You know the hair. You know the goofy sense of humor. You know the relationship between energy, mass, and light. And you have at least a faint grasp on what that whole relativity thing really meant. But as one might imagine, there was an extremely complex individual behind that bushy mustache.
Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on this date in 1879. His father was an electrical engineer and founder of Elektrotechnische Fabrik J. Einstein & Cie. The direction of Einstein's life was altered early on when his father showed him a compass, setting him on a path of discovery that would ultimately reshape the scientific world.
Einstein dropped out of school, enrolled at Zurich Polytechnic, got a gig at an office, taught at a number of European Universities, and eventually fled to the United States from his native Germany after the appointment of Adolf Hitler as chancellor. In 1939, Einstein wrote a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, warning the president that the Nazis might be developing a nuclear bomb and suggesting the U.S. try to beat them to the punch.
In 1955, Einstein died in his adopted country after being admitted to the hospital for abdominal aortic aneurysm.
But what about Einstein's love life, his political aspirations, and his thoughts on birthdays? And what exactly happened to his brain after he died? All of this and more are answered in this slideshow.
1. Born With a Giant Head
(Photo: Einstein, Age 4)
2. Asked to Be Israel's Second President
(Photo: Chaim Weizmann, First President of Israel)
3. Brain Preserved and Went on a Wacky Cross Country Adventure
Harvey made off with Einstein's brain, losing his job in the process. He took the brain with him on his move to Wichita, Kansas, where he befriended William Burroughs. Then it traveled with him again on his move back to Princeton, New Jersey, where Einstein had died. In 1997, Harvey and the brain made yet another trek out west, this time to California, when the scientist opted to bring the grey matter to Einstein's granddaughter. Even though she refused the odd gift, Harvey accidentally left it behind at her place.
Ultimately, the brain found a new home in the Princeton lab where it was first removed from the skull of the great scientist.
(Photo Courtesy of D. Falk)
4. The Illegitimate Daughter
(Photo: Einstein and wife, Mileva Marić)
5. Mysterious Last Words
6. Women and War
(Picture: Einstein and Marie Curie)
7. Couldn't Remember Birthdays—or Anything Else
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