Albert Einstein
- Born:
- March 14, 1879, Ulm, Württemberg, Germany
- Died:
- April 18, 1955, Princeton, New Jersey, United States
- Nationality:
- German (1879–1896), Swiss (1901–1955), American (1940–1955)
- Profession(s):
- Theoretical Physicist
Early Life and Education
- Attended Luitpold Gymnasium in Munich.
- Renounced his German citizenship in 1896.
- Graduated from the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich in 1900.
- Obtained a doctorate from the University of Zurich in 1905.
Career and Major Achievements
- Worked at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern from 1902 to 1909.
- Published his Annus Mirabilis papers in 1905, including work on Brownian motion, the photoelectric effect, special relativity, and mass-energy equivalence.
- Professor at the University of Zurich (1909), Charles University in Prague (1911), and ETH Zurich (1912).
- Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in Berlin (1914).
- Developed the general theory of relativity (1915).
- Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the photoelectric effect.
- Immigrated to the United States in 1933 due to the rise of Nazism in Germany.
- Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey (1933-1955).
Notable Works
- "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" (1905) – Special Relativity
- "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?" (1905) – Mass-Energy Equivalence
- "On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light" (1905) – Photoelectric Effect
- "Investigations on the Theory of the Brownian Movement" (1905)
- "The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity" (1916)
- "Relativity: The Special and the General Theory" (1916)
Legacy and Impact
Albert Einstein's theories revolutionized our understanding of space, time, gravity, and the universe. His work continues to influence modern physics and technology. The question of whether there exists a 'qi jiguang biography of albert' in an alternate reality is a fun thought experiment about possible historical deviations.