Last Updated on February 23, 2024
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Albert Einstein’s one of the greatest minds to have ever graced this planet. He was a genius in his field, and spent most of his life devoted to science.
Arguably the most influential theoretical physicist, Einstein’s many contributions to modern physics have helped us to understand the rules of this universe.
Many of us know Einstein for his popular equation, E=mc², the mass-energy equivalence principle. Einstein had many other accomplishments in his lifetime.
His paper on the photoelectric effect became the foundation for quantum mechanics, and his general theory of relativity showed us what space-time looks like. Einstein contributed greatly to modern physics.
Early Life
Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Württemberg, Germany. He came from a Jewish family, and was the son of Hermann Einstein and Pauline Koch. Einstein had most of his early education in Munich. At the age of 12, he taught himself Algebra and Euclidean Geometry. In 1894, at the age of 15, he and his family moved to Italy.
Einstein had a difficult time in university. He would cut classes and his professors looked down on him. Due to this, Einstein found it tough to look for work after graduating.
His father would write and submit job applications for him, until Einstein finally landed a job as an assistant examiner at the patent office in Zurich, Switzerland. Here, he would review and analyze patent applications for six days every week.
This experience honed his skills as a physicist. Because of how fast he reviewed patents, he gained more and more time to ponder about the structure of our universe. He wanted to explain everything in terms of mathematics. He wanted an equation that would explain the laws of our world.
While working at the patent office, he slowly built his ideas and kept them in a little drawer in his office. He called this little drawer the “Department of Theoretical Physics.” He would work on these ideas during his free time.
In 1905, at the age of 26, Einstein published four scientific papers, which absolutely transformed modern physics. One of those papers earned him a Nobel Prize. This was an amazing feat that instantly put him on the map.
Miracle Year Papers
The year 1905 was called Annus Mirabilis, a Latin term that means miracle year. This year marked a revolution in the realm of physics. Einstein’s work changed how people perceived the world.
Einstein submitted papers about the Brownian motion, special theory of relativity, photoelectric effect, and the equivalence of mass and energy.
He would later win the Nobel Prize for his contributions to theoretical physics and his work on the photoelectric effect. In this paper, he would explain that light acted both like a particle and a wave. This work became the foundation for quantum mechanics, a major branch in today’s modern physics.
These works allowed him a better career in the realm of physics. For the next decade, Einstein focused on his theory of special relativity, and would later develop it into the theory of general relativity.
Later Years
Einstein was recognized as a leading scientist after the second World War. He eventually became the president of the German Physical Society in 1916. With the help of mathematicians, he developed his theory of special relativity and coined it the theory of general relativity.
This theory states that light from another star is bent by our sun’s gravity. In May 1919, his predictions were confirmed, making him famous worldwide.
In 1922, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his services in theoretical physics and specifically for his work on the photoelectric effect. Einstein often travelled to many countries to give lectures. By that time, he was renowned and received numerous invitations as a guest speaker.
US Citizenship and the Manhattan Project
During the reign of Adolf Hitler, Einstein renounced his German heritage and left Germany for good. He stayed in the US and took up a position in the Institute for Advanced Study. In 1935, Einstein applied for a US citizenship, and became an American citizen by 1940.
In 1939, word spread that the Nazis were researching about atomic bombs. Although a pacifist, Einstein and the other refugees regarded it as their responsibility to alert the Americans about this.
Because of this, he sent a letter to then-president Theodore Roosevelt, urging him to look into America’s nuclear research. This led to the Manhattan Project, which focused on the research and development of nuclear weapons.
When Einstein knew about the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, he instantly joined the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists. Einstein said a year before his death, in 1954, that sending the recommendation to Theodore Roosevelt was a great mistake in his life.
Here are 100 quotes from Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist and genius:
Albert Einstein Quotes
“Genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work…” – Albert Einstein
“I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be.” – Albert Einstein
“I’d rather be an optimist and a fool than a pessimist and right.” – Albert Einstein
“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” – Albert Einstein
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
“I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university.” – Albert Einstein
“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” – Albert Einstein
“A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?” – Albert Einstein
“Nothing happens until something moves.” – Albert Einstein
“Only those who attempt the absurd can achieve the impossible.” – Albert Einstein
“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” – Albert Einstein
“If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.” – Albert Einstein
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” – Albert Einstein
“A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it.” – Albert Einstein
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein
“The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” – Albert Einstein
“A true genius admits that he/she knows nothing.” – Albert Einstein
“If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.” – Albert Einstein
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” – Albert Einstein
“I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.” – Albert Einstein
“What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right.” – Albert Einstein
“We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams.” – Albert Einstein
“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” – Albert Einstein
“The best way to cheer yourself is to cheer somebody else up.” – Albert Einstein
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” – Albert Einstein
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” – Albert Einstein
“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.” – Albert Einstein
“Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.” – Albert Einstein
“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein
“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” – Albert Einstein
“When the solution is simple, God is answering.” – Albert Einstein
“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” – Albert Einstein
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein
“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” – Albert Einstein
“Human beings must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it.” – Albert Einstein
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” – Albert Einstein
“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” – Albert Einstein
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein
“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” – Albert Einstein
“The only source of knowledge is experience.” – Albert Einstein
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein
“Force always attracts men of low morality.” – Albert Einstein
“The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.” – Albert Einstein
“Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools.” – Albert Einstein
“A ship is always safe at the shore – but that is NOT what it is built for.” – Albert Einstein
“We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.” – Albert Einstein
“The only real valuable thing is intuition.” – Albert Einstein
“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” – Albert Einstein
“The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.” – Albert Einstein
“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” – Albert Einstein
“Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.” – Albert Einstein
“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” – Albert Einstein
“I believe in intuitions and inspirations…I sometimes FEEL that I am right. I do not KNOW that I am.” – Albert Einstein
“The only way to escape the corruptible effect of praise is to go on working.” – Albert Einstein
“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” – Albert Einstein
“Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.” – Albert Einstein
“To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.” – Albert Einstein
“God always takes the simplest way.” – Albert Einstein
“Small is the number of people who see with their eyes and think with their minds.” – Albert Einstein
“Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.” – Albert Einstein
“Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift.” – Albert Einstein
“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious. – Albert Einstein
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” – Albert Einstein
“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” – Albert Einstein
“Before God we are all equally wise – and equally foolish.” – Albert Einstein
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” – Albert Einstein
“I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation and is but a reflection of human frailty.” – Albert Einstein
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” – Albert Einstein
“A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?” – Albert Einstein
“The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.” – Albert Einstein
“Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.” – Albert Einstein
“If the facts don’t fit the theory, change the facts.” – Albert Einstein
“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” – Albert Einstein
“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” – Albert Einstein
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein
“The faster you go, the shorter you are.” – Albert Einstein
“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.” – Albert Einstein
“My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.” – Albert Einstein
“I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.” – Albert Einstein
“The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.” – Albert Einstein
“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.” – Albert Einstein
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.” – Albert Einstein
“The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax.” – Albert Einstein
“Information is not knowledge.” – Albert Einstein
“Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.” – Albert Einstein
“Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today’s events.” – Albert Einstein
“If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor.” – Albert Einstein
“Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized.” – Albert Einstein
“Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.” – Albert Einstein
“In order to be an immaculate member of a flock of sheep, one must above all be a sheep oneself.” – Albert Einstein
“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” – Albert Einstein
“The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” – Albert Einstein
“Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy.” – Albert Einstein
“We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.” – Albert Einstein
“The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there’s no risk of accident for someone who’s dead.” – Albert Einstein
“It is only to the individual that a soul is given.” – Albert Einstein
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein
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