Sixty years after his death, last December, universities and archives announced the release of Einstein's papers, comprising more than 30,000 unique documents. Einstein's intellectual achievements and originality have made the name Einstein synonymous with ‘genius’.
Albert Einstein is considered the most influential physicist of the 20th century. He won the Nobel Prize for his explanation of the photoelectric effect. Not many know that in 1952, David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s Premier, offered Einstein the post of President of Israel. Einstein respectfully declined. It’s not for nothing Time magazine in the December 31, 1999 issue called him ‘The Person of the Century’.
Early years
He was born in Ulm, Wurttemberg, Germany, on March 14, 1874. His father Hermann Einstein began as a featherbed salesman and later ran an electrochemical factory. Einstein mentions two ‘wonders’ that affected him early. First was his encounter with a compass when he was five years old. He was mystified that invisible forces could deflect the needle. The second wonder came at age 12 when he discovered a book of geometry.
When he was 13, he discovered the joys of Mozart violin sonatas and learnt to play the violin and piano. He later remarked, “If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician... I get most joy in life out of music.”
In 1905, called Einstein’s ‘miracle year’ he published four history-making papers. In that the now famous equation e=mc² unlocked the mysteries of the universe till then unknown. He pioneered many key developments such as wormholes, higher dimensions, the possibility of time travel, the existence of black holes and the creation of the universe.
Ten years later, in 1915, Einstein completed his General Theory of Relativity. In 1921, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. With this award, he became internationally famous. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1933. He took up residence in Princeton, New Jersey and a professorship at the prestigious Institute for Advanced Study.
Einstein corresponded with Sigmund Freud and discussed with Rabindranath Tagore the question of whether consciousness can affect existence.
Today, the practical application of Einstein’s theories include the development of television, remote control devices, automatic door openers, lasers and DVD players.
He died at the age of 76 at Princeton, New Jersey. The pathologist of the Princeton Hospital where he died, removed Einstein's brain for preservation without the permission of his family, in the hope that neuroscience of the future would be able to discover what made him so intelligent.
