When you hear the name Albert Einstein, what do you think of? Many peoplepicture a brilliant but absent-minded man with wild white hair. But like all ofus, Einstein started out as a kid.
Einstein had a birthday, of course.
It was March 14, 1879. He was born in the small city of Ulm, Germany.
What was his family like?
Albert's dad, Hermann, worked with electrical equipment. Albert's mom, Pauline,loved music and was a talented pianist. His little sister and lifelong friend,Maja, was two years younger.
It wasn't obvious that he was a genius.
Actually, he didn't talk until he was nearly 3. At school he did not try hardin subjects that bored him.
What did he do for fun?
Albert liked doing puzzles, reading books about nature, and playing violin. Hewas fascinated by the invisible magnetic force that makes compasses work. Andhe was very curious about math.
Albert married and had children.
When he was almost 24, Albert married a fellow physics student named MilevaMaric. They had children together, but eventually they got divorced. Albertlater married Elsa Löwenthal.
1905: A miraculous year.
At 26, Albert wrote four papers that changed how people understand light,energy, matter, time, and space. He studied these ideas through "thoughtexperiments" rather than in a laboratory like most scientists. He asked himselfquestions like, "What would happen if I were riding on a beam of light, and Ilooked in a mirror?" and then figured out the answers using his imagination(and some math).
Albert used his fame to speak up for what he believed.
Albert won a Nobel Prize in 1921 and became world famous. In 1932 he escapedNazi Germany by moving to the United States. He campaigned for the formation ofIsrael and for world peace. He also wrote a famous letter to President FranklinD. Roosevelt, warning him that Germany might build an atomic bomb and urgingnuclear research.
Albert remains famous today.
He died in 1955 at age 76, but people continue to use his ideas.
What Does It Mean to You?
What do you and Albert Einstein have in common? How are you different? If youwere famous like Einstein, what would you speak up about?
Now Check This Out!
Albert Einstein: A Life of Genius
by Elizabeth MacLeod. Kids Can Press, 2003.
Get to know Einstein's story through photographs, cartoons, and quotations.
Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein
by Don Brown. Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
Learn about Einstein's unique brilliance and misunderstood childhood inpicture-book biography format.
Way to Go, Einstein!
www.ology.amnh.org/einstein
Explore Einstein's scientific ideas through interactive features andhands-on activities.
