Albert Einstein

German-born theoretical physicist (1879–1955)

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Lived 1879–1955, aged 76Germany

Germany

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235 languages
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#10
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Era
1879–1955
Aged 76
Known for
To End All War: Oppenh…
2023

Summary

Updated 2026-08-31

E = mc² made him a shorthand for genius itself, but the equation was a footnote to the real turn: relativity cracked open how space, time, and gravity actually work, rewriting physics from the ground up.

Biography

About

Born in the Kingdom of Württemberg in 1879, Einstein moved to Switzerland at sixteen, forsaking German citizenship and enrolling at the Zurich polytechnic in 1897. After graduating in 1900 and taking Swiss citizenship, he worked at the Bern patent office while earning his PhD from the University of Zurich in 1905—the same year he published four papers that introduced special relativity, explained the photoelectric effect, and proved mass–energy equivalence. In 1915 he proposed general relativity, extending mechanics to gravitation and laying the foundation for modern cosmology with the cosmolo…

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In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein

said25 Dec 1919

The most simple picture one can form about the creation of an empirical science is along the lines of an inductive method.

— "Induction and Deduction in Physics", Berliner Tageblatt, 25 December 1919.

Albert Einstein

said25 Sep 1918

The physical world is real." That is supposed to be the fundamental hypothesis. What does "hypothesis" mean here?

— Letter to Eduard Study, 25 Sept. 1918, in the Einstein Archive, Hebrew U., Jerusalem; translation in D. Howard, Perspectives on Science 1,

Albert Einstein

said1918

I lie on the beach like a crocodile and let myself be roasted by the sun. I never see a newspaper and don't give a damn for what is called the world.

— Letter to Max Born, 1918, from The Born-Einstein Letters: Friendship, Politics and Physics in Uncertain Times, Macmillan (2005 edition), pg

Albert Einstein

said1918

In the temple of science are many mansions, and various indeed are they that dwell therein and the motives that have led them thither.

— Address at the Physical Society, Berlin, for Max Planck's 60th birthday

Albert Einstein

said1917

The most beautiful fate of a physical theory is to point the way to the establishment of a more inclusive theory, in which it lives on as a limiting case.

— (1917) as quoted by , The Advancement of Science, and Its Burdens: the Jefferson Lecture and Other Essays (1986)

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