Albert Einstein
...most important scientist of the 20th century. He was the author of the special and general theory of relativity and made significant contributions to quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and cosmology. He was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect in 1905 (his "wonderful year") and "for his services to Theoretical Physics".
After British solar eclipse expeditions in 1919 confirmed that light rays from distant stars were deflected by the gravity of the Sun by the amount he had predicted in his theory of relativity, Einstein became world-famous, an unusual achievement for a scientist. In his later years, his fame perhaps exceeded that of any other scientist in history. In popular culture, his name has become synonymous with great intelligence and genius.
Biography
Youth and college
Young Albert before the Einsteins moved from Germany to Italy.Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 at Ulm in Württemberg, German Empire, about 100 km east of Stuttgart. His parents were Hermann Einstein, a salesman who later ran an electrochemical works, and Pauline, née Koch. They were married in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt. The family was Jewish (non-observant); Albert attended a Catholic elementary school and, at the insistence of his mother, was given violin lessons. Though he initially disliked the lessons, and eventually discontinued them, he would later take great solace in Mozart's violin sonatas.
When Einstein was five, his father showed him a pocket compass, and Einstein realized that something in "empty" space acted upon the needle; he would later describe the experience as one of the most revelatory of his life. Though he built models and mechanical devices for fun and showed great mathematical faculty early on, he was considered a slow learner, possibly due to dyslexia, simple shyness, or the significantly rare...
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