Albert Einstein: A Scientific Icon

By Lena Gluck

Encyclopedia Britannica

        ​     Typically, when people mention the name Einstein, one may think of someone with crazy-looking hair, but in reality Einstein was much more than just a unique caricature. Einstein is quite possibly best known for his formula E=mc^2. This equation has gained the title of “The World’s Most Famous Equation.” 
            ​Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, and he passed away on April 18, 1955. Einstein was a German physicist who focused on the theoretical aspect. During his extensive years of research, he created the theory of relativity, which is still used in modern day.

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          Einstein was born in Ulm, which was a section of the German empire. His dad was Hermann Einstein, and his mom was Pauline Koch. In the year 1880, his family moved to Munich and his father and uncle created an electrical equipment manufacturing company.  
Einstein was married to two women. His first wife was Mileva Maric, and they were married for approximately 16 years. The same year that he and his former wife split, he married Elsa Einstein. Later on, he would continue on to have three children, Eduard, Lieserl and Hans Albert Einstein.
In the beginning of Einstein’s career, he was fascinated with relativity and gravitational fields. In 1916, he published a paper of the theory of gravitation, in which he discusses mechanics. Einstein also investigated particle theory and how molecules move. He completed his first thesis in the year 1905 with his physics professor, Alfred Kleiner.
            Einstein’s life is far from simple, and is actually rather intricate. Einstein was a professor at the Berlin Academy of Science.  When the atmosphere of Germany began to change, he fled because he was Jewish. He came to America in order to begin his new life, and he became a citizen in 1940.
In the summer of 1939, Einstein wrote to President Franklin D Roosevelt, in order to warm him of a new type of bomb that was being made, and he suggested the US should begin working on creating a similar one. This letter eventually led to the Manhattan Project. Einstein fully understood that nuclear warfare was extremely destructive; this caused him to meet with the British philosopher Betrand Russell and sign the Russell-Einstein Manifesto. This document alerted people of the known dangers of nuclear warfare.  Unfortunately, soon after, Einstein died in the year 1955.
            Throughout his lifetime, Einstein created over 300 scientific works and over 150 non-scientific works. In the year 2014, universities released many of Einstein’s papers, and it turns out that there were many more documents that he created.
            Einstein held a unique political opinion compared to many people living in America. He preferred socialism because he believed in a system of global government.
            Throughout his life and even after, Albert Einstein has received numerous awards for his scientific findings. In 1921, Einstein received a Nobel Prize for Physics. In the year 1925, Einstein received the Copley Medal from the Royal Society. This award is a scientific related honor given for the outstanding accomplishments in any sector of science. In 1929, he received the Max Planck medal for his major achievements in theoretical physics. Einstein was honored by being given the opportunity to present the Josiah Willard Gibbs lecture in the year 1934. In the year 1936, Einstein received the Franklin Institute’s Franklin Medal for his work on photo-electric effects and relativity. Even after Einstein’s passing, we still continue to remember him. In Bronx, New York, there is a college named Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and in Germany, there is a park called Albert Einstein Science Park. If you ever decide to travel to Washington DC, be sure to stop off at the Albert Einstein Memorial which is located at the National Academy of Sciences.
            Albert Einstein was a unique man for his time. Einstein’s ability to utilize his surroundings led him to uncover new scientific findings, and he is still referred to by many as a “genius.” Now, I want to leave you with a quote from one of the most influential people to ever exist: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”