Albert Einstein

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."

"There are two ways to live your life.

One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as though everything is a miracle."

Albert Einstein was the first child born to Hermann and Pauline Einstein, Jewish, middle-class Germans, on March 14, 1879 at Ulm, in Wurttemberg, Germany. Albert's sister, Maria, was born in November of 1881. They remained close throughout their lives.Einstein and sister 1 The Einstein family moved to Munich in 1880 to start their own business. Albert began his secondary schooling at Luitpold-Gymnasium. In 1894, the family business failed and the family moved to Milan, Italy. Albert stayed behind in Munich to finish his education at the Gymnasium. However, Albert hated the high school he attended and a teacher recommended that he leave, as his presence encouraged students' disrespect for teachers. So, at 15, he quit school to join his family in Italy.

In 1895, Albert took an entrance exam to get into the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and failed. He studied at a Swiss school in Aurau and graduated a year later. In 1896 he returned to the Institute and graduated in 1900 as a secondary teacher of mathematics and physics. During this time he meets Mileva Maric and falls in love. He tried unsucessfully to obtain an Institute job, but failed. He eventually obtained a job at the Swiss Patent Office. The position at the Patent Office gave Albert the time to devote his thought to physics and he began publishing scientific papers.

In early 1902, Lieserl, daughter of Einstein and Mileva Maric, a former fellow student, was born in Hungary. Not much is known about the life of his daughter, as she was probably gi...

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In May of 1946, he became the chairman of the newly formed Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists.

Although his activity was limited by his increasing age and ill health, Einstein retained his commitment to civil liberties. By 1948, he begins to suffer problems attributed to a heart aneurysm.

In 1952, Einstein was offered the postition of President of Israel, an honorific post. At peace at home in Princeton, he declined, but remained interested in public affairs.

In 1955, he joined Bertrand Russell in urging scientists toward mediation between East and West and limitation of nuclear armament. Due to failing health over the previous several years and his refusal to have surgery done on his weakened heart, Albert passed away from a heart attack on April 18. His brain was donated to science, per his request and his ashes spread over a nearby river.