Around 1886 Albert Einstein began his school career in Munich.

As well as his violin lessons, which he had from age six to age thirteen, he also had religious education at home where he was taught Judaism. Two years later he entered the uit!old "ymnasium and after this his religious education was given at school. #e studied mathematics, in !articular the calculus, beginning around 18$1. %n 18$& 'instein(s family moved to Milan but 'instein remained in Munich. %n 18$) 'instein failed an examination that would have allowed him to study for a di!loma as an electrical engineer at the 'idgen*ssische Technische #ochschule in +urich. 'instein renounced "erman citi,enshi! in 18$6 and was to be stateless for a number of years. #e did not even a!!ly for -wiss citi,enshi! until 18$$, citi,enshi! being granted in 1$.1. /ollowing the failing of the entrance exam to the 'T#, 'instein attended secondary school at Aarau !lanning to use this route to enter the 'T# in +urich. 0hile at Aarau he wrote an essay 1for which was only given a little above half mar2s34 in which he wrote of his !lans for the future, see 516789 If I were to have the good fortune to pass my examinations, I would go to Zurich. I would stay there for four years in order to study mathematics and physics. I imagine myself becoming a teacher in those branches of the natural sciences, choosing the theoretical part of them. Here are the reasons which lead me to this plan. Above all, it is my disposition for abstract and mathematical thought, and my lack of imagination and practical ability. %ndeed 'instein succeeded with his !lan graduating in 1$.. as a teacher of mathematics and !hysics. :ne of his friends at 'T# was Marcel "rossmann who was in the same class as 'instein. 'instein tried to obtain a !ost, writing to #urwit, who held out some ho!e of a !osition but nothing came of it. Three of 'instein(s fellow students, including "rossmann, were a!!ointed assistants at 'T# in +urich but clearly 'instein had not im!ressed enough and still in 1$.1 he was writing round universities in the ho!e of obtaining a ;ob, but without success. #e did manage to avoid -wiss military service on the grounds that he had flat feet and varicose veins. <y mid 1$.1 he had a tem!orary ;ob as a teacher, teaching mathematics at the Technical #igh -chool in 0interthur. Around this time he wrote89

I have given up the ambition to get to a university ... Another tem!orary !osition teaching in a !rivate school in -chaffhausen followed. Then "rossmann(s father tried to hel! 'instein get a ;ob by recommending him to the director of the !atent office in <ern. 'instein was a!!ointed as a technical ex!ert third class. 'instein wor2ed in this !atent office from 1$.= to 1$.$, holding a tem!orary !ost when he was first a!!ointed, but by 1$.& the !osition was made !ermanent and in 1$.6 he was !romoted to technical ex!ert second class. 0hile in the <ern !atent office he com!leted an astonishing range of theoretical !hysics !ublications, written in his s!are time without the benefit of close contact with scientific literature or colleagues. 'instein earned a doctorate from the >niversity of +urich in 1$.) for a thesis On a new determination of molecular dimensions. #e dedicated the thesis to "rossmann. %n the first of three !a!ers, all written in 1$.), 'instein examined the !henomenon discovered by Max ?lanc2, according to which electromagnetic energy seemed to be emitted from radiating ob;ects in discrete @uantities. The energy of these @uanta was directly !ro!ortional to the fre@uency of the radiation. This seemed to contradict classical electromagnetic theory, based on Maxwell(s e@uations and the laws of thermodynamics which assumed that electromagnetic energy consisted of waves which could contain any small amount of energy. 'instein used ?lanc2(s @uantum hy!othesis to describe the electromagnetic radiation of light. 'instein(s second 1$.) !a!er !ro!osed what is today called the s!ecial theory of relativity. #e based his new theory on a reinter!retation of the classical !rinci!le of relativity, namely that the laws of !hysics had to have the same form in any frame of reference. As a second fundamental hy!othesis, 'instein assumed that the s!eed of light remained constant in all frames of reference, as re@uired by Maxwell(s theory. ater in 1$.) 'instein showed how mass and energy were e@uivalent. 'instein was not the first to !ro!ose all the com!onents of s!ecial theory of relativity. #is contribution is unifying im!ortant !arts of classical mechanics and Maxwell(s electrodynamics. The third of 'instein(s !a!ers of 1$.) concerned statistical mechanics, a field of that had been studied by udwig <olt,mann and Josiah "ibbs. After 1$.) 'instein continued wor2ing in the areas described above. #e made im!ortant contributions to @uantum theory, but he sought to extend the s!ecial theory of relativity to !henomena involving acceleration. The 2ey a!!eared in 1$.A with the !rinci!le of e@uivalence, in which gravitational acceleration was held to be indistinguishable from acceleration caused by mechanical forces. "ravitational mass was therefore identical with inertial mass. %n 1$.8 'instein became a lecturer at the >niversity of <ern after submitting his #abilitation thesis onse!uences for the constitution of radiation following from the energy distribution law of black bodies. The following year he become

!rofessor of !hysics at the >niversity of +urich, having resigned his lectureshi! at <ern and his ;ob in the !atent office in <ern. <y 1$.$ 'instein was recognised as a leading scientific thin2er and in that year he resigned from the !atent office. #e was a!!ointed a full !rofessor at the Barl9 /erdinand >niversity in ?rague in 1$11. %n fact 1$11 was a very significant year for 'instein since he was able to ma2e !reliminary !redictions about how a ray of light from a distant star, !assing near the -un, would a!!ear to be bent slightly, in the direction of the -un. This would be highly significant as it would lead to the first ex!erimental evidence in favour of 'instein(s theory. About 1$1=, 'instein began a new !hase of his gravitational research, with the hel! of his mathematician friend Marcel "rossmann, by ex!ressing his wor2 in terms of the tensor calculus of Tullio evi9Civita and "regorio Dicci9Curbastro. 'instein called his new wor2 the general theory of relativity. #e moved from ?rague to +urich in 1$1= to ta2e u! a chair at the 'idgen*ssische Technische #ochschule in +urich. 'instein returned to "ermany in 1$1& but did not rea!!ly for "erman citi,enshi!. 0hat he acce!ted was an im!ressive offer. %t was a research !osition in the ?russian Academy of -ciences together with a chair 1but no teaching duties4 at the >niversity of <erlin. #e was also offered the directorshi! of the Baiser 0ilhelm %nstitute of ?hysics in <erlin which was about to be established. After a number of false starts 'instein !ublished, late in 1$1), the definitive version of general theory. Just before !ublishing this wor2 he lectured on general relativity at "*ttingen and he wrote89 "o my great #oy, I completely succeeded in convincing #ilbert and Blein. %n fact #ilbert submitted for !ublication, a wee2 before 'instein com!leted his wor2, a !a!er which contains the correct field e@uations of general relativity. 0hen <ritish ecli!se ex!editions in 1$1$ confirmed his !redictions, 'instein was idolised by the !o!ular !ress. The ondon "imes ran the headline on A Eovember 1$1$89 $evolution in science % &ew theory of the 'niverse % &ewtonian ideas overthrown. %n 1$=. 'instein(s lectures in <erlin were disru!ted by demonstrations which, although officially denied, were almost certainly anti9Jewish. Certainly there were strong feelings ex!ressed against his wor2s during this !eriod which 'instein re!lied to in the !ress @uoting orent,, ?lanc2 and 'ddington as su!!orting his theories and stating that certain "ermans would have attac2ed them if he had been89 ... a (erman national with or without swastika instead of a )ew with liberal international convictions...

Furing 1$=1 'instein made his first visit to the >nited -tates. #is main reason was to raise funds for the !lanned #ebrew >niversity of Jerusalem. #owever he received the <arnard Medal during his visit and lectured several times on relativity. #e is re!orted to have commented to the chairman at the lecture he gave in a large hall at ?rinceton which was overflowing with !eo!le89 I never realised that so many Americans were interested in tensor analysis. 'instein received the Eobel ?ri,e in 1$=1 but not for relativity rather for his 1$.) wor2 on the !hotoelectric effect. %n fact he was not !resent in Fecember 1$== to receive the !ri,e being on a voyage to Ja!an. Around this time he made many international visits. #e had visited ?aris earlier in 1$== and during 1$=6 he visited ?alestine. After ma2ing his last ma;or scientific discovery on the association of waves with matter in 1$=& he made further visits in 1$=), this time to -outh America. Among further honours which 'instein received were the Co!ley Medal of the Doyal -ociety in 1$=) and the "old Medal of the Doyal Astronomical -ociety in 1$=6. Eiels <ohr and 'instein were to carry on a debate on @uantum theory which began at the -olvay Conference in 1$=A. ?lanc2, Eiels <ohr, de <roglie, #eisenberg, -chr*dinger and Firac were at this conference, in addition to 'instein. 'instein had declined to give a !a!er at the conference and89 ... said hardly anything beyond presenting a very simple ob#ection to the probability interpretation .... "hen he fell back into silence ... %ndeed 'instein(s life had been hectic and he was to !ay the !rice in 1$=8 with a !hysical colla!se brought on through overwor2. #owever he made a full recovery des!ite having to ta2e things easy throughout 1$=8. <y 1$6. he was ma2ing international visits again, bac2 to the >nited -tates. A third visit to the >nited -tates in 1$6= was followed by the offer of a !ost at ?rinceton. The idea was that 'instein would s!end seven months a year in <erlin, five months at ?rinceton. 'instein acce!ted and left "ermany in Fecember 1$6= for the >nited -tates. The following month the Ea,is came to !ower in "ermany and 'instein was never to return there. Furing 1$66 'instein travelled in 'uro!e visiting :xford, "lasgow, <russels and +urich. :ffers of academic !osts which he had found it so hard to get in 1$.1, were !lentiful. #e received offers from Jerusalem, eiden, :xford, Madrid and ?aris. 0hat was intended only as a visit became a !ermanent arrangement by 1$6) when he a!!lied and was granted !ermanent residency in the >nited -tates. At ?rinceton his wor2 attem!ted to unify the laws of !hysics. #owever he was attem!ting !roblems of great de!th and he wrote89

I have locked myself into !uite hopeless scientific problems % the more so since, as an elderly man, I have remained estranged from the society here... %n 1$&. 'instein became a citi,en of the >nited -tates, but chose to retain his -wiss citi,enshi!. #e made many contributions to !eace during his life. %n 1$&& he made a contribution to the war effort by hand writing his 1$.) !a!er on s!ecial relativity and !utting it u! for auction. %t raised six million dollars, the manuscri!t today being in the ibrary of Congress. <y 1$&$ 'instein was unwell. A s!ell in hos!ital hel!ed him recover but he began to !re!are for death by drawing u! his will in 1$).. #e left his scientific !a!ers to the #ebrew >niversity in Jerusalem, a university which he had raised funds for on his first visit to the >-A, served as a governor of the university from 1$=) to 1$=8 but he had turned down the offer of a !ost in 1$66 as he was very critical of its administration. :ne more ma;or event was to ta2e !lace in his life. After the death of the first !resident of %srael in 1$)=, the %sraeli government decided to offer the !ost of second !resident to 'instein. #e refused but found the offer an embarrassment since it was hard for him to refuse without causing offence. :ne wee2 before his death 'instein signed his last letter. %t was a letter to <ertrand Dussell in which he agreed that his name should go on a manifesto urging all nations to give u! nuclear wea!ons. %t is fitting that one of his last acts was to argue, as he had done all his life, for international !eace. 'instein was cremated at Trenton, Eew Jersey at & !m on 18 A!ril 1$)) 1the day of his death4. #is ashes were scattered at an undisclosed !lace.