Who was Albert Einstein?

Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1879. He was the son of Pauline Koch and Hermann Einstein. His father was an optimistic, happy-go-lucky person who married Pauline in 1876. Albert also had a younger sister named Maja.

One surprising thing about him was that he couldn't talk until he was three years old. Not only that, but he was not very good in school. People, including his parents, suspected that he was retarded. However, Albert flourished when he studied independently. He taught himself advanced math and science in his early teens.

Even though, he didn't like sports and games, he loved mechanical toys. One of his favorite "toys" was a magnetic compass he received from his father. His father showed him that the needle of the compass always pointed in the same direction, no matter how it was turned.

His first school was a Catholic elementary school. Initially he was interested in Bible stories, but soon his interest changed to science. School was not a happy time for him and he absolutely hated going. Due to his lack of interest, he was taught at home the things he didn't learn at school. Not only did he have a passion for math, but he also played the violin. As a result, he was always looking for ways to combine math and music. He was also quite inquisitive and refused to believe something, even if it was written in a book, unless he could prove that it was true.

Eventually, he graduated from Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich in 1900 with a degree in physics. He took a permanent job in 1902 as a technical expert with the Swiss Patent Office. For the next seven years he evaluated proposed inventions. However, he would conduct his own research in the evenings when more time was available.

He married a former classmate, Mileva Maric, from Polytechnic in 1903. They had a daughter and two sons. Although she wanted to help Albert with his work, she wasn't able to understand it. Furthermore, Einstein never bothered to explain his work to her.