Einstein where was born in what country. "Year of Miracles" of the beginning of the scientific revolution

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in the city of Ulm, in southern Germany. His parents, Herman and Paulina Einstein, had their own business, which brought in a stable but small income. When little Albert was only a year old, the family moved to Munich, the reason for the move was the founding of a small company selling electrical equipment, which his father, Hermann Einstein, founded together with his brother Jacob. Here, in Munich, the great scientist’s younger sister, Maria, was born.

While attending Catholic school, Albert s early years interested in the most in different directions in science, the boy also studied religion. However, already at the age of 12, having read many educational books (which were far from children’s), the future scientist came to the conclusion that the Bible is not a source, much less a guarantor of absolute righteousness. Moreover, Albert, who decided for himself that the Bible was only a way for the state to influence young minds, once and for all revised his views on this issue.

At about the same age, Einstein first read Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, and also thoroughly studied Euclidean geometry, having at his disposal only books and a huge thirst for knowledge.

It cannot be said that learning was easy for Einstein, although he was always one of the first. While still a student at the gymnasium, Einstein was aware of the problems existing system education: memorization of material, authoritarian treatment of teachers with students, and, as a result, constant disputes with teachers. Albert never received a document to graduate from school, despite the fact that he even had to stay with relatives, while the whole family moved to an Italian town due to the transfer of his father's company.

Next was the Swiss Polytechnic, which did not submit to him the first time. Einstein passed his physics exams with flying colors, while failing a number of other subjects. Seeing a promising student in the young man, the director of the university advised him to still get a secondary education at one of the schools in Switzerland for further studies at the institute. Heeding the advice of an experienced man, Einstein entered school and, having received a certificate, became a student at the Polytechnic.

Albert Einstein in 1893, at the age of 14.

Graduation from university and beginning of scientific activity

Just as in school, the smart, well-read and gifted Einstein found the teaching methods of professors in higher education completely incomprehensible and unacceptable. However, the young man decided not to repeat his school mistakes and still received a diploma in 1900. Having passed the exams well, Einstein, however, did not find support among the luminaries of science - no one wanted to help pave the way to the future for the young and daring scientist. This period in Einstein’s life becomes a real test - he cannot find a job, there is a catastrophic lack of money, and no one is interested in his works. It got to the point where he simply didn’t have anything to eat. Subsequently, this affected his health - Einstein earned chronic illness liver, which tormented him for the rest of his life.

But the scientist did not despair, continuing to persistently study physics. Luck came to him in the person of a former classmate, who helped him find a job. However, he had to work outside of his specialty - Einstein had to take the position of evaluation expert at the Federal Bureau of Patenting of Inventions. He devoted himself to this place for seven whole years - from 1902 to 1907, without forgetting for a second about physics. Fortunately, his work schedule allowed him to devote sufficient time to scientific research.

In 1905, the general public learned about Einstein. The specialized German journal “Annals of Physics” published three works of the scientist at once:

"On one heuristic point of view concerning the origin and transformation of light." One of the fundamental works on which the science of “quantum theory” was subsequently built;
"On the motion of particles suspended in a fluid at rest, required by the molecular kinetic theory of heat." The work is devoted to Brownian motion and is a significant contribution to the advancement of statistical physics;
"On the electrodynamics of moving bodies." Today it is generally accepted that it was this article that formed the basis of the doctrine called the “theory of relativity.”

A non-standard view of the structure of theories

Einstein's research work was not accepted by his colleagues for a long time. The fact is that they simply did not understand them. Having a rather specific view on the creation of theories, he was confident that experience is the only source of knowledge, while theory is an intuitive creation of the human mind, and therefore there are not so many reasons for connecting experiment with a theoretical basis. However, there were those who supported the scientist in his activities. Among them was Max Planck, with whose help Einstein later managed to become director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics in Berlin.

General relativity, eclipse and global recognition

Work on the theory of gravity was long and painstaking and lasted from 1907 to 1915. Einstein worked on a new discovery, using the principles of the theory of relativity as a basis. The essence of the work was that the connection between the geometry of space-time and the gravitational field is inextricable. According to Einstein, space-time in the presence of gravitating masses becomes non-Euclidean. The final result of the work - an equation that clearly demonstrates the essence of his theory - was presented in 1915 at a meeting of the Academy of Sciences (Berlin). Later, the theory would be recognized as the pinnacle of Albert Einstein's creativity.

However, there is still a lot of time before this event, and at the time of the publicity of GR, few people are interested in it. A turning point in the life of the scientist was 1919, when, through observation, it was possible to test one of the aspects of the theory, which stated that a ray of light from a distant star is bent by the gravitational field of the Sun. In order to experimentally test the theory, a total solar eclipse was needed, and this is what was observed in the 19th year of the twentieth century, in three parts globe. Enlisting the support of astrophysicist Arthur Eddington, the expedition led by Einstein obtained information that confirmed the general theory of relativity. This is how Albert Einstein was first recognized by scientific society throughout the world.

Albert did not want to stop there, working hard on new research and it was bearing fruit. Already in 1921, Einstein received the Nobel Prize for quantum theory, became an honorary member of many scientific academies, and his opinion instantly turned from “non-standard” to “authoritative”. Participating in various world conferences, he debated with the leading scientists of that time, and their passionate debates were a significant contribution to the advancement of science more than one step forward. One of the most famous dialogues took place with Bohr, with whom they discussed the problems of quantum mechanics.

Life after general relativity

After the creation of general relativity, Einstein, inspired by success and believing in his own strength, wants to confirm this with the next, even more ambitious project - he plans to create unified theory all kinds of interactions. Even after immigrating to the United States due to the Nazis coming to power, Albert continued to work on his idea. At the same time, the genius of physics taught at the Princeton Institute for Basic Research.

However, his grandiose theory was not destined to see the world. Due to the meager amount of information available in the pre-war era, the unrealistic efforts made by Einstein for more than a quarter of a century were in vain.

Personal life

The genius's first wife was a girl with Serbian roots named Mileve Maric, who taught physics and mathematics. Their acquaintance occurred while working together on the law of gravity. The woman gave birth to Einstein's three heirs. The couple divorced after Maric learned about her husband’s secret correspondence with her cousin Elsa Leventhal, who later became his second legal wife. In his second marriage, Einstein, who had lost his own children (Maric took them with her to Zurich), raised Elsa’s children from his first marriage; The couple had no children together.

Awards

Einstein's awards include the Barnard, Matteucci, Copley and others medals. Also, Albert Einstein is officially an honorary citizen American New York and Israeli Tel Aviv.

Albert Einstein is a legendary scientist who made an unprecedented revolution in science with the creation of the famous theory of relativity, the author of many other discoveries in theoretical physics, a Nobel laureate and an unshakable pacifist with a mysterious biography.

He ranked third on the list of the 100 Great Jews of All Time, behind only Moses and Jesus. Many consider him an idol of the era, a man of the century, putting him on a par with such geniuses as Maxwell and Newton. But some accusers deprive him of his aura, calling him a well-publicized scientific plagiarist and fraudster, claiming that a number of provisions of his above-mentioned theory were previously expressed by other prominent representatives of the pantheon of science.

Childhood and youth

The future theoretical physicist was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm near Munich. His mother Paulina was a housewife, the daughter of a successful grain merchant. Father Herman, on the contrary, turned out to be a not very brilliant businessman. The family had to move more than once due to the ruin of his enterprises, in particular, in 1880 to Munich. In this city, the boy had a sister, Maya.

The firstborn was born with a large and deformed head. Parents had long feared that their son would lag behind in mental development. He grew up withdrawn, did not speak until he was seven, and only repeated the same phrases after other people. Later he spoke, but did not immediately pronounce the phrases out loud, but first reproduced them with his lips alone. Moreover, if his demands were refused, he would become terribly angry, twist his face in rage, and throw objects that came to hand. Once, during such a fit, he almost maimed his sister. So the family considered the boy mentally retarded. Modern scientists suggest that Asperger's syndrome could manifest itself in this way.

At the age of 6, Albert began to study music and throughout his adult life he was in love with the violin, but in his childhood he studied under pressure. He played Mozart and Beethoven to the piano accompaniment of his strict mother. A number of the scientist’s biographers believe that it was the tyrant Paulina who sowed a skeptical attitude towards the female sex in Einstein’s soul.

The future genius did poorly at school. Having entered the gymnasium at the age of 10, he behaved irreverently and impudently, preferring to educate himself rather than attend boring classes. He was especially depressed by the study of ancient Greek. Even in mathematics he has for a long time stood 2, although his interest in which awoke already in those years and began with his father presenting him with a compass. Albert was shocked that mysterious forces forced the arrow to maintain a constant direction.

Not the least role in the development of Albert’s personality was played by their family friend, student Max Talmud, and his uncle Jacob. They brought the bright boy interesting textbooks and offered to solve intriguing puzzles. In particular, the teenager began to read Euclid’s treatise “Elements.” In addition, his acquaintance with Kant’s philosophical work “Critique of Pure Reason” forced him, who had been extremely religious since childhood, to think about the question of the existence of God and the nature of wars.

After another collapse of his father's business in 1894, the family moved to the Milan suburb of Pavia. A year later, Albert joined them without graduating from the Munich gymnasium. He hoped to enter the Zurich Polytechnic and become a teacher, but failed the entrance examination. As a result, he had the opportunity to spend a year at the Aarau school and only after receiving a certificate in 1896 did he become a student at the Zurich educational institution.

The path to science

In 1900, a capable but problematic student who allowed himself to argue with professors graduated with excellent results. He was not offered to continue his scientific work at his alma mater due to his uncooperative character and endless absences from classes. Then, for two years, he could not find a job in his specialty and was in despair. financial situation. Due to stress and poverty, he developed an ulcer.

The situation was saved by his former classmate and future famous scientist Marcel Grossman, who in 1902 helped Albert get a job at the Invention Patent Office in Bern. Due to his occupation, the talented young specialist had the opportunity to become acquainted with many interesting patent applications, which, according to a number of critics, allowed him over time to develop his own theoretical principles based on other people’s ideas. Soon he married a former classmate (for more details, see the “Personal Life” section) Mileva Maric.

In 1905, Einstein published a series of papers that became the foundation for the theories of relativity, quantum and Brownian motion. They had a huge public resonance, changing people's ideas about the world around them. In particular, he substantiated the amazing fact of the slower passage of time in moving coordinates. This meant that an astronaut traveling to a distant planet faster than the speed of light would return home younger than his peers on earth.

A year later, the scientist derived his famous formula E=mc2, received a doctorate at his native university and began teaching there in 1909. For this discovery in 1910, Einstein was nominated for the Nobel Prize for the first time, but did not win. Over the next ten years, committee members remained adamant and continued to reject his candidacy for the prestigious award. The main argument for their decision was the lack of experimental confirmation of the validity of the formula.

In 1911, the author of the revolutionary work moved to Prague, where he worked for a year at the oldest educational institution in Central Europe, continuing his scientific research. He then returned to Zurich, and in 1914 he went to Berlin. In addition to science, he was engaged in social activities, actively campaigned for civil rights and against wars.

During solar eclipse In 1919, researchers found confirmation of a number of postulates of the controversial theory, and its author received worldwide recognition. In 1922, he finally became a Nobel laureate, although not for the theory that was the crown of his intellectual activity, but for another discovery - the photoelectric effect. He visited Japan, India, China, the USA, and a number of European countries, where he introduced the public to his beliefs and discoveries.

In the early 1930s, the pacifist professor began to be persecuted amid rising anti-Semitic sentiments. With Hitler's rise to power, he emigrated overseas, receiving a position at the Princeton Research Institute. In 1934, at the invitation of Franklin Roosevelt, he visited the White House, and in 1939 he signed an appeal from scientists to the American president on the need to create nuclear weapons to confront Nazi Germany, which he later regretted.

In 1952, Israel (after the death of head Chaim Weizmann) invited the brilliant physicist to take the post of president. He rejected such a flattering offer, citing a lack of experience in government activities.

Personal life of Albert Einstein

The father of the theory of relativity was an eccentric - he never wore socks, did not like to brush his teeth, but he was successful with women, had about ten mistresses in his life, and was married twice.

His first love was Marie, the daughter of Professor Jost Winteler, in whose house he lived while studying in Aarau. After Albert left for Zurich, their romance ended, but the girl suffered for a long time from their breakup, which worsened her mental state. She was subsequently admitted to a mental hospital, where she died.

The scientist’s second chosen one was a classmate, a brilliant mathematician and physicist, Mileva Maric. They got married in 1903 in Bern. The girl was outwardly unsightly and had a limp. Albert’s parents were perplexed why he chose an ugly woman as his wife, to which the physicist replied: “So what! You should have heard her vocals."

Documentary film dedicated to Albert Einstein

True, the genius’s passionate love for her very soon cooled down. He presented her with a list of humiliating conditions for living together, which actually turned his beloved into a housekeeper and scientific secretary. Moreover, he convinced his wife to give their one-year-old daughter Lieserl, who was born in 1902 and distracted the man from scientific activities, to another family, where the baby soon died from scarlet fever and improper care.

In 1904, the couple had a son, Hans Albert, and in 1910, Eduard, who later became ill with schizophrenia and was sent by his father forever to a psychiatric hospital. The eldest son grew up gloomy and unsociable; as an adult, he refused to study theoretical physics, disliking his father for his attitude towards his mother and brother. The family broke up due to Albert's infidelity in 1914, he left for Berlin. As a divorce settlement, Albert gave Marich 32 thousand dollars - a prize for the discovery of the photoelectric effect.

After the divorce, the physicist married his cousin Elsa, who raised two daughters from a previous marriage - the youngest Margot and a girl of marriageable age named Ilse. At first, Einstein had tender feelings for the latter, but having received a refusal, he settled on her mother.

Unlike the first wife, the cousin was a narrow-minded woman and turned a blind eye to her husband’s infidelities. Albert adored the fairer sex, and many beauties, including Margot, were in love with him. The scientist was also passionate about sailing. He liked to go on a yacht alone. In music and literature he was a conservative - he loved the classics.

Death

The eccentric genius with a pipe and tousled hair was incredibly popular. Streets, towers, telescopes, a crater on the Moon, and a quasar were named after him. In 1955, his health condition deteriorated greatly. He went to the clinic and was calm and peaceful while awaiting his death.

On the eve of his death on April 18 from a ruptured aorta, he destroyed the manuscript of his latest research. What made him do this remains a mystery to this day.

After autopsying the scientist's body, pathologist Thomas Harvey made an interesting observation. In the left hemisphere of Einstein's brain, there was an abnormal number of glial cells that "feed" neurons. And, as you know, the left hemisphere is responsible for logic and “exact sciences”. Also, despite the genius’s advanced age, there were practically no degenerative changes in his brain that are typical of older people.

Albert Einstein's famous living descendants include his great-grandchildren Thomas, Paul, Edward and Mira Einstein. Thomas is a doctor who runs a clinic in Los Angeles. Paul plays the violin. Edward (whom everyone simply calls Ted) once abandoned high school and built successful business- He has a furniture store. Mira works in the field of telemarketing and free time plays musical instruments.

One of the most famous personalities the first half of the 20th century was Albert Einstein. This great scientist achieved a lot in his life, becoming not only Nobel laureate, but also radically changed scientific ideas about the Universe.

He has written about 300 scientific works on physics and about 150 books and articles in various fields of knowledge.

Born in 1879 in Germany, he lived for 76 years, dying on April 18, 1955 in the United States, where he worked for the last 15 years of his life.

Some of Einstein's contemporaries said that communicating with him was like the fourth dimension. Of course, she is often surrounded by a halo of glory and various legends. That is why there are often cases when certain moments from their enthusiastic fans are deliberately exaggerated.

We offer you interesting facts from the life of Albert Einstein.

Photo from 1947

As we said at the beginning, Albert Einstein was extremely famous. Therefore, when random passers-by stopped him on the street, asking in a jubilant voice if it was him, the scientist often said: “No, sorry, they always confuse me with Einstein!”

One day he was asked what the speed of sound is. To this the great physicist replied: “I do not have the habit of remembering things that can easily be found in a book.”

It is curious that little Albert developed very slowly as a child. His parents were worried that he would be retarded, since he began to speak tolerably only at the age of 7. It is believed that he had a form of autism, possibly Asperger's Syndrome.

Well known great love Einstein to music. He learned to play the violin as a child and carried it with him all his life.

One day, while reading a newspaper, the scientist came across an article that talked about whole family died due to a leak of sulfur dioxide from a faulty refrigerator. Deciding that this was a mess, Albert Einstein, together with his former student, invented a refrigerator with a different, safer principle of operation. The invention was called “Einstein’s Refrigerator.”

It is known that the great physicist had an active civic position. He was an ardent supporter of the civil rights movement and declared that Jews in Germany and blacks in America had equal rights. “Ultimately, we are all human,” he said.

Albert Einstein was a convinced man and spoke out strongly against all Nazism.

Surely everyone has seen the photograph where the scientist sticks out his tongue. An interesting fact is that this photo was taken on the eve of his 72nd birthday. Tired of cameras, Albert Einstein stuck out his tongue at yet another request to smile. Now all over the world this photograph is not only known, but also interpreted by everyone in their own way, giving it a metaphysical meaning.

The fact is that when signing one of the photographs with his tongue hanging out, the genius said that his gesture was addressed to all of humanity. How can we do without metaphysics! By the way, contemporaries always emphasized the scientist’s subtle humor and ability to make witty jokes.

It is known that Einstein was Jewish by nationality. So, in 1952, when the state of Israel was just beginning to form into a full-fledged power, the great scientist was offered the presidency. Of course, the physicist flatly refused such a high post, citing the fact that he was a scientist and did not have enough experience to govern the country.

On the eve of his death, he was offered to undergo surgery, but he refused, saying that “artificial prolongation of life makes no sense.” In general, all the visitors who came to see the dying genius noted his absolute calm, and even cheerful mood. He expected death as an ordinary natural phenomenon, such as rain. In this it is somewhat reminiscent of .

An interesting fact is that the last words of Albert Einstein are unknown. He spoke them in German, which his American nurse did not know.

Taking advantage of his incredible popularity, the scientist for some time charged one dollar for each autograph. He donated the proceeds to charity.

After one scientific dialogue with his colleagues, Albert Einstein said: “God does not play dice.” To which Niels Bohr objected: “Stop telling God what to do!”

Interestingly, the scientist never considered himself an atheist. But he also did not believe in a personal God. It is certain that he stated that he preferred humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual awareness. Apparently, until his death he never decided on this concept, remaining a humble questioner.

There is a misconception that Albert Einstein was not very good at . In fact, at the age of 15 he had already mastered differential and integral calculus.

Einstein at 14

Having received a check for $1,500 from the Rockefeller Foundation, the great physicist used it as a bookmark for a book. But, alas, he lost this book.

In general, there were legends about his absent-mindedness. One day Einstein was riding on a Berlin tram and was thinking intently about something. The conductor, who did not recognize him, received the wrong amount for the ticket and corrected him. And indeed, rummaging in his pocket, the great scientist discovered the missing coins and paid. “It’s okay, grandpa,” said the conductor, “you just need to learn arithmetic.”

Interestingly, Albert Einstein never wore socks. He did not give any special explanations about this, but even at the most formal events his shoes were worn on bare feet.

It sounds incredible, but Einstein's brain was stolen. After his death in 1955, pathologist Thomas Harvey removed the scientist's brain and took photographs of it from different angles. Then, cutting the brain into many small pieces, he sent them to various laboratories for 40 years to be examined by the best neurologists in the world.

It is noteworthy that the scientist, during his lifetime, agreed to have his brain examined after his death. But he did not consent to the theft of Thomas Harvey!

In general, the will of the brilliant physicist was to be cremated after death, which was done, but only, as you already guessed, without a brain. Even during his lifetime, Einstein was an ardent opponent of any cult of personality, so he did not want his grave to become a place of pilgrimage. His ashes were scattered to the wind.

An interesting fact is that Albert Einstein became interested in science as a child. When he was 5 years old, he fell ill with something. His father, to calm him down, showed him a compass. Little Albert was amazed that the arrow constantly pointed in one direction, no matter how he turned this mysterious device. He decided that there was some force that made the arrow behave this way. By the way, after the scientist became famous throughout the world, this story was often told.

Albert Einstein was very fond of the “Maxims” of the outstanding French thinker and political figure François de La Rochefoucauld. He re-read them constantly.

In general, in literature, the genius of physics preferred Bertolt Brecht.

Einstein at the Patent Office (1905)

At the age of 17, Albert Einstein wanted to enter the Swiss Higher Technical School in Zurich. However, he only passed the math exam and failed all the others. For this reason, he had to go to a vocational school. A year later, he still managed to pass the required exams.

When the radicals took the rector and several professors hostage in 1914, Albert Einstein, along with Max Born, went to negotiate. They managed to find a common language with the rioters, and the situation was resolved peacefully. From this we can conclude that the scientist was not a timid person.

By the way, here is an extremely rare photo of the master. We'll do without any comments - just admire the genius!

Albert Einstein at a lecture

Another interesting fact that not everyone knows. Einstein was first nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1910 for his theory of relativity. However, the committee found her evidence insufficient. Further, every year (!), except 1911 and 1915, he was recommended for this prestigious award by various physicists.

And only in November 1922 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1921. A diplomatic way out of the awkward situation was found. Einstein was awarded the prize not for the theory of relativity, but for the theory of the photoelectric effect, although the text of the decision included a postscript: “... and for other work in the field of theoretical physics.”

As a result, we see that one of the greatest physicists, considered to be, was awarded only the tenth time. Why is this such a stretch? Very fertile ground for lovers of conspiracy theories.

Did you know that Master Yoda's face from the movie " Star wars» based on images of Einstein? The facial expressions of a genius were used as a prototype.

Despite the fact that the scientist died back in 1955, he confidently occupies 7th place in the “” list. Annual income from sales of Baby Einstein products is more than $10 million.

There is a common belief that Albert Einstein was a vegetarian. But this is not true. In principle, he supported this movement, but he himself began to follow a vegetarian diet about a year before his death.

Einstein's personal life

In 1903, Albert Einstein married his classmate Mileva Maric, who was 4 years older than him.

The year before they had a baby illegitimate daughter. However, due to financial difficulties, the young father insisted on giving the child to Mileva’s wealthy but childless relatives, who themselves wanted this. In general, it must be said that the physicist did his best to hide this dark story. Therefore, there is no detailed information about this daughter. Some biographers believe that she died in childhood.

Albert Einstein and Mileva Maric (first wife)

When did it start scientific career Albert Einstein, success and travel around the world affected his relationship with Mileva. They were on the verge of divorce, but then, nevertheless, they agreed on one strange contract. Einstein invited his wife to continue living together, provided that she agreed to his demands:

Keep his clothes and room (especially his desk) clean.
Bring breakfast, lunch and dinner to your room regularly.
Complete renunciation of marital relations.
Stop talking when he asks.
Leave his room upon request.

Surprisingly, the wife agreed to these conditions, humiliating for any woman, and they lived together for some time. Although later Mileva Maric still could not stand her husband’s constant betrayals and after 16 years of marriage they divorced.

It is interesting that two years before his first marriage he wrote to his beloved:

“...I have lost my mind, I am dying, I am burning with love and desire. The pillow you sleep on is a hundred times happier than my heart! You come to me at night, but, unfortunately, only in a dream...”

But then everything went according to Dostoevsky: “From love to hate there is one step.” The feelings quickly cooled down and were a burden for both.

By the way, before the divorce, Einstein promised that if he received Nobel Prize(and this happened in 1922), he will give it all to Mileva. The divorce took place, but he did not give away the money received from the Nobel Committee ex-wife, but only allowed her to use interest from them.

In total, they had three children: two legitimate sons and one illegitimate daughter, which we have already talked about. Einstein's youngest son Eduard had great abilities. But as a student, he suffered a severe nervous breakdown, as a result of which he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Entering a psychiatric hospital at age 21, he spent most of his life there, dying at age 55. Albert Einstein himself could not come to terms with the idea that he had a mentally ill son. There are letters in which he complains that it would be better if he had never been born.

Mileva Maric (first wife) and Einstein's two sons

Einstein had an extremely bad relationship with his eldest son Hans. And until the death of the scientist. Biographers believe that this is directly related to the fact that he did not give the Nobel Prize to his wife, as promised, but only the interest. Hans is the only successor to the Einstein family, although his father bequeathed an extremely small inheritance to him.

It is important to emphasize here that after the divorce, Mileva Maric suffered from depression for a long time and was treated by various psychoanalysts. Albert Einstein felt guilty about her all his life.

However, the great physicist was a real ladies' man. After divorcing his first wife, he literally immediately married his cousin (on his mother’s side) Elsa. During this marriage, he had many mistresses, which Elsa knew very well. Moreover, they spoke freely on this topic. Apparently, the official status of the wife of a world-famous scientist was enough for Elsa.

Albert Einstein and Elsa (second wife)

This second wife of Albert Einstein was also divorced, had two daughters and, like the physicist’s first wife, was three years older than her scientist husband. Despite the fact that they did not have children together, they lived together until Elsa's death in 1936.

An interesting fact is that Einstein initially considered marrying Elsa’s daughter, who was 18 years younger than him. However, she did not agree, so she had to marry her mother.

Stories from the life of Einstein

Stories from the lives of great people are always extremely interesting. Although, to be objective, any person in this sense is of enormous interest. It’s just that more attention is always paid to outstanding representatives of humanity. We are pleased to idealize the image of a genius, attributing to him supernatural actions, words and phrases.

Count to three

One day Albert Einstein was at a party. Knowing that the great scientist was fond of playing the violin, the owners asked him to play together with the composer Hans Eisler, who was present here. After preparations, they tried to play.

However, Einstein just couldn’t keep up with the beat, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t even play the introduction properly. Then Eisler rose from the piano and said:

“I don’t understand why the whole world considers a man great who can’t count to three!”

Brilliant violinist

They say that Albert Einstein once performed at a charity concert together with the famous cellist Grigory Pyatigorsky. There was a journalist in the hall who was supposed to write a report about the concert. Turning to one of the listeners and pointing to Einstein, he asked in a whisper:

- Do you know the name of this man with a mustache and a violin?

- What are you talking about! - the lady exclaimed. - After all, this is the great Einstein himself!

Embarrassed, the journalist thanked her and began frantically writing something in his notebook. The next day, an article appeared in the newspaper that an outstanding composer and incomparable violin virtuoso named Einstein, who eclipsed Pyatigorsky himself with his skill, performed at the concert.

This amused Einstein so much, who was already very fond of humor, that he cut out this note, and on occasion said to his friends:

- Do you think I'm a scientist? This is a deep misconception! I'm actually a famous violinist!

Great Thoughts

Another interesting case is that of a journalist who asked Einstein where he wrote down his great thoughts. To this the scientist replied, looking at the reporter’s thick diary:

“Young man, truly great thoughts come so rarely that they are not at all difficult to remember!”

Time and eternity

Once an American journalist, attacking the famous physicist, asked him what the difference between time and eternity was. To this Albert Einstein replied:

“If I had time to explain this to you, an eternity would pass before you could understand it.”

Two celebrities

In the first half of the 20th century, only two people were truly global celebrities: Einstein and Charlie Chaplin. After the release of the film “Gold Rush,” the scientist wrote a telegram to the comedian with the following content:

“I admire your film, which is understandable to the whole world. You will undoubtedly become a great man."

To which Chaplin replied:

“I admire you even more! Your theory of relativity is incomprehensible to anyone in the world, and yet you have become a great man.”

It doesn't matter

We have already written about Albert Einstein’s absent-mindedness. But here is another example from his life.

One day, walking down the street and thinking about the meaning of life and global problems humanity, he met his old friend, whom he automatically invited to dinner:

- Come this evening, Professor Stimson will be our guest.

- But I am Stimson! – the interlocutor exclaimed.

“It doesn’t matter, come anyway,” Einstein said absentmindedly.

Colleague

One day, while walking along the corridor of Princeton University, Albert Einstein met a young physicist who had no merit to science except an uncontrolled ego. Having caught up with the famous scientist, the young man tapped him familiarly on the shoulder and asked:

- How are you, colleague?

“How,” Einstein was surprised, “do you also suffer from rheumatism?”

He really couldn't be denied a sense of humor!

Everything except money

One journalist asked Einstein's wife what she thought of her great husband.

“Oh, my husband is a real genius,” answered the wife, “he knows how to do absolutely everything except money!”

Einstein Quotes

Do you think it's that simple? Yes, it's simple. But not at all like that.

Anyone who wants to see the results of their labor immediately should become a shoemaker.

Theory is when everything is known, but nothing works. Practice is when everything works, but no one knows why. We combine theory and practice: nothing works... and no one knows why!

There are only two infinite things: the Universe and stupidity. Although I'm not sure about the Universe.

Everyone knows that this is impossible. But then comes an ignorant person who doesn’t know this - he makes a discovery.

I don't know what weapon the third one will be fought with world war, but the fourth - with sticks and stones.

Only a fool needs order - genius rules over chaos.

There are only two ways to live life. The first is as if miracles do not exist. The second one is like there are only miracles all around.

Education is what remains after everything learned at school is forgotten.

We are all geniuses. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life thinking it is stupid.

Only those who make absurd attempts will be able to achieve the impossible.

The greater my fame, the more stupid I become; and this is undoubtedly the general rule.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited while imagination is expansive the whole world, stimulating progress, giving rise to evolution.

You will never solve a problem if you think the same way as those who created it.

If the theory of relativity is confirmed, then the Germans will say that I am a German, and the French will say that I am a citizen of the world; but if my theory is refuted, the French will declare me a German, and the Germans a Jew.

Mathematics is the only perfect method for fooling yourself.

Through coincidences, God maintains anonymity.

Name: Albert Einstein

Age: 76 years old

Place of birth: Ulm, Germany

Place of death: Princeton, New Jersey, USA

Activity: Theoretical physicist

Marital status: was married

Albert Einstein - biography

2005 marked one hundred years since the theory of relativity was published. Albert Einstein. The brilliant scientist has long become a mythological figure of the 20th century, the embodiment of an eccentric genius, for whom nothing existed except science. But the great physicist also had a stormy personal life, the details of which he carefully concealed.

Several “bombs” exploded almost simultaneously. In 1996, Einstein's papers, which had previously been kept in a shoebox by his son Hans Albert, were published. There were diaries, notes, letters from Einstein to his first wife Mileva and other women. These documents refuted the idea that the great scientist was almost an ascetic. It turned out that love interested him no less than science. This was confirmed by letters to Margarita Konenkova put up for auction in New York in 1998. Last love Einstein was the wife of the famous sculptor Konenkov and, most sensationally, a Soviet spy.

But let's return to the beginning of the biography, the life of the future scientist. Albert Einstein was born in the southern German town of Ulm on March 14, 1879. His Jewish ancestors had lived in these areas for three hundred years and had long adopted local customs and religion. Einstein's father was an unsuccessful businessman, his mother was a powerful and zealous housewife. Subsequently, the scientist never said who was the head of the family - father German or mother Polina.

He did not answer the question of which parent he owed his talents to. “My only talent is extreme curiosity,” said Einstein. That's how it was: with early childhood he was preoccupied with questions that seemed trivial to others. He strove to get to the bottom of everything and find out how all things work.

When his sister Maya was born, they explained to him that now he could play with her. “How does she figure it out?” - two-year-old Albert asked interestedly. He was not allowed to disassemble his sister, but she suffered a lot from her brother: he was subject to fits of rage. Once he almost hit her head with a child’s spatula. “The thinker’s sister must have a strong skull,” Maya noted philosophically in her memoirs.

Until the age of seven, Einstein spoke poorly and reluctantly. At school, teachers and classmates thought he was stupid. During recess, he did not run with his peers, but hid in a corner with a math book. From the age of seven, Albert was interested only in the exact sciences, in which he was the best in his class. In other subjects, his report card showed fat twos.

The teachers were especially angry that Albert mocked Kaiser Wilhelm's warlike policies and did not understand the need for military training. The Greek teacher even told Einstein that he was undermining the foundations of the school, after which the young man decided to leave this educational institution.

He went to Zurich to enter the prestigious Higher Polytechnic School. But this required passing exams in history and French, and, of course, Einstein failed. Then he entered school in the neighboring town of Aarau and rented a room in the house of teacher Winteler.

The young man's first love was the teacher's daughter Marie Winteler, who was two years older than Albert. Young people walked in the park and wrote tender letters to each other. They were brought closer together common love to music: Marie was a pianist and often accompanied Albert when he played the violin. But the romance quickly ended: Einstein graduated from school and went to Zurich to study at the Polytechnic.

During his four years of study, Einstein developed his talents in disputes with fellow students who made up the so-called “Olympian circle.” After receiving his diploma, Albert spent several years trying to find a job. Only in 1902 did he get a job at the Zurich Patent Office. It was in this “secular monastery,” as Einstein called it, that he made his major discoveries.

Five small articles in the journal "Annals of Physics", published in 1905, turned over world science. The famous formula E = ms\, which defined the relationship between mass and energy, laid the foundation for nuclear physics. Special significance had a special theory of relativity, according to which space and time were not constant quantities, as previously thought.

While studying at the Polytechnic of Zurich, Einstein met there a Serbian student, Mileva Maric, who was studying at the Faculty of Medicine. They married in 1903 and had three children.

The doctors gave the daughter a disappointing diagnosis: developmental delay. Soon the baby died.

A few years later, his wife gave Einstein two sons, but he did not feel affection for them either. One of the boys was suffering mental disorder and spent most of his life in a specialized clinic. The doctors never saw the famous father among his visitors.

Albert and Mileva occasionally found time for walks around Zurich. They argued about physics and enjoyed coffee and cake with their last money - both had desperate sweet tooths. He called her his little witch, savage and little frog, she called him “Johnny”.

However, it cannot be said that the biography of their personal life was serene. Einstein became famous, people sought his company beautiful women, and Mileva’s years did not add to her prettiness. The knowledge of this made her furiously jealous. She could grab the hair of some beauty right on the street that her Johnny was staring at. If it turned out that he was going to visit, where there would be beautiful ladies, then a scandal would begin and plates would fly to the floor.

In addition, Mileva turned out to be a bad housewife - the house was in disarray, the dishes were always unwashed, and scrambled eggs and sausage were served for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The absent-minded Einstein ate whatever he could and as a result developed a stomach ulcer. In the end, he could not stand it and forced his wife to sign the agreement.

She undertook to serve him food three times a day, wash his clothes, and not enter his office without knocking. But even after that, almost nothing changed. Coming to Einstein, friends found him with a book on mathematics in one hand, with the other hand he was rocking a stroller with a screaming child, while not letting go of his pipe and being completely shrouded in smoke.

By that time, Einstein's illusions about marriage had long since dissipated. He wrote to his sister: “Marriage is an unsuccessful attempt to create something lasting from a short episode.” Quarrels with Mileva continued, the matter worsened family drama - youngest son Edward suffered from a mental disorder. It turned out that among Mileva’s relatives there were schizophrenics.

Home life became hell - especially after their maid Fanny gave birth to a child, whose father Mileva considered Albert. During quarrels, both spouses used their fists, then Mileva cried, Einstein calmed her down... As a result, he practically fled to Berlin, leaving his wife and children in Switzerland.

Their meetings became increasingly rare, and in 1919, Einstein, who had had another woman for a long time, persuaded his wife to divorce. As compensation, he promised to give her the Nobel Prize, having no doubt that he would soon receive it. Einstein kept his word - the prize awarded to him in 1922 went entirely to Mileva and her sons.

Since then, Mileva lived alone in Zurich, not communicating with her former acquaintances and falling deeper and deeper into melancholy. She died in 1948, after which her son Edward was placed in psychiatric clinic. Another son, Hans Albert, went to the USA, where he became a famous engineer and creator of underwater structures. He had a close relationship with his father, and Hans Albert kept Einstein's archive until his death.

Second and last wife His cousin Elsa Leventhal became a scientist. By the time they met, she was no longer young and was raising two daughters from her first husband. They met in Berlin, where Einstein arrived in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War. Their relationship was rather strange - he tried to look after not only Elsa, but also her younger sister Paula, as well as her 17-year-old daughter Ilsa.

By that time, Elsa was the mistress of the famous Don Juan Doctor Nikolai, who, in turn, also courted young Ilsa in every possible way. She even admitted in a letter to Dr. Nikolai: “I know that Albert loves me as much as perhaps no man will love me, he even told me about it himself yesterday.”

The romantic girl was going to marry Einstein, but in the end he preferred her mother. They got married immediately after their divorce from Mileva. Elsa was neither young nor beautiful, but she was an ideal housewife and secretary. Now Einstein could always count on three meals a day, clean linen and the peace necessary for scientific work.

He and his wife slept in separate bedrooms, and she had no right to enter his office at all. Not to mention the fact that Einstein forbade her to interfere in his personal life, which in those years remained very turbulent.

He also had longer-term hobbies - for example, the young and beautiful Betty Neumann, whom he officially settled in the house as a secretary (Elsa did not object). The banker's widow Toni Mendel took Einstein to the theater in her own limousine, and from there to her villa. He returned home only in the morning.

Then she was replaced by the famous pianist Margaret Lebach, who accompanied the scientist when he played the violin. At times, Elsa still rebelled and burst into tears, but Einstein was able to convince his upset wife that he was truly attached only to her. Her daughters Ilse and Margot always took the side of “dear Albert” - after all, his money and fame provided them with fashionable outfits and eligible bachelors.

The same arguments had an effect on Elsa, and the strange family life continued. IN big house there was room for Einstein's younger sister Maya and his permanent secretary Hélène Dukas, who, according to some allegations, was also his mistress.

In the early twenties, Nazism was gaining strength in Germany, and threats were made against “Jewish scientists.” Einstein was also included in this list. Fearing for his own life, the physicist remembered his Jewish roots and actively became involved in the movement for the creation of Israel (later he was even offered the post of president of this country).

In America, he was enthusiastically greeted by the Jewish community. In 1933, while in the States, Einstein learned about the Nazis coming to power. He immediately renounced his German citizenship and asked for political asylum in the United States. America accepted him, Einstein received a professorship at Princeton University.

The family left Germany with him. The move worsened Elsa's health, and she died in 1936. Albert reacted to her death philosophically - at that time he was more interested in the fight against fascism. He opposed the persecution of Jews in Germany, and together with other American scientists appealed to Roosevelt with a request for the speedy creation of nuclear weapons.

The famous physicist even made theoretical calculations for the first nuclear bomb. After the war, Einstein was the first to advocate disarmament - and came under FBI suspicion as a “Communist agent.” Hoover's office did not know how close it was to the truth - an agent of Moscow settled in the scientist's house. Moreover, in his bed.

In 1935, the sculptor Konenkov, an emigrant from Russia, visited Princeton to sculpt a bust of the great physicist. His wife came with him - a charming, slender brunette who looked much younger than her age. Margarita turned forty, in the past she had affairs with Chaliapin and Rachmaninov. Einstein immediately liked her and began to visit his house often - first with her husband, and then alone.

To lull Konenkov's suspicions, the scientist helped Margarita obtain a medical certificate that she was sick and only the healing climate of Lake Saranac could help her. There at Einstein's strange coincidence, there was summer house.

Konenkov still did not get rid of suspicions, but Margarita firmly said that “friends in Moscow” consider her friendship with the physicist useful. Moreover, it is necessary for returning to the homeland, which the sculptor so dreamed of. “Friends” worked at Lubyanka, and Margarita had already carried out their instructions more than once.

Konenkova settled next to the physicist for seven whole years. They invented their own “lovers’ dictionary,” the things they shared were called “Almars,” and the apartment in Princeton was lovingly called the “nest.” There they spent almost every evening - he wrote sonnets for her, and she read aloud, combed his famous gray curls and talked about the wonderful country of Russia. Einstein always loved being on the water, and on weekends the couple went on boat trips.

Along the way, he shared with her news about the American nuclear program, which Margarita transmitted to Moscow. In August 1945, she arranged a meeting between Einstein and the Soviet vice-consul (and, naturally, intelligence officer) Mikhailov, who received a detailed report on the first tests atomic bomb in New Mexico. Soon after this, the Konenkovs returned to Soviet Union.

For some time, correspondence between the lovers remained. In his letters, Einstein complained about illnesses, complained that without her their “nest” was empty, and hoped that she had settled well in her “coarsened country.” Replies from her rarely came, and the scientist was indignant: “You don’t receive my letters, I don’t receive yours.

Despite what people say about my keen scientific mind, I am completely unable to solve this problem.” The Soviet secret services did everything to prevent their communication - Margarita completed her task, and now she was to become an exemplary wife of a patriotic sculptor.

At the end of her life, no one would recognize the former beauty in the overweight elderly woman. Margarita Konenkova died in Moscow in 1980. Einstein knew nothing about her fate. He still lived in Princeton, arguing with opponents, playing the violin and sending telegrams to peace forums.

Einstein tried to live up to that ideal image, in which the whole world now knew him. His girlfriend recent years became the Czech librarian Johanna Fantova. The scientist trusted her with his last thoughts about science, which had never managed to save humanity from hardships and wars.

His life is a strange combination of brilliant intellect and spiritual callousness. He didn't happy women who were dear to him. The scientific mind was powerless to unravel the mysteries human relations. He was too busy with physics to look for the formula for ideal love.

One of the greatest minds of the twentieth century. The scientist’s main scientific discovery is the theory of relativity. He formulated the partial theory of relativity in 1905, and the general theory ten years later. A whole book could be written about the scientist’s scientific discoveries, but unfortunately, we do not have such an opportunity.

Einstein received worldwide recognition during his lifetime. Albert won the Nobel Prize in Physics. The scientist received an honorary award for his theoretical explanation of the photoelectric effect. In his theory, he explained the existence of photons, the so-called quanta of light. The theory was of great practical importance and had a great influence on the development of quantum theory. The scientist’s theories are extremely difficult to understand and perceive, but their fundamental nature can only be compared with discoveries. Einstein's uniqueness lies in the fact that the authorship of his discoveries is undeniable. We know that scientists often made many discoveries together, often without knowing it. This, for example, happened with Cheyne and Flory, who jointly discovered penicillin, and this happened with Niepce and many others. But this was not the case with Einstein.

Biography of Einstein very interesting and complete interesting facts. Albert was born in Germany in the city of Ulm in 1879. He graduated from high school in neighboring Switzerland, and soon received Swiss citizenship. In 1905, at the University of Zurich, the young man received a doctorate in philosophical sciences. At this time, it is actively unfolding scientific activity. He publishes a number of works: the theory of Brownian motion, the photoelectric effect and the special theory of relativity. Soon these reports would become Albert’s calling card; the world would recognize his contemporary as a genius, a brilliant and promising scientist. The scientist’s theories will stir up the scientific community, and serious controversy will flare up around his theories. Not one scientist in the world has been subjected to such discussion and such criticism. In 1913, Albert became a professor at the University of Berlin and the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics, as well as a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences.

The new positions allowed him to engage in science at any time in any quantity. It is unlikely that the German government ever regretted its favor towards the scientist. A few years later he would be awarded the Nobel Prize, raising the prestige of German science to the skies. In 1933, Einstein moved to the USA, to the state of New Jersey, to the city of Princeton. In seven years he will receive citizenship. The great scientist died in 1955. Einstein was always interested in politics and was aware of everyone. He was a convinced pacifist, an opponent of political tyranny, and at the same time was a supporter of Zionism. They say that in matters of clothing he was always an individualist; his contemporaries noted his excellent sense of humor, natural modesty and remarkable talents. Albert played the violin beautifully.