“Be a loner. That gives you time to wonder and to search for the truth.” ….Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 - April 17, 1955) – a theoretical physicist, and 1921-Noble-laureate known for having developed the theory of general relativity, and often regarded as the founder of modern physics ___________________________________________ ALBERT EINSTEIN Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, in the Kingdom of Württemberg in the German Empire on March 14, 1879, in the family of Hermann Einstein (a salesman and engineer) and Pauline Einstein (née Koch). The Einsteins were non-observant Jews. As Einstein senior’s company failed, the family moved to Munich, where young Albert received his schooling initially at a Catholic elementary school and afterwards at the Luitpold Gymnasium. His father once showed him a pocket compass; Einstein was fascinated and realized that there must be something causing the needle to move and maintain direction, despite the apparent empty space. This fascination instilled in him a strong quest for the unknown ! As he grew, Albert built models and mechanical devices for fun and began to show a talent for mathematics. Later, the Einsteins moved to Italy and Albert continued his education at Aarau, Switzerland. His father intended for him to pursue electrical engineering, but Albert clashed with authorities and resented the schools regimen and teaching method. He later wrote that the spirit of learning and creative thought were lost in strict rote learning. In 1896, Albert joined the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich to be trained as a teacher in physics and mathematics. In 1901, the year he gained his diploma, he acquired Swiss citizenship and, as he was unable to find a teaching post, he accepted a position as technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office. In 1905, he obtained his Ph. D.-degree from the University of Zurich. During his stay at the Patent Office, and in his spare time, he produced much of his remarkable work and in 1908, he was appointed lecturer at the University of Bern. In 1909, Albert became Professor Extraordinary at Zurich, and in 1911, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Prague. He returned to Zurich in the following year to fill a similar post. In 1914, he was appointed Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute and Professor in the University of Berlin. He became a German citizen in 1914 and remained in Berlin until 1933 when he renounced his citizenship for political reasons and immigrated to America to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at Princeton. He became a citizen of USA in 1940, and retired from his professorship in 1945. Albert Einsteins extra-ordinary-intellect inevitably resulted in his living much in solitude, and music played an important part in his life for relaxation. He married Mileva Maric in 1903 and they had a daughter and two sons. Their marriage was dissolved in 1919 and in the same year he married his cousin, Elsa Löwenthal, who died in 1936. On April 17, 1955, Albert Einstein experienced internal bleeding caused by the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which had previously been reinforced surgically by Dr. Rudolph Nissen in 1948. He took the draft of a speech he was preparing for a television appearance commemorating the State of Israels seventh anniversary with him to the hospital, but he did not live long enough to complete it. Einstein refused surgery, saying: I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly. He died in Princeton Hospital early the next morning at the age of 76, having continued to work until near the end. ____________________________________________ By AVDHESH SHUKLA
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 14:04:56 +0000
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