Born: March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany
Died: April 18, 1955 in Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Born: March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany
Died: April 18, 1955 in Princeton, New Jersey, USA
A Chronology of Einstein's
Life
(1879) Albert Einstein is born to Hermann Einstein (a featherbed salesman)
and Pauline in Ulm, Germany.
(1884) Around this time, Albert receives his first compass, beginning his
quest to investigate the natural world.
(1889) At age 10, Albert sets into a program of self education and reads as
much about science as he can.
(1894) The
Albert's Parents move from Munich to Pavia, Italy and Albert, 15, stays
on in Munich to finish the school year. Albert lasts only a term on his own
and follows his family to Pavia.
(1895) Albert attempts to skip high school by taking an entrance exam to
the Swiss Polytechnic, a top technical university, but he fails the arts
portion. His family sends him to the Swiss town of Aarau to finish high
school.
(1896) Albert graduates from high school at the age of 17 and enrolls at
the ETH (the Federal Polytechnic) in Zurich.
(1898) Albert falls in love with Mileva Maric, a Hungarian classmate at the
ETH.
(1900) Albert graduates from the ETH.
(1901) Albert becomes a Swiss citizen. Unemployed, he searches for work.
(1901) He
and Mileva meet in northern Italy for a tryst. Mileva becomes pregnant. In the
fall, Albert finds work in Schaffhausen, Switzerland as a tutor. Mileva,
visibly pregnant, moves to Stein Am Rhein, three miles upriver. Mileva then
moves to Hungary to give birth to their baby at her parent's home. Albert
moves to Bern.
(1902) In January, Mileva gives birth to their daughter, Lieserl, whom they
eventually put up for adoption. She reportedly becomes ill and then all record
of her disappears. Albert takes a job at the Swiss Patent Office. Hermann
Einstein becomes ill and dies.
(1903) Albert and Mileva marry in January.
(1904) Mileva gives birth to their first son, Hans Albert.
(1905) "Annus Mirabilis" -- Einstein's "Miracle Year": his Special
Theory of Relativity is born. (1906) Still living in Bern, Einstein continues as an Examiner at the Swiss
Patent Office.
(1907) Einstein begins applying the laws of gravity to his Special Theory
of Relativity.
(1910) Son Eduard is born.
(1911) The Einsteins move to Prague where Albert is given a full
professorship at the German University there. Albert is the youngest to attend
the invitation-only Solvay Conference in Brussels, the first world physics
conference.
(1912) The Einsteins move to Zurich where Albert is given a position as a
professor of Theoretical Physics at the ETH.
(1913) Einstein works on his new Theory of Gravity.
(1914) Einstein becomes director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin
and professor of theoretical physics at the University of Berlin. The family
moves there in April, but Mileva and the sons return to Zurich after 3 months.
The divorce proceedings begin. In August, World War I begins.
(1915) Einstein completes the General Theory of Relativity.
(1917) Einstein collapses and, near death, falls seriously ill. He is
nursed back to health by his cousin, Elsa. He publishes his first paper on
cosmology.
(1919) Albert marries Elsa. May 29, a solar eclipse proves Einstein's
General Theory of Relativity works.
(1922) Is awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for 1921.
(1927) Attends fifth Solvay Conference and begins developing the
foundation of quantum mechanics with Bohr.
(1928) Einstein begins pursing his idea of a unified field theory.
(1932) Einstein is 53 and at the height of his fame. Identified as a Jew,
he begins to feel the heat of Nazi Germany.
(1933) Albert and Elsa set sail for the United States. They settle in
Princeton, New Jersey where he assumes a post at the Institute for Advanced
Study.
(1936) Elsa dies after a brief illness.
(1939) World War II begins. Einstein writes a famous letter to President
Franklin D. Roosevelt warning of the possibility of Germany's building an
atomic bomb and urging nuclear research.
(1940) Einstein becomes an American citizen; retains Swiss citizenship.
(1949) Mileva dies.
(1955) Einstein dies of heart failure on April 16.
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