Einstein, Albert (1879–1955)

Early Developments

Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany, on March 14, 1879. His father was a moderately successful salesman in the electrical trade. The South German roots of Einstein's Jewish family reached back for centuries. Since 1880, the family had lived in Munich. According to Einstein, the experience that aroused his scientific curiosity occurred at the age of 6, when he was wondering [Page 392]about the invisible force aligning a compass needle. The stories often told about Einstein's under-achievement in school are merely a myth. He earned average marks in most subjects but was excellent in the natural sciences. However, he showed a dismissive attitude toward dull authority from his early days on. Beyond school lectures, he was able to figure out the infinitesimal calculus on his own.

While his family moved to Milan, Italy, in 1894 for economic reasons, young Albert stayed back in Munich alone to finish grammar school. Ahead of time and without formal graduation, Einstein left school on his own decision when he became at odds with the school's authorities. “Your sheer presence corrupts the class's respect for me,” his teacher remarked. On the basis of his attitude as a freethinker, he also resigned from the Jewish religious community. In 1895, he went to the Kantonschule Aarau (Switzerland) where he passed the Matura (the Swiss grammar school diploma), qualifying himself for the Confederate Polytechnical Academy Zurich (today's ETH). In 1900, he achieved the teacher's diploma for math and physics. He applied for an assistantship at the Zurich Academy, but his application was rejected, so he eked out a living as a substitute teacher at first. In 1901 Einstein submitted his dissertation on the theory of thermal equilibrium and the second law of thermodynamics to the University of Zurich; the dissertation was declined.

During his years of study, Einstein fell in love with his Serbian fellow student Mileva Marie. In 1902 she gave birth to their illegitimate daughter, Lieserl, at Mileva's parents' home in Serbia. The subsequent fate of the child is uncertain; it is stated in various sources that she was given up for adoption at Einstein's insistence in order to preserve moral standards; some sources state that she suffered from trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) and died at the age of almost 2 years.

Annus Mirabilis: An Explosion of Creativity

In 1902, after a recommendation from his friend Marcel Grossmann, Einstein got employment as “third class expert” at the Swiss patent office in Bern. Half a year later, on January 6, 1903, he married Mileva. Their sons Hans Albert (1904–1973) and Eduard (1910–1965) were born from this marriage.

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