Einstein Born
Albert Einstein was born in Ulm in the Kingdom of Wurttemberg, German Empire
March 14, 1879
The Early Life of a Genius
Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, in the Kingdom of Wurttemberg, which is now part of Germany. As a child, he was curious but reportedly slow to speak, leading some family members to worry. He showed an early fascination with mathematics and physics and taught himself calculus by age 15. He struggled with the rigid teaching style of German schools and eventually moved to Switzerland to continue his education at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich.
The Miracle Year of 1905
After graduating, Einstein could not find a university teaching position and worked as a patent clerk in Bern. In 1905, while working that day job, he published four groundbreaking scientific papers. One introduced the special theory of relativity. Another explained the photoelectric effect (for which he later won the Nobel Prize). A third explained Brownian motion, helping confirm the existence of atoms. The fourth introduced the most famous equation in science: E=mc2, showing that mass and energy are equivalent. Scientists still call 1905 his "miracle year."
A Life Beyond Physics
Einstein became the most famous scientist in the world after his general theory of relativity was confirmed by observation in 1919. He was a pacifist, a civil rights advocate, and a vocal opponent of fascism. He fled Germany when the Nazis came to power in 1933 and settled in Princeton, New Jersey, where he worked until his death in 1955. His name became synonymous with genius, and his theories continue to underpin GPS technology, cosmology, and quantum mechanics today. Use our age calculator starting from 1879 to explore his era.