Best known for his theory of relativity, Albert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879. His father was a salesperson and an engineer. Even though Einstein was born Jewish, the Einstein’s did not practice Jewish customs and Albert actually attended a Catholic elementary school. Needless to say, he was a very good student.

Einstein taught himself calculus and geometry with the help of a school pamphlet and a copy of Euclid he received from a family friend. His first published paper dealt with capillarity—the ability of an object to draw a substance upwards despite the pull of gravity, such as plants taking water from the soil and the use of drinking straws. Even though his work was quality, Einstein found it hard to secure a teaching job. Instead, he took a job at the patent office in Bern, where he studied electromagnetic patent applications while pursuing his scientific studies after hours.

Several years into his job, Einstein published four papers which would define modern physics. The paper, “Does the Inertia of a Body Depend upon Its Energy Content?” contained the famous E=mc² equation; his paper on Brownian motion supported the existence of atoms; the paper on photoelectric effect would influence the entire field of quantum mechanics; and most famously; Einstein’s paper, “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies” proposed his theory of special relativity.

Einstein lived a quiet life and died of an aneurysm in 1955. Mathematicians all over the world celebrate his birthday on the “Pi Day” (3/14). The date is also traditionally the day that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) sends out its acceptance letters.

There is so much more to learn about Einstein. Click on the Simply Einstein caricature to visit Einstein’s site to learn more…don’t forget to ask the expert if you have questions. Also, take the Einstein poll!

Happy learning!