Albert Einstein

Overview

Albert Einstein was a German physicist often remembered for his favour theory of general relativity and special relativity. 

Early Life

Einstein as a kid, when he was 6 years old

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. He was very unhappy with the rigid discipline of the schools of his native Germany, went at age of 16 to Switzerland to complete his education. One of Einstein's teachers once called him a "lazy dog".

Works and Contributions

 Throughout his life, he published hundreds of books and papers. Einstein's early papers were to demonstrate that atoms exist and have a finite non zero size. In his paper on the electrodynamics of moving objects in 1905 he introduced his theory of special relativity. In this paper he proved that the speed of light is independent from the state of observer. He postulated that light itself consists of localised particles called quanta. His theory was nearly universally rejected by all physicists but became universally accepted in 1919, with Millikan's detailed experiments on the photoelectric effect. His last years were spent in an unsuccessful search for a theory that would bring gravitation and electromagnetism together.

Achievements

In 1921 Einstein was awarded the Nobel prize in physics for his explanation of the law of the photoelectric effect. The international union of pure and applied physics named 2005 the world year of physics in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the publication of his papers.

Death

The New York Times newspaper frontpage showing news of Einsteins death, April 15, 1955.

Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 due to Myocardial Infarction. His last words are not known because the nurse who was attending him at the time of his death could not speak (or understand) German.