Albert Einstein

1879 (Ulm)

He grew up in Munich.

💡 Did you know? Einstein was born in Ulm in 1879: far from a prodigy as a child, he was late to start speaking.

E = mc²

Mass and energy are interchangeable.

💡 Did you know? E = mc² states that mass and energy are interchangeable: the basis of nuclear power and the atomic bomb.

special relativity

Space and time are relative to the observer.

💡 Did you know? Special relativity showed that time runs slower for fast-moving objects: measurable with today's atomic clocks.

general relativity

It describes gravity as the curvature of spacetime.

💡 Did you know? General relativity interprets gravity as the curvature of space and time: first confirmed by a 1919 solar eclipse.

curvature of spacetime

Not a force but geometry.

💡 Did you know? Massive bodies like the Sun curve space: planets, in effect, fall into this „dent“.

photoelectric effect

Not for relativity.

💡 Did you know? Einstein received the Nobel not for relativity but for the photoelectric effect.

patent office (Bern)

He wrote his breakthroughs alongside his day job.

💡 Did you know? Einstein wrote his revolutionary 1905 papers on the side as a junior clerk at the Bern patent office.

USA (Princeton)

He fled from the Nazis.

💡 Did you know? As a Jew, Einstein fled the Nazis to the USA in 1933: the German government put a bounty on his head.

German atomic bomb

The pacifist later wrestled with that responsibility.

💡 Did you know? Einstein warned Roosevelt of a German atomic bomb: later he deeply regretted that letter.

President of Israel

He felt unsuited to politics.

💡 Did you know? In 1952 Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel: he politely declined.

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein revolutionised physics with his theories of relativity and became the very image of genius.

💡 Did you know? After his death his brain was secretly removed and studied for decades.