His Life
A life as a journey
Born in Ulm in 1879, died in Princeton in 1955: in between lie 11 places, two marriages, a miracle year, an escape and a letter to the US president warning of the atomic bomb. Here are all the ways in.
The stations
Each station leads to the matching chapter. The life map shows them where they are.
- 1879–1880UlmEarly Life
- 1880–1894MunichEarly Life
- 1894–1895PaviaEarly Life
- 1895–1896AarauEarly Life
- 1896–1900ZurichEarly Life
- 1902–1909Bern1905
- 1909–1911ZurichExile & Princeton
- 1911–1912PragueGeneral Relativity
- 1912–1914ZurichGeneral Relativity
- 1914–1932BerlinExile & Princeton
- 1929–1932CaputhExile & Princeton
- 1933De HaanExile & Princeton
- 1933–1955PrincetonLater Years
The 13 chapters
The story in chapters, sorted by theme. At the end of each chapter you can go on through his life – or deeper into the physics.
Life & Times
01
Early Life & Education
Ulm, Munich, a rebellious schoolboy and the road to Zurich (1879–1900). Read Image: Authorities of the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Source)
08
Family & Personal Life
Mileva, Elsa, his children — love, brilliance and heartbreak. with experimentRead Image: Unknown author (ETH-Bibliothek Zürich). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Source)
09
Exile & Princeton
Fleeing Nazi Germany and a new life in the United States. with experimentRead Image: Al Aumuller, New York World-Telegram & Sun. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Source)
10
Pacifism, Rights & Zionism
A scientist who would not stay silent on war, racism and freedom. Read Image: Archivo General de la Nación, Argentina. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Source)
12
Later Years & the Final Quest
The unified field theory, Israel's presidency, and a quiet end. with experimentRead Image: Orren Jack Turner. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Source)The Science
02
1905 — The Miracle Year
Four papers from a patent clerk that rewrote physics. with experimentRead Image: Lucien Chavan. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Source)
03
Special Relativity
Why time stretches, space contracts and the speed of light is absolute. with experimentRead Image: Johnstone (Wikipedia). CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (Source)
04
E = mc² — Mass & Energy
The most famous equation in the world, explained and made interactive. with experimentRead Image: Unknown photographer (ETH-Bibliothek Zürich). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Source)
05
General Relativity
Gravity as the curvature of spacetime — and the eclipse that proved it. with experimentRead Image: F. W. Dyson, A. S. Eddington & C. Davidson. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Source)
06
Quanta & the Great Debate
Light quanta, the Nobel work, and Einstein's lifelong argument with the quantum. with experimentRead Image: Paul Ehrenfest. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Source)Fame & Legacy
07
The Nobel Prize
1921: honoured not for relativity, but for the photoelectric effect. Read Image: Nobel Foundation (photo possibly Herman Mishkin). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Source)
11
The Letter & the Bomb
The 1939 warning to Roosevelt — and Einstein's lasting regret. with experimentRead Image: Albert Einstein & Leó Szilárd (letter text). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Source)
13