The Man Himself

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. For a man who was so gifted and brilliant in later life, as a child Einstein had a very difficult time learning. In fact his parents thought he might be retarded. As a teenager Einstein taught himself advanced mathematics and science. He also was a musician who studied the violin. Einstein graduated from Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich with a degree in physics. He was most famous for his contributions in this area. Einstein died on April 18, 1955 in Princeton, New Jersey. Upon his request in his will, there was no funeral, no grave and no marker. His brain was donated to science and his body was cremated and his ashes were spread over a near-by river.

Education

Albert Einstein began teaching himself at the age of 10. He taught himself such subjects as math and science. He was able to learn much better on his own than in school. Einstein at age 15 stayed in Munich to fininsh school. Einstein left Munich and went to Pavia, Italy after only a term. He wanted to skip high school and go to a technical university, but failed the arts portion of the entrance exam to the Swiss Polytehnic University. His parents sent him to Aarau, Switzerland to finish high school. He graduated from high school when he was 17. After that Einstein enrolled at the Federal Polytechnic in Zurich where he earned his degree in physics.

Atomic Bomb World War II

Einstein played a significant role in recognizing the potential dangers of atomic energy. Prompted by a friend, Leo Szilard, who had become alarmed after the discovery of uranium fission, Einstein wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Aug. 2, 1939. In the letter, he warned Roosevelt of the Germans' progress towards developing an atomic bomb and urged him to accelerate nuclear research. At the time, most American physicists doubted that an atomic bomb could be developed. As a result, on December 6,1941, the United States undertook a large scale atomic study referred to as the "Manhattan Project." Einstein was morally opposed to using atomic research against people; however he could not stand silently by while another country had sole possession of destructive powers. He was appalled when the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Japan.

E=MC2

As a Physicst, Einstein is perhaps best known for this Theory of Relativity or E=mc2. Until Einstein developed this theory in 1915, Newton's theory of gravitation was accepted without question. Einstein presented the first challenge to Newton's theory. While he basically agreed with Newton's Three Laws of Motion as well as his Law of Gravitation, he did find some areas that were not completely accurate.

Albert Einstein Quotes

Albert Einstein was famous for his quotes. One of his well known quotes is "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." This quote means that World War III will be so disastrous that most of civilization will be destroyed. World War IV will be fought by the beginning of a new civilization, starting as primitive beings. Another famous quote is "It's not that I'm so smart it's just that I stay with problems longer." This means that you should never give up trying to solve a problem because sooner or later you will figure it out. Smart people never give up. Another inspirational quote is "Imagination is more important than knowledge." This quote means that using your imagination is more important than having all the knowledge in the world.

Albert Einstein Memorial

The Albert Einstein Memorial with its 21 foot bronze statue is situated across the street from the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial. Einstein's feet are embedded with 2,700 coordinates representing the positions of the sun, moon, planets, and stars. In Einsteins's left hand is a paper with mathematical equations summarizing his most important scientific contributions, including the theory of relativity.