Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein can be considered one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century. Albert Einstein's General Theory of relativity is only known by few people in great detail. He is considered not only a great scientist but also a man who led an intriguing life.

Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1874. Before the age of 1, his family moved to Munich. Here his father, Hermann Einstein, and uncle set up a small electro-chemical business. Albert's mother, Pauline Einstein, had a passion for music and literature. This is where Einstein was first introduced to the violin in which he found much joy and relaxation. Also, he was very close with his younger sister, Maja, and they could often be found in the lakes that were scattered about the countryside near Munich.

At an early age, Einstein's sense of curiosity had already begun to overwhelm him. A favorite toy of his was his father's compass, and he often marveled at his uncle's explanations of algebra. Einstein at an early age was considered as slow learner. Many teachers believed that he was disabled.

At age 10, Einstein was transferred to the "Luitpold Gymnasium," where Latin, Greek, History, and Geography were pounded into children’s' heads. His parent wanted him to finish school and to enter a University. They had hopes that he would graduate as an engineer. However, he had much different ideas. He felt that he could no longer deal with German ideas, so Einstein moved to Switzerland where he continued his education. At sixteen he attempted to enroll at the Federal Institute of Technology but failed the entrance exam. He then started to study locally for one year until he finally passed the school's evaluation. By passing the test, he was able to meet many other students that shared his curiosity, and it was here that his studies turned mainly to Physics.

Here he also learned that many physicists believed in past ideas and theories but many modern scientists were trying to disprove outdated theories. Since most of Einstein's teachers ignored these new ideas, he was forced to explore on his own. In 1900 he graduated from the Institute and then achieved citizenship to Switzerland.

In 1902, Einstein became a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office. This job had little to do with physics, but he was able to satiate his curiosity by figuring out how new inventions worked. With this job, he was able to conduct his own research. As his ideas began to develop, he published them in specialist journals. Although he was not known to many yet, he attracted many people to his ideas. During that time he was tutoring a group of students. That group