Quick answerAlbert Einstein (1879–1955) was a German scientist. Albert Einstein is best known for Theory of relativity, E = mc², Nobel Prize in Physics 1921, Photoelectric effect and General relativity and gravity. Born in Ulm, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire. His work reshaped physics and made E = mc² the most famous equation in the world.
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) was a German-born physicist who rewrote our understanding of space, time and gravity. His theory of relativity, summed up in the equation E = mc², made him the most famous scientist of the twentieth century, and his 1921 Nobel Prize recognised his work on light.
Key facts
| Born | 1879 in Ulm, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire |
|---|---|
| Died | 1955 |
| Nationality | German |
| Field | Science |
| Known for | Theory of relativity, E = mc², Nobel Prize in Physics 1921, Photoelectric effect, General relativity and gravity |
Overview
Einstein was born in Ulm, in the German Empire, and grew up in Munich, where he was a slow, dreamy schoolboy who taught himself mathematics. He renounced his German citizenship as a teenager, studied in Zurich, and became a Swiss citizen in 1901. In 1905, while working as a patent clerk in Bern, Switzerland, he published four papers in a single year, on the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity and the equivalence of mass and energy. The year became known as his annus mirabilis, his miracle year.
In 1915 he completed the general theory of relativity, which described gravity as the bending of space and time, and in 1919 a solar eclipse confirmed its prediction that starlight bends near the Sun, making him world famous. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for the photoelectric effect. A German Jew, he left Germany in 1933, settled in Princeton, New Jersey, and became an American citizen in 1940. In later life he campaigned for civil rights and against nuclear weapons, and worked, without success, on a unified theory of physics.
Frequently asked questions
When was Albert Einstein born?
Einstein was born on 14 March 1879 in Ulm, in the Kingdom of Württemberg in the German Empire. He grew up in Munich, studied in Zurich, and later lived in Switzerland, Germany and the United States, becoming an American citizen in 1940.
What did Albert Einstein discover?
Einstein's best-known work is the theory of relativity: special relativity in 1905 and general relativity in 1915, which describes gravity as the bending of space and time. He also explained the photoelectric effect, for which he won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics.
How did Albert Einstein die?
Einstein died on 18 April 1955 in Princeton, New Jersey, aged 76, after an abdominal aortic aneurysm ruptured. He had refused surgery, saying he wanted to go when he wanted, and he was still working on his unified field theory in his final days.
Where was Albert Einstein born?
Einstein was born in Ulm, a city in southern Germany on the River Danube, on 14 March 1879. His family moved to Munich when he was a baby, so he grew up there, and he later lived in Switzerland, Berlin and Princeton, New Jersey.
What is Albert Einstein famous for?
Einstein is famous for the theory of relativity and the equation E = mc², which links mass and energy, and for reshaping physics in the twentieth century. He is also remembered as a public figure who spoke out for civil rights, peace and against nuclear weapons.
Related people
- Niels Bohr — Debated quantum mechanics with him for decades
Quotes by Albert Einstein
- “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
- “The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
- “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must …”
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Sources & last updated
Last updated: . Figures are shown with their year; where sources disagree, the value is left out rather than estimated.