The Year Book of Physics. He completed his first formulation E=MC2 after he had a physical and nervous collapse and was sick for weeks. He published another book which established the breaking of the atoms. The information from the books gave people the idea of the atom bomb, which was made and killed 60,000 men, women and children. Einstein never wanted his work used in that way.

Einstein died in 1955.