Einstein, Albert

Einstein, Albert (1879-1955), Jewish scientist, b. Ulm, Germany.

In 1905 Albert Einstein published four papers in a German magazine, Annals of Physics, and they showed him to have the greatest mind of any scientist since Sir Isaac Newton.

Einstein used mathematics to put forward important new theories, the most famous being his Theory of Relativity.

At this time Einstein was living in Switzerland. He later became a professor in Berlin but was driven out of Nazi Germany in 1933.

He became a citizen of the United States. Einstein's theories included the idea that matter and energy or power are interchangeable. Such an idea is behind the development of atomic power and, in 1939, Einstein wrote to President Roosevelt suggesting research in this field. The result was the production, in 1945, of the atomic bomb.

Einstein was working up to his death on a new theory including fresh ideas on the laws of gravity.