In 1895, at the age of sixteen, Einstein sat the entrance examinations for the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zürich (later the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule ETH). He failed to reach the required standard in the general part of the examination,[22] but obtained exceptional grades in physics and mathematics.[23] On the advice of the Principal of the Polytechnic, he attended the Argovian cantonal school (gymnasium) in Aarau, Switzerland, in 1895–96 to complete his secondary schooling. While lodging with the family of Professor Jost Winteler, he fell in love with Wintelers daughter, Marie. (Alberts sister Maja later married Wintelers son Paul.)[24] In January 1896, with his fathers approval, he renounced his citizenship in the German Kingdom of Württemberg to avoid military service.[25] In September 1896, he passed the Swiss Matura with mostly good grades, including a top grade of 6 in physics and mathematical subjects, on a scale of 1-6,[26] and, though only seventeen, enrolled in the four-year mathematics and physics teaching diploma program at the Zürich Polytechnic. Marie Winteler moved to Olsberg, Switzerland for a teaching post. Einsteins future wife, Mileva Maric, also enrolled at the Polytechnic that same year, the only woman among the six students in the mathematics and physics section of the teaching diploma course. Over the next few years, Einstein and Marics friendship developed into romance, and they read books together on extra-curricular physics in which Einstein was taking an increasing interest. In 1900, Einstein was awarded the Zürich Polytechnic teaching diploma, but Maric failed the examination with a poor grade in the mathematics component, theory of functions.[27] There have been claims that Maric collaborated with Einstein on his celebrated 1905 papers,[28][29] but historians of physics who have studied the issue find no evidence that she made any substantive contributions.[30][31][32][33] Marriages and children Head and shoulders shot of a young, moustached man with dark, curly hair wearing a plaid suit and vest, striped shirt, and a dark tie.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 13:41:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015