 |
Life
and Times of "Dr." Albert Einstein |
A tale of 2 Alberts
Date
|
Event |
| 1852 |
Albert Michelson is born in Strzelno, Poland. His parents move to the United States when he is two years old. He grows up in the rough mining towns of Murphy's Camp, California, and Virginia City, Nevada, where his father is a merchant. |
| 1879 |
Albert Einstein is born in Ulm, Germany, the first child of Hermann and Pauline Einstein. |
| 1880 |
The Einstein family move to Munich, Germany, to establish an electrical engineering company named Einstein & Cie. |
| 1884 | Einstein's parents hire a tutor to teach him the violin. The result is disastrous because Einstein is given to sudden fits of rage and constantly attacks his tutor. |
| 1885 | The 6 year old Einstein begins school at the local Catholic elementary school. His teachers fear that he is mentally retarted. |
| 1887 | Famous Michelson-Morley experiment in the U.S. proves that the earth is not moving!! |
| 1888 |
Attends the Luitpold Gymnasium in Munich. |
| 1894 |
The family business goes into liquidation and the Einstein's move to Milan in northern Italy. |
| 1895 |
Fails to pass the entrance exam to the ETH —the Swiss Technological University. |
| 1896 |
After a year of study he passes the entrance exams and attends the ETH. |
| 1896 |
Einstein falls madly in love with a gifted Serbian fellow student named Mileva-Maric. He affectionately calls her his "little witch." |
| 1900 |
Einstein finally graduates from the ETH. |
| 1902 |
Einstein and Mileva have a daughter named Lieserl. Lieserl is given up for adoption and seems to disappear from history. Many people later surface claiming to be Einstein's daughter, Lieserl. |
| 1903 |
Marries his lover Mileva Maric. She comes a co-conspirator in his "discovery" of relativity. |
| 1905 |
1905 is called the annus mirabilis or miracle year for Einstein. During that fateful year he submits 5 papers on relativity all of which appear in the prestigious German journal: Annalen der Physik. A supplement to the special theory of relativity is received by Annalen which contains the formula E=MC2. |
| 1909 | Professor Hermann Minkowski who called Einstein a "lazy dog" dies at the young age of 45. Einstein is appointed extraordinary professor of theoretical physics at Zurich University at a salary of 4.500 Swiss Francs. |
| 1912 |
Professor Jules Henri Poincaré who was one of the giants of theoretical physics dies suddenly at the age of 58. |
| 1919 |
Divorces his wife Mileva and she is given custody of their 2 boys. The divorce agreement states that any money he might earn in the future from relativity should go to her —the real authoress!! Albert marries his cousin Elsa Einstein. |
| 1922 |
Receives the Nobel Prize for physics. Mileva receives ALL the prize money. |
| 1931 |
Visits the United States for "research" at the California Institute of Technology. He meets his mentor Dr. Albert Michelson. Attends a séance with author Upton Sinclair and his wife, Mary Craig. |
| 1933 |
Rockefeller Foundation director Abraham Flexner brings Einstein to the U.S. He is appointed research professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, New Jersey. |
| 1935 | Buys a house at 112 Mercer St. in Princeton, New Jersey. |
| 1936 |
Einstein's second wife, Elsa, dies suddenly after returning from a trip to Europe. His secretary, Helen Dukas, becomes his housekeeper and arranges all of his appointments. |
| 1939 |
Atomic scientists Leo Szilard and Eugene Wigner visit Einstein on Long Island, New York. They explain to him the awesome power that can be released from an atomic explosion. Einstein agrees to write a letter to President Roosevelt urging him to commence work on nuclear fission. |
| 1941 |
Work on the Manhattan Project commences. Einstein plays no part in the development of the atomic bomb because he knows nothing about physics. |
| 1955 |
Einstein dies at his home and his ashes are sprinkled over a local river. His secretary and housekeeper Helen Dukas is the major beneficiary in his will. |
References
Bjerknes, Christopher Jon. Albert Einstein, the Incorrigible Plagarist. XTX Inc., Downers Grove, Illinois, 2002.
Brian, Denis. Einstein, A Life. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1996.
Folsing, Albrecht. Albert Einstein. Penguin Books, New York, 1997.
Highfield, Roger & Carter, Paul. The Private Lives of Albert Einstein. St. Martin's Press, New York, 1993.
Lanouette, William. Genius in the Shadows. A Biography of Leo Szilard. The Man Behind the Bomb. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1992.
Livingston, Dorothy Michelson.The Master of Light. A Biography of Albert A. Michelson. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1973.
Sinclair, Upton. The Autobiography of Upton Sinclair. Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1962.
Zackheim, Michele. Einstein's Daughter. The Search for Lieserl. Penguin Putnam Books, New York, 1999.