Common questions about Albert Einstein

Short answers, pulled from the story.

When and where was Albert Einstein born?

Albert Einstein was born on the 14th of March 1879 in Ulm, in the Kingdom of Württemberg. He was born to secular Ashkenazi Jewish parents Hermann and Pauline Koch.

What happened to Albert Einstein in 1905?

In 1905, Albert Einstein published four papers that fundamentally altered the course of physics while working as a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern. These papers addressed the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, the special theory of relativity, and the equivalence of mass and energy.

How did Albert Einstein become famous?

Albert Einstein became the world's first celebrity scientist after the confirmation of his general theory of relativity during the solar eclipse of the 29th of May 1919. Sir Arthur Eddington's observations of the bending of light by the Sun's gravity provided the experimental evidence needed to validate Einstein's predictions.

Why did Albert Einstein leave Germany?

Albert Einstein left Germany in 1933 after Adolf Hitler rose to power and the German Reichstag passed the Enabling Act. He renounced his German citizenship and surrendered his passport in Antwerp to escape Nazi persecution and protect his family.

What was the Einstein-Szilard letter?

The Einstein-Szilard letter was a 1939 warning to President Franklin D. Roosevelt about the potential for German atomic weapons. It was signed by Albert Einstein and convinced the United States to begin its own nuclear research, which eventually led to the Manhattan Project.

When and how did Albert Einstein die?

Albert Einstein died on the 18th of April 1955 at the Princeton Hospital after experiencing internal bleeding caused by the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. He refused surgery and died early the next morning at the age of 76.